The Irish Golf Club Gazette: England

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1/16/2016

Dunne in Jo'Burg Open Mix

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Paul Dunne signed for a third round 68 on Saturday at the Jo'burg Open to go into Sunday two shots off the pace in South Africa.

After recording eight birdies and no bogeys on Friday, the Greystones player continued the form on the front nine on Saturday with a birdie at the first before consecutive birdies on the fifth, sixth and seventh.

However his climb up the leaderboard took a blow at the 11th with a double bogey six. But the 22-year-old fought back with birdies at the 14th and 15th.

A bogey on the 17th was recovered with a birdie on the last to sign for a 68 and sit on 13 under par, two shots behind joint-leaders Zander Lombard, Haydn Porteous and Anthony Wall.

40-year-old Wall had birdies on the fourth, ninth, 10th and 13th holes, and will head into Sunday’s final round level on 15 under par along with South African pair Lombard and Porteous.

Lombard had an even more eventful and productive day at the office. The Pretoria-based player, who turns 21 on Monday, posted nine birdies and two bogeys en route to a 65.

And Porteous, having started with an eagle at the par-five first, then ended his third round with two straight birdies to make it a three-way tie at the top after 54 holes.

For Wall, it is a win that matters, although he admits his mentality has changed massively in the last 16 years.

"That's why I play golf now," he said. "To try and make my children proud of me, to try and win as many times as possible.

"At the end of the day I'm father now before I am a golfer, that switched a few years ago and I just want to keep playing for them and my wife so they can be proud of me."

On his round, he added: "I drove the ball well. That was my weakness the first two days, today I was great off the tee. I holed a couple of good long ones, but I also missed three or four I could have holed, so all-in-all it was a good day.

I've got a great chance tomorrow. But they're all good players, some one's going to be a little luckier tomorrow and win, so hopefully it's me - Anthony Wall

7/23/2015

St Andrews a Walker Bonus

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Walker Cup captain Nigel Edwards hopes the experiences of amateur golfers in this year's Open at St Andrews will benefit his side.

GB and Ireland take on the USA at Royal Lytham in September, with Welshman Edwards finalising his team next month.

It is likely to feature Ireland's Paul Dunne, who was joint 30th, and England's Ashley Chesters who tied in 12th place at St Andrews.

"They both loved it but I think they were both disappointed," said Edwards.

"They felt that they could have got a little bit more from themselves, probably I guess Paul more so than Ashley simply because of the position Paul was in after three rounds."

Dunne was leading the tournament after three days, but had a tough final round as he slipped down the field.

"I think Ashley would have liked to have got into the top 10 - he played pretty well all week," added Edwards.

"Obviously Paul going into the final round in the last group and teeing off last felt that he could have done a lot better.

"He was disappointed finishing with a [round of] 78 and I guess it shows the standard of amateur golf that these players are thinking like that and performing how they are."

Edwards has captained UK & Ire twice before, winning at Royal Aberdeen in 2011 and losing in Long Island in 2013.

He has had his provisional Walker Cup squad at Royal Lytham this week in preparation for September's competition.

5/26/2015

Padraig Seeks Top Sixty

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Padraig Harrington has not given up hope of qualifying for the US Open, despite missing out in Monday’s qualifying event at Walton Heath.

Harrington bogeyed the final hole to finish one shot outside a play-off for the remaining four places at Chambers Bay next month, but can still qualify via the world rankings published in the week of the year’s second major.

“I believe that the top 60 after the St Jude Classic (in Memphis) still get into the US Open,” said Harrington, who is currently ranked 86th. “So I have this week’s Irish Open and the St Jude Classic. I won’t play the one in between. I’m already on a run of four events.

“I have to win 25 world ranking points in that time, something like that. I certainly think a win here or at St Jude will push me across the line, or some sort of combination (of results).

“Having missed out yesterday it was very disappointing, but it will be a lot more disappointing in three weeks’ time when I’m sitting on the couch watching it on TV and realising how close it was and really having done all the hard work.”

