McGeady in NI Open Mix

Michael McGeady is one behind the leaders after firing a six-under 65 on day one in the Northern Ireland Open at Galgorm Castle.

McGeady was one behind German Bernd Ritthammer and England's James Ruth.

Ross McGowan, Norway's Jens Dantorp and Scot Andrew McArthur and Dutchman Daan Huizing joined McGeady on 65.

Nick Dougherty and Oliver Wilson both showed a return to form as they carded rounds of 66 with Gareth Shaw firing a 68 and Michael Hoey on 70.

Nuremberg-born Ritthammer, who finished second in the Challenge de Espana event in June, fired a flawless seven-birdie 64 as he took advantage of the benign conditions at the Ballymena course and was later joined by 28-year-old Plymouth native Ruth.

Donegal-based McGeady is playing in only his second Challenge Tour event of the year.

McGeady, 35, has a Challenge Tour victory to his name after triumphing at the Wales Challenge in 2008 but lost his card for the second-tier European circuit at the end of the 2011 season.

However, McGeady clearly likes the Galgorm course as he achieved top-six finishes in the two most recent EuroPro events staged at the Ballymena venue.

The Derry man's round on Thursday included a remarkable nine birdies as he produced tidy halves of 32 and 33.

Former Madrid Masters champion McGowan, who narrowly missed out on earning a Ryder Cup place in 2010, also carded a 65 which was highlighted by an eagle-three at the last.

Dougherty, who like McGowan is now aged 31, has had three European Tour wins in his career but he has struggled badly for form over the past three seasons.

Liverpool-born Dougherty has earned less than £400 in 10 Challenge Tour events this season and lies 252nd in the rankings.

However, he showed signs of a return to form on Thursday in his seven-birdie 66 while 2008 European Ryder Cup player Wilson dropped only one shot as he matched Dougherty's round.

Also on 66 was another Englishman Andrew Johnston whose round included a hole in one at the seventh.

Ballymena amateur Dermot McElroy was in a large group sharing 15th place on 67

Local hope Shaw found himself at one over par on two occasions in his opening nine but five birdies in nine holes saw him improve to four under before he finished with a disappointing six at the long 18th.

Shaw, who shared fifth place at the Irish Open in June, is currently chasing a European Tour card for 2014 both from the Race to Dubai and Challenge Tour routes.

Shaw's 68 was matched by former Walker Cup player Jonathan Caldwell and Alan Dunbar but favourite and tournament ambassador Hoey carded a rather scrappy 70 which included four bogeys.

Recent Russian Open champion Hoey bogeyed three of his opening six holes to slip to two over and needed birdies at the 15th and last to better par.

Dunbar's 2011 Walker Cup team-mate Paul Cutler faces a battle to make Friday evening's cut after an opening 74.

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Hoey Drives NI Open Challenge

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Michael Hoey will make his first appearance in a regular Challenge Tour event for five years when he competes in this week’s inaugural Northern Ireland Open Challenge Presented by Clannah and XJET, a tournament he has helped to promote in his role as ambassador.

The five-time European Tour champion is one of 24 Irishmen, drawn evenly from the North and Republic of Ireland, who will tee up at Galgorm Castle Golf Club and Estates in Ballymena, Country Antrim.

Hoey’s most recent victory came in the M2M Russian Open at the end of July, and he comes into the event on the back of another solid performance in last week’s Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles, where he finished in joint 28th place.

Whilst Hoey would dearly love to his tally of three Challenge Tour titles, much of the Ulsterman’s focus this week will be on his ambassadorial role for the €170,000 event.

He said: “I was more than happy to be the face of the tournament, and it’s a real honour and privilege to be able to help out the government and the Challenge Tour. I played on the Challenge Tour for a few years so I know how tough the competition is, and I’ll have to play very well just to contend.

“Some of the winning scores on the Challenge Tour this year and last have been unbelievable, so I’m under no illusions as to how difficult it’s going to be to get in contention, let alone win. There’s a huge difference in the standard from when I was playing five years ago to now.

“But my main aim this week isn’t necessarily to win the tournament – the main goal is to be an ambassador for the tournament. Hopefully everyone likes the venue, and we can have a great week. I’ve played the course three times on sponsors’ days this year, so I know it well. It’s a good parkland course and it’s in a beautiful location, so I’m sure the guys will enjoy playing there.

“The success of the Irish Open in Portrush showed what an appetite there is amongst the public for professional golf tournaments in Northern Ireland, so hopefully we can get some good crowds and keep the feel-good factor high.”

Calgorm Castle Golf Club’s touring professional Gareth Shaw will hope to build on some noteworthy results this season, with the highlight a top five finish in The Irish Open in June.

Shaw will be joined in County Antrim by his compatriots Paul Cutler and Alan Dunbar, the latter of whom won the 2012 Amateur Championship at Royal Troon. 

The duo formed a dynamic pairing in the 2011 Walker Cup, winning both their foursome matches as Great Britain & Ireland defeated their American counterparts 14-12 at Royal Aberdeen Golf Club.

Other notable names in the field include in-form Portuguese José-Filipe Lima, currently second in the Challenge Tour Rankings thanks to a series of eye-catching performances which includes a tied third place finish at last week’s Rolex Trophy; and Frenchman François Calmels, bidding to gain instant promotion to The European Tour with a third victory of the season. 

This week’s tournament will mark the first Irish Challenge Tour event since the 2009 Challenge of Ireland while the last time Northern Ireland hosted a Challenge Tour event was in 2003, when Darren Clarke won the Benmore Developments Northern Ireland Masters.

