The Irish Golf Club Gazette: FedEx

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5/16/2016

Star Cast at Dubai Duty Free Irish Open

The success of the 2015 Dubai Duty Free Irish Open Hosted by the Rory Foundation - the first Irish Open sponsored by Dubai Duty Free - plus record prize money for this year's championship, has tempted a star-studded cast to The K Club in County Kildare from May 19-22.

Led by reigning Masters Champion Danny Willett, the field includes eight Major champions among 12 top-50 players in the Official World Golf Ranking. Rory McIlroy heads up the Irish contingent of Major champions, which includes 2007 Irish Open Champion Padraig Harrington, Darren Clarke and Graeme McDowell, with Germany’s Martin Kaymer, Korea’s Y.E. Yang and South Africa’s Trevor Immelman making up one of the strongest fields in the tournament’s history.

Colm McLoughlin, Executive Vice Chairman of Dubai Duty Free, said: “The terrific inaugural tournament at Royal County Down last year, plus the fact that the Rory Foundation will continue to host the event was central to our decision to extend our sponsorship to 2018.

“We are also pleased that as a result of our sponsorship commitment, The European Tour has announced an increase in prize money from €2,500,000 to €4million, making it one of the highest purses on the 2016 Race to Dubai and very appealing for international players to participate.

The staging of the tournament at The K Club, which has recently undergone a major expansion, is another positive. With all these things combined, we are looking forward to a great event.

“By sponsoring the Irish Open it lifts the significance of the event considerably. At last year’s event it felt to me a bit like the re-birth of the tournament, with Dubai Duty Free and the Rory Foundation behind it. Having been without a title sponsor for a number of years it’s been a great boost for the event. The Dubai Duty Free brand is well recognised around the world and we certainly have a global reach. We believe that being involved in golf, is a good thing, particularly with golf being one of Ireland’s biggest attractions.”

McIlroy said: “The support we had last year from all our on-going sponsors, including fellow Dubai sponsorsEmirates Airline and Jumeirah Golf Estates, fans, volunteers and Royal County Down with a ‘sell-out’ tournament, attracting more than 100,000 spectators was incredible. It exceeded all expectations. I’ve got a good relationship with Colm McLoughlin and Dubai Duty Free and I’ve got a long-standing history with Dubai. I’ve got to know Colm over the years just by playing tournaments in the UAE. With our Foundation being involved it aligned very well with their charitable Foundation. It just seemed like a good fit.

“I was absolutely delighted when Colm and Dubai Duty Free came on board. They have a great sponsorship history in the Middle East and in Ireland and England, and the association has given the tournament that extra kudos. Coming together to benefit the lives of young people can only be a good thing. The other important thing for me is that I can learn a lot from Colm and his extensive experience doing charitable work.

“I would like to thank Colm McLoughlin and Keith Pelley, Chief Executive of The European Tour for supporting my vision to develop the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open Hosted by the Rory Foundation into one of the leading events on The European Tour’s schedule, over the next three years. I am sure The K Club, celebrating the 25th anniversary of the club and their 10th anniversary as host of the 2006 Ryder Cup, and having held 11 European Opens, will be an excellent venue for the 2016 Irish Open.”

McLoughlin was equally impressed by Rory’s efforts with the tournament: “Rory has done a remarkable job in attracting the top golfers to play in the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open and bringing his Foundation into the mix has been a great initiative.”

Keith Pelley said: “The Irish Open is one of the most prestigious and most eagerly anticipated tournaments on The Race to Dubai, and having two powerful global brands in Dubai Duty Free and Rory McIlroy supporting the event as well as a record prize fund, will ensure that continues. We are delighted that Dubai Duty Free have pledged themselves to the tournament through until 2018 and we thank them for their continued commitment and vision, not just to the Irish Open but to The European Tour as a whole.

5/13/2016

McIlroy Overcomes Sawgrass with 64

McIlroy at Sawgrass R2 - Getty Images

Rory McIlroy’s second round in The Players produced a career-best 64, to move to eight-under-par at TPC Sawgrass, and some satisfaction over course that has over the years has caused the Holywood golfer grief.

McIlroy wasted no time in making his move, an opening with a 25 foot for birdie on the 10th, his first of the day, which was followed by four birdies in a row. There was a six-footer on 15 for his fifth birdie and then rolled in a 55 footer from off the green for eagle on the Par 5 16th.

That run on his front nine enabled him to match the day-old record of 29 strokes set by Shane Lowry on Thursday. “The back nine could not have played any easier,” admitted McIlroy.