Harrington played the 36-hole qualifying event despite having lasted just two holes of the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth with a shoulder injury, and the 2007 champion is confident the problem will not affect his participation in the Irish Open at Royal County Down.

“It’s certainly improved enough that I don’t feel like there’s any doubt about me playing on Thursday,” he added. “It’s not quite 100 per cent at the moment but I was pleased yesterday that as much as a hindrance it was early on, as I got into it more and more it was less of a problem.”

10/23/2014

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.

8/04/2014

Ireland Defend Home International Trophy

Ireland will seek to defend the Boys Home Internationals trophy in the face of stiff competition at Western Gailes this week.

The Irish won in dramatic fashion at Forest Pines last year as Scotland failed to beat England in their final match with the result coming down to the last few singles matches.

England will be looking to win their third title in four years at the Ayrshire links from Tuesday 5 to Thursday 7 August while Scotland will be looking for their first win since 2006 at Moray and Wales will be hoping to achieve their first victory in the round robin series of matches.

Captain Roy Archibald’s line-up will feature only two members of the victorious 2013 team in Lincolnshire: Rowan Lester, who represented Ireland in the European Boys Team Championship in Oslo last month, and James Sugrue, who won the Munster Youths Amateur Open Championship in April. Kevin Leblanc will be expected to play a key role for the Irish after winning The R&A’s Junior Open Championship at West Lancs last month.

The English team will be led by Ashton Turner, who will make his third consecutive appearance in the Boys Home Internationals, Bradley Moore, who won the Irish Boys Amateur Open Championship in June, and Marco Penge, who finished tied fourth with Matty Lamb in the recent McGregor Trophy.

The 2013 Boys Amateur Champion Ewen Ferguson, who recently added the Scottish Boys Open Stroke Play title to his Scottish Boys Match Play crown, will lead a strong Scottish team that also includes Scottish Boys Stroke Play runner-up Ben Kinsley and Robert MacIntyre, who last year became the first player to win the Scottish boys and youths stroke play titles in the same year.

Newly crowned Welsh Boys Match Play Champion Ben Chamberlain will be in confident mood for the matches as will his team mate Thomas Williams, who will be looking to build on the form which saw him reach the semi-finals at Wenvoe Castle.

Johnnie Cole-Hamilton, Executive Director – Championships at The R&A, said, “The Boys Home Internationals matches give the talented young players the opportunity to gain valuable experience of representing their countries and playing against their peers from the other Home Nations. We would encourage spectators to come along to support the event at Western Gailes this week where the matches should be as closely contested as ever.”

The teams are as follows:

Ireland: Cathal Butler (Kinsale), Owen Crooks (Bushfoot), Jamie Fletcher (Warrenpoint), Peter Kerr (Royal Portrush), Kevin Leblanc (The Island), Eoin Leonard (Wentworth), Rowan Lester (Hermitage), Thomas Mulligan (Laytown & Bettystown), Tommy O’Driscoll (Ring of Kerry), Conor Purcell (Portmarnock) and James Sugrue (Mallow).

England: Jamie Dick (Forest Hills), Harry Hall (West Cornwall), Matty Lamb (Hexham), Jamie Li (Bath), Haydn McCullen (Delamere Forest), Bradley Moore (Kedleston Park), Marco Penge (Golf at Goodwood), Jack Singh Brar (Remedy Oak), Jake Storey (Alnmouth), Jonathan Thomson (Lindrick) and Ashton Turner (Kenwick Park).

Scotland: Joseph Bryce (Bathgate), George Burns (Williamwood), Stuart Easton (Irvine), Ewen Ferguson (Bearsden), Adam Fisher (Newmachar), Calum Fyfe (Cawder), Ben Kinsley (St Andrews), Ryan Lumsden (Royal Wimbledon), Robert MacIntyre (Glencruitten), Niall McMullen (Lundin) and Murray Naysmith (Marriott Dalmahoy).

Wales: Jack Davidson (Llanwern), Joshua Davies (Celtic Manor), Tim Harry (Vale Resort), Kyle Harman (Radyr), David Ramsay (Mold), Thomas Williams (Wrexham), Ben Chamberlain (Padeswood & Buckley), Lewys Sanges (Celtic Manor), Gaelen Trew (Wentworth), Rhys Jones (Mountain Ash) and Thomas Froom (Nefyn).

