Peter Lawrie Amongst The K Club Invites

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Peter Lawrie has received an invitation to the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open Hosted by the Rory Foundation which will be played at The K Club from May 19-22 in County Kildare.

Also included in the cherished list are Irish golfers Paul Dunne, of Hartl Resort, in Bad Griesbach; Gavin Moynihan of The Island GC; Kevin Phelan of Mount Juliet; Ruaidhri McGee of Rosapenna. Along with Ryan Evans of Wellingborough GC and Seve Benson of the Wentworth Club.

They all are joined Martin Kaymer, who has added his name to the all-star field, with a host of his fellow Ryder Cup players and European Tour winners also entered for the 61st edition of Ireland’s national Open.

Kaymer makes his fourth appearance - in what is now a €4 million tournament - with a tied tenth finish at Adare Manor in 2008 as his best performance to date. 

The German has not won though a regular European Tour event for five years – his last victory being the 2014 US Open Championship. But a top six finish on his last outing at Real Valderrama Club Open de España, Hosted by Sergio Garcia Foundation two weeks ago offered encouraging signs. 

Not unlike The K Club, which hosted a memorable Ryder Cup in 2006, Kaymer became synonymous with golf’s greatest team contest after holing the putt which ensured the trophy would remain in European hands at Medinah Country Club in 2012. 

A strong showing at The K Club under the eye of Europe’s 2016 Captain, Darren Clarke, would enhance Kaymer’s claims for a fourth straight Ryder Cup appearance. Englishman Chris Wood and Austrian Bernd Wiesberger also be hoping for inclusion in Europe’s line-up later in the year. 

Rafa Cabrera Bello, Soren Kjeldsen, Matt Fitzpatrick and Andy Sullivan all currently occupy automatic qualifying places for 2016 The Ryder Cup. 

Danny Willett will also be teeing up at The K Club has already confirmed his place at Hazeltine National in September following his victory at The Masters last month. 

Peter Lawrie was part of that strong field in Valderrama two weeks ago courtesy of being a former Open de España winner. Over the four days the Dubliner made good use of his return to a European Tour event with a solid performance in a tough field and testing conditions.

“It’s great news to get a start at our National event, said Peter from Rabata in Morocco, "Even more so as it has been revitalised by Rory McIlroy and Dubai Duty Free.” 

“With the Trophée Hassan this week it will offer another great opportunity to fine tune a few things and compete in another tough field.”

“So I’m really looking forward to the next few weeks,” concluded Lawrie

Lawrie lost his automatic playing rights after finishing 124th in the Race to Dubai last season.

*Peter Lawrie is sponsored by PGA Catalunya [Girona] and NewstalkFM [Dublin]

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Mixed Fortunes in Morocco Four Irish

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Paul Dunne finished three under par in the third round of the Trophée Hassan II with a score of 69 on Saturday to lead the Irish contingent on moving day. His round started with a pair of birdies and bogeys on the front nine and was followed by birdies on holes 10, 11 and 13 on the way back to the clubhouse.

The Greystones golfer lies eight strokes off the lead ahead of the final round on a one over par total along with Peter Lawrie.

Lawrie opened his account with a bogey and it was to prove a contrasting day to the good fortunes of Friday as he signed for his first double bogey in seven rounds. The par 3 ninth hole throwing up that particular bad news and seeing him reach the turn in 40 strokes. 

The back nine coughed up three birdies in a fight back that continued to the last green. But having already bogeyed 12, 13 and 16 the level par 37 could not improve on the +5 round of 77.

Gary Hurley ended three over for the day and a round of 75 the result of three dropped shots on the back nine having reached half way level par.

Kevin Phelan suffered double trouble on the Royal Golf Dar as Salam Red Course with two coming on the eighth and fourteenth to finish on 78 strokes. 

Having started with three straight pars Phelan then dropped shots on the way to the turn and carded those further losses on the back nine in the tough conditions.

On top of the leader board the troubles were of a different kind as Chris Hanson faces probably the most important round of his golfing career on Sunday as he takes a one shot lead into the final round after a five under par 67. 

The 30-year-old Qualifying School graduate a one shot leader on six under for the week.

Hanson, who finished fourth in a Challenge Tour event in Madrid last week, has never finished higher than 39th on The European Tour, but carded five birdies, two bogeys and an eagle on the par-five 12th to sit a shot clear of compatriot David Dixon and Clément Berardo of France.

Dixon came home in 33 to card a round of 67, with playing partner Berardo shooting a 68 after chipping in at the 13th.

