Deja-vu for GMAC at Alstom

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Graeme McDowell will go in search of a successful title defence for the first time in his illustrious career at this week’s Alstom Open de France, but a world-class field stands between the Irishman and a repeat triumph at Le Golf National. 

The World Number 20 cruised to victory by four shots on the outskirts of Paris 12 months ago, but with his fellow Major Champion Martin Kaymer, rising star Victor Dubuisson and the current Race to Dubai leader Thomas Björn all amongst the protagonists, McDowell will be hard pushed to match the feats of Jean-François Remesy, the last player to mount a successful defence of the title in 2004-2005. 

McDowell’s last competitive appearance was in the Irish Open, where he narrowly missed out on delivering what would have been an emotional home victory. But a tied sixth finish was McDowell’s best performance in a stroke play event this season, and boosted his hopes of a fourth successive Ryder Cup appearance in September. 

Kaymer all but secured his place in Captain Paul McGinley’s team after his stunning US Open triumph, but the German – who took the Open de France title in 2009 after a play-off with Lee Westwood – will be keen to bounce back from a disappointing homecoming in last week’s BMW International Open, where he missed the cut. 

Björn, who was recently sidelined for three weeks with neck and shoulder injuries, fared rather better on his return to duty in Germany, recording his sixth top ten finish of a superb season to extend his lead over Kaymer at the top of The Race to Dubai to €62,126. 

But with a €3million prize fund available at the 98th edition of the Open de France, which was first played back in 1906, victory for Kaymer would see him usurp the Dane at the top of the standings. 

Fabrizio Zanotti will bid to become the first player to win back to back titles this season after his breakthrough victory in the BMW International Open. 

Having become the first Paraguayan to win on The European Tour, Zanotti will now hope to join a roll call of winners which includes no fewer than 20 Major Champions. 

Welshman Jamie Donaldson, currently in fourth place in The Race to Dubai, also arrives in Versailles in fine fettle after his tied fifth finish behind Zanotti in Cologne, where he missed out on making it a five-way play-off by a single stroke. 

The same applies to Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee, currently in a rich vein of form after claiming his fifth European Tour title in the recent Nordea Masters. 

Other notable names in the field include former winners Thomas Levet and Marcel Siem; European and US PGA Tour champion Kevin Stadler of America; rising English star Matthew Fitzpatrick, who continues his education in the professional ranks; and hot young French prospects Julien Brun and Jérôme Lando Casanova.

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Three Irish Remain in BMW Race

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Shane Lowry signed for a round of 68 and Michael Hoey 69 to remain three shots off the pace set by the four joint leaders at the BMW International Open in Cologne on Friday.

Lowry carded five birdies with only the one bogey on the par four 10t with Hoey mixing a triple bogey seven on the first hole, and three bogeys to damage a nine birdie. 

Damien McGrane shot 71 to make the cut at four-under- par.

Gareth Maybin, Kevin Phelan, Paul McGinley, Peter Lawrie and Simon Thornton missed the cut.

Rafa Cabrera-Bello and Pablo Larrazabal were joined at the head of the leaderboard on 12-under- par by 2012 BMW International Open champions Danny Willett and Argentina's Emiliano Grillo.

Six players, including Miguel Angel Jimenez were on 10-under-par, and Hoey and Lowry finished in a group of eight sitting just three shots back on nine under.

Martin Kaymer missed the cut by four shots on level-par 142.

Fellow German Marcel Siem looked like he might also miss the cut until a final flourish where he birdied five of the last six holes to not only make the cut but also force his way into contention at eight-under-par with a 66.

Of the leaders, Larrazabal made the greatest gain with a nine under par 63 to reach 12-under 132, a 36 hole total matched by Grillo with a 66, and the two overnight leaders Cabrera-Bello and Willett who shot matching 68s.

Cabrera-Bello had the misfortune of a double-hit out of the rough on the par five seventh hole, his 16th, but 68 kept him on track.

Willett, who was playing alongside Cabrera-Bello, then had to avoid calamity of his own shortly after – as they closed on the ninth – when he horribly shanked his approach.

The Englishman was lucky to clear water away to his right as his ball nestled near the 18th green. He pitched back over the lake to scramble par and stay level with Cabrera-Bello.

"I'm pleased with my score but more pleased with the way I played. I felt I played really well today. I was a little unlucky coming down the last few holes but overall pleased with minus four," said Cabrera-Bello.

David Higgins was a withdrawal in round 2.

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Hoey Scents Chance in Cologne

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Michael Hoey signed for six under par, 66, in the opening round of the BMW International Open in Cologne, to remain two strokes behind the joint leaders, England’s Danny Willett and Spain’s Rafa Cabrera Bello

Hoey carded six birdies on the first, third, fifth, 10th, 13th and 15th holes. 