The Boys Home Internationals has been a proving ground for dozens of Walker Cup players and future Major Championship winners including Open Champion Rory McIlroy, the 2013 US Open Champion Justin Rose, six-time Major winner Sir Nick Faldo, former Open and Masters Champion Sandy Lyle and former Open Champion Darren Clarke.

Spectators are admitted free of charge to the event, which runs from Tuesday to Thursday, 5-7 August. The playing format is a full round robin series of matches comprising five morning foursomes and ten afternoon singles matches. The morning foursomes tee off from 8am and the afternoon singles matches from 12.30pm each day.

Match one on Tuesday 5 August will be Ireland versus Wales and match two will be England versus Scotland.

4/17/2014

Four Named in GB&I Squad

Gavin Moynihan - Getty Images

A 21 player Great Britain and Ireland squad has been announced for the St Andrews Trophy match at Barsebäck Golf and Country Club in Sweden on 29 and 30 August, 2014.

The nine-man team that will face the Continent of Europe in the biennial match will be named in mid-August.

Four players will bring valuable Walker Cup experience to the squad including Matthew Fitzpatrick, who recently made his Masters Tournament debut, and Rhys Pugh who played on the GB&I side in both 2011 at Royal Aberdeen and in 2013 at the National Golf Links of America in Southampton, New York.

Greg Eason, who is currently ranked third in the WORLD AMATEUR GOLF RANKING™, and reigning European Amateur champion Ashley Chesters bring depth to the squad, along with talented young players Sam Horsfield and 2013 Scottish Boys champion Bradley Neil.

Nigel Edwards will captain the team for the third time as GB&I look to reclaim the trophy after the Continent of Europe’s narrow 12½ – 11½ victory at Portmarnock in 2012.

“We have announced a strong squad for this year’s match,” said Edwards, a playing member of the victorious St Andrews Trophy teams in 2002, 2004 and 2006. “The final selection of the team for the St Andrews Trophy match will be dependent on performances and, therefore, players who are not named in this squad have every chance of playing their way on to the team. I am confident that the team we select will mount a real challenge for the trophy in Sweden.”

The St Andrews Trophy is the biennial men’s match which will be played alongside the annual boys’ match, the Jacques Leglise Trophy, at Barsebäck on 29 and 30 August. The St Andrews Trophy has been played alternately on British/Irish and mainland European courses since 1956. Great Britain and Ireland have won on 24 occasions and the Continent of Europe has won five times, including the 2010 and 2012 matches.

The 2014 GB&I squad is:

Tomasz Anderson (Brocket Hall) – Welwyn Garden City, England

Ashley Chesters (Hawkstone Park) – Wem, England

Greg Eason (Kirby Muxloe) – Leicester, England

Ryan Evans (Wellingborough) – Wellingborough, England

Matthew Fitzpatrick (Hallamshire) – Sheffield, England

Grant Forrest (Craigielaw) – North Berwick, Scotland

Sam Horsfield (Davenport, USA) – Manchester, England

Paul Howard (Southport & Ainsdale) – Southport, England

Jack Hume (Naas) – Naas, Ireland

Gary Hurley (West Waterford) – Aglish, Ireland

Nick Marsh (Huddersfield) – Elland, England

Jimmy Mullen (Royal North Devon) – Devon, England

Gavin Moynihan (The Island) - Dublin, Ireland

Jack McDonald (Kilmarnock Barassie) – Troon, Scotland

Dermot McElroy (Ballymena) – Ballymena, Northern Ireland

Bradley Neil (Blairgowrie) – Perthshire, Scotland

Rhys Pugh (Pontypridd) – Pontypridd, Wales

James Ross (Royal Burgess) – Edinburgh, Scotland

Ewan Scott (St Andrews) – St Andrews, Scotland

Jordan Smith (Bowood) – Calne, England

Ben Taylor (Walton Heath) – Leatherhead, England

9/13/2013

Murphy Revives QS Hopes

Mark Murphy shot a superb three-under-par 69 to propel himself into contention for a place in the second stage of European Tour qualifying at the Roxburghe in Scotland.

