Rory Fires 64 on Old Course

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Rory McIlroy shot a 64 at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at St Andrews on Saturday on the Old Course to finish 12 under alongside French duo Alexander Levy (68) and Raphael Jacquelin (69).

McIlroy found himself nine shots off the lead after struggling to an opening 73 at Carnoustie, one of the three courses used for the pro-am event.

But the four-time major winner bounced back with a 67 at Kingsbarns on Friday and carried on where he left off at St Andrews, a course he "hated" on his debut in 2005 but which is now a favourite and the place where he will defend the Open Championship next July.

McIlroy, who was an approximate eight under par in beating Rickie Fowler 5&4 in the singles in Europe's Ryder Cup victory last week, birdied five holes in a row from the third and also picked up a shot on the ninth to be out in 30 and move into the lead.

That lead did not last long as Wilson chipped in for an eagle on the fifth and also birdied the sixth, but McIlroy responded with birdies on the 11th, 12th and 14th before dropping his only shot of the day on the 16th, where he needed two attempts to play out sideways from a fairway bunker.

"I got off to a really fast start and was trying to keep it going, and I sort of did through the turn, but the last four holes weren't really what I wanted," said McIlroy, who has finished second twice, third and eighth in five appearances in this event.

"But any time you shoot a score like that around St Andrews, you have to be happy. I got myself into contention going into tomorrow and my dad (his amateur partner) and I are going to get to play St Andrews on his 55th birthday tomorrow which will be a huge treat for both of us.

"Shooting a 59 never really crossed my mind. What did cross my mind was wanting to beat my previous best score round here of 63 (in the first round of the 2010 Open)."

Oliver Wilson will take a three-shot lead into the final round of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at St Andrews.

Wilson, who has finished runner-up nine times on the European Tour but lost his card in 2012, carded a third round of 65 at St Andrews to finish 15 under par.

Wilson is ranked 792nd in the world and a lowly 102nd on the Challenge Tour rankings, but a win on Sunday would be worth almost £500,000 and a two-year exemption on the European Tour.

"I'll be nervous," admitted Wilson, who played on the 2008 Ryder Cup team. "It's a big day for me. Last year I got off to a great start here and kind of fizzled out.

"But the way I played the last two days, I left so many putts out there and I'm still at the top. So that gives me a lot of belief, but tomorrow will be a very different day. But that's what we play golf for, to get in those situations and test yourself. I am looking forward to it.

"I've had the belief for a while, I've just needed a little bit of adrenaline to be honest. I've been flat all year for various reasons and to get the opportunity to come here and play is very nice and I guess I come to a tournament like this with a bit more dynamism."

McIlroy admitted to feeling "a little flat" on Thursday following his Ryder Cup heroics at Gleneagles, where he used a new driver but waited until this week to also switch his irons.

"I thought there might have been a bit of too much hoopla to put them in last week, along with the new driver, so I delayed those for a week," McIlroy added.

Fleetwood matched McIlroy's outward half of 30 and made it six birdies in a row on the 10th as he continued the excellent form which has produced three top-five finishes in his last five events.

"You didn't see any scores like that when we were waiting in the clubhouse to get out there when it was just so cold and damp and windy," Fleetwood said. "I just got on a really good spell in the middle of the round and I kept it going. My putting was just on fire really.

"They are courses that I love and I always like coming to Scotland. I'm always going to look forward to this event. It's never a guarantee that you're going to play well but it just so happens that I've had two good years in the last three.

"It's nice to put another good round in and be competing again on a Sunday here, especially around the Old Course. It's just brilliant."

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Route 66 for Lowry and Harrington

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Padraig Harrington finished Thursday at Carnoustie in a tie third place after a six under par 66 in the Alfred Dunhills Links Championship. Despite bogeying the last two holes.

The Dubliner was joined on the leader board by Shane Lowry, who played the first round at Kingsbarns and also carded a 66.

Rory McIlroy signed for a 73. in sharp coitrats to his dmeoition of Ricky Fowler last Sundat at Glenbeagles.

 

"A little bit flat, if I'm honest," McIlroy said when asked about his round. "Obviously with the crowds and everything we were playing in front of last week, to come here it seems a little quiet out there, but it was fun to get to play with my dad.

"I wish I had played a bit better and made a few more birdies but hopefully that will happen over the next couple of days.

"I want to win every week and I want to play well this week and at least give myself a chance. It was not the best score out there for me but we got the hardest course out of the way."

Oliver Wilson produced a sensational return to form as course record-equalling 64 at Carnoustie gave him the first round lead at the Alfred Dunhill Links championship.

A member of Europe’s 2008 Ryder Cup side, the nine-time European Tour runner-up had slipped to 792nd on the Official World Golf Ranking as Paul McGinley’s side retained the trophy at Gleneagles last week, and now primarily plays on The Challenge Tour where he finds himself outside this season’s top 100.

However, a second round 63 in Kazakhstan last month showed that his best form might not be too far away, and nine birdies and a single bogey – including a 30 foot effort at his final hole – gave the 34 year old a one shot lead over Raphaël Jacquelin.

