5/31/2015

Søren Kjeldsen Wins Irish Open

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Søren Kjeldsen ended a six year winless run on the European Tour and booked qualification to this year's Open with victory in the first hole of a three-man play-off at the Irish Open.

Kjeldsen took a two-shot lead into the final round and was one shot ahead with two to play despite being four over par for the day, as the players battled winds gusting up to 40mph in another round of tricky conditions at Royal County Down.

A three-putt bogey on the 17th left Kjeldsen needing to birdie the 18th to win his fourth European Tour title, but after chipping from one side of the green off the other, he did well to get up and down for a closing 76 to join a play-off alongside Bernd Wiesberger and Eddie Pepperell.

The players returned to the par-five 18th for the first hole of sudden death and Kjeldsen was the only one able to find the green in two, before two-putting for a winning birdie.

Kjeldsen had seen his overnight lead wiped out on the opening hole after he dropped a shot and playing partner Max Kieffer made birdie. Despite bogeying the next, a run of five pars was enough retain Kjeldsen’s advantage as the strong wind sent scores soaring, but slipped back again with a double-bogey at the eighth.

The Dane two-putted the par-five 12th for his first birdie of the day, but missed the chance to move two clear when he three-putted the 14th for bogey.

Wiesberger recovered from a dropped shot at the 15th to stay within one of the lead by holing a long putt from over the 16th green, as Pepperell closed his blemish-free round to set the clubhouse target at two-under.

The Englishman, beginning the day seven shots adrift, crucially saved par on the 17th after finding a fairway bunker off the tee, but twice tangled with heavy rough on the 18th and had to settle for a par five.

“I played really well, so I have to credit my putting for no bogeys,” Pepperell told Sky Sports 4. “I think all four days have been tough, so whilst today was very difficult it didn’t feel all that different to what we’d played in the first three days.

“I said to myself anything in the 60s is a really good score, and once I got to two under I kept trying to tell myself the same thing.”

While Carbera-Bello’s hopes ended with dropped shots at the 15th and last, Wiesberger saw an eight-foot birdie chance at the 18th to move to three under slip millimetres wide of the cup.

That left Kjeldsen just needing to par the last two holes to take the title, but he three-putted the 17th and needed to nudge in a four-footer at the last.

Danny Willett had set the early clubhouse target with a three-under 68 to end level par for the week alongside Andy Sullivan, finishing in style with a chip-in eagle from the right-side of the green.

The group a further shot behind included Saturday’s course record breaker Max Kieffer, who closed the week with a six-over 78, with Matt Fitzpatrick posting his first top-ten finish since January.

Rickie Fowler’s Irish adventure ended in a tie for 30th, with Graeme McDowell posting back-to-back birdies late in his round to also finish seven over.


5/30/2015

Harrington Open Chase Fades

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Padraig Harrington's hopes of a second Irish Open success were endedn at Royal County Down on Saturday as Soren Kjeldesen moved up the leaderboard.

The hree-time Major winner Harrington had hoped to apply pressure on the leaders, but dropped seven shots, including three in a row in the final four holes, to finish the day 13 shots behind the leader.

German Maximilian Kieffer shot a course record 65, but along with Spaniard Rafa Cabrera-Bello trails Kjeldesn by three shots after another scintillating round from the 40-year-old Dane.

It was a disappointing day for Irish challengers, with Shane Lowry and Paul McGinley shooting level round scores to remain at +3 and +4 respectively.

Graeme McDowell shot an impressive 69 to move up to three over heading into the final day.

Simon Thornton ended Saturday with  a level par round to remain +5 for the tournament.

Darren Clarke is one stroked adrift on 6 over par signing for a one par 72.
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Søren Kjeldsen’s late slip did not prevent him from taking a handy two stroke lead into the final round of the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open Hosted by the Rory Foundation. The 40 year old was flawless for the majority of a cold, yet bright, day at Royal County Down until he dropped shots on his final two holes.

That ensured the chasing pack remained in touch, led by Maximilian Kieffer after he shot a course record 65 to catapult himself into second place alongside Rafa Cabrera-Bello on five under.

With the weather set to turn sour tomorrow Kjeldsen, who has not won on The European Tour since 2009, had appeared to be making a decisive move when he strung a hat-trick of birdies together from the par four 11th.

The Dane had already picked up three shots on the front nine and as his putter began to run hot – he was only denied an eagle at the par five eighth when rolling a 30 footer just short – his rivals all began to tread water apart from Kieffer.

