The Irish Golf Club Gazette: DamianMooney

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11/04/2013

McGee Steady at Q School

European Tour

Ruaidhri McGee proved consistent with a third round 67 at Las Colinas Golf and Country Club on Monday to retain a share 5th place going into the final round of European Tour Qualifying School Stage Two.

Four birdies without loss from the Rosapenna golfer ensured he stayed well inside the mark to ensure progress to the final stage next week at PGA Catalunya.

England’s James Heath will take a seven stroke lead into the final round following a seven under par 64 in Spain. Heath posted seven birdies to move to 19 under par and extend his advantage over the field, with Welshman Liam Bond (67) and South African Brandon Stone (68) joint second on 12 under par.

There are 17 spots in the Qualifying School Final Stage available from La Colinas, with seven players currently tied in the 17th and final position.

Niall Kearney is four places off the mark and just one stroke away after his two under round of 69 fell a bit short short, carding just two birdies on the day in a blemish free round.

Damian Mooney eagled his ninth and eleventh holes to finish in a share of 40th after a round of 70, suffering a double bogey on the par 5 third hole. His hopes of progressing further this year are still in the mix as the Q School veteran is currently just four off 17th place with a round to play.

Stephen Grant however is out of the race after a third round 70 mixed birdies and bogeys on Monday leaving the former Shamrock Rovers player in a share of 50th place.

Brendan McCarroll finished one over par and is T69 ahead of Tuesday’s final round with the dreams of further qualifying now put aside on this occasion.

David Rawluk did not complete the third round.

At Campo de Golf El Saler, Spaniard Carlos Del Moral and Italian Niccolo Quintarelli both posted rounds of 72 to share the lead on seven under par, with Scotland’s Neil Fenwick two shots back on five under par following a 73.

Kevin Phelan peppered his card with red and blue to finish with a 74 for share of 16th place – one inside the minimum to see more action next week. The Walker Cup man needs more than two over par in the final round to be safe.

Colm Moriarty dropped four strokes by the turn yet managed to finish level on the back nine to keep the damage at a four over par 76. Although placed 31st overnight a three shot swing sees the Glasson professional back in the mix and through to the next stage.

Alan Dunbar finished round three carding 73 and shares 61st place and off the pace needed at this level.

John Daniel Guiney signed for a 78 and the Ballybunion man well out of this event since the first day 82, which all but ended his hopes this year.

There are 17 spots available from El Saler.

At Lumine Golf & Beach Club, England’s Chris Hanson has a two stroke lead heading into the final round following a four under par round 67 for a 12 under total of 201.

Hanson has fellow Englishman Daniel Gavins on his tail on five under par, with the pair hoping to seal among the 17 player to progress to the Final Stage in two weeks. Currently, nine players are in a tied for 16th position on six under par, including English pair Zane Scotland and Tom Murray, son of former European Tour winner Andrew.

Dermot McElroy signed for a 69 after three birdies sent him into 25th place – and just one stroke off a share of 16th. So fortune will favour the brave on Tuesday and a place in the Final stage next week may still beckon.

At Valle Romano play was suspended due to high winds, with 14 groups still yet to start their third rounds.

Play will resume at 9am on Tuesday morning with round four now schedule to get underway on Wednesday, with 18 spots at Final Stage available.

Gareth Shaw is 46st overnight and five shots off the group on T16, the minimum requirement needed. But with two rounds still left to play there are 36 holes of golf to help him move up the leader board.

11/02/2013

Grant and McGee Top Class

Photo: Gordon McCadden

Stephen Grant and Ruaidhri McGee set the Irish pace at European Tour Qualifying Stage Two on Saturday with rounds of 67 at Las Colinas, in a tie for 8th place on the first day. A total of four strokes separate them from the leader, James Heath, who carded eight birdies with just one loss, to finish the back nine in 31 strokes.

Heath leads in Alicante on -7.

Grant showed the continued form after PGA Tour qualifying a two weeks ago and completed an error free round with four birdies. McGee, winner of Stage 1, had just one stetback when he bogeyed the par three 13th.

Brendan McCarroll was two strokes further back in a share of eighteenth after a first round 69.

Niall Kearney was one in under par and in 28th place on Saturday

Damian Mooney carded a 74 which also included a double on the par 4 sixth.

David Rawluk finished with a 75 on opening day and has much work to do to make the third round cut.

At El Saler Kevin Phelan led the Irish challenge with 71 and that was only good enough for 16th place as Sweden's Pelle Edberg carded a 66 to lead at -6.

Colm Moriarty finished one over par on 73 and is in 37th to join Alan Dunbar in Valencia.