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GB & Ireland Win Walker Cup

Great Britain and Ireland, bolstered by the undefeated records of Paul Cutler and Rhys Pugh, won the Walker Cup for the first time since 2003 at Royal Aberdeen Golf Club Sunday with a 14-12 victory over the USA.

Cutler, 22, of Northern Ireland, and the winner of the 2011 Irish Amateur, compiled a 3-0-1 mark. Welshman Pugh, the youngest competitor on either side at 17, was a perfect 3-0. He won the 2011 Irish Amateur Open and will attend East Tennessee State University in the USA this fall.

GB&I has now claimed four of the last five Walker Cups played on home soil, dating to 1995 at Royal Porthcawl in Wales.

“I said to the boys at lunchtime that we haven’t done it yet,” said GB&I captain Nigel Edwards. “We had to get on with it because the Americans are great players. I had a lot of faith in these boys as I’ve said all week. They are a great bunch. They want to win. They have a lot of passion and desire.”

In the windiest conditions yet of the two-day biennial competition in Sunday morning’s foursomes (alternate-shot), GB&I won three matches and tied a fourth to increase its lead to 10½-5½. With winds gusting to 30-35 mph and the outward nine playing downwind, GB&I jumped out to substantial leads in three matches and gained three points to just a half point for the USA, thanks to the victories of the tandems of Jack Senior and Andy Sullivan; Cutler and Alan Dunbar and James Byrne and Pugh.

The lone USA half-point came from Jordan Spieth and Patrick Rodgers. Spieth holed an 18-foot par putt at the 18th hole to halve the match against Tom Lewis and Michael Stewart.

The USA won the first two matches of the afternoon singles sessions to cut into the GB&I lead, but Steven Brown’s halve with the USA’s Blayne Barber in the sixth match earned the necessary 13½ points to win the Match for the first time since GB&I prevailed at Ganton Golf Club in England in 2003.

The USA’s 6½-3½ margin in singles was its only session victory among the four played. The teams split eight singles matches on Saturday.

“Our preparation and the desire to be successful,” said Edwards of the keys to victory. “I told them they were very special people and they deserve to be here. And all they have to do is go out and perform and look after their ball because it’s not played on paper.

The GB&I victory breaks a string of three consecutive wins by the USA in the Match.

“Oh, gosh, these guys, they played so hard, and with so much heart,” said USA captain Jim Holtgrieve said, himself a three-time Walker Cup participant. “They went out and did exactly why they got on this team; because they know exactly how to play in competition and that's what they showed this afternoon.”

Peter Uihlein, the 2010 U.S. Amateur champion, improved to 4-0 in singles matches with his 2-and-1 win over Stiggy Hodgson, leaving the Oklahoma State All-American just one win behind Bob Jones, who was 5-0-0. Jordan Spieth, a two-time U.S. Junior Amateur champion, was the top point-getter for the USA with a 2-0-1 mark.

To commemorate 10 years since the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001, the USA wore commemorative hats with the words, “Never Forget” inscribed on the side along with the years 2001 and 2011. Holtgrieve also read a letter prior to play from former President George W. Bush and a brief moment of silence was held at the closing ceremony.

The USA now holds a 9-4 lead in Walker Cup matches played in Scotland. The USA still leads the overall series, 34-8-1.

A victory in each match scores one point. In the event a match is tied after 18 holes, one-half point is awarded to each side. In the event of a tie in team score, the team that won the previous competition retains the trophy.

The Walker Cup is a biennial amateur contest between 10-player teams from Great Britain and Ireland and the United States of America. The next competition is scheduled for Sept. 7-8, 2013 at The National Golf Links of America in Southampton, N.Y.

Aberdeen, Scotland – Results from Sunday’s foursomes (alternate-shot) and singles matches on Day 2 of the 43rd Walker Cup Match, being contested at the 6,873-yard, par-70 Royal Aberdeen Golf Club. 

Foursomes (GB&I, 3½-½) 

Jordan Spieth and Patrick Rodgers (USA) halved with Tom Lewis and Michael Stewart (GB&I)

Jack Senior and Andy Sullivan (GB&I) def. Peter Uihlein and Harris English (USA), 3 and 2

Paul Cutler and Alan Dunbar (GB&I) def. Kelly Kraft and Blayne Barber (USA), 2 and 1

James Byrne and Rhys Pugh (GB&I) def. Patrick Cantlay and Chris Williams (USA), 5 and 3

Singles (GB&I, 3½-6½) 

Russell Henley (USA) def. Tom Lewis (GB&I), 4 and 2

Jordan Spieth (USA) def. Andy Sullivan (GB&I), 3 and 2

Nathan Smith (USA) halved with Jack Senior (GB&I)

Michael Stewart (GB&I) def. Patrick Rodgers (USA), 3 and 2

Peter Uihlein (USA) def. Stiggy Hodgson (GB&I), 2 and 1

Blayne Barber (USA) halved with Steven Brown (GB&I)

Rhys Pugh (GB&I) def. Kelly Kraft (USA), 2 and 1

Chris Williams (USA) def. Alan Dunbar (GB&I), 1 up

Harris English (USA) def. James Byrne (GB&I), 2 and 1

Patrick Cantlay (USA) halved with Paul Cutler (GB&I)

Day 1 (GB&I 7, USA 5) 

Day 2 (GB&I 7, USA 7) 

Totals (GB&I 14, USA 12)