The German had endured a mixed start to his tournament, as he followed an opening 67 with a 76 yesterday, but was celebrating a new course record this evening as he mixed seven birdies with a single bogey.

It was the best round on a day scores improved dramatically – there were 15 rounds of 60 compared to 14 in total on the first two days – although World Number Nine Rickie Fowler proved that the Newcastle course was hardly playing easy.

Fowler remarkably finished with a pair of eights, he lost his ball off the tee at the 17th as he ran up a quadruple bogey, after he had chipped in to eagle the reachable 16th and give himself hope on the final day.

The American’s forgettable finish almost certainly wiped away those ambitions and put into context Kjeldsen’s own troubles at the end of an otherwise impressive round.

"If you had given me 67 stood on the first tee I would have been very happy.

"I played terrific all day and didn't think I did too much wrong on the last two holes, so I will focus on the first 16," said Kjeldsen.

"Competition is pretty hard out here. It's not easy to win and it's not like I have played poorly for six years, but it's nice to have a chance and it would mean everything to win this event.

“But it's too early to think about that. There are a lot of great players behind me and I need to play well (on Sunday) to have a chance. It's still that open."

Kieffer, chasing his first European Tour title, revealed he benefited from some local knowledge from his friend Stephen Sweeney, who was an assistant professional at Royal County Down for four years.

"He showed us around in the practice round and this is definitely a course where local knowledge helps a lot," Kieffer said.


The highlight of Cabrera-Bello’s day arrived on the 16th when the Spaniard drove the green and sunk an eagle putt, although he dropped a shot on the last – which gave up just two birdies all day.

“I missed a short three putt but overall really pleased,” he said.

“It's been really tough out there, lots of wind, pretty cold and playing in control of my game most of the time. I think it's going to put me in a great position for tomorrow.”

A stroke back sits a group of three players including Bernd Wiesberger, Richie Ramsay and Tyrrell Hatton – who had all shared in last night’s six way lead with Kjeldsen, Cabrera-Bello and Chris Wood.

Wiesberger was level with Kjeldsen after 12 holes today only to join the list of players to struggle into the wind over the closing holes, carding bogeys at 14 and 16.

He was nonetheless content to remain in contention and play well to mark his mother’s 57th birthday.

“It will play tough (tomorrow)”, he said.

“It was not ideal to pick up two bogeys there but it was a tough stretch coming in, and I'm just happy with a round under par today.”

Niclas Fasth was next best placed on two under, as the Swede returned a 67, while Lucas Bjerregaard had equalled the old course record of 66 to be one under alongside former World Number One Luke Donald, Jake Roos and Anthony Wall.

An Byoeng-hun, who won at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth last week, shot a 67 to be level with the card.



5/29/2015

McIlroy Cut in County Down

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Rory McIlroy has missed the cut in his home event for the third year running after failing to recover from a nightmare first round at the Irish Open.

The world No 1 always faced an uphill battle to avoid a third straight cut in the event after crashing to an opening 80, with McIlroy failing to make the weekend after a second round 71 at Royal County Down GC. 

McIlroy made his first gain of the round with a lengthy putt at the seventh, before keeping his slim hopes alive with a birdie at the 12th to move back within two of the projected cut.

After a five foot par-save dribbled in at the 14th, McIlroy lost his advantage with a double-bogey at the next, sending his second shot into the rough and thinning his third past the green before three-putting from 40 feet.

Birdie chances from within 10 feet at both the 16th and 17th were dragged wide of the cup, before the tournament host gave the sell-out crowd something to cheer about by rattling in a lengthy birdie at the last.

“When the wind is like this, even when you’re giving yourself birdie chances it’s hard to take them,” McIlroy told Sky Sports 4. “I was trying out there as hard as I could, but just couldn’t get a run of holes going and any momentum.

“I was a couple under through 14 but still needed a good finish, but unfortunately I wasn’t able to do that. I left myself too much to do from yesterday and felt I played a solid round of golf today but just wasn’t enough.

“The support out here is phenomenal; it’s the third year in a row that they’re not going to get to see me play over the weekend, so it’s disappointing to say the least.”

Ryder Cup team-mates Martin Kaymer, Sergio Garcia and Victor Dubuisson also failed to reach the weekend, while American star Rickie Fowler is safely through after carding a second consecutive level par 71 of the week.


Harrington Up and Down Friday

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Padraig Harrington continued to do everything in his power to ensure his prediction of a home winner came true as the Irish Open resumed at a windswept Royal County Down on Friday.