Shane Lowry finished five under on 67 with eagle on the 13th and five birdies the highlights.

Kevin Phelan signed for a 68 including four birdies and level scores on the remaining holes.

Damien McGrane was a stroke further back after a round of 69. 

Gareth Maybin signed for a (71).

Paul McGinley rounded in 72 but along with Peter Lawrie on 73, David Higgins signing for 75 and Simon Thornton on 76 are on the wrong side of the projected cut line. All will need a good Friday to see weekend action.

Martin Kaymer’s return to action following the second major victory of his career gave his home crowd little to really cheer on the first day of the .

In perfect scoring conditions at Gut Larchenhof the German disappointingly found himself five shots off the early lead. Starting at the 10th, two birdies in three holes were quickly undone by a double bogey at the short 16th and another dropped shot at the 18th took him to the turn in one over.

Three successive birdies immediately got him back to two under but having hit his second into a greenside bunker at the 577-yard seventh he failed to get out of the trap from an awkward lie and bogeyed to finish one under.

Storm, by contrast, was bogey-free as, after reaching the turn at two under, he carded four birdies in five holes from the 11th to set the clubhouse lead at six under.

He was later joined by Hansen, who also did not drop a shot, Stal who got to seven under through 16 holes — including an eagle at the par-four ninth — before making his only bogey of the morning at the 17th, and Campillo.

Robert Karlsson, who started on the back nine, looked set for a low score after reaching the turn on five under but eight pars — interrupted by a dropped shot at the eighth — meant he finished the day two shots off the lead.

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Daly Milk Leads to 68

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John Daly spent three months putting ice on his elbow and chocolate milk in his belly, and he returned Thursday feeling better than he has in years.

Playing for the first time since surgery to repair the tendon in his right elbow, Daly played bogey-free in strong wind and opened with a 4-under 68 in the BMW Masters and was alone in second place, three shots behind Luke Guthrie.

Daly withdrew after three holes of the second round at The Greenbrier Classic on July 5 and had surgery a week later. He figured he would be out for at least four months, but returned a few weeks earlier than his doctor expected.

"I've always been a quick healer. I don't know why," Daly said. "He figured four months. I did everything he told me to do. I usually don't listen to anybody."

Daly received a sponsor's exemption into the BMW Masters, in part because of a relationship formed when he won the BMW International Open in Germany in 2001. The wind blew about 30 mph across many of the holes at Lake Malaren. It was a good test for Daly, because he needed to hit several three-quarter shots to keep the ball flight down in the wind. That's the shot that had been giving him trouble.

He kept bogeys off this card, picked up a pair of birdies on the par 5s and his late one on the par-3 17th. Daly caught a break on the 18th when someone stepped on his ball in the rough, allowing for a drop. He came up just short of the green, and his 50-foot chip stopped one turn away from falling.

Daly would have settled for anything around par on this blustery day in Shanghai. He said he could play well Friday and shoot 80 in this kind of wind.

The 68 exceeded his expectations. More than a number, he was pleased with how he controlled his distance.

"What's been a blessing is to be able to pinch golf shots," he said. "Full shots are easier than three-quarter shots, because you have to hit it harder. I haven't had a right hand in golf for probably six years. It feels good just having two arms to swing again. I feel like I can control the golf ball. That three-quarter shot is my bread-and-butter. You've got to have it on a day like this, and I executed it."

Daly rolled up the sleeve of his wind vest to reveal a scar on the right elbow. He said doctors inserted two screws and wrapped tendons both ways, and he never flinched or felt any pain on any of his shots.

He returned looking a bit heavier than in the summer, and part of that was by design. He felt he needed to add some weight to regain strength, and it was an easy fix.

"I drank a ton of Vitamin D milk," Daly said. "My mom always told me the old remedy was to drink a lot of milk. But I put a lot of chocolate syrup in mine."

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Higgins Fifteen Ends Open Quest

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After earning a spot in a 3-for-2 playoff at the North Berwick qualifier for this month's Open Championship, David Higgins suffered a two-stroke penalty on the first hole – for carrying 15 clubs in his bag – that ended his quest.

R&A officials relayed the news via its official Twitter account for the British Open, @The_Open: "Update on the play-off at North Berwick, David Higgins discovered he had 15 clubs in his bag & was penalised two shots thereby missing out."

Higgins, an Irishman on the European Tour, missed the cut at the Irish Open and finished T-29 the previous week at the BMW International Open.

Apparently Higgins' caddie placed his bag in his car after the round, and stored an extra fairway wood in it, Irish Golf Desk reported; when Higgins made it into the playoff, the club was not removed when the bag was taken back out.

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