Bad Light Stops McIlroy Duel

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Rory McIlroy started his second round with eight straight pars before a bogey on the ninth, where his pushed drive finished in rocks on the edge of a lake and dropped him back to five under par at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.

Playing partner Jordan Spieth was faring worse with bogeys on the fourth and fifth, and the world number one was lucky not to drop more shots on the ninth, where his drive was heading towards the water before hitting a spectator.

Andy Sullivan grabbed a one-shot lead on Friday, but he will have to wait and see if he still holds it when the second round concludes on Saturday morning.

There was a two hour and 45 minute delay in the morning due to fog, meaning some of the 60 players who have yet to complete their rounds will have as many as ten holes to play upon the resumption at 0740.

Second-placed Bryson DeChambeau will have nine to complete after picking up one shot on the back nine to get to nine under before the sun set over Abu Dhabi Golf Club.

The 22 year old American is bidding to become just the fourth amateur in history to win on The European Tour and he has shown no signs of nerves in a field which includes four of the top ten players in Official World Golf Ranking.

Reigning Race to Dubai champion Rory McIlroy was five off the lead with five to play, level with playing partner Rickie Fowler and two shots clear of World Number One Jordan Spieth, who completed the marquee group.

But Sullivan is the man to catch after a second consecutive 67 for the Englishman who has good memories of his last visit to the Gulf states, when he pushed McIlroy all the way at the season-ending DP World Tour Championship, Dubai.

The 28 year old finished eighth in last season's Race to Dubai after claiming three wins and arrived here on the back of claiming three points out of three for Europe at last week's EURASIA CUP presented by DRB-HICOM.

He continued the theme of threes on Friday as he opened with three birdies from the tenth and, after dropping a shot on the 15th, he played a fantastic second shot from a fairway bunker on the first to set up another gain.

A bogey on the fifth dropped him out of a share of the lead but he put his tee shot on the seventh inside ten feet and rolled it in before picking up another birdie on the next to move ahead.

A closing birdie on the ninth from 25 feet then made him the first man this week into double figures.

"I think today was even more impressive than yesterday," he said. "I think yesterday, I had it under a lot of control and it felt quite easy.

"Today, started off great, lost my way through the middle part of the round and dug deep and finished really strong with three birdies.

"I think on the whole, much much happier with today and obviously it puts me in good stead finishing that way for the rest of the tournament."

He added: "I feel totally different coming in. This time last year, I had already won but still felt this tournament of this magnitude with the players, I knew that I would have to go some to do it.

"It's nice to do that, and obviously to go out there and actually put your A Game to the test is great."

Overnight leader DeChambeu quickly wiped out the advantage Sullivan had established in the morning as he holed from eight feet on the tenth and 15 feet on the 12th but a bogey on the par five 18th saw him drop to second.

Joost Luiten fired a 68 to sit at seven under in his first start since he finished in a tie for fifth at the season-opening Alfred Dunhill Championship.

The Dutchman, who started on the tenth, turned in 33 after making three birdies in four holes from the 15th. Six pars followed but a lengthy putt on the seventh handed him another red number to sit in the clubhouse three off the lead with Rafa Cabrera-Bello.

The Spaniard opened with a bogey on the tenth but had back-to-back birdies on the 13th and 14th and came back in 32 to post a 67.

Thomas Bjørn was also seven under through 11 holes as he got his 2016 campaign under way. Last year was only the second in his career that he failed to record a top ten but birdies on the first, fifth, seventh and tenth have put him in contention to quickly correct that.

England's Richard Bland completed the group three off the lead having also played 11 holes and he had birdies on the 14th, 15th and 18th.

Swede Peter Hanson fired a second consecutive 69 thanks to birdies at the ninth, 16th and 18th to sit a further shot back alongside David Howell who was two under for his round with two to play.

Richie Ramsay fired nine birdies in a 66 to get to five under alongside Ian Poulter who signed for a 69 despite playing with an injured thumb.

Matthew Fitzpatrick was also in that group after he showed considerable tenacity in a battling 71, alongside Matthew Baldwin, David Horsey, Trevor Fisher Jnr and Fabrizio Zanotti.

Then came McIlroy and Fowler, who endured contrasting fortunes in the 13 holes they completed.

Fowler had been overshadowed by his playing partners in round one but he picked up birdies on the second, eighth and 12th as McIlroy and Spieth failed to fire.

The Northern Irishman had 12 pars and a single bogey on the ninth while Spieth struggled off the tee and bogeyed the fourth and fifth before picking up a shot on the tenth.

Three-time winner Martin Kaymer was in the group at five under, two under for the day through 12 holes, with BMW PGA Championship winner Byeong-hun An also two under on the day having played 11.

The third round, going off the first and the tenth holes in three-balls, will not begin before 1045.

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McIlroy Has Number One in Sights

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Rory McIlroy will go head-to-head with Jordan Speith at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship this week with the American's position as World Number One firmly in his sights.

McIlroy, Spieth and Jason Day have been battling it out for the top spot over the last 12 months with Spieth currently in pole position, followed by Day with McIlroy in third.

And on the eve of the first event of his Race to Dubai defence at Abu Dhabi Golf Club, McIlroy, who spent 95 cumulative weeks at the top of the Official World Golf Ranking, is determined to regain that status this season.

"I still like to look at it and see where I'm at," he said. "Especially the strength of field for this week and how many points you would get for a win, so it's always there.

"I know I need to play well this week to leapfrog Jason. I think if I can finish second, I can get up above him.

"But I've made no secret about wanting to get back to that position, and I'd like to do it as quickly as possible. So it's definitely a motivation."

For his part Spieth, who