11/06/2013

McElroy Earns Final Place

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Dermot McElroy finished his weather delayed final round of the European Tour Qualifying  School on Wednesday at Lumine Golf and Beach Club with a level par 71. A result  that secured the Irish amateur eighteenth place outright in Tarragona and the last spot for the Final Stage next week.

A pair of birdies and bogeys either side of the turn were the result of his work on the final day and a five under par aggregate score. Enough to separate the Ballymena golfer by a stroke from the larger chasing groups.

McElroy has shown promise from an early age and a  couple of years ago - then aged 17 - he was one step away from winning the North of Ireland, losing out in the final at Royal Portrush to Alan Dunbar. Who ironically failed to get through Stage Two this week.

Five years ago McElroy won the Connacht under-15, the Leinster under-15s, the Ulster under-15s and the Irish under-15 titles in the same season. Last year he was named in a 12-man preliminary Great Britain and Ireland squad for the St Andrews Trophy match against Continental Europe to be played at Portmarnock in August.

This season at the Northern Ireland Challenge presented by Clannah and XJet McElroy finished T9.

England’s Chris Hanson finished the protracted Qualifying School Second Stage at Lumine after closing with a round of 68 in Tarragona.

Hanson led 18 qualifiers from the northern Spain venue on 15 under par, five strokes clear of his nearest challengers, Scotland’s Raymond Russell and English amateur Callum Shinkwin, who signed off with respective rounds of 69 and 70. 

The 18 qualifiers from Lumine Golf will join the 35 players who progressed from Las Colinas Golf and Country Club and Campo de Golf El Saler at next week’s Final Stage, which will again be held at PGA Catalunya Resort, in Girona.

Gareth Shaw will not be part of that group next week however, having finished his similalry  weather delayed final round at Valle Romano in a 2 over par 73.

Two double bogeys on his front nine pushed the Upper Ballinderry man in the wrong direction on the leaderboard from the outset, needing a minimum four under par to have a chance, and reaching the halfway in 40 strokes left him struggling. 

A fightback of sorts on the home stretch gave some hope, but there was too much ground to recover, and unable to repeat the one sub 70 round which he carded on day two. 

A former Amateur 2006 Eisenhower Trophy 2007, 08 winner), a Palmer Cup 2002 winner, 2003 winner of the Jacques Leglise Trophy - as well as a representative record from 2002-07 of Boys, Youths, Seniors honours.

This is Shaw's sixth visit to Q School and it will be a disappointing result for the Team Ireland golfer who had started this season very determined to make the breakthrough onto the main Tour.

Despite enduring a difficult final day at Las Colinas Golf & Country Club, James Heath still led 17 qualifiers home as the European Tour Qualifying School Second Stage came to a close at the Alicante venue. 

The Englishman, who held a substantial lead overnight, signed off with a round of 75, but that closing effort was still good enough to finish top of the pile on 15 under par. 

Heath was followed home by rising South African star Brandon Stone, who closed with a 69 for a 14 under par aggregate total. 

Welshman Liam Bond (13 under), England’s James Robinson (12 under) and American John Hahn (11 under) rounded out the top five.

The qualifying mark fell on two under par, with six players contesting a play-off for the last four places in the Final Stage. 

The Swedish duo of Oscar Floren and Joakim Rask emerged triumphant alongside German amateur Christopher Dammert and Spaniard Alfredo Garcia-Heredia, with France’s Michael Lorenzo-Vera and Germany’s Max Glauert the men to miss out – although they could still make the Final Stage as Alternates, in the event of injuries or withdrawals.

At Campo de Golf El Saler, home favourite Carlos del Moral romped to victory by five shots after signing off with a round of 71 for an eight under par aggregate total. 

England’s Jason Barnes finished second on three under par, one shot ahead of Frenchman Thomas Linard and Italian Niccolo Quintarelli. 

With 18 players progressing from El Saler, there was a five-way play-off for the final two spots after Jerome Casanova, Christophe Brazillier, Matthias Grönberg, Chris Lloyd and Andrey Pavlov all finished on three over par. 

The two who prevailed were Casanova, courtesy of birdie at the first extra hole, and Grönberg, who eventually saw off Lloyd on the sixth extra hole. 