The Kerryman shares 14th place with a 54-hole aggregate of 217, one-over-par, and with only the top 17 and ties progressing to the second round in Spain next month, Murphy will need to shoot another solid round today if he is to make the grade.

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Murphy's third-round score of 69 was seven strokes better than his opening-day 76, with the 33-year-old bagging four birdies along the way.

The Island's Paul Rawluk is also right in the mix as he too sits tied 14th after a level-par 72.

Rawluk had an eventful round, carding an eagle at the long par-five seventh hole where he knocked in a monster of a putt, as well as two birdies and four bogeys.

Cork's Peter O'Keeffe's chances of progressing were dealt a huge blow after he dropped from eighth to tied 29th after a disastrous 78.

Ballinasloe's Mark Staunton and Killarney's Daniel Sugrue shot rounds of 74 and 71 respectively, and are tied 47th and 51st place.

Sweden's Philip Eriksson and England's Jamie Moul share the lead on seven-under.

9/09/2013

US Claim Walker Cup

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Nathan Smith won the deciding point in the United States' 17-9 victory over Britain and Ireland in the Walker Cup on Sunday, beating England's Nathan Kimsey 4 and 3 in the fifth singles match at historic National Golf Links of America.

The United States, ahead 8-4 entering the final day in the biennial amateur event, split the four morning foursomes matches and won seven of the 10 afternoon singles matches.

"It's something I have been wanting for a long, long time, particularly after we lost in 2011," U.S. captain Jim Holtgrieve said. "I was hoping I would get a mulligan for `13 and when I knew it was going to be at National Golf Links, which is where it all started, I wanted so bad to come here. Yes. I wanted to win, but I wanted to do something good for golf and this, to me, was truly good for golf."

The 35-year-old Smith, a four-time U.S. Mid-Amateur champion from Pittsburgh, won the par-3 13th and par-4 14th with pars and ended the match with a halve for bogey on the par-4 15th.

"This ranks at the top of the list," said Smith, who has played in the Masters four times. "I never wanted a point so much in my life. This means the most. I'm happy for Jim. Nobody deserves it more than him and loves the game of golf and put more hard work into a team than him."

Alabama teammates Bobby Wyatt and Justin Thomas, 45-year-old South Carolina high school teacher Todd White, California's Michael Kim, Oklahoma State's Jordan Niebrugge and Stanford's Patrick Rodgers also won singles matches.

"It took a long time to get to the matches, but once I was there, it seems like it just went by real quick," Kim said. "And you know, winning is great, but to win with these other nine guys who, you know, I've known for a while now, it's special. And to represent your country is always an honour and something I'll never forget."

England's Matthew Fitzpatrick and Callum Shinkwin and Ireland's Kevin Phelan won their singles matches. Fitzpatrick, a freshman at Northwestern, won the U.S. Amateur last month.

"They adapted to conditions a little bit better," Britain and Ireland captain Nigel Edwards said.

"The greens changed and there were very, very severe pin positions. They holed out a little bit

better and I would say the short shots into the green, the distance control, that's where they outdid us. When they did hit it over the back they got up and down and we didn't."

Wyatt beat England's Neil Raymond 4 and 3; Thomas routed England's Max Orrin 6 and 4; White topped Wales' Rhys Pugh 4 and 3; Kim beat England's Garrick Porteous 4 and 2; Niebrugge pounded England's Jordan Smith 6 and 5; and Rodgers edged Ireland's Gavin Moynihan 1 up.

"They all focused together," Holtgrieve said. "They all played together. They all worked together and they helped each other with their games. There were no individuals. It was a team."

Fitzpatrick beat California's Michael Weaver 3 and 2; Shinkwin edged Alabama's Cory Whitsett 2 up; and Phelan beat Max Homa, the NCAA champion as a senior at Cal, 2 and 1.

