The Irish Golf Club Gazette: 2014 Ryder Cup

Showing posts with label 2014 Ryder Cup. Show all posts

1/14/2016

Captain Clarke Ready for Battle

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Darren Clarke will put his captaincy skills to the test in this weekend’s EurAsia Cup before he tries to lead Europe to an eighth Ryder Cup victory in the last 10 contests in October.

Clarke insists the clash with the United States at Hazeltine will be at the back of his mind when his side take on Asia in Kuala Lumpur, although the parallels between the two events are hard to escape.

Ian Poulter, one of Clarke’s two wild cards, will partner Austria’s Bernd Wiesberger in Friday’s opening fourball match against Anirban Lahiri and Korea’s Jeunghun Wang.

Clarke’s other wild card and nine-time Ryder Cup player Lee Westwood has been entrusted with the anchor role, partnering fellow Englishman Chris Wood against Kiradech Aphibarnrat and SSP Chawrasia.

Yorkshiremen Danny Willett and Matt Fitzpatrick could be another European pair in Minnesota and they face Byeong-hun An and Thongchai Jaidee, while Victor Dubuisson and Soren Kjeldsen take on Danny Chia and Nicholas Fung.

Ross Fisher and Kristoffer Broberg face Prayad Marksaeng and KT Kim before WGC-Bridgestone Invitational winner Shane Lowry and Andy Sullivan play Wu Ashun and Shingo Katayama.

“Obviously there’s Ryder Cup stuff going on in the back of my mind with possible pairings, but first and foremost, it’s about the EurAsia Cup this week,” Clarke said.

“We’re here to try and win, as Jeev (Milkha Singh, Asia’s captain) is with his team. The thoughts and everything I’m trying to do is going towards this week.

“When we’re finished this week, if we come back with a few pairings and hopefully if I’ve learned something from this week come September, then so be it. First and foremost, it’s definitely this week and the EurAsia Cup.”

Poulter has been a talismanic figure in the Ryder Cup, earning the nicknames of ’Mr Ryder Cup’ and the ’Postman’ because he always delivers a point for the side.

The 40-year-old had won an incredible 80 per cent of his matches before the 2014 contest, but two halves and one defeat saw that drop to 72.22 per cent, with Justin Rose now just behind at 71.42 per cent after three wins and two halves at Gleneagles.

“The reason why I certainly like the Ryder Cup and obviously this format is because it’s the purest form of golf. It’s match play,” Poulter said. “You see your opponent right in the face and you can go out there and you can make a difference.

“You can hole a chip shot; you can hole a bunker shot; you can hole a long putt; you can turn a match around. In stroke-play events, that doesn’t really happen, but in match play, it does.

“The second you hit that first tee shot, you want to get your opponent off the golf course as soon as possible. This format really excites me.”

The inaugural contest in 2014 finished in a 10-10 draw after Asia fought back from being whitewashed in the opening session and trailing 7-3 heading into the singles.

“I’m really excited about this,” captain Singh said. “Both the teams are very strong. At the end of the day I think whoever holes more putts, good course management, that’s what it’s all going to come down to.

“Both the sides are really experienced. But I still feel my team looks very good. I’m positive, I’m excited, and I believe in my team that they are going to do really well.”

1/12/2016

Godspeed Christy............

Christy O’Connor Jnr’s strong faith “came to his rescue” after his 17-year-old son’s death, his funeral was told today.

President Michael D Higgins was among several hundred mourners to attend the funeral at Galway Cathedral.

The crowd also included Taoiseach Enda Kenny’s aide-de-camp Commandant Kieran Carey , golfers Sam Torrance, Paul McGinley, Shane Lowry, des Smyth and Eamon D’Arcy, former taoiseach Brian Cowen, businessman Denis O’Brien, former rugby international Keith Wood, horse trainer Mouse Morris and Fine Gael TD and former football manager John O’Mahony

In his homily , Fr Michael Kelly referenced O’Connor Jnr’s son, Darren, who died in a 1998 road crash. He said the golfer “spoke openly and confidently of his conviction that he would meet Darren again - not quite so soon, I imagine. He prayed to him and for him and was convinced that Darren came to his assistance more than once.”

He added: “Unfortunately that same belief will not fill the vacant chair or the emptiness you are experiencing in your hearts today. But the support and prayers of the thousands of friends who shook your hands these last few days will carry you through the various stages of your loss and mourning.”

Fr Kelly said a steady flow of glowing tributes have been paid in the days since O’Connor Jnr died. “I have no doubt Christy had a large number of very close personal friends but he had the gift of making every acquaintance feel that they were special - and he treated them accordingly,” he said.

“They were all tributes to ‘a great human being’, whom we had the privilege to be associated with in one way or another. He was a proud Galway man, an Irishman and a European. His leaving has left our world a poorer place. He was one in a million.”

He best remembered for a lead role in the Ryder Cup win in 1989. During his funeral Paul McGinley brought the Ryder Cup up to his coffin.

Musicians who played during his funeral included Frankie Gavin and Sean Keane .

O’Connor Jnr had been on holiday in Tenerife when he died suddenly last Wednesday.

