Oman Road for McGee

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Ruaidhri McGee, the highest-ranked Irishman in the Road to Oman Rankings, is hoping that home comforts can drive him to a maiden European Challenge Tour title at this week’s Northern Ireland Open in Association with Sphere Global and Ulster Bank.

The 24 year old has recorded four top ten finishes this season, including a runner-up at the Challenge de Madrid in April and a share of third place at June’s KPMG Trophy, but is yet to register that elusive first victory on the European Challenge Tour.

McGee lives an hour from Galgorm Castle, which is this week hosting the third edition of the best-attended event on the schedule and so will have the rare pleasure of sleeping at home during tournament week.

Having suffered the disappointment of being forced to retire midway through his opening round last year due to illness, the Derryman is relishing the opportunity to return on the back of his good progress this year.

“It will be nice to sleep in my own bed and there is always great support so I’m really looking forward to it,” he said.

“It was really unfortunate last year. I was really looking forward to playing this event. It was shaping up to be a good week and then I got sick. I tried to play - I played six holes - but I couldn’t hit the ball at all. It wasn’t great but I didn’t have a choice at the time.

I'm looking forward to getting back to Galgorm - it's definitely the best tournament of the year for crowds

“I’m looking forward to getting back there now, being healthy and giving it a go. Galgorm is a place that I’ve played at a lot of times.

“It’s a great course, really nice, and it’s tight as well so I think it suits my game. The greens are really good too so it’s a good setup there. I’ve had a few good rounds there in the past so I have good memories.

“It’s a great tournament, the crowds make it – I think it’s definitely the best tournament of the year for that. It feels like a European Tour event and it’s great to play in front of so many people in that atmosphere.”

McGee has struggled with a dip in form in the last month or so and he admits that, having got off to a flying start – at one point reaching third place in the Road to Oman Rankings, he did find himself worrying too much about where he stood on the year-long list at the conclusion of each week.

“I think you end up checking the Rankings out after every tournament to see where you’ve moved to but I think it’s easily done,” he said. “It’s just natural, but I’m going to try and do my best now not to look at it and just look at it in November.

“I feel like I’m playing well, I’m just trying to forget about the Rankings now and get back to playing. Hopefully now I can hole a few putts and get a good strong finish to the year.”

McGee is joined by a host of home stars from both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, including five-time European Tour winner and this week’s Tournament host Michael Hoey.

He is joined by fellow former European Tour winners Damien McGrane and Simon Thornton, as well as Rhys Davies and Phillip Price of Wales, Argentina’s Daniel Vancsik, Dane Jeppe Pape Huldahl and Englishmen Nick Dougherty, Kenneth Ferrie and Ross McGowan.

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Illonen Defends Irish Title

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Mikko Ilonen is relishing the opportunity to play in front of what he believes are among the “most knowledgeable golf fans” in the world when the Finn returns to defend his title at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open hosted by the Rory Foundation this week.

The five-time European Tour winner emerged victorious at Fota Island Resort last year to claim what was the first of two wins in The 2014 Race to Dubai.

The 35 year old admitted that he was shocked when he eventually took a step back and assessed the size of the crowds there to witness him overcome Edoardo Molinari by one shot in Cork.

He cannot wait to get back out there and defend his title, over a truly spectacular lay-out in the Northern Irish town of Newcastle which holds a special place in his heart having won here as an amateur.

“It feels good to be back because a lot of people are welcoming me back,” he said. “Obviously I have good memories from the distant past, having won an amateur tournament here in the late 90s and winning The Irish Open last year.

“It's nice to be back here, whether you're defending or not. But I'm a lucky one this week to have that trophy in my hands still another couple of days.

“The best thing coming back to Ireland every year is the crowds. I know all the players, caddies, whoever is part of the tournament, they always tell about the atmosphere in The Irish Open. It doesn't really get much better than that. 

“Well, they are probably the most knowledgeable crowds there are, so doesn't really get any better than that. 

“I didn't realise how many there were last year before I looked back on the 18th green. I think most of the people were hiding somewhere in the bushes before the last couple of holes because I really didn't notice them that much. 

”But of course, I could hear them all the time. But for me looking back on that 18th fairway, I felt a little bit from the green like saying, thank you very much, thanks for coming.”

Much like Clarke and Harrington earlier in the day, Ilonen had particularly strong words of praise for the work World Number One Rory McIlroy put in to make this week’s event such a roaring success.