In the morning foursomes, Whitsett and Wyatt beat Kimsey and Orrin 2 and 1, and Homa and Kim also earned a point for the United States, topping Porteous and Pugh 1 up. Fitzpatrick and Raymond beat Weaver and White 3 and 2, and Moynihan and Phelan topped Rodgers and Niebrugge 2 up.

Wyatt led the U.S. with 3½ points and Kim was 3-0.

"It was just a wonderful week for everybody involved," said Wyatt, part of Alabama's NCAA championship team. "I got to know some of the Great Britain and Ireland guys that I didn't know. I really enjoyed that, and I'm sure I'll be seeing a lot of them down the road."

The 2015 matches will be played at Royal Lytham & St. Annes in England.

8/08/2013

Ireland Crowned 2013 Boy Home Internationals champions

Ireland were crowned 2013 Boy Home Internationals champions after Roy Archibald’s side came through a dramatic afternoon at Forest Pines where they defeated Wales and Scotland were unable to overcome England in the final session of matches.

In one of the tightest contests in recent years, the outcome remained in the balance until the final singles matches. That didn’t help Archibald’s nerves as he had an agonising wait after his side won 9.5-5.5 to see if Scotland would derail their title hopes.

After Ireland’s win over Wales, Barrie Douglas’ side had to defeat England to lift The R&A Trophy for the first time since they won on home soil at Moray in 2006.

It wasn’t to be and England did Ireland the service of winning 8.5-6.5 to ensure a first Irish win since Southerness in 2010. Derek Hughes’ England side were the defending champions this week and aiming for three wins in a row at the Lincolnshire venue.

“I’m absolutely elated, that’s the only way I can describe my feelings just now,” beamed Archibald. “First of all it was tense watching my team get the job done against Wales. To then have to wait and see if England could get the necessary result for us to win was even more nerve-wracking. But we got there and I’m delighted. They’re a great bunch of lads. It was a great team effort.”

After taking a 3-2 lead into the singles, Ireland will look back on the top order securing three halved matches when it looked conceivable they might have lost them all. “They were crucial halves to get us over the line,” added the Irish captain in reference to Robin Dawson (Pictured Left), James Sugrue and Paul McBride.

Dawson ended the week undefeated and the top Irish points scorer, claiming 5.5 points from a possible six, the same as Scotland left-hander Robert MacIntyre and his countryman Euan Walker. When the final tally was done, England’s Ben Amor was the only player to finish with a 100 per cent record, six wins from six.

For his part, Wales captain Leighton Smith was proud of the way his side competed despite losing all three matches.

“It was a much better performance today. I’d rather leave the tournament on a positive. Even though we lost I know we are going in the right direction,” reflected the Wales captain.

“We certainly scared the Irish for a while. It just goes to show we can do it once you get that belief within the team. They are good players, it’s just bringing the best out of them, that’s the hard bit, but we’ll crack it one day. They are a young side and many of them will learn from this to come back stronger next year”

While Scotland put in a brave effort they came up just short and their captain was left to rue what might have been.

“The standard of golf was really good from both sides,” said Douglas. “Our top man Connor Syme (Pictured Right) was six under after six holes and only two up. He had two eagles and two birdies to beat one of England’s top players in Ashton Turner 5&4.

“Ewen Ferguson and Benjamin Kinsley were both leading late on but only halved their respective matches against Macro Penge and Harry Ellis. For a time it was still in the melting pot but unfortunately we came up short.”

“I am very proud of the effort my team put in this week. There has been a great team spirit. We just have that niggle of what might have been.”

In any case, the decisive singles match to ensure Ireland’s victory came when Jake Storey defeated Alan Waugh 2&1. That gave Hughes’ side an unassailable lead but the overall England effort also came up short.

“It’s always a tough battle against Scotland; we enjoy the rivalry,” said Hughes after today’s win over Scotland. “We’ll review the week and look to build on it. There are no real negatives, the boys tried their best.

“Ireland played well and deserved to win. Congratulations to Roy and his team.” added Hughes.

The 2014 Boys Home Internationals moves to Scotland and will take place at Western Gailes from 5 to 7 August.

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