John Daniel Guiney's run may have ended after reaching the eighteenth on 38 strokes, then double bogeying his eleventh hole - the par four second - followed by a triple on the next to end his day on 82.

At El Lumine Dermot McElroy suffered a double on the sixth but recovered to sign for a level par 71. But in 41st as England's Chris Hannon leads on 7 under after signing for a 64.

Valle Romano saw Gareth Shaw end the day on 72 strokes with the pace setter Pontus Widegren of Sweden carding a 64.

There are still a number of exempt places in field for the Qualifying School Final to be determined following the conclusion of the Challenge Tour Grand Final and the publication of the Challenge Tour Rankings.

Therefore the exact number of spots available at each 2nd Stage venue will not be announced until this is published on Sunday 3rd November in the afternoon.

However, there will be a minimum of 15 spots available at each venue.

11/01/2013

Irish Dozen in School Chase

Photo: Gordon McCadden

In Early November European Tour Qualifying School Stage will start on four courses in the south of Spain with twelve Irish candidates battling through the halfway stage to earn a chance to play in the final stage a few days later. Where the first twenty five places offer a one season playing category for the 2014 Season.

Gareth Shaw returns once more in pursuit of that elusive playing card after winning the AlpsTour order of merit last year to regain his Challenge Tour for 2013. The Team Ireland golfer will be the only Irish entry at Valle Romano Golf & Resort near Estepona on November 2nd.

Colm Moriarty is another veteran of Q School and this season will complete his twelfth visit when he tees off at El Saler in Valencia. The Glasson professional is part of a group that includes Walker Cup player Kevin Phelan, Alan Dunbar and Ballybunion's John Daniel Guiney

Las Colinas in Alicante will welcome one time League of Ireland professional Stephen Grant, Brendan McCarroll and David Rawluk, all now experienced with the qualifying routine. The winner of Stage 1 at Wychwood Park last month Ruairdhri McGee also joins them.

Niall Kearney returns looking to improve on his 67th place in Catalunya two seasons ago at Stage 3 and to better his disappointment at the Asian Tour Q School in January.

Damian Mooney, a close contender for the Irish PGA Championship this year, hoping to improve on his 123rd finish in 2010. All on the basis that Stage 2 does not become the impassible hurdle it proved for so many Irish players last year.

Dermot McElroy is drawn at Lumine Golf Club in Tarragona with the Ballymena talemt yet to fulfil his promise.

The European Tour Qualifying School Schedule will once again reach its exciting conclusion at PGA Catalunya Resort, where the Final Stage will be played for the sixth consecutive season from November 10th -15th.

Last season, John Parry won by four strokes with a 19 under par total en route to regaining his European Tour card, having lost his playing privileges a little over a year after picking up a maiden title at the 2010 Vivendi Cup.

The Englishman was one of 28 golfers who qualified from the six round event, which every year tests the field’s skills, as well as their stamina, under the most intense pressure following a long, hard season.

Based ten miles south of Girona in the north east of Spain, the 36-hole resort boasts two championship layouts alongside state of the art practice facilities, and is part of the European Tour Properties Network.

Over the first four rounds, both the Stadium and Tour courses will play host to a field comprising of golfers at either end of the spectrum, with young up and comers and experienced pros alike teeing it up having made it through the previous two qualifying stages, or having narrowly missed out on a European Tour card through the Race to Dubai or Challenge Tour Rankings.

The course was co-designed by European Tour Champions and members of the Board of Directors, Neil Coles MBE - who announced earlier this year that he was stepping down as Chairman after 38 years in the position - and Vice Chairman Angel Gallardo, Vice Chairman.

As a further measure of the resort’s quality, the Stadium layout has also been included in Golf World magazine’s ‘Top 100 Courses in the World’, as well as Golf Monthly magazine’s ‘Top 50 Courses in Continental Europe’ in recent years.

Mike Stewart, Qualifying School Director, is particularly excited to be returning to PGA Catalunya Resort once again in 2013.

“PGA Catalunya is an excellent facility that year-on-year has welcomed the Qualifying School back with open arms, and this season promises to be yet another thrilling conclusion to the process as some of the newest and the most experienced players battle it out for their European Tour cards.

“Knowing that the players will be greeted by some of the best practice facilities around, as well as two stunning championship layouts, will no doubt help them get through what is bound to be a long and stressful week.”

10/14/2013

McGeady Wins Irish PGA

Michael McGeady secured the Cassidy Golf 103rd €30,000 PGA Irish Championship at Roganstown on Sunday in a tight finish with Damian Mooney and Cian McNamara.

McGeady posted rounds of 66, 72, 70 and 67 for a nine-under-par winning 275, one stroke ahead of Mooney and McNamara, after the leadership changed hands a few times during the day.