“It's great what Rory's done,” he said. “He has obviously had a huge impact on the field. He's got a couple of bigger names to come this year, and I think the Irish players are definitely the big factor to keep this tournament what it is now, because they all are big names.

“So they need to keep supporting this event as they have been in the past. It's the key for this tournament, and they are going to take the other names here, as well. 

“We all love coming here. The crowds are the best. It doesn't get much better than this, what we are going to experience this week. So it doesn't need to be a $5 billion tournament. It just needs a good atmosphere, and everybody is going to enjoy the week.”

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Hoey Sole Survivor in Shenzen

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Michael Hoey carded a round of 71 in the second round of the Shenzhen International at Genzon Golf Club on Friday.

Hoey went into the second day two over par after an opening round of 74 but birdies on the second and seventh followed by a very steady back nine saw him card a one under par round  and tied for 49th place.

Damien McGrane signed for four bogeys on the back nine, including the 14th, 15th and 16th, finishing in a share of 73rd spot and missed the cut.

Peter Lawrie carded rounds of 74 and a 75 and was also on the wrongside of the cutline.

Kevin Phelan finished a shot further back on six over par after carding a 76 and so will see no weekend action.

It was Kiradech Aphibarnrat who exploited fine conditions to storm into the lead.

The Thai started day three on eight under par, a shot behind leader Peter Uihlein, but birdied six of his first nine holes to sit 12 under half way through his round, two shots ahead of the American and Pablo Larrazabal, who was seven under for the day going into the closing holes.

Aphibarnrat, having coped well with Friday’s gusts, followed a series of sweet putts with a sensational approach to the sixth for another gain.

Spaniard Larrazabal was on course for a 65, a score already made by China’s Li Hao-tong, who is among a group of seven under, one behind Emiliano Grillo of Argentina.

Li, aged 19, played alongside two-time Masters Champion Bubba Watson for the first time and said: “He's pretty nice guy, so I very much enjoyed playing with him.

“I hit a lot of greens and made a lot of birdies. I was pretty lucky also.”

Watson, who started the day on level par but went round in two over, praised Li, saying: “He's hitting the ball really well. He's making a lot of putts. The key around a golf course is a lot of putts and he made a lot of putts today.”

Richie Ramsay had looked like beating Li to a score of seven under but the Scot dropped his only shot of the day with a bogey at 18, a par four, for a 66 that left him five under overall. 

Ramsay’s exceptional round matched the best of the week from Huang Wen-yi, whose equally impressive effort earned him the lead at the end of day one, but Li went one better than both.

Ramsay said: “I played lovely all day. I didn't really sort of hole that many putts. I just hit it close quite a few times. I’m a little disappointed to bogey the last but it's not an easy hole, and I just pushed my tee shot and I had to lay up. I hit a lovely putt that hit the edge.”

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Golf Course Designers - J. Howes

Highlights for the JEFF HOWES GOLF DESIGN team include: Gowran Park Golf Course, Co. Kilkenny &ndash the company's first 18 hole project in Ireland was a particular challenge to design as the golf course had to be placed in and around the existing horse racetrack. 

The re-design of Fota Island, Cork in preparation for the hosting of the Murphy's Irish Open in 2001 and 2002 was Jeff Howes Golf Design next significant project. In 2006 Jeff Howes Golf Design added an additional 9 holes making Fota Island a 27 hole golf resort. 

Following on from Fota it was the restoration / upgrading of all the putting surfaces at Mount Juliet in preparation for the WGC American Express World Championships in 2002 and 2004 which preoccupied Jeff Howes Golf Design. 

The year 2004 saw The Heritage Golf & Country Club, Co. Laois - a co-design with Seve Ballesteros open to the public. It hosted the AIB Irish Seniors Open in 2005. 

International golf course designs include Golf Club Adamstal and Golf Club Foehrenwald of Austria and Thunersee Golf Course of Switzerland. 

Current projects include – Farnham Estate Golf Club, Radisson SAS, Cavan, Tramore Golf Club, Waterford and the Carrig Glas Golf Club, Longford, a co-design with Retief Goosen.

Westport GC, Dublin, Ireland

In February of this year Jeff Howes Golf Design remodelled the 13th green at Westport GC. Water ingress & poor turfgrass were the problems experienced by members & greenstaff. The remodelling process and the reconstruction of the green surface and immediate surrounds have eradicated these issues. Green was scheduled to open for play in May 2010.