However the fireworks of that stretch didn’t continue into the homeward run, with further birdies at the second and seventh only to come unstuck on the Par 5 ninth where McIlroy opted to lay-up with his approach.

Having left 270 yards to the front of the green he played a poor third shot into the grassy bank of a greenside bunker and ran up a bogey six.

“I guess I have got it in my head that any time I have went for the green it hasn’t really worked out that well for me. With hindsight, that pin being on the left side, (hitting it) anywhere on the right and I would have had a chance to get up and down. But I thought if I get it within 100 yards and take my chance from there. I didn’t hit a great third shot. Maybe if I had it back, I would go for the green,” explained McIlroy, who had eyed a possible 62 if he’d managed to birdie his closing hole.

A round of 64 moved him into contention and into a position far removed from his early years in playing at Sawgrass when he missed the cut in his first three appearances in the tournament.

“I hit a lot of quality shots, hopefully I’ll continue to see that over the weekend.”

McIlroy wasn’t the only one to take advantage of benign conditions and soft greens, as Colt Knost hit all 18 greens in regulation and shot a course record equalling 63 to leapfrog through the field to lie on 135 at the halfway stage.

Knost even had a chance to set a new course record, but three-putted the 18th for a bogey. “I was fine over the first putt. I was trying to two-putt it, which is probably the problem instead of trying to make it. I was a little nervous over the second one. I knew what it was for. But I didn’t hit a bad putt, I hit it on the left lip and it just stayed there and lipped out.”

Graeme McDowell fired a second round 70 for 142 to at least survive the midway cut.

Pádraig Harrington’s 74 means he missed back-to-back cuts after also failing to survive at the Wells Fargo last week.

5/07/2016

McIlroy Mixed Day at Wells Fargo

McIlroy at Wells Fargo - Getty Images

Rory McIlroy moved into contention midway through his second round at the Wells Fargo Championship in North Carolina on Friday before dropping down the field at Quail Hollow by the last hole.

The world number three did well to avoid a double-bogey on the 18th hole – when he pitched to within a couple of feet of the pin having had to take a penalty drop after finding water with his second shot – to card a three-under 69 that moved him to two under, six shots behind clubhouse leader Andrew Loupe.

McIlroy’s wedge play was the key to his success, a brilliant chip-in eagle from 80 feet at the seventh kick-starting a run that saw him knock in three straight birdies to get to five under for his round after 10 holes

He was within four shots of Loupe at that stage, the American having earlier carded a one-under 71 to post a mark of eight under. But McIlroy failed to keep the foot down, making three bogeys on the final seven holes, with just one more birdie coming on the 14th.

Shane Lowry was two shots outside the cut after carding a a one-over second round of 73.

Pádraig Harrington also missed the weekend with five-over par 77 second round left him on seven over.

Phil Mickelson used his short game pedigree to claw his way within three strokes of Loupe.

The five-times Major champion hit only nine greens in regulation but used his vaunted touch around the greens to piece together a two-under 70.

He got up-and-down to save par on eight occasions, his lone bogey coming at his final hole, where he drove into a bunker.

“I scrapped it around,” said Mickelson. “My short game was sharp. I hit a lot of good iron shots, but I had to play for par a little too many times because I didn’t put it in play off the tee,” he said.

Loupe, who shared the first-round lead with fellow American Steve Wheatcroft, had a chance to build a substantial advantage, only to bogey two of his final three holes for a 71.

“It’s half-time,” said the long-hitting Loupe, who is without a win in 53 starts on the PGA Tour and understands a 36-hole lead counts for little.

American Roberto Castro was one shot behind Loupe on seven under after a fine six-under 66.

11/12/2014

Harrington Plays Mayakoba Classic

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Pádraig Harrington plays the Mayakoba Classic this week at Playa del Caemen in Mexico this week. following a disappointing 73rd place finish at the Sanderson Farms Classic in Mississippi last week.

Having slipped to 353rd in the latest world rankings, Harrington makes one attempt before the Christmas break to get back up the rankings. Attracted no doubt by the prize fund of $6.1million, with almost $1.1million of it to the winner.

Former US Open and Masters champion Angel Cabrera is the top ranked player in the field at 60th, while five players who have the joint lowest ranking possible of 1,547th are competing at El Camaleon.

Defending champion Harris English is currently 66th in the world after struggling to rediscover the form which brought him a second PGA Tour title in the space of five months.