Tributes were paid to the golfer from across the world of sport, society and politics, with the golfer fondly remembered for his good nature, generosity and most famously for defying the odds to help Europe beat the US, thanks to a stunning two iron from 200 yards to within feet of the 18th hole at The Belfry.

O’Connor Jnr is survived by his wife Ann, son Nigel and daughter Ann.

The golfer’s other son, Darren, died in a road crash in 1998 aged 17.

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.

5/22/2015

Rory McIlroy Cut at Wentworth

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Rory McIlroy limped to a disappointing early exit from the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth after missing the halfway cut by four shots.

The world No 1 again looked out of sorts and short on energy as he stuttered to an error-strewn second-round 78 featuring six bogeys and a double-bogey at the 11th, finishing well down the field on five over par.

Playing the fourth of five tournaments in succession, McIlroy had admitted he was mentally fatigued following his opening 71 which was littered with frustrated outbursts, including hurling his three-wood away in disgust at the 17th which could incur a fine from the European Tour.

Despite having a later tee time for day two, McIlroy was clearly still suffering the effects of his busy schedule and, after opening with a pair of pars, he found three bunkers on the third hole alone before salvaging a bogey with an excellent up-and-down.

McIlroy dropped another shot at the fifth, although he gave himself a lift with a birdie at the eighth before making a torrid start to the back nine. He followed a bogey at 10 with an ugly six at the 11th after another wayward tee shot forced him to take an unplayable lie, and he then hooked his third into the crowd and hit a spectator.

He bunkered another errant drive at the 13th and again failed to save par, and his shoulders sagged further after another bogey at 16 ended any slim hopes of being around for the weekend.

A birdie at 17 was scant consolation, and his performance was summed up at the last when he sculled his second from the left rough to short of the green, pitched 15 feet past the flag and three-putted to close with a six.

McIlroy had not missed a cut in a European Tour event since last June's Irish Open, a tournament he is hosting next week at Royal County Down before he takes a well-earned break prior to preparing for next month's US Open at Chambers Bay.

"I'm not going to read too much into it," he said afterwards. "It was inevitable at some point the run was going to come to a bit of an end. I am back to my usual at Wentworth! It was not great before last year and it has not been great this year.

"I think it was a bit of mental fatigue, especially when I was trying to muster up a few birdies coming down the back nine. I just couldn't get anything going. I would much rather be here for the weekend but if any good comes of this I have a couple of days over the weekend to refresh myself and I will be okay for next week.

"I'm not angry, just a little disappointed I'm not going to be here for the weekend. But coming off the back of three good weeks in the States, I'm probably in need of a rest. I'd rather still be here, but it's not all bad getting to go home for the weekend.

"Any time you're defending a title, you want to come back and give it a valiant effort. This week wasn't really that, but I'll dust myself off and get ready for a big week next week at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open."

1/07/2015

McGinley Expects Rory Tiger Battle

Paul McGinley believes a head-to-head battle between Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods over the next year would be "great for our sport".

McIlroy soared to the top of the world rankings after winning two majors in 2014 while Woods spent most of the year on the sidelines following back surgery.

Woods returned to action last month as he hosted the Hero World Challenge in Florida armed with a "new, old swing" constructed under the watchful eye of biomechanics coach Chris Como.

The 39-year-old was generally consistent from tee to green, but his short-game was in disarray as he finished last in the elite 18-man field - 26 shots behind runaway winner Jordan Spieth.

"Rivalries are what sport is built on. For somebody to rise up this year and have a real head-to-head battle with Rory would be great for our sport"

But McGinley expects a healthy Woods to climb back up the world rankings this year, and the victorious Ryder Cup captain hopes to see a number of showdowns between the 14-time major champion and McIlroy.

"I saw Tiger play in his tournament and the one thing that was very clear, and speaking to some of the guys that have played with him recently too, is that he's got his distance back," McGinley told Reuters.

"If you are playing at the top level in professional golf now you've got to be hitting the ball a long way. Rory has got that, he's one of the longest hitters in the world, and it looks like Tiger has got that back. That's going to be a big asset for him.

"Rivalries are what sport is built on. For somebody to rise up this year and have a real head-to-head battle with Rory would be great for our sport."

Woods has attracted many critics over the last few years for his on-course behaviour as well as his infamous off-course transgressions, but McGinley admits he remains the star attraction every time he tees up.

"Tiger is one of those guys that moves the needle in so many ways," added McGinley. "Not everybody is a fan of Tiger and some people like to see him doing badly so he moves the needle one way or the other.

"On the other side it's been seven years since he won a major championship. There's pressure on him to reach Jack Nicklaus' record of 18 major wins and it'll be interesting to see how competitive he is this year.

Back in the swing

"If he gets into contention at a major, will he be able to follow through and win? He's made changes, he has gone back to trying to find the golf swing he used as a young boy and a swing that comes natural to him.

"It's very difficult to do what Tiger has done. Very few players have done that. Nick Faldo did it and Padraig Harrington did it, completely ripping apart their swings, putting it back together and still being successful.

"Tiger has gone backwards and it will be interesting to see if he can use that to go forwards and use it as a base to win major championships again."

