Lowry Eyes K Cub for Irish Win

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Shane Lowry is at a loss to explain his fluctuating fortunes during many of his tournaments this year as he prepares for an assault on this week’s Dubai Duty Free Irish Open at the K Club. 

Lowry’s season has been peppered with sensational starts but underwhelming subsequent rounds and it was the same story last weekend, where the Offaly man registered rounds of 65 and 68 before a disastrous 78 ended his chance of victory in the Players Championship at Sawgrass.

“If you look at it historically, I’ve been pretty average in opening rounds and I play my way into tournaments.

“I just need to learn to keep the foot on the pedal.

“I was probably only two shots away from really thinking I had a chance going out last Sunday, so I’m not that far away.

“Hopefully, this week is the week where I can make that change and play well for four rounds.”

Lowry caused a huge upset when he claimed the Irish Open as an amateur in Baltray seven years ago today, but struggles to recall the detail of what should have been an unforgettable day. 

Asked about what he remembered of his landmark win in Louth, he said: “Not much, to be honest.

“Obviously, it was a day that changed my life.

“Well, I’m not sure if I wouldn’t be sitting here anyway, but it changed the course of my career a little bit anyway.

“I don’t really remember much.

“I just remember from looking back on videos and photos of just winning.

“I can only imagine how it felt - I don’t know how it felt at the time. I’d love to go back and relive it for a few seconds.

“It’s something I’ll look back at as I get older and older, and when I’m old and retired and finished playing golf, I’m sure I’ll look back at those videos and think ‘yeah, that was pretty cool’.”

The 29-year-old may have ticked the Irish Open of his bucket list, but is now keen to achieve an amateur-professional double in the event.

“Even if I hadn’t won it as an amateur, to win it as a pro would be one of my goals,” he said.

“To have that on your CV - winning your home tournament as an amateur and a pro - would be pretty nice.”

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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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Captain Clarke Hails European Masters

Darren Clarke at Portrush Golf Club

Ryder Cup captain Darren Clarke has hailed the “wonderful” performance of Europe’s top players at the US Masters.

With champion Danny Willett one of seven Europeans in the top 15 at Augusta, Clarke said the final leaderboard had delivered a real positive ahead of the much-anticipated showdown with the United States in the autumn.

Clarke also spent time with golf fan Alex Ferguson at Augusta and said he intended to visit him again in England to pick the former Manchester United manager’s brain.

The former Open champion, who missed the cut in Georgia, was at his home club at Royal Portrush on Tuesday to launch the start of a Ryder Cup trophy tour.

“It was a wonderful week from a European perspective,” Clarke said of the Masters.

“With the winner Danny Willett and indeed Lee Westwood playing a lot better and Justin Rose and Matt Fitzpatrick, there were so many Europeans up there in the top 10.

“So it was a very positive week for the Europeans.”

Willett’s victory was the first major of the Yorkshireman’s career, but Clarke said it came as no surprise to him.

“He’s been playing really well now for a couple of years, I am a good friend of his, I’ve spent a lot of time with him and his game has just been getting better and better,” said Europe’s Ryder Cup captain.

“It’s certainly no surprise whatsoever. He’s performed really well, especially of late again, and from a personal point of view I was delighted to see him win.”

Clarke, 47, said it was also great to see his close friend Westwood — who finished joint second at Augusta — contending in a major again.

“To see him playing in the manner and fashion that I know he can is certainly very, very heartening,” he said.

With so many up and coming stars emerging, Europe’s team is predicted to have quite a few fresh faces as they look to win the Ryder Cup for a fourth successive time.

Clarke insisted there was a long way to go in qualifying, though.

“It’s a long way off before the team is finalised, a lot of big tournaments, a lot of Ryder Cup points to be played for,” he said.

“While the make-up of the team at the moment may look slightly different to what we are used to, come the end of August I think it might be a little bit different.”

Clarke said Ferguson had given him “lots of advice” at Augusta.

“There would be very few people who have had as successful a career as he has had,” he said.

“He was very, very helpful. I will go over and spend a bit more time with him shortly over in Manchester — he was more than willing to help me.