Former champion Harrington predicted on Wednesday that an Irish player would lift the trophy on Sunday, with world number one Rory McIlroy seemingly the most likely contender.

But while McIlroy faced an uphill battle to avoid a third straight cut in the event after crashing to an opening 80, Harrington claimed a share of the overnight lead with Germany's Max Kieffer with an opening 67.

And after starting his second round on the back nine with a run of six pars, Harrington picked up his first birdie of the day on the 16th to move into the outright lead on five under par.

However depsiet reaching the tun in 34 a double bogey on his 12th started atough runm for hiome that eneded in 4 over poar - signing for a second round 73.

There was simialr news for 2009 Three irish Open winner Shane Lowry who broke his putter as a run of three bogeys in four holes dropped him to four over par.

That was one shot outside the current projected cut, although that seemed certain to rise as more players took to the course, with McIlroy scheduled to start his second round at 1pm.

Harrington holed from 15 feet for birdie on the 17th to extend his lead and missed from just six feet for an eagle on the par-five first, but the tap-in birdie took him further ahead of the chasing pack.

At seven under par the 43-year-old, whose victory in the Honda Classic in March was his first on a major tour since the 2008 US PGA, was three ahead of Kieffer, who had started with two pars, with 2002 winner Soren Hansen, Austria's Bernd Wiesberger and France's Alexander Levy all two under.

Lowry bogeyed the 17th but successfully two-putted the 18th with a wedge to reach the turn in 40, his putter understood to have been damaged after he missed a short putt on the 12th.

Lowry shrugged off his equipment problems to birdie the first and second and improve to three over par, but Harrington's serene progress had come to a grinding halt in the match ahead.

A bogey on the second was followed by a double bogey on the third and another dropped shot on the fourth, leaving the two-time Open champion three under par and one shot behind new leader Wiesberger.

Wiesberger had finished the back nine with birdies on the 16th and 17th and an eagle on the 18th, and then saw playing partner Andy Sullivan hole out with a two iron from 259 yards on the par-five first for an albatross.


5/28/2015

Harrington and Kieffer Lead

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Padraig Harrington took advantage of marginally easier conditions in the afternoon to share the first round lead with fellow late starter Max Kieffer at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open Hosted by the Rory Foundation.

Former winner Harrington carded a four under par 67 at Royal County Down, which was only matched by German Kieffer in the final group.

Harrington, who won the Honda Classic in March on the US PGA Tour, is looking to end a winless stretch on The European Tour that goes back to the 2008 US PGA Championship.

The 43 year old from Dublin was one over par after ten holes before carding five birdies in the next six to finish level with Kieffer and one shot ahead of former Ryder Cup team-mate Søren Hansen.

"After nine or ten holes I thought to myself 'C'mon, we've got to hit a good shot, no need to be afraid,'" said Harrington, who lasted just two holes at Wentworth last week before pulling out with a shoulder injury, but received intensive treatment and narrowly missed out on qualifying for the US Open Championship four days later.

"I know from experience now that I'm in a position where there's many ways of competing in this tournament. I've two options; play great from now on and try and get away from the field or play average and fight it out on Sunday afternoon."

Kieffer had an eagle on the long 12th and reached five under at one stage only to bogey the eighth – his penultimate hole.

“I played good, and I think the key was today to hole some putts,” said the 24 year old, who is still searching for a maiden European Tour title two years after beng pipped in a marathon play-off for the Open de Espaa by Raphal Jacquelin.

“I had two three-putts from off the green on the front nine, but then I made two long putts after that, so that really like kept the momentum up. That was really nice.

“It's a long week. It's a tough golf course. Some of the best players in the world, they struggle to shoot par around here, so it's going to be an interesting next three days, I think.”

McIlroy carded nine bogeys and no birdies in an opening 80 as only seven of the 78 morning starters broke par.

"It was not quite as difficult as I made it look," McIlroy admitted with a wry smile after an opening round played in cold, blustery conditions and the occasional rain shower.

"I was hitting it well on the range, keeping it down and hitting half shots, but the wind was not up that much on the course and I was caught between trying to play two ways. That led to missing greens, which led to lots of eight to 12 foot putts for par, which led to missing all of them."

McIlroy has pledged to donate all of his prize money this week to his charitable foundation, while his association with the event ensured a top-class field and a sell-out crowd of 20,000 each day.