Newlands GC, Dublin, Ireland

The Official Opening of the fully revamped course was in June, 2010. The main event of the day was a fourball exhibition match which included European Tour Professionals Peter Lawrie (Newlands Member) and Damien McGrane. There was a tremendous turnout of members to witness the opening by Peter Lawrie which was followed by refreshments in the clubhouse.

Farnham Estate GC, Cavan, Ireland

The 18 hole course at the Farnham Estate, opened to the public in April 2010 – the final element of the design – a practice putting green adjacent to the 1st tees was recently constructed and it is scheduled to open in the autumn of 2010.

Exploring New Markets - China

Jeff Howes has made two trips to China this year in a bid to enter this booming golf market.

Malahide, Dublin, Ireland

Malahide opened to great member acclaim in June of 2010. This 9 hole “Blue 9 Course” redesign project is the 2nd such project undertaken by Jeff Howes Golf design at the Club – the previous work involved the revamp of the “Red 9 Course”.

Tramore

Although the 3rd phase at Tramore GC is completed the course has yet to fully open all 27 holes. The last phase is due to open for play by members and the general public in August of 2010.

Jeff Howes Golf Design very recently completed the artwork for the Yardage Books of the 27 hole facility at Tramore GC and they will be on sale at the pro shop in the very near future.

Slade Valley, Dublin, Ireland

Slade valleys 3 hole extension has been in play for 6 months or so now and is proving a bit hit with the members. This 3 hole extension winding through coniferous woodlands offers some even more spectacular views of Dublin city & county to the golfer of this club.

Mount Juliet, Kilkenny, Ireland

Jeff Howes Golf Design recently completed a computer game and uploaded Photorealistic Computer Generated Flybys (to the club’s website) of the Jack Nicklaus Signature designed facility at Mount Juliet.

The game is free to download from the Club’s website and allows people to play the course in a virtual environment – try your hand at beating Tigers 20 under par WGC American Express winning score!

Hermitage GC, Dublin, Ireland

Jeff Howes Golf Design very recently completed the artwork for the Yardage Books, developed a computer game and uploaded Photorealistic Computer Generated Flybys (to the club’s website) of the 18 hole facility at The Hermitage GC.

The game is run on MicroSoft Links 2003 software (which can be downloaded for €5.99) and the game is for sale from The Hermitage GC’s website. The flybys themselves can also be downloaded to your phone and can be accessed while on the course whilst the yardage books are for sale in the Club Pro Shop.

GC Adamstal, Ramsau, Austria

Jeff recently made a trip to GC Adamstal our European Trophy Course as this progressive club continually seeks to improve the golfers experience. Discussions with the owner are currently underway to convert a par three to a par 4 and to introduce more water on the back nine.

Kilkenny Golf Club, Kilkenny, Ireland

In December 2009, Jeff Howes Golf Design were commissioned to develop a MasterPlan for this prestigious course in the South East of Ireland. Following extensive discussions with the Course Development Committee a MasterPlan for the existing golf course and adjacent lands owned by the club was agreed upon.

Bunclody Golf & Fishing Club, Wexford, Ireland

This relatively newcomer to the golf scene in Ireland has celebrated its 2nd year in operation by hosting an Irish PGA Pro-Am tournament in May, of 2010. Predictably it was won by resident Professional Mr. Ian Kerr who as a member of the Owners Consortium was present most days during construction and therefore had an unfair advantage over all others in the field.

Private Putting Greens Czech Republic & Paris

Recently Jeff Howes Golf Design teamed up with Mike Van Der Lee of GreenFields B.V. (Holland) to design two private practice putting greens whose putting surface is made of artificial turf.

Private Putting Greens Czech Republic & Paris

Jeff Howes Golf Design were appointed to draft a report on the playability of greens 1 & 6. This report has been furnished to the club for their consideration and action.

www.jhgd.com

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Maybin and Lawrie Facing Q School

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Gareth Maybin edged closer to a visit to the European Tour School after an opening 71 left him sharing 53rd spot at the Perth International.

Maybin needs to finish in the top seven in the Australian event to have any chance of retaining his tour card.

He went into this week's event 122nd in the Race to Dubai - some £25,000 off the 111th spot that will ensure safety.

Ballyclare man Maybin is seven behind leaders Denmark's Thorbjorn Olesen and Australian veteran John Wade.