“As a Liverpool fan it was quite difficult, but you know the man is a legend.”

The trophy tour will see the iconic prize travelling around Europe and the US ahead of September’s encounter. Its next stop will be Belfast City Hall on Wednesday.

“To have the Ryder Cup trophy tour start off here in Northern Ireland is very, very special,” said Clarke.

“To have it here at Royal Portrush, I only live up on the hill up there, so it’s wonderful to start off here.”

The 2016 Ryder Cup is being held at Hazeltine in the United States and takes place from September 30th to October 2nd.

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McIlroy Feels Pressure of Slam

Rory McIlroy final round of Masters - Getty Images

Rory McIlroy fired a closing 71, which featured seven birdies and six bogeys and admitted he felt the pressure of trying to complete the career grand slam after a disappointing weekend at Augusta National.

McIlroy went into the third round of the Masters just a shot behind defending champion Jordan Spieth, but struggled to a 77 to fall five shots adrift, a deficit he never threatened to make up on Sunday.

" I was in a great position going into the weekend and I just didn't play the golf I needed to when it really mattered," McIlroy said after a closing 71 featuring seven birdies and six bogeys. " That's the thing that I take away not just from this week, but from previous Masters.

"I've been in position before and I haven't got the job done when I needed to and I don't think that's anything to do with my game, I think that's more me mentally - I'm trying to deal with the pressure of it and the thrill of the achievement if it were to happen. I think that's the thing that's really holding me back.

"The more times I can get in position to win this tournament, the more times I'll learnand I'll know what not to do. And I feel like I learned a lot yesterday reflecting on it and that's something that hopefully I'll do things differently.

"This is the one that I haven't won and this is the one I want to win more than anything else. I won a Claret Jug, I want to win more. I won a Wanamaker (Trophy), I won the US Open, but this is the one that I haven't.

" Once I overcome that mental hurdle that I'm struggling with at the minute, then I know how to play this course. I've played this course very well before and I can string good rounds together here, but it's just a matter of doing it."

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McIlroy Beats Na in Sudden Death

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Rory McIlroy relishes the mano a mano combat of raw matchplay, and the Northern Irishman – seeking to defend his title – was forced to demonstrate all those survival instincts to see off American Kevin Na in the WGC-Dell Matchplay Championship in Austin, Texas.

It required a sudden-death playoff to move on out of the group, but McIlroy ensured his progress into the last-16 and a match with British Open champion Zach Johnson. McIlroy, unbeaten in his last 10 WGC matchplay matches, is trying to become the first player since Tiger Woods (2003 and 2004) to win back-to-back titles.

“I had to dig pretty deep, Kevin’s a very good competitor and he wasn’t giving me much out there, so I holed a few long putts and I kept it together when I needed to . . .for the most part, I played pretty good. I responded to some of his good shots with good shots myself and that gives me some confidence going into the weekend,” said McIlroy afterwards.

In a way, McIlroy got the worst of any swing glitches out of the way early: a double-bogey six on the 446 yards Par 4 second – when his tee shot was pushed into the right rough and his approach found a greenside bunker from where he failed to find the putting surface – gave Na the impetus.

And the American went two-up on the world number three when his lob wedge approach to three feet on the fifth set up a birdie three. McIlroy responded with a tee shot to eight feet for birdie on the seventh and then won the ninth to level matters at the turn.

Again, McIlroy was forced to play catch-up when Na won the 10th and the Northern Irishman showed he was up for the battle when he rolled in a 30-footer for birdie on the Par 3 11th and then assumed the lead for the first time in the match when he rolled in a four-and-a-half footer.

However, he played the Par 5 16th poorly and almost salvaged a half when his pitch for birdie hit the hole but stayed out as Na levelled affairs.

Both McIlroy and Na halved the first playoff hole in pars but the match swung in the Ulsterman’s favour when his opponent pulled his tee shot into the hazard and was forced to take a penalty drop. He then put his third shot into a greenside bunker and a par was sufficient for McIlroy to close the deal.

