2/27/2014

Lowry Starts Tshwane Test


Shane Lowry fired a four-under-par 68 to lie three shots off the pace on Thursday at the Tshwane Open, despite arriving in South Africa without his clubs. With only a short practice time Lowry still managed six birdies and two bogeys on the day.

Kevin Phelan five under after 14 holeswity the Deise man set to resume play on Friday morning.

Peter Lawrie was one over through 14 with the Dubliner hoping to improve on his last three missed cuts.

Michael Hoey finished 3 under after a round of 69.

Damien McGrane ended 74 and Gareth Maybin on 75 strokes.

Leader Simon Dyson closed with birdies on his final four holes to card a seven-under-par 65 and take the clubhouse lead overnight when play was suspended due to the threat of lightning.

South African Trevor Fisher junior was also on seven under after 16 and will complete his final two holes on Friday morning.

“It’s a lovely start,” said Dyson. “It’s my lowest round in a good few years, especially on the first day. It just puts you in a nice frame of mind, a good stead, and sets it up nicely to have a good weekend.”

There are five players a shot back including four-times European Tour winner Darren Fichardt. South Africans have won 10 of the last 13 European Tour events on home soil.

England’s Ross Fisher, who has not won since 2010, is also on six under.

Dyson says improvement with the putter was key to his first-round success.

“Putting has been the letdown for the last few weeks, but me and my caddie had a chat about what I’m doing wrong. We spent about an hour and a half on the putting green yesterday and I managed to get a good feel for it,” Dyson said.

“I holed a good six-footer for par at the first and then about a 40-footer for birdie at the second and that was it, I was off and running.”

Copperleaf Golf & Country Estate is the longest course in European Tour history. It has four par-five holes, including the monstrous 685-yard fourth.

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Rory Undecided About Rio

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Rory McIlroy says he is still undecided about which country to represent at the 2016 Olympics in Rio.

The decision has caused a huge amount of debate, but the golfer says he has plenty of time to mull it over before deciding to choose either Ireland or Britain.

“I haven’t made a decision yet,” McIlroy told the US PGA Tour website.

”There’s no real urgency at the moment, and I couldn’t even imagine planning my schedule that far ahead. I will have to decide, however, and take into consideration many sensibilities.” 

For the first time since 1904, golfers will compete for Olympic gold but that brings the tricky question of nationality into play because Northern Ireland does not field its own team.

For fellow Northern Ireland native Graeme McDowell, the decision is already been made.

McDowell played for Ireland at last year’s World Cup of Golf which locked him into representing Ireland in Rio de Janeiro in two years time. 

The world number eight also admitted he spent more time dealing with lawyers last year than he hopes to for the rest of his career, but feels he was right to leave both of his previous management companies.

"I'm not sure if regret is the right term for management changes," added McIlroy, who is still embroiled in a legal dispute with Horizon Sports. "I saw my future differently in each case and decided accordingly.

"Management teams often have to consider other players in their camp when decisions are being made, and I think I outgrew that. I won't pretend everything in the future will be smooth sailing because obstacles will always present themselves and there will be highs and lows.

"Now that the decisions rest with me, though, I'll have to take the poor ones on the chin."

Seven of the world's top 10 are in the field at PGA National, with Tiger Woods, Adam Scott and Phil Mickelson returned to action after opting to miss last week's match play event in Arizona.



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