"It's disappointing because I want to go out there and play well, not just for myself but for a lot of other people," McIlroy added. "I'll just have to pick myself up and go out there tomorrow and shoot a good one. I want to give the fans something to cheer about and not just get sympathy claps as I got coming off the ninth green.

"My goal will be to make some birdies, make my first birdie of the tournament at some point. I've missed the cut the last two years so I don't want to make it three in a row. I want to at least go out there tomorrow and fight for it, try to claw my way back towards the cut line and if I can sneak in there, that'll be great."

Playing alongside McIlroy, Rickie Fowler carded an opening 71 in his first outing since winning the Players Championship at Sawgrass, while Luke Donald went one better with a 70.

Donald dropped out of the Official World Golf Ranking's top 60 on Monday to miss out on qualifying for the US Open, but could claim one of three places up for grabs in The Open at St Andrews by finishing in the top ten here.

"I'm trying not to think about that too much, I'm just trying to play a solid tournament and get some consistency," the former World Number One said.


McIlroy Cards Four Score

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Rory McIlroy is in danger of missing the cut in his home event for the third year running after a nightmare first round at the Irish Open.

The world No 1 carded his worst first nine of the season, reaching the turn in 41, and never recovered as he shot a nine-over 80 - his highest round since the final round of the 2011 Masters. 

Both McIlroy and Ryder Cup team-mate Martin Kaymer failed to post a single birdie in windy conditions at Royal County Down, as playing partner Rickie Fowler opened with a level par 71 to stay within two of the early lead.

McIlroy came in to the event having missed the cut in his defence of his BMW PGA Championship title last week and despite insisting he felt refreshed after an unexpected weekend off, opened with a missed 15-foot birdie chance at the 10th and a dropped shot at the next.

The tournament host found the par-five 12th green in two but could only three-putt from long range, before things went from bad to worse with a run of four consecutive bogeys from the 15th.

After finding the bunker off the 16th tee and making another three-putt at the 18th, McIlroy eventually stopped the rot with a two-putt par for par at the first. 

The four-time major winner slipped further adrift after missing the green at the par-three fourth, adding a seventh bogey of the day at the next when a clumsy chip left him a long way from the flag.

A 12-foot birdie putt at the sixth appeared on line before slowing inches short of the cup, with McIlroy sending his tee-shot on the par-three seventh onto the wrong fairway to card another blemish. 

McIlroy bogeyed the eighth but looked set to make his first gain of the day at the par-four ninth, finding the green in two before sliding his birdie putt several feet past the cup.


5/27/2015

McIlory Targets Home Win

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Rory McIlroy has targeted getting back to winning ways on home soil at this week's Irish Open.

McIlroy is looking for his third win in five events after following victory in the WGC-Cadillac Match Play with a third consecutive top-10 finish in the Players Championship, a seven-shot win at Quail Hollow and a missed cut in the BMW PGA Championship last week.

The world No 1 has failed to make it past the second round of the Irish Open for the last two years, but believes he will benefit from a third early exit in four years at Wentworth, where he collapsed to a second round of 78 in the defence of his title.

"I wanted to play well last week but I think at the same time having the weekend off will benefit me for this week," the 26-year-old added. "I do feel refreshed.

"I didn't get out of bed until one o'clock in the afternoon on Saturday. I came here on Sunday and played a quiet 18 holes. I came back on Monday morning and played.

"I feel very prepared. That (Wednesday's pro-am) was my third practice round. I haven't played three practice rounds for a tournament since the Masters. I really just want to do well this week and it (missing the cut) has given me a bit of extra time which I think I can use.

"Even if you play four or five weeks in a row, physically you feel fine. It's more just the mental challenge of trying to keep it at that high level the whole time. Sometimes you just need to let yourself come down for a few days. That's what sort of happened. I just couldn't really keep it going."

McIlroy has has revealed he will not make a penny from this week's event, with all money raised being donated to his own charitable foundation, which is hosting this week's tournament at Royal County Down. 

The Rory Foundation's involvement has helped to deliver a top-class field with Players Championship winner Rickie Fowler one of the star attractions. 

Fowler and McIlroy competed against each other in the 2007 Walker Cup at Royal County Down and McIlroy added: "It wasn't that hard a pitch to make to Rickie. I knew what a fan he was of the golf course.

"I was very pleased that Rickie and Sergio (Garcia) were in the play-off at the Players a couple of weeks ago; it creates more buzz about this tournament and it was great to see him win."