Another Englishman, Joshua White, lies fourth after dropping two shots late on, with in-form Korean Jeunghun Wang fifth on three under.

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Weather in Shenzen Allows for Dunne Deal

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Paul Dunne was two under par after twelve holes in the third round of the Shenzen International in China when bad light stopped play.

The Greystones golfer reached the ninth tee without loss and then birdied the next two consecutive holes to reach the twelfth green -2 as darkness fell. He was among a number of players in the chase as Soomin Lee saw his lead cut to two shots by Englishman Callum Shinkwin.

The delayed third round saw a brilliant 62 from Shinkwin to put some pressure on the overnight leader.

Over six and a half hours had been lost on days one and two, meaning 35 players did not start their second rounds until Saturday morning, and Lee will have seven holes to complete in his third on Sunday.

The South Korean was one of the players who managed to complete his second round on Friday and none of those who returned on Saturday morning could reduce his three-shot overnight lead.

Lee had extended that to five after three holes of his third round with a birdie on the second but Shinkwin was stealing the show as he turned in 29 to surge through the field.

The 22 year old had played his entire second round in the morning and was in the final group to finish as he recorded a second consecutive 71 to sit just two shots above the cut-line.

He showed no signs of fatigue, though, and birdied the 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th and 16th with an eagle on the 17th to get into a five-way tie for second at nine under.

Lee Slattery birdied the fourth to get to ten under but Shinkwin joined him on the second and when the M2M Russian Open champion bogeyed the seventh, Shinkwin held second all on his own.

A long curling putt on the difficult fifth cut the gap to three shots and the Englishman also birdied the ninth for what would have been a course record at this event but for the presence of preferred lies.

"Tournament-wise it's my lowest round by three shots, so it's nice to be able to do that," he said.

"To tell the truth, I missed a couple of putts as well but it was a great round.

"I drove the ball great and on the par fives, I took advantage of the good tee shots."

Lee made nine pars in a row after that birdie on the second to get to 14 under and has yet to drop a shot this week as he hunts a first European Tour title after finishing second at the Maybank Championship Malaysia.

"I was a little bit nervous today but it turned out okay because I was chipping it well and I was making short putts so that kept me feeling confident," he said.

"I will just try and hit the fairways and hit the greens and just focus on keeping bogeys off the card.

“This week is really helping my game and my confidence. When I played in Malaysia, I felt very nervous but if I have a chance towards the end tomorrow, I think I will be better this time.”

Joost Luiten had started the third round at ten under but was one over for his round through 11 holes, alongside Paul Dunne who had played 12 and Alexander Levy who had completed 13.

Thorbjørn Olesen was then at eight under after a 67 in his third round, with Bradley Dredge, Sébastien Gros and Eduardo de la Riva all also in that group with holes to complete.

Play will resume at 6.30am on Sunday morning in China.

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Dunne in Mix as Hoey is Cut

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Paul Dunne signed for a second round 69 at the Shenzen International on Friday for a third place ahead of the weekend but some six shots adrift of the leader Soomin Lee.

Lee has yet to drop a shot at Genzon Golf Club after adding a bogey-free 65 to his opening 66 to finish 13 under par, three shots clear of the in-form Joost Luiten, who recorded a 66.

Dunne, sits three shots back alongside South Africa’s Brandon Stone after he carded rounds a 70.

More than five hours of play had been lost due to two separate thunderstorms, meaning the second round would not be completed on schedule, with 12 groups not even getting their rounds under way.

Lee had shared the overnight lead on six under with France’s Alexander Levy and carried on where he left off on Friday, starting on the back nine and carding five birdies to race to the turn in 31.

The 22-year-old also birdied the first and although he was briefly joined in the lead by Luiten, the Dutchman dropped two shots in the last five holes and a birdie on the ninth extended Lee’s advantage.

Luiten, whose second place in the Spanish Open last week was his fifth top-10 finish in eight events this season, had also started on the back nine and eagled the short par-four 11th before adding four birdies in a row from the 15th.

The world number 64 also birdied the second and fourth to join Lee on 12 under par, but dropped his first shot of the day on the difficult fifth and also bogeyed the eighth after failing to get up and down from an awkward lie on the edge of a greenside bunker.

Former Ryder Cup star Victor Dubuisson had found an unusual way to celebrate his 26th birthday, the Frenchman withdrawing from the event during the second suspension of play citing a hand injury.

Dubuisson was two under for his round and three under for the tournament after 10 holes, but had hit his tee shot deep into the trees on the par-five second before the players were called off the course.