English was second in the FedEx Cup standings in the early stages of last season but drifted all the way to 32nd, therefore narrowly missing out on a place in the Tour Championship in Atlanta for the second year running.

“Last year I didn’t finish the way I wanted to,” English told a pre-tournament press conference.

“Obviously I was in the driver’s seat to make it to the Tour Championship (open to the top 30 players after the BMW Championship) and missed out again. I finished 31st two years ago and 32nd this past season. It’s close. I know I’m kind of knocking on the door.

“I don’t want to be in that situation again where I’m not having to pull against people but knowing my fate is in other peoples’ hands about getting to the Tour Championship. I don’t want that to happen.

“I want to control my own destiny and it’s really made me realise how important every tournament is.”

English has missed the cut in two of his first three events of the 2014-15 season, but did finish 16th in the Shriners Hospitals for Children's Open in Las Vegas.

“I don’t want to panic,” he added. “In this game you can be so close sometimes. It’s a brutal game. It’ll knock you down when you’re at the highest of the high and it’ll do some unexpected things – when nothing’s going your way you’ll do something crazy. You’ve just got to let it come to you.

“It’s getting a lot better. I’ve been working hard the past couple weeks, couple months and it’s coming together.

“I know it’s not perfect right now. It’ll never be perfect but I’m feeling good. If I can keep getting better and better every day and keep giving myself opportunities, then it’ll click.”

Spanuards Gonzalo Fernandez-Caratano and Alvaro Quiros also play

9/15/2014

McIlroy Finishes Second in Atlanta

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Rory McIlroy finished in share of second place in the season finale Tour Championship in Atlanta on Sunday with Billy Horschel securing a £7million payday at East Lake in Atlanta.

The American's closing 68 gave him a three-shot victory in the PGA Tour's season-ending tournament and with it the first prize of £880,000, the overall FedEx Cup title and an incredible £6.2million bonus.

McIlroy's hopes went up in smoke due to a terrible run sparked by a double bogey at the sixth after he drove into water.

The world No 1 bogeyed 9, 10 and 11 to drop right away before rallying with birdies at 15, 16 and 17.

McIlroy blamed his double-bogey on the sixth on a tired swing, adding on Sky Sports 4: "I was making bad swings at the wrong time and getting punished for them.

"When Billy was making bogey on 10 I thought I had a decent chance and then I three-putt there for the second day in a row and I felt like any chance I had to win the golf tournament went."

Asked about his season overall, McIlroy added: "To win two majors, my first WGC event and give it a real good run in these FedEx events, I'm really proud of myself the way I hung in there and dug deep the last few weeks.

"When I look back on the year as a whole it's been my best year to date so I can't complain."

Jim Furyk was tied for the lead with three to play but faltered at the finish and shared second place with McIlroy.

On a dramatic final day, the key moment came at the 16th hole when Horschel looked set to fall back into a tie with Furyk before sinking a 31 foot putt for par.

When Furyk bogeyed 17 after a poor approach, Horschel had breathing space and a three-putt at the last from the veteran American meant Horschel, who also won last week's BMW Championship, teed off at the last with a three-shot lead.

Horschel closed out victory in style with a lovely tee-shot into the heart of the green and two-putted to land his monster payout with a winning score of 11-under.

Chris Kirk, Justin Rose and Jason Day tied for fourth.

Rose twice got within two shots of the lead on the back nine but bogeyed the 13th and 17th at crucial moments on his way to a closing 69.

Things seemed to be going McIlroy's way when he hit a wild drive on the fourth but had a clear shot to the green and ended up holing from 18 feet for birdie.

Horschel followed McIlroy in from 11 feet to remain tied for the lead before edging ahead on the next, where he holed from 18 feet as McIlroy had to settle for par.

Perhaps the decisive moment arrived on the treacherous par-three sixth, where Horschel hit a superb three iron into the heart of the green and then saw McIlroy, attempting to hit two clubs less, pull his tee shot into the water surrounding the green.

From the drop zone McIlroy pitched to 12 feet and two-putted for a double-bogey five and the four-time major winner found more trouble on the ninth, the 25-year-old's wild drive finishing up against a fence separating the par-five from the practice ground.

After weighing up his slim options, McIlroy told caddie JP Fitzgerald: "I'm just going to blast it, see where it goes", and proceeded to try to hit his second shot over a group of trees just a few yards in front of him.

The ball inevitably made contact but rebounded out towards the fairway, but having laid up with his third shot, McIlroy missed the green with his approach and in the end did well to get up and down for a bogey six.