“It's nice to just get out there and take advantage,” said Wilson. “Looking at the forecast, getting Carnoustie out of the way is theoretically the best thing, but you've still got to go and play and shoot a good score to take advantage of it, and I'm delighted that I have. 

“Dunhill Links is always one of the best tournaments of the year. I'm obviously grateful to be here, but just trying to work on my own game to try to get a chance to get back on that team. 

“It's a great tournament. It's good fun, and you think everyone's attitude is a little different, it's a little different to the cocoon of a normal tournament. You have your caddie and amateurs to spend time with and look after. 

“We had a good fourball and it was fun, and that helps in this format because you're out there for quite a long time. 

“It's nice to be on that board - like I said, I was really pleased with how I played. I've been working hard and the game is improving all the time.” 

In an unusual change from recent years, both of the top two played Carnoustie in the pro-am event which is also played over the Old Course at St Andrews and Kingsbarns.

Carnoustie is traditionally the hardest of the three courses but was playing relatively easy in benign conditions.

Scotland's Stephen Gallacher was the best-placed of the Gleneagles quartet in the field after a 68, with fellow rookie Victor Dubuisson returning a 71, World Number One Rory McIlroy a 73 and Martin Kaymer a 74. European Captain Paul McGinley shot 72 in just his second European Tour event since July.

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No Easy Ryder for McIlroy at Carnoustie

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Rory McIlroy, was struggling to reproduce his Ryder Cup form on the opening day of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship on Thursday.

McIlroy was an approximate eight under par in beating Rickie Fowler 5&4 in the singles at Gleneagles as Europe defeated the USA for the eighth time in the past 10 events.

The 25-year-old failed to register a birdie in the first 12 holes of his first round in the pro-am event which is played over the Old Course at St Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns.

Carnoustie is traditionally the hardest of the three courses but was playing relatively easy in benign conditions, with the top four on the leaderboard all at the Open venue.

France’s Raphael Jacquelin had recorded four birdies and an eagle to lead the way on six under par after 13 holes, one ahead of his compatriot Alexander Levy, England’s Oliver Wilson and the Ryder Cup vice-captain Padraig Harrington, who won the first of his successive Open titles at Carnoustie in 2007.

McIlroy had recorded one bogey on the sixth and 11 pars to place in jeopardy his ambition to win a fifth tournament this year and also make the cut in the team event, thereby allowing his amateur partner – his father Gerry – to play the Old Course at St Andrews on his 55th birthday on Sunday.

McIlroy’s Ryder Cup team-mates Martin Kaymer, Victor Dubuisson and Stephen Gallacher were also playing Carnoustie – Kaymer one over par after 11 holes but Gallacher one under after eight and Dubuisson level par at the turn.

McIlroy finally registered a birdie on the par-five 14th but bogeyed the 16th and eventually signed for a one-over-par 73, nine shots behind clubhouse leader Oliver Wilson, who had fired a 64 on the same course.

“A little bit flat, if I’m honest,” McIlroy told Sky Sports 4 when asked about his round. “Obviously with the crowds and everything we were playing in front of last week, to come here it seems a little quiet out there, but it was fun to get to play with my dad.

“I wish I had played a bit better and made a few more birdies but hopefully that will happen over the next couple of days.

“I want to win every week and I want to play well this week and at least give myself a chance. It was not the best score out there for me but we got the hardest course out of the way.”

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Harry Happy with Major Haul

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Padraig Harrington, who once won three major titles in the space of 13 months, insists he will be happy with his career if he never wins another.

Harrington won the Open in 2007 at Carnoustie and became the first European to successfully defend the title since 1906 when he triumphed again 12 months later at Birkdale.

When he also won the US PGA Championship three weeks later it meant the Dubliner had won three of the last six major championships contested, but that victory at Oakland Hills remains his last in any tournament on a major worldwide golf tour.

The 41-year-old has certainly not given up trying, finishing eighth in the Masters and fourth in the US Open respectively last year, but has come to realise that he already has plenty to be proud of.

"That's my one piece of advice whenever I see someone win a major. I remind them this isn't going to happen every week. Make the most of when it happens and enjoy it," Harrington said ahead of next week's Open at Muirfield, where he finished one shot outside the play-off in 2002.

"They don't happen as often as you think they will happen, even in a great career. If you look at my contemporaries, Tiger has actually won 14, and then you've got Ernie (Els) and Phil (Mickelson) have won four, but you really don't win that many majors. That's the way of the world.

"I played a practice round with Nick Faldo at Augusta one year and he had already got his sixth major, and he's working so hard on the golf course. I asked him why and he's just trying to win one more.

"I hope I'm not that person, that I can enjoy the three I've won as much as I'm trying to win as many more as I can. You do have to stand back at times and say three is pretty good, let's enjoy that.

"I'm always going to give it 100 per cent. Some kids you need to give a kick up the backside to get them out there to work.

"I'm the opposite; I need to taper things down. In order to get four and five and six and seven, I need to accept that I've done well as it is. The fourth one is not going to make the first three any better."

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