Meanwhile, over at Valle Romano Golf in Estepona, the third round was finally completed with Frenchman Edouard Espana leading the way on 12 under par. 

High winds had forced officials to suspend play on Monday, but Espana made the most of the calmer conditions on Tuesday to lead by two strokes from Australian Scott Arnold and Sweden’s Alexander Björk, who posted respective rounds of 69 and 68. 

The fourth round was completed on Wednesday, as it was at Lumine Golf & Beach Club, where high winds forced a suspension at 12.55pm on Tuesday. Play resumed at 4.15pm but was again halted 25 minutes later.



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Gonzo Joins Euro Exodus

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GonzaloFernández-Castaño is not just bringing his game to the United States. Like other Europeans who are taking up PGA TOUR membership, he's bringing the whole family. He is moving in December from Madrid to Miami with his wife and three young children.

The 33-year-old Spaniard chose Miami mainly because his swing coach, Mariano Bartolome, lives there and works out of Doral. 

But what makes Fernández-Castaño stand out from other Europeans moving to Florida is that golf was not at the top of his priority list.

"It's a very Spanish place and a city I like a lot," Fernández-Castaño said. "There's a lot of Spanish people. It's a city I've always enjoyed, and also you've got a lot of direct flights to Madrid. So it will easy for my family, my in-laws, anyone who wants to come visit."

He has found a school near their new home in Key Biscayne. Still to be determined is a golf course to practice. He has heard about Crandon Park, not far from where he will live, though he has yet to see it.

"I have to say, when I chose Miami, I wasn't thinking so much about the golf itself. I was thinking more about the family," he said. "In Florida, there are golf courses everywhere. There are a lot of choices. But I wasn't thinking about the golf."

His family - children 4, 3 and 1 - are excited about the move.

"The only time they have been to the U.S. was last year after Bay Hill," he said. "They came and we went to Disney World. They believe they're going to be living with Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck and Pluto."


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Clarke Restarts PGA Tour

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Darren Clarke plays in Georgia this week at the McGladrey Classic in Sea Island with hope of reigniting his career on the lucrative PGA Tour, after an absence of seven years and taking advantage of the five-year exemption earned by winning the 2011 Open Championship.

The 45-year-old Northern Irishman has not won since that Open Championship at Royal St. George's in Sandwich, Kent over two years ago.

Darren is now ranked 283rd in the world but feeling good about his game after ties for 12th and a second place in the Nanshan China Masters last month. A week where Clarke bemoaned his failure with his putting during a final-round 72, having shared the lead at one stage.

"I’ve almost had enough of the long hauls all over Asia and all that sort of stuff,” said Clarke, who is exempt this season because of his 2011 Open Championship win. “Not that it’s bad, but coming over here is certainly a lot easier for me from a scheduling point of view.

“The PGA TOUR is the biggest investor in the world. Europe is my home turf, but it’s a great opportunity to come over here and play.”

“I just want to go out and enjoy myself,” Clarke said. “I’ve travelled all over the world for a long time and I’ve had a great time doing it. It’s almost like starting over.”

The journey will be made easier with a home in the Bahamas and a base in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Though Clarke added that he will maintain his European Tour membership as well.

"It will be difficult," Clarke said of playing both tours. 

"But it is something I will try to do. I will see how I get on with it. But my first commitment is to the PGA TOUR, and I have to get my tournaments in on the TOUR since I became a member again."

Clarke will play next week’s OHL Classic at Mayakoba in Mexico and then plans to take December off before returning for the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, followed by the Northern Trust Open and the entire Florida swing.

Clarke has won two other times on the PGA TOUR, in 2003 at the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational (then the NEC Invitational) and the 2000 WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship.

Clarke recorded 14 top 10 finishes from 2003 through to 2005, including four third-place finishes and a runner-up.  In 2006 he was limited to 11 starts after the passing of his first wife, Heather. That September the Dungannon man was a wild card for Ryder Cup at the K Club thanks to vision of the Team Europe Captain, Ian Woosnam.

2007 was the last year Clarke played the PGA TOUR as he spent the past few years playing mostly in Europe, where he won his first major in July 2011.

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ARCHIVES - The Swedish Model

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