Horschel looked to have given McIlroy a glimmer of hope when he found thick rough off the tee to bogey the 10th, only for McIlroy to then three-putt from 20 feet and also bogey the 11th to effectively end his chances.

Despite winning the final two FedEx Cup play-off events, Horschel will not be heading to the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles in two weeks' time having only struck his golden patch of form after skipper Tom Watson had already announced his wildcard picks.

8/30/2014

Rory Under Par at Deutsche

Rory McIlroy ended the first round of the Deutsche Bank Championship at TPC Boston on Friday with a round of 70, finishing one under par. A day which featured a mix of five birdies and four bogeys, left the 25-year-old Northern Irishman eight strokes adrift of leader Ryan Palmer.

After McIlroy finished his round, he playfully flicked a tee peg in the direction of Jason Day and missed. “Not the first one I’ve missed today,” quipped McIlroy, who had started off like a train with three birdies in his opening four holes only to falter coming in.

McIlroy – seeking to return to the top of the FedEx Cup standings – made an ominous early move with birdies on the 10th, where he started, from inside two feet; the 11th, where he holed a 35-footer, and the 13th where he again played a majestic approach to 18 inches. He suffered a first bogey of his round on the 17th, where he failed to get up and down from a greenside bunker.

Although McIlroy returned to three under on his round with a 10-footer for birdie on the fourth, he stumbled coming in with back-to-back bogeys on the fifth (where he found a fairway bunker) and the sixth (where he missed the green left with a poor approach shot). A tap-in birdie on the seventh was followed by a dropped shot on his finishing hole when his tee shot was pushed into the right rough.

“The golf course (is) playing tougher than the last couple of years. It’s firmer, (the) rough is up, windier. . .” said McIlroy, who has his eyes set on capturing the $10 million bonus prize on offer to the winner of the FedEx Cup play-offs. McIlroy – who won the British Open, WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and US PGA in successive tournaments in July-August – fell behind Hunter Mahan into second in FedEx the standings following the opening play-off series event last week, the Barclays.

McIlroy – who is sticking to a plan to play all four play-off events, moving on from Boston to the BMW in Colorado next week and then the Tour Championship in Atlanta – remains very much in the hunt going into the weekend in Boston, where there is a Monday finish on what is the Labor Day holiday in the United States.

Bradley, playing in front of home galleries and seeking to impress US Ryder Cup captain Tom Watson, showed his form with an opening round 65 and admitted that getting a wild card pick was very much on his mind. “Yeah, it always is . . . when I eat, when I sleep. I’m not going to say a bunch of clichés and say I’m not thinking about the Ryder Cup . . . I know (Watson) is watching.”

But another player from the European camp looking for a captain’s pick for Gleneagles also stepped up to the mark. Ian Poulter, who is outside an automatic spot, needs a wild card pick from Paul McGinley if he is to follow up on his heroics at Medinah two years ago. But, unlike Bradley, the Englishman – who opened with a fine 67 – was adamant he wasn’t thinking of the Ryder Cup. “I’m not thinking about it . . . it’s been a s**t year and I want that to turn around right now,” he said.

3/19/2014

Harrington Backs The Wild Thing

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Padraig Harrington defended playing-partner John Daly, the 1995 Open Champion, who posted a round of 90 during last week's Valspar Championship at Innisbrook in Florida.

The 47-year-old's card included an eight-over-par 12 at the 16th, plus three other double bogeys.

The American missed the cut by 19 shots but Harrington believes he did not give up during his second circuit of the Copperhead course.

Twice Open Champion Harrington said: "He came out pressing as we all did on Friday after a 74.

"But he was very respectful to play with. He was useful out there. He was trying in terms of lines and getting clubs and things like that.

"You could see what he was doing. It wasn't like I wouldn't prefer him to be there.

"But he didn't walk in. He didn't stop trying. He tried to hit the right shots on the last two holes. It didn't seem to us he was shooting that score.

"If I was going to say anything, it's that he tries too hard. He's caring too much. I know that's not what people see."

Daly, a winner of two major titles in the 1990s, is currently ranked outside the world's top 500.

David Duval, winner of The Open in 2001, also plays this week in a season he has deemed as his comeback year. He is currently ranked 195th in FedEx rankings.

Graeme McDowell was due to tee off with Tiger Woods and Harris English. However Woods has now withdrawn from the tournament he has dominated over the years due to injury.

Darren Clarke is paired with JJ Henry and Vijay Singh.

Padraig Harrington plays with Camilo Villegas and Erik Compton.

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