Michael Hoey missed the cut despite a seconf rounf 71 after having carded a 76 on Thursday.

Paul Dunne Fires 68 in Shenzen

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Paul Dunne signed for an opening 68 at the Shenzhen International and carding five birdies with just one loss on Thursday in China.

Dunne joins Spain’s Eduardo de la Riva, Holland’s Joost Luiten and French duo Raphael Jacquelin and Gary Stal in joint fourth after his 68.

Michael Hoey started off at the tenth and reached the turn with two double bogeys on his card leaving him four over par 76 for the day and a fight on his hands on Friday to stay in touch for the weekend.

Dropped shots either side of the turn completed is round with a birdie 4 on his 11th (the 2nd) and another at the last - hole nine - limited nay further damage.

Alexander Levy and South Korea’s Soomin Lee share the clubhouse lead after a weather-affected opening day on Thursday.

Levy, who also led the Spanish Open with a first-round 66 last week before going on to finish 14th at Valderrama, carded six birdies and no bogeys at Genzon Golf Club to set the clubhouse target on six under par.

Lee then completed his own flawless 66 just before play was suspended for the day due to darkness, a knock-on effect of an earlier 45-minute delay caused by the threat of lightning.

The first round is scheduled to resume at 0650 local time in Friday, with South Africa’s Brandon Stone just a shot off the lead with one hole to play.

Levy, who carded a 62 at the same venue en route to his first European Tour title in the Volvo China Open in 2014, started on the back nine and raced to the turn in 31 with three birdies and an eagle on the par-five 17th.

Another birdie on the first took the 25-year-old to six under par and in sight of equalling his own course record, but the world number 110 had to settle for eight pars and an error-free scorecard.

“It’s always nice to shoot under par,” Levy told European Tour Radio.

“I have some very good memories here and it’s nice to play this course where you had your first win. I played good last week, a few bad rounds with the wind but I feel my game is in good shape and I played solid today like the last round in Valderrama.

“I gained some confidence the last few weeks and it’s nice to play a golf course you like. I know the way you need to play well here and it was a perfect day for me.

“Valderrama was really tough and I used a lot of energy on that. This week I don’t practice a lot, I just walk the course, play the pro-am and to shoot six under today was really good.”

England’s Tommy Fleetwood who feels he has some “unfinished business” in the event after missing out on the play-off by a single shot 12 months ago, carded four birdies and one bogey in his fourth consecutive round of 69.

Scotland’s Richie Ramsay was challenging for the lead at five under par after 13 holes before a hat-trick of bogeys from the 14th, but stopped the rot with a birdie on the 17th to also finish three under.

Stephen Gallacher recovered from a double bogey on the 15th with birdies on the next two holes to record a two-under-par 70 in his first tournament since February after undergoing hand surgery.

Defending champion Kiradech Aphibarnrat and two-time Masters winner Bubba Watson could only manage matching rounds of 71

Irish Duo Tested Again at Valderrama

Peter Lawrie - Getty Images

On another day of tough scoring conditions at the Real Club Valderrama Open de España, Hosted by the Sergio Garcia Foundation, only Joost Luiten and Alex Noren recorded under par rounds.

Valderrama now threatening to produce the first over par winner of a European Tour event since Justin Rose won the US Open Championship in 2013.

Paul Dunne and Peter Lawrie in the windy conditions also signed for over par rounds on Saturday.

The Greystones rookie came home in three over par after dropping three shots before the turn and just a single birdie - at the par five fourth – to complete nine holes in two over. With one more birdie on the par four 14th Dunne carded two more bogeys ending his day with a round of 74.

Lawrie was amongst the first group on Saturday morning and battled through the early stretch carding four bogeys by the halfway stage. Then five straight pars maintained some momentum from the tenth before the Dubliner dropped a shot on the par three 16th. Unable to do better than par on 16 and 17.

On the eighteenth a good drive went unrewarded when it clipped a tree to leave him unsighted and unable to better a bogey five on the last hole - for a round of 77 and share of 59th place.

“Conditions were far from easy again today, “said caddie Brendan McDaid walking off the final green “The leaderboard showed all day how tough the scoring was for the field today.”

“We left a few putts out there today which might have fallen our way,” continued McDaid, “But Valderrama was not in that kind of forgiving mood once more and gave up nothing.” 

“It’s an exacting course in these type of conditions,” McDaid concluded, “But Peter is striking the ball well and with some luck we might have been a couple of strokes better on the day.”