Of facing Johnson, McIlroy said: “This is a course that sets up well for Zach, a precision sort of course and if he gets the ball in play he will be hard to beat. My matchplay game is pretty good and no matter what he does I will have to respond to it.”

Shane Lowry’s disappointing campaign finished with a 4 and 3 defeat to British Open champion Johnson, who won all three of his matches.

Johnson’s form was such that he never got beyond the 15th green in any of his matches and, so, after defeating Lowry, the American decided to finish off by playing the 16th, 17th and 18th holes on his own. “I hadn’t seen those holes since Tuesday,” explained Johnson.

“Shane didn’t have his best but rallied at the end and gave it a fight,” he added.

For Lowry, it is a case of moving on to next week’s Houston Open, his final preparation tournament ahead of the Masters.

Hot streaks can turn cold, as Adam Scott – after two wins on the Florida Swing – discovered in failing to escape from his group, after the Australian was trumped by Bill Haas who won by one hole to advance into the last 16.

“I can’t be upset I lost the match playing like that,” said Scott after his exit, shaking his head at what had been an unpredictable match in which no hole was halved from the seventh to the 18th. Over the last seven holes, the pair factored in five birdies and an eagle between them.

Haas, who had only required a halved match to move on to the knockout phase, duly secured a morale-boosting win when he rolled in a 12-footer for birdie on the 18th to rub salt into Scott’s wounds.

There was a much smoother transition from the group stage to the knockout phase for Jason Day who recovered from the back injury that flared up on Wednesday and which had threatened his participation.

He made it three wins from three in the group when his opponent Paul Casey withdrew after just six holes of the final group match. Casey had been battling an upset stomach all week. Although the Englishman won the opening two holes, Day had levelled the match by the sixth when Casey decided to call it a day .

SATURDAY ROUND OF 16 TEE TIMES

12.30pm Bill Haas v Chris Kirk

12.41pm Rory McIlroy v Zach Johnson

12.52pm Matt Kuchar v Brooks Koepka

1.03pm Jason Day v Brandt Snedeker

1.14pm Byeong-Hun An v Rafael Cabrera-Bello

1.25pm Patton Kizzirev Ryan Moore

1.36pm Dustin Johnson v Patrick Reed

1.47pm Jordan Spieth v Louis Oosthuizen

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Reed Pulls out of County Down

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Patrick Reed has pulled out of next week's Irish Open.

The 24-year-old United States player was due to compete at Wentworth from Thursday before moving on to the event at Royal County Down, Newcastle.

He has opted to play in this week's Crowne Plaza Invitational in Texas.

"We will not be able to travel overseas at this time. My sincere apologies go to the organisers of both events, and to the fans," said Reed.

The Irish Open takes place from 28-31 May and is being hosted by world number one Rory McIlroy's charity foundation.

A statement issued by Reed said: "I am really looking forward to playing on the European Tour this year which makes me even more disappointed to withdraw from Wentworth and the Irish Open.

Four-time major winner McIlroy has been instrumental in assembling a high quality field for the Irish Open.

Among those playing at the famous links course at the foot of the Mourne Mountains are Kaymer, Ernie Els, Sergio Garcia, Rickie Fowler, Luke Donald and Lee Westwood.

McIlroy's fellow major winners from Northern Ireland, Graeme McDowell and Darren Clarke, are also taking part.

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Lowry and McIlroy Progress

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Shane Lowry made a winning start to the WGC-Cadillac Match Play event in San Francisco last night with win against Graeme McDowell, while Rory McIIroy beat Jason Duffner.

Offaly man Lowry edged past McDowell winning by one hole in his opening group match.

World no.1 McIlroy, meanwhile, had a far easier time of it against former PGA champion Duffner as saw off the American 5&4 at Harding Park in San Francisco.

"I felt like tee to green I played pretty well," McIlroy told Sky Sports 4. "I didn't hole many putts and felt that the green speeds were pretty inconsistent, but did what I needed to do and we move on to tomorrow."

