The Irish Golf Club Gazette: 03/04/13

3/04/2013

Damien Rests After Much Play

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Damien McGrane takes a break after six weeks on Tour treadmill in the Middle East and South Africa, and can reflect on some improving from after winning €13,012 for 27th place. Adding to the cheque earned for 22nd place in Commercial Bank Qatar Masters last month.

McGrane scrambled and putted well in South Africa, helping him reel off back-to-back rounds of three-under-par 69 at the weekend. His next scheduled outing is the Trophee Hassan II in four weeks time in Agadir, where the Meathman finished second to Michael Hoey last season.

Darren Clarke seemed to be heading for his best round on Tour in 20 months as he played his opening 13 holes in a sizzling six-under.

However, Clarke slumped into a tie for 63rd (worth €3,900) after completing his final round 69 with three bogeys, an infuriating finish to a day which promised so much.

The Ulsterman needed 31 putts on Thursday, 33 on Friday and 34 on Saturday. Even after yesterday's 29, Clarke was tied 72nd (second-last) in putts per round.

David Higgins failed to make the cut at Cooper Leaf Golf and Country Estate, along with the usually consistent Peter Lawrie.

Michael Hoey is still seeking a kick start to his season after missing another cut on Friday. He will be hoping that a return to Morocco, where he defends his title, will see a richer vein of form after his impressive win last year in Agadir.

McIlroy's Cadillac Moment

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Rory McIlroy will face the media this week for the first time since pulling out of the Honda Classic.

The world No 1 said he was in "a bad place mentally" after pulling out of the defence of his title midway through his second round.

He later released a statement to say a sore wisdom tooth was the reason for his early exit, which was McIlroy's first ever withdrawal from a tournament as a professional,

It came after a dismal run of form which saw him lose in the first round of the Accenture Match Play Championship to Shane Lowry and miss the cut in the Abu Dhabi Championship in his first event since signing a multi-million pound deal with Nike.

The PGA Tour has given McIlroy two weeks to explain his decision to withdraw, and he must submit medical evidence to support his claims of toothache.

A fine or suspension possible if the body is not happy with his explanation.

The 23-year-old is due to appear at a pre-tournament press conference ahead of the WGC-Cadillac Championship on Wednesday.

The WGC Cadillac Championship at Doral is guaranteed four rounds tournament as there is no cut, with $8.5m in prize money. It was won last year by Ryder Cup team-mate Justin Rose.

Harrington Faces Blue Monster

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Padraig Harrington faces The Blue Monster at Doral this week at World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship aftre ythe field was finalised following Matt Kuchar's victory at the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship.

The Dubliner, who did play at The Honda Classic, will be joined by Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy.

A total of 10 players - including Harrington - Jason, Jason Day, Martin Kaymer, Tim Clark and Richard Sterne secured their positions in the Cadillac Championship field through either their spots in the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking or the top 10 in the European Tour's Race to Dubai standings. As it stands, 49 of the top 50 in the world have committed to play (No. 46, Hiroyuki Fujita last in top 50 yet to commit) when the best players from across the globe come Trump Doral on March 6-10 for the second World Golf Championships event of the season.

"We say it all of the time that the field for the Cadillac Championship is one of the strongest fields in golf," said Tournament Chairman Butch Buchholz. "But when you go through the names - Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Phil Mickelson, Luke Donald, Justin Rose, Matt Kuchar, Adam Scott, Lee Westwood, Keegan Bradley, Bubba Watson, Dustin Johnson, Hunter Mahan, Graeme McDowell, Rickie Fowler, Brandt Snedeker - it is difficult to find the words to describe the talent that will be on hand here at Trump Doral.

"When you put together the field that we will have, this incredible resort, the challenging golf course with the exciting fan initiatives in place like the fashion show and DJ Taboo concert, this year is going to be the best Cadillac Championship to date."

A total of 10 players officially joined the list of qualified players:

Players qualified via Official World Golf Rankings who were not otherwise qualified:

No. 28 Martin Kaymer, Germany

No. 35 Jason Day, Australia

No. 47 Fredrik Jacobson, Sweden

No. 48 Tim Clark, South Africa

No. 49 Alexander Noren, Sweden

No. 50 Padraig Harrington, Ireland

Players qualified via European Tour's Race to Dubai who were not otherwise qualified:

No. 1 Richard Sterne, South Africa

No. 2 Scott Jamieson, Scotland

No. 8 Chris Wood, England

No. 9 Stephen Gallacher, Scotland

The top 50 in the world and the top 10 in the PGA TOUR's FedExCup standings not otherwise qualified will earn the final spots in the field.

It was unfortunate - Jack Nicklaus

"He shouldn't have walked off the golf course. I think that was unfortunate, because if he had thought about it for five minutes, he wouldn't have done it," Nicklaus, who won a record 18 major titles, told the Golf Channel.

McIlroy has played just four full professional rounds in three months, missing the cut in the Abu Dhabi Championship in January and suffering a surprise first-round exit in the WGC-Accenture World Match Play Championship last week in Arizona.

Nicklaus said he suspected McIlroy's rash decision was caused by the impact of that slow start.

"He's a good kid, he's a sharp kid and I just think he is so frustrated with what is happening and the way he has played for last month or so that it just got to him.

"That would be my assessment. I may be speaking out of school. I really don't know, I haven't talked to him," he added.

Nicklaus was dismissive of the idea that McIlroy's change of clubs from Titleist to Nike might be behind his poor form.

The American said he played with different equipment in the United States, England and Australia and that McIlroy would cope with the adjustment.

"I went back and forth with all those different balls and clubs and frankly you have just got to learn to deal with it. Not everything is perfect. His talent is so much greater and so much bigger influence on his golf game than his clubs, he could play with anything," Nicklaus said.

The American said he frequently talked to McIlroy and had a chat with him just before the start of this week's tournament.

"I talked to him on Monday. We talked, I said ‘don't worry about your golf clubs, that will come around, you are too good a talent, just go and play golf'.

"I am sure that Nike will work with him to make sure he will get what he needs to get. He will be fine. When the Masters rolls around Rory McIlroy is going to be playing just fine.

"I know that Rory is such a good player, a talented player, a good kid and he wants to do right."