As well as the silverware, the winner also collected the top prize of €3,500 while Mooney and McNamara earned €2,125 each and Mooney moves up to second in the 2013 end-of-season Order of Merit with €26,217 points, less than 90 behind winner John Kelly, who withdrew from the championship because of family commitments.

“Winning the Irish Championship is a fantastic boost heading for the Europro finals,” enthused the 35-year-old as his victory began to sink in.

“It would be a great double to add my Challenge Tour card to my Irish Championship title.

“This win is amazing for me as I have struggled recently. It is only my second time to play in the Irish Championship, maybe the third, but that is all. It is really a great boost to my game.”

McGeady posted rounds of 66, 72, 70 and 67 for a nine-under-par winning 275, one stroke ahead of Mooney and McNamara, after the leadership changed hands a few times during the day.

Mark Staunton and Michael McDermott led overnight at six-under with McGeady, Mooney and McNamara a stroke behind but it didn’t take long for the leaderboard to change, once the final round began.

Staunton had a horror front nine as he began with a double-bogey and made only one par to the turn. He had four bogeys and three birdies to drop to four-under for the tournament and he could never get back into the pack, finishing tied fifth. The best McDermott could do was level par for the day to finish in fourth place.

Mooney raced to the turn in two-under with a hat-trick of birdies, 4-4-2, from the fourth hole and he eagled the long 10th to move top of the leaderboard at nine-under-par.

McNamara was creeping up, as well, helped by an eagle at the fourth and birdies at the first and 10th to be one shot behind Mooney, along with McGeady who had pencilled in birdie fours at the fourth, fifth and 10th holes.

An unfortunate three-stab on the 15th green cost Mooney the outright lead as he went back to eight-under. McGeady, who bogeyed the 12th from sand, rolled in an uphill 12-footer for birdie on 14 to draw level and when McNamara, who had bogeyed 11, sank a birdie putt on 16 it was a three-way tie heading to the tape.

It was then that McGeady’s resolve shone as he had the scent of victory in his nostrils. He rolled in a steel-nerved five-footer for par at 17and snatched victory from Mooney and McNamara on the home green with birdie four.

“I birdied all the long holes and didn’t have a five on my card. At the last, I fired a sand wedge at the flag from 76 yards and the ball settled five feet below the hole. I was delighted to see the putt dropping – it was an amazing way to win the championship,” smiled a delighted McGeady, who headed off to Derry to see his folks before flying from Belfast this morning.

Brian McElhinney, finished tied 12th at Roganstown, which just secured him enough points to claim third place on the Order of Merit – four ahead of Staunton – and a place in next month’s Titleist PGA Play-Offs.

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10/13/2013

Staunton Storms Leaderboard

European Tour

Mark Staunton stormed up the leader board on the back nine, during the third round of the Cassidy Golf Irish PGA Championship, at Roganstown, as Michael McDermott came tumbling down with the two players colliding at six-under-par 207 and sharing the lead, going into today’s final action.

Over the front nine yesterday, McDermott, who set a course record 65 in his opening salvo on Thursday, skated to a tournament nine-under with a quad of birdies from the second hole and he pencilled in another at the long 10th to be well clear of the field but then the wheels came off.

The Leopardstown player bogeyed 14 and 16 and lost two strokes at the last for a round of 69 and a total of 207.

Meanwhile, Ballinasloe pro Staunton produced steady stuff to cover the outward run in regulation 35 and then turned on the powerplay on the way home. Birdies at 10 and 11 sent him to six under and he swapped bogey five at 13 for birdie four at 18 to leap into a share of the overnight lead with McDermott.

Three players are biting at the heels of the leaders with Damian Mooney, Cian McNamara and Michael McGeady sharing 208, just a stroke back.

Mooney began the day at level 142 but sparkled with birdies at three, four, seven and eight for a four-under-31 to the turn. He added other birdies at 10 and 18 but dropped a shot at 17 for a round of 66, the best of the day.

McNamara also sped up the leaderboard with a four-birdie, one-bogey 68 while McGeady made it a threesome, one stroke behind the leaders, with a three-birdie, two-bogey 70.

A shootout today to decide the title, vacated by 2012 winner David Higgins, looks a distinct possibility.

History-maker Hazel Kavanagh (Carr Golf Services), the first woman to make the cut, kept the female flag flying high as she posted a one-over-par 72, yesterday, to move up the leader board, after making the cut on the margin on Friday evening.

Her score would have been much better yesterday, too, had she not pencilled in a triple-bogey six at the ninth hole. She birdied the par four third and long holes 10 and 18 but also dropped a shot at par four 11 to card a one-over-72, leaving her at 11-over after 54 holes.