Masters champion Jordan Spieth defeated Finland's Mikko Ilonen 4&2 but defending champion Jason Day, Justin Rose, Ian Poulter, Henrik Stenson, and Adam Scott all suffered defeats.

That would usually mean heading for the airport and a flight home, but the traditional straight knockout format has been replaced by a round-robin phase with the 64 players divided into 16 groups of four.

"I don't feel very hopeful right now but I have a shot, so I guess that's a good thing," Rose said after losing to Australia's Marc Leishman, just three days after winning the Zurich Classic in his first appearance since finishing second in the Masters.

Leishman, who did not play at Augusta National as his wife recovered from a life-threatening illness, won the opening hole with a birdie and was never behind in the match before sealing a 3&2 win.

Poulter also lost the opening hole to a birdie from former US Open champion Webb Simpson, but ultimately paid the price for carding four bogeys in six holes from the third as Simpson gained a measure of revenge for losing to the Englishman in the 'Miracle at Medinah' in 2012.

"I've drawn him in the last two Ryder Cups and what a match player he is," Simpson told Sky Sports 4. "He is always tough and even being three or four up I knew I couldn't let up and I'm happy to get by for sure."

Poulter later wrote on Twitter: "Truly disgusting putting today, it was actually farcical. Spent 3 hours on the putting green this afternoon. We will see if it helped."

Stenson thought he had halved his match with John Senden when the Australian birdied the 18th, only to be told extra holes would be played to determine the result, with Senden securing victory with a birdie on the 19th.

Day lost 4&3 to American Charley Hoffman, while compatriot Scott declined to speak to reporters after being beaten 5&4 by Italy's Francesco Molinari, the same scoreline by which Charl Schwartzel beat last year's runner-up Victor Dubuisson.

In the all-European group 10, Sergio Garcia recovered from two down to beat Tommy Fleetwood by two holes, while Jamie Donaldson edged out Austria's Bernd Wiesberger on the 18th.

"He (Fleetwood) played well all day then hit a couple of iffy shots in the last five holes and I was able to take advantage," Garcia told Sky Sports 4.

Lee Westwood continued his good form after winning in Jakarta on Sunday, beating Matt Every on the 18th, while Danny Willett enjoyed a successful debut in the event with a 3&2 win over Ryan Moore.

In the same group, compatriot Andy Sullivan was left to rue several missed chances as he lost 2&1 to American Ryder Cup star Patrick Reed.

Two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson enjoyed a comfortable 5&4 win over Miguel Angel Jimenez, while Scotland's Stephen Gallacher suffered the biggest defeat of the day, losing 7&6 to former champion Hunter Mahan.

Gallacher, who lost both his Ryder Cup matches at Gleneagles, was an approximate three over par and has now lost 11 of his last 12 singles contests in match play.

"It was a combo of me playing well and putting the pressure on him and he did not have his best stuff today," said Mahan, who beat McIlroy to win the title in 2012 and reached the final again the following year.

Gallacher's fellow Scot Marc Warren had more success, enjoying a 2&1 win over world number 12 JB Holmes after seeing an early three-hole lead wiped out by the 15th.

"I kept telling myself a player of that calibre is going to come back at you and he did," Warren said. "It was just about whether I could counter him and I was really calm and composed."

Shot of the day had come from American Ben Martin, who fired a hole-in-one on the 17th to take the lead over Matt Kuchar before sealing victory on the last.

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McIlroy in Tough Cadillac Draw

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Rory McIlroy has been drawn alongside American trio Billy Horschel, Brandt Snedeker and Jason Dufner for this week’s new-look WGC-Cadillac Match Play Championship in San Francisco.

Under the tournament's new format, the current top 16 in the world rankings were each placed in a different group, and the remaining three players were drawn from pools depending on their current rankings.

There will be round-robin matches between the four players in the group between Wednesday and Friday at TPC Harding Park, with the winners advancing to face off in a World Cup-style format.

World No 1 McIlroy will start against 53rd seed Dufner, who won the 2013 PGA Championship, on Wednesday before taking on Snedeker, the 35th seed and 2012 FedEx Cup winner on Thursday.

