Bon Jour for GMAC in Paris

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Graeme McDowell celebrated a "special" victory after securing a four-shot win at the Alstom Open de France.

McDowell kicked clear of nearest challenger Richard Sterne on the back nine of Le Golf National in Paris and is set to rise to sixth when the world rankings are updated on Monday.

The victory was McDowell's third in the last three months but his other results during that period were all missed cuts.

"It's very special after the last couple of months," said McDowell, who had suffered halfway exits in his last three events - the BMW PGA Championship, the US Open and the Irish Open.

"It's been a bit of a battle. It's been a funny year. My game has not felt far away most weeks but I have missed a lot more cuts than normal and missing cuts hurts.

"It certainly motivated me a lot the last few weeks. The US Open was a tough one to take and missing the cut in Ireland last week; it made me more hungry to want to be in positions like I was this afternoon."

McDowell took victory after holding his nerve down the tough closing stretch at Le Golf National which will host the Ryder Cup in five years' time.

"This is such a difficult course here, we may have one of the greatest Ryder Cup venues in European golf history in 2018," McDowell added.

"Anyone watching this week will get a sense for the match play drama this course is going to provide."

Luck appeared to be on McDowell's side as he pulled his tee shot on the 16th but saw the ball take a fortunate bounce away from the heavy rough and kick 90 degrees right.

That left him with a relatively simple up and down, but he needed more good fortune after pulling his par putt and the sheepish grin after it somehow found the left edge of the hole told its own story.

"I got a little lucky coming in. I didn't hit my best putt on 15 or 16 and they went in.

"I struggled on the greens all week and didn't make many putts, but only making four bogeys all week was the key."

Casey Irish Eagle Adds RESPECT

Paul Casey’s dramatic eagle on the final hole at Carton House not only sealed a first European Tour victory in two and a half years for the Englishman, it also helped boost the overall amount of money raised for RESPECT Ireland, the Official Charity of the 2013 Irish Open. 

The Tour Players Foundation (TPF), the charitable arm of The European Tour, the Mallaghan Family, owners of Carton House, and a private donor joined forces with an ‘Irish Open Birdie Pledge’, each giving €10 per birdie, €20 per eagle and €50 per Albatross during the four tournament rounds last week.

Casey’s stunning 45ft putt on the final hole earned the 35 year old his 12th European Tour title, and took the total number of eagles to 22 for the tournament, raising a total of €1,320. 

Subsequent closing birdies by Casey’s final round playing partners Robert Rock and Joost Luiten helped the pair share second place and also took the total number of birdies to 1,405, raising €42,150. 

A total of €43,470 was generated by the ‘Irish Open Birdie Pledge’, which will be added to money raised from other charitable activities during the tournament week. 

During Wednesday’s Official Pro-Am, The European Tour professionals taking part donated their Pro-Am fees to RESPECT, producing a donation in excess of €14,000 which was presented by The European Tour Wives Association, on behalf of their partners, during a visit to RESPECT’s Consilla Care Centre, near Carton House. 

Spectators also added to the fundraising total when they purchased the Official Programmes or Drawsheets, which included a donation of €1 per programme or drawsheet sold. Fundraising activity also took place on RESPECT’s exhibition stand and, along with donations from a variety of private donors, added more than €11,000 to the fundraising total. 

When combined, all of the Irish Open fundraising initiatives raised a grand total of €70,000 for RESPECT Ireland, a charity that supports people of all ages with intellectual disabilities in the Dublin area from two Care Villages within 20kms of Carton House.

In addition, The European Tour players and caddies showed their support for the Official Charity by wearing RESPECT pin badges on their hat or collar.

George O’Grady, European Tour Chief Executive, said: “We are delighted with the fundraising total for RESPECT from the Irish Open. 

“Everyone at the event got behind this fantastic charity, which does such great work in the local area and which has a close association with this year’s Irish Open through the Mallaghan Family. The European Tour is proud that through the Tour Players Foundation, our charitable arm, we were able to contribute greatly to the fundraising total and we thank everyone else for their support.”

Sister Zoe Killeen, Director of RESPECT Ireland said: “Congratulations to The European Tour and the Mallaghan Family at Carton House for a wonderful tournament. The amount raised was truly remarkable, and on behalf of our people with an intellectual disability and RESPECT, a very special thank you must go to the Tour Players Foundation, the Mallaghan Family and the private donor for their support via the Birdie Pledge. Also, congratulations to Paul Casey on his fantastic win, and we were very proud to see that he wore our pin badge for the entire week.”

Lee Mallaghan, Owner and President of Carton House, said: “The Mallaghan family has been involved with RESPECT for over 20 years, so we are very grateful that a cause so close to our hearts has benefited from the Irish Open at Carton House. It was great to see so much money raised for such a wonderful charity. Our thanks go to everyone who contributed, especially The European Tour and its charitable arm, the Tour Players Foundation, and of course all of the players who made so many birdies and eagles.”

McDowell Shares French Open Lead

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Graeme McDowell of Northern Ireland and Richard Sterne of South Africa share a one-stroke lead after three rounds of the French Open.

McDowell shot a 1-under 70 while Sterne had a 71 on the tough Albatross course of Le Golf National, leaving both at 5-under 208.

Bernd Wiesberger of Austria (68), David Howell of England (69) and Richard Green of Australia (70) were at 209. Soren Kjeldsen of Denmark and Simon Dyson of England were at 210.

Francesco Molinari of Italy had the day's best round, a 67 that left him four shots back. Second-round leader Fabrizio Zanotti of Paraguay fell to 214 after a 78.

Thomas Bjorn of Denmark held a two-shot lead after a birdie on No. 8 -- where he nearly had a hole-in-one but the ball lipped out -- before dropping four shots in the last four holes.

Martin Kaymer of Germany, Ian Poulter of England and Miguel Angel Jimenez of Spain are part of a five-way tie at 213. Kaymer, the 2010 PGA Championship winner, shot a 69 and is hoping for a top 10 finish despite feeling "very sick."

"The first day I was OK, but yesterday I felt terrible. And today I just feel very weak," Kaymer said. "I don't hit the ball as far as usual."

Matt Kuchar of the United States fell from contention with a 73 that left him 10 strokes off the pace.

"Below average golf for me," Kuchar said. "I haven't been as sharp as I had hoped to be, but I still enjoyed my stay here."

Ranked fifth in the world, Kuchar is making his French Open debut. He brought his family with him to France and will take a short vacation next week in the south of the country.

He said his goal Sunday is to "just have a good round, try to get on some better form. Then, hopefully carry some momentum into the British Open."