But McGinley also expects McIlroy to add significantly to his tally of four major crowns, and he believes the Northern Irishman will be tough to dislodge at the top of the world rankings.

He said: "There are a lot more wins in Rory yet. He's incredibly talented, he's proved himself at the very top level and he's the undisputed No 1 player in the world."

9/02/2014

Gleneages Social Media Ban

Rory McIlroy could find himself unwittingly on the wrong side of the law if he tweets another 'selfie’ from the Ryder Cup.

At the Hoylake Open in July, McIlroy tweeted a photo of himself holding the victor’s claret jug to his 2 million followers on Twitter.

However, the competition organisers have introduced a ban on uploading photographs to the internet via social media during the event at Gleneagles in Scotland later this month.

No audio or video capture is permitted at all during the six-day event as the Professional Golfers’ Association of America (PGA) and the PGA European Tour want to make sure their image is intact, and players are not distracted.

Anyone contravening the lengthy list of regulations will have their mobile device or camera confiscated for the duration of the day.

Social media expert Prof Sarah Pedersen, of Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, said the regulation may be difficult to enforce.

Referring to a recent request from Kate Bush, the singer, that fans should not take pictures during her current tour, Prof Pedersen said: “There are always going to be people who want to break the law. I think Kate Bush was very lucky because she had this incredibly loyal and very excited audience.”

She said of the Ryder Cup ban: “It is something we will see an increase in. There are all sorts of reasons behind this, to do with sponsorship.”

Prof Pedersen added: “If you have got people there with mobile phones instantly uploading things to the internet then of course you have no control over what sort of image is being presented of your event.”

Over 250,000 spectators are expected to witness the clash between America and Europe at Gleneagles, which culminates on Sept 26 – 28. The ground regulations warn ticketholders, who have paid up to £1,500 a day, that no audio or video capture is permitted and no still photography except on practice days.

The rules also state: “Images taken with a camera, mobile phone or other electronic device cannot be used for any purpose other than for private and domestic purposes. You must not sell, license, publish (including, without limitation, via Twitter or Facebook or any other social media site) or otherwise commercially exploit photographs.”

While texting is allowed, and calls in designated areas, mobile phones must be in silent mode at all times. Other prohibitions include a ban on autographs, running, personal mobility scooters and children under five.

A spokesman for Ryder Cup Europe said: “The Ryder Cup is one of the world’s most recognised sporting events and as such we need to ensure that the brand, encompassing fair play, teamwork and camaraderie is protected at all times which means ensuring that images of the event are not used for monetary gain in a manner which may go against those principles.

“The taking of pictures during high pressure sporting events has also been shown to have an adverse effect on players, with shutter sounds and bright flashes proving to be a distraction at critical moments. It is not fair to compromise the sporting occasion for either the players or those spectating.”

8/28/2013

McGinley Honour at Celtic Manor

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Paul McGinley, the 2014 European Ryder Cup captain, will have the honour of striking the opening shot on Thursday morning as the race for Ryder Cup points begins in the ISPS Handa Wales Open.

The Celtic Manor Resort, the scene of the European Team’s dramatic victory in 2010, provides the perfect setting this week as the battle commences to clinch the nine automatic spots in Paul McGinley’s 12-man team for The 2014 Ryder Cup.

The Irishman will lead from the front at the first tee alongside the 2012 Qualifying School winner John Parry and 2012 Challenge Tour Number One Espen Kofstad.

“I am absolutely thrilled to be striking the first shot in the race for The 2014 Ryder Cup,” said McGinley. “While I have obviously ruled myself out of the running to battle for a place in the team, as the Captain and the leader I am extremely proud to lead the lines for my prospective team members.

“There is going to be fierce competition for those nine spots and I'm sure there are many players at The Celtic Manor Resort this week with their eyes focused firmly on a place in my team.

“It also gives me great pleasure to hit the first shot of the tournament, as this is always been a special event for me, especially since my victory here at The Celtic Manor Resort in 2001.”

McGinley will be joined by two players who know all about making the grade in high-pressured qualification processes, with Parry having won Qualifying School in December of last year to claim the first card for The 2013 Race to Dubai.

Kofstad, meanwhile, produced a magnificent performance on the final day of the 2012 Challenge Tour Grand Final to claim the title and in the process seal a rookie season on The European Tour.

Thongchai Jaidee will begin the defence of his title at 13:15 playing alongside 2011 Open Champion Darren Clarke and Spain’s Rafa Cabrero-Bello.

Other groups which catch the eye include the 08:05 group of Spaniards Miguel Angel Jiménez and Gonzalo Fernandez-Castaño and Denmark’s Thorbjørn Olesen, who start on the 11th tee.

Last week’s winner on The European Tour at the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles, Tommy Fleetwood, plays in the group immediately afterwards - on the 11th tee at 08:15 - alongside 2010 Ryder Cup European team member Francesco Molinari and Finland’s Mikko Ilonen.

One of the home hopes and the course record-holder at The Celtic Manor Resort, Rhys Davies, will play alongside American Peter Uihlein and Frenchman Raphaël Jacquelin.

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