The Northern Irishman will then round off his Group 1 campaign against 18th seed and last year’s FedEx Cup champion Horschel on Friday.

The winner of the group will face the victors of Group 16, which is headlined by Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama and also features American Kevin Na, Dutchman Joost Luiten and Alexander Levy of France.

Masters winner Jordan Spieth, ranked second in the world, has been paired with Lee Westwood, Matt Every and Mikko Ilonen - who was the last player in the field of 64 after Phil Mickelson's late withdrawal for personal reasons.

Justin Rose, sixth in the world following his victory at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans on Sunday, will be up against Ryan Palmer, Anirban Lahiri and Marc Leishman.

Group 4 sees Bubba Watson paired with Louis Oosthuizen, Keegan Bradley and Miguel Angel Jimenez.

Ian Poulter, who has a 22-12 record in match play, is in Jimmy Walker's group along with Webb Simpson and Gary Woodland, while Paul Casey, 16-9 in match-play, is in Adam Scott's group with Chris Kirk and Francesco Molinari.

Graeme McDowell and Shane Lowry feature in Group 13 along with Rickie Fowler and Harris English.

Defending champion Jason Day of Australia is in Group 7 with Zach Johnson, Branden Grace and Charley Hoffman.

Spanish 10th seed Sergio Garcia has been drawn in an all-European Group 10 with Jamie Donaldson, Bernd Wiesberger and Tommy Fleetwood.

Draw (seedings before name):

Group 1: 

1-Rory McIlroy (NIrl), 18-Billy Horschel (USA), 35-Brandt Snedeker (USA), 53-Jason Dufner (USA)

Group 2:

2-Jordan Spieth (USA), 26-Lee Westwood (Eng), 40-Matt Every (USA), 62-Mikko Ilonen (Fin)

Group 3: 

3-Henrik Stenson (Swe), 23-Bill Haas (USA), 42-Brendon Todd (USA), 60-John Senden (Aus)

Group 4: 

4-Bubba Watson (USA), 29-Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa), 33-Keegan Bradley (USA), 63-Miguel Angel Jimenez (Esp)

Group 5: 

5-Jim Furyk (USA), 17-Martin Kaymer (Ger), 44-Thongchai Jaidee (Tha), 59-George Coetzee (Rsa)

Group 6: 

6-Justin Rose (Eng), 22-Ryan Palmer (USA), 34-Anirban Lahiri (Ind), 56-Marc Leishman (Aus)

Group 7: 

7-Jason Day (Aus), 24-Zach Johnson (USA), 38-Branden Grace (Rsa), 49-Charley Hoffman (USA)

Group 8:

8-Dustin Johnson (USA), 21-Victor Dubuisson (Fra), 37-Charl Schwartzel (Rsa), 58-Matt Jones (Aus)

Group 9:

9-Adam Scott (Aus), 25-Chris Kirk (USA), 36-Paul Casey (Eng), 64-Francesco Molinari (Ita)

Group 10:

10-Sergio Garcia (Esp), 30-Jamie Donaldson (Wal), 39-Bernd Wiesberger (Aut), 54-Tommy Fleetwood (Eng)

Group 11:

11-Jimmy Walker (USA), 27-Ian Poulter (Eng), 46-Webb Simpson (USA), 50-Gary Woodland (USA)

Group 12:

12-JB Holmes (USA), 19-Brooks Koepka (USA), 45-Russell Henley (USA), 51-Marc Warren (Sco)

Group 13:

13-Rickie Fowler (USA), 32-Graeme McDowell (NIrl), 47-Shane Lowry (Irl), 55-Harris English (USA)

Group 14:

14-Matt Kuchar (USA), 31-Hunter Mahan (USA), 41-Stephen Gallacher (Sco), 61-Ben Martin (USA)

Group 15:

15-Patrick Reed (USA), 28-Ryan Moore (USA), 48-Danny Willett (Eng), 57-Andy Sullivan (Eng)

Group 16:

16-Hideki Matsuyama (Jpn), 20-Kevin Na (USA), 43-Joost Luiten (Ned), 52-Alexander Levy (Fra)

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