Leader Mike Lorenzo-Vera will take a take a one-shot advantage into the final day as he goes in search of a first European Tour title. The Frenchman’s level par round of 71 saw him stay at one over par and lead ahead of Luiten, two-time Major Championship winner Martin Kaymer and England's Andrew Johnston.

The highlight of Lorenzo-Vera’s day was his approach to the par five 17th for an eagle to spark a wild celebration and move him two ahead, before a bogey on the last cut the gap.

"I'm very excited," he said. "I'm going to have a big nap tonight because it takes so much energy to stay patient here. I'm just going to try to relax and enjoy it as much as I can tomorrow.

"I'm just trying to look at the pace of the leader board and accept that you're going to have a lot of bogeys here. A bogey on the hole is never really a bad score so you just try to accept it. Take the bogey and get out of there."

The 31-year-old was number one on The Challenge Tour in 2007 and enjoyed his best ever European Tour season last term, finishing 78th on The Race to Dubai, but he will face a tough challenge on Sunday.

Dutchman Luiten is the only player in the field with two under par rounds this week and already has four top tens to his name this season, while Kaymer is an 11-time winner on The European Tour.

Johnston has held the lead on several occasions this week and will be brimming with confidence as he goes in search of a first European Tour win.

Defending champion James Morrison signed for a 74 to sit at three over alongside fellow Englishman Ross Fisher, with Spanish duo Pablo Larrazábal and Pep Angles a further shot back.

Lorenzo-Vera reached the turn in 35 before a birdie on the 12th thanks to a stunning flop-shot got him to level par and, when Johnston bogeyed the same hole, he found himself in a share of the lead for the first time.

All those at the top of the leader board were falling back and Lorenzo-Vera did the same with bogeys on the 15th and 16th, but his spectacular hole-out on the 17th catapulted him ahead before his disappointing finish.

Johnston had been battling for top spot with overnight leader Larrazábal in the early stages and held the lead on his own after birdies on the fifth and 11th but three bogeys in a row from the 12th saw him fall back.

Kaymer twice got to level par with back-to-back birdies on the fourth and fifth, and tenth and 11th, but both times gave the advantage back, while Luiten registered five birdies and four bogeys.

Fisher overcame a double-bogey on the 12th in his 72, while Morrison also fought back well after turning in 38.

Larrazábal endured a frustrating afternoon as he carded a 78, with Angles' 74 enough to get him a shot ahead of Thomas Bjørn, Richard Bland, Alejandro Cañizares and Noren.

Peter Lawrie tees off on Sunday at 10:10hrs with Seve Benson and Alvaro Quiros.

Paul Dunne is off the first tee at 08:35hrs with Thomas Linard and Graeme Storm.

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Dunne and Lawrie Survive Spanish Inquisition

Paul Dunne makes Valderrama cut

Paul Dunne and Peter Lawrie battled the strong winds at Real Club Valderrama Open de España to survive the cut on Friday

Dunne, who went out in the morning, reached the clubhouse with 76 on the card after two double bogeys, four bogeys and three birdies for +7 - which looked like a missed cut when the leaders were -7.

But as the testing conditions took their toll the projected cut moved four strokes in the afternoon and reduced the field to 61 players and included Dunne.

Peter Lawrie teed off late in the afternoon and reached the turn one over par after two bogeys wiped out the birdie on the the par 3 third hole. 

On the run for home Lawrie was focused on the cut line and four pars, a birdie on the   eleventh helped him on his way. Even consecutive dropped shots on the 13th and 14th saw the Dubliner looking safe. 

However on the last a bogey five almost ended some good work in the tricky conditions with the round 2 74 proving enough to ensure weekend play. 

Leader Pablo Larrazábal recorded a level par round of 71 to open up a two-shot lead at the halfway stage of the event Hosted by the Sergio Garcia Foundation.

After 15 players broke par in perfect, benign conditions on day one, the wind played its part in the second round, with only Peter Hanson and Mike Lorenzo-Vera able to get round in 70 as Valderrama showed just why it is regarded as one of the ultimate tests in world golf.

That made the round of home favourite Larrazábal all the more impressive as he stayed at three under and held off the challenge of England's Andrew Johnston.

Defending champion James Morrison, Alejandro Cañizares and first round leader Alexander Levy were then at level par, with Pep Angles, Richard Bland, Craig Lee and Lorenzo-Vera a further shot back.

Larrazábal came into Friday two shots behind Levy but got to seven under after ten holes to open up a two-shot lead. 

A bogey on the second and bunker trouble on the third dropped him back to his starting position, but that was enough to give the four-time European Tour winner the advantage heading into the weekend.