Damien McGrane is the leading Irishman on two under which leaves him sharing 25th spot.

McGrane has already secured his tour card for next season as he is currently 94th in the order of merit.

Kevin Phelan, third at last week's Hong Kong Open, shot an opening 72 but only a top-three finish is likely to be enough for him to retain his card as he is 130th in the standings.

Peter Lawrie looks certain to have to make a trip to the tour school as his opening 75 left him 11 shots off the pace.

Lawrie is currently 174th in the Race to Dubai after a second successive poor season and went into this week's event needing a win to hold on to his card.

His opening round left him sharing 124th place.

Olesen and Wade have a two-shot lead over a quartet which includes England's Tom Lewis and Australian's Michael Sim.

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McGee in Czech Chase

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Ruaidhri McGee proved best of the Irish as he registered an opening two-under-par 70 to trail leader Jamie Donaldson by four shots at the Czech Masters.

The Rosapenna man opened with a bogey and carded a double bogey at the 14th at the Albatross Golf Resort. There were five birdies in between – at holes two, three, eight, nine and 12 – and McGee came home in 70 for a share of 22nd after the first round.

The Donegal golfer’s best finish on tour thus far is the tied 25th he recorded at the Lyoness Open in Austria in June. He was tied for 103rd in the Irish Open two weeks later and shared 98th in the Madeira Island Open in May.

Simon Thornton is alongside him on two under, while Kevin Phelan, Gareth Maybinand Peter Lawrie are level par, one ahead of Damien McGrane and four ahead of David Higgins. Automatic places Donaldson moved a step closer to making the European Ryder Cup team with a sparkling 66. The Welshman currently holds the eighth of nine automatic places for the team in Gleneagles due to his position on the world points list but a combined winning haul of just under €30,000 in Prague and in Italy next week would see him qualify via the European list.

And a six-under par round gave the 38-year-old a one-shot lead in a tournament which carries a €166,660 first prize. Donaldson may not have to secure the necessary money this week and next but qualification from the European list would be a relief with Graeme McDowell, Luke Donald, Ian Poulter and Stephen Gallacher also battling it out for the final place in the world standings.

McDowell, Donald and Poulter are all playing in the Barclays in New Jersey this week but Gallacher is also present in eastern Europe and fired a two-under par 70 playing alongside Donaldson.

Both men opened with a birdie but Donaldson dropped a shot on the third before further birdies at the fourth, eighth and ninth saw him reach the turn in 33.

Another shot was dropped on 11 but birdies at 12, 14, 17 and 18 saw him come home in the same score and secure a one-shot lead over Sweden’s Mikael Lundberg.

Gallacher had nine pars from two to 10 before a dropped shot on 11 had him level for the day. But two further birdies followed on 12 and 17 moved the Scot into red figures. There was a 10-way tie for third place which included Paul Waring, Kenneth Ferrie, Danny Willett, Lee Slattery, Soren Kjeldsen and Wales’ Bradley Dredge.

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Irish Duo Left In Smalrus Wake

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Graeme McDowell finished two-under par and signed for a 69 to hold a share fourth place on three-under with Michael Hoey on Friday. The Shandon Park golfer was three strokes better with a round of 66 on a most demanding of courses.

Damian McGrane hold a share of 11th place and jeeps Martin Kaymer company signing for a 69.

"I did a lot of hanging on out there, holed three or four decent putts for par and then had a super finish," said McGrane.

It's a difficult course but I hit a lot of good tee shots as well," added McGrane, who tied third here in 2007 and enjoyed three other top-20 finishes at the French Open.

Gareth Maybin finished Friday with 68 strokes on the card.

Padraig Harrington bogeyed his closing holes and missed the weekend by two shots and notches up his eighth cut in 16 this year after a round of 73. 

Peter Lawrie signed for a 77 and missed the cut.

The Dubliner was joined on the early departure by Simon Thornton, who was nine-over after a second round 74, David Higgins +13 after a 76 with Rookie Kevin Phelan + 14 after an 80 on Friday. 

Paul McGinley missed the cut but had already withdrawn on Thursday morning with bursitis in his shoulder. 

Overnight leaderKevin Stadler, son of Craig "Walrus" Stadler, celebrated Independence Day by claiming a three shot halfway lead in the Alstom Open de France, despite a shaky finish to his second round.

Stadler carded a flawless opening 64 at Le Golf National and did not drop his first shot of the tournament until his 32nd hole at the 2018 Ryder Cup venue.

But after bouncing back in style with birdies on the next two holes, the World Number 62 shanked his approach to the par five ninth - his final hole - to run up a double bogey seven.

"I just tried to get a little too much out of it," admitted Stadler, who had to settle for a round of 68. "I didn't have the best of lies and had to hit the shot perfectly. I got a little too steep on it and it came off the hosel and into the deep stuff.

"It was not exactly how I planned to finish the day but overall it was another good day so it's all good. I putted brilliantly the first couple of days. I got a little sloppy on my final nine today but other than that struck the ball very well as well, had a lot of chances and rolled in a lot of nice putts."

Stadler won his maiden US PGA Tour title in February and was half of the first father-son pairing to play in the same Masters Tournament in April with his father Craig, the 1982 champion.

The 34 year old finished joint eighth at Augusta National but that has been his only top-ten since winning in Phoenix and he added: "It's been a little rotten the last couple of months but it's starting to show some signs of form again and I've hit plenty of good shots the last couple of days.

"Hopefully I can do more of the same at the weekend, the putter keeps co-operating and I am looking forward to the last couple of days."

Stadler's nearest challenger is Parisian Victor Riu, whose only bogey in a round of 67 came on the 18th after finding a greenside bunker, with 2012 winner Marcel Siem two shots further back on five under after a 72.

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GMAC in Stadler Slipstream

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Graeme McDowell was six shots off leader Kevin Stadler after a round of 70 at the Alstom Open  de France near Paris.

Stadler said all the right things after carding a flawless 64 to claim the lead after the opening round of the Alstom Open de France at Le Golf National.

Masters champion Bubba Watson created a poor impression of Americans abroad after playing the tournament in 2011, describing the Eiffel Tower as "that big tower", the Louvre as the "building starting with an L", the Arc de Triomphe as "this arch I drove round in a circle" and the Versailles Palace as "the castle we're staying next to" during his brief trip.

But Stadler staged something of a charm offensive after carding seven birdies and no bogeys to lead by one from Germany's Marcel Siem, with Scotland's Stephen Gallacher a shot further back on five under.

Damien McGrane finsihed level opn day one.

Peter Lawrie (+1), Gareth Maybin (+2), David Hoey (+2), Padraig Harrington (+3), Kevin Phelan (+5), Simon Thornton (+6) and David Higgins (+8) were also in action. 

"It's one of my best rounds of the year for sure," said Stadler, who won his maiden PGA Tour title in the Phoenix Open in February and was half of the first father-son pairing to play in the same Masters with his father Craig in April.

"To not make a bogey out there is something I didn't think was possible when I first played it. It's instantly one of my favourite courses ever, I thought it was spectacular from hole one to the end. They talk about the last four holes but they are doing a discredit to the previous 14.

"I have always wanted to come over here, the guys in the US tell me it's one of the best events of the year and it has not let me down. It has been fantastic."

Ryder Cup hopeful Gallacher was left to rue a poor finish despite carding an opening 66, the Scot looking set to challenge the course record of 62 when he covered his first 14 holes in seven under par and then hit a superb approach to five feet on the sixth.

However, the world number 37 missed that birdie opportunity and then dropped shots on the seventh and ninth after missing the green with his approach each time.

Gallacher is currently outside the automatic qualifying places for September's contest at Gleneagles, which is just 35 miles from his home in Linlithgow.

But he will not get the chance to impress European captain Paul McGinley in person this week, the Dubliner pulling out of the event with a shoulder injury.

"I missed a putt to go eight under and didn't do too much wrong on the last couple of holes, but that's what this course can do," Gallacher said. "I'll still take two (shots) better than my previous best in this event."

Speaking about Ryder Cup qualification and the run of big-money events coming up, Gallacher added: "It's a massive run. The thing I have to try to do is play my golf and not think about it really.

"I'm trying not to be too outcome-orientated, just think of what I'm doing on the course and hopefully it's good enough."

Siem was in the group ahead of Gallacher and experienced starkly contrasting fortunes on the closing stretch, playing his final four holes in five shots fewer thanks to a hat-trick of birdies from the sixth.

"I always enjoy coming back here, I love the track and had a good start this morning," Siem told Sky Sports. "The putts finally started dropping, last week my putting was horrible, so I am really pleased."

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