"To shoot level in these conditions is a great feeling and to have a chance on the last to go into the red figures is something really special," he said.

"I said to my playing partners that I only missed one shot today really bad, and I made triple-bogey. I made so many great saves – like the 17th, the putt I made from the back of there was great.

"I didn't play my best golf, but on another golf course I would have gone six, seven under par because of the way I fought, so I'm very pleased.

If the wind blows like this a level par or more total will win this. If I shoot level par over the weekend I will be in the fight - Pablo Larrazábal

As the vast bulk of the field struggled, Larrazábal looked like he was playing a different course in the early stages, making birdies on the 11th, 12th, 17th and first. 

An errant tee-shot on the second led to a bogey and, after taking two attempts to get out of a bunker and three putts on the par three next, an impressive recovery saw the Spaniard par his way home.

Johnston had held the lead following birdies on the tenth and second but eventually signed for a 74 with three birdies, three bogeys and a double on the third.

Englishman Morrison and Spaniard Cañizares both signed for rounds of 75 in the morning, which became increasingly valuable as the day went on, while Frenchman Levy recovered well from five bogeys in his first eight holes to record a 76.

Young Spaniard Angles was one of just four players to get round in level par 71, with Englishman Bland and Scot Lee both recording rounds of 72.

Two-time Major Championship winner Martin Kaymer was then at two over alongside France's Grégory Bourdy, England's Ross Fisher and another home favourite in Jordi Garcia Pinto.

Finn Roope Kakko recorded the 18th hole-in-one in Open de España history when he holed a seven iron from 200 yards on the 12th.

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Irish Trio Struggle at Pebble Beach

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Pádraig Harrington was thebest of the three Irish after a seocnd round 71 at the AT&T Pro- am in Pebble Beach on Friday - seven strokes of the lead.

Harrington is in his second week of a four-tournament stretch leading up to his defence of the Honda Classic at the end of the month, and used a missed cut at Phoenix to work on elements of his game. 

Playing his second round at Pebble Beach, the Dubliner claimed another birdie on the Par 5 sixth, finding the green with a 3-wood approach from 237 yards and two-putting before adding a third birdie on the 10th where he hit a 170 yards approach from the left rough to 20 feet and rolled in the putt. A wayward drive into rough on the 16th proved costly though as Harrington bogeyed the 16th to drop back to two-under for his round (and five-under for the tournament).

As South Korean Sung Kang shot the lights out to grab the clubhouse lead in the AT&T Pebble Beach pro-am, Phil Mickelson provided proof of the old adage that class is permanent.

Kang briefly flirted with posting a magical 59 - before having to settle for a 60 that gave him a midway total of 11-under-par 231 - as Mickelson, a four-time winner of the tournament, reminded everyone of his pedigree with a second round 65 for 10-under-par.

Of the three Irish players in the field, three-time Major champion Pádraig Harrington - benefitting from a couple of chip-ins - led the way as he moved into contention with 71 for four-under 139. But Shane Lowry, coming into the tournament on the back of a tied-13th in Torrey Pines and a tied-sixth finish in Phoenix, and Paul Dunne struggled until late rallies and both face a battle to survive the three round cut.

Paul Dunne, playing on a sponsor’s exemption, struggled at the famed links and was heavily penalised for finding a number of bunkers. That tendency to find sand was apparent from the first hole when he found a greenside bunker and suffered an opening bogey.

On the second, Dunne’s drive found a fairway bunker and compounded matters by also finding a greenside bunker on the Par 5 en route to another bogey. Further bogeys followed on the fifth and eighth, the only bright light coming with a tap-in birdie on the sixth. Dunne’s homeward run also featured further visits to sand traps, with bogeys on the 12th and 14th. A 10-footer for birdie on the Par 3 17th got him back to one-over overall before an eight-footer on the 18th left him on level-par 143 alongside Lowry.

Lowry - playing alongside Harrington - got off to a good start with an opening birdie but gave the shot back immediately with a bogey on the second, where he drove into a fairway bunker and then compounded matters by finding another trap with his next shot. Although Lowry managed a birdie on the sixth, he then suffered back-to-back bogeys on the eighth and ninth to turn in one-over 37.

Mickelson set the course alight at Monterrey Peninsula with a front nine of 29 that featured five birdies and no bogeys. But such fireworks failed to continue on the run home as he added two birdies and suffered two bogeys, including a dropped shot on the 18th, to finish with a 65 which tied his best low round at the course in 2012. On that occasion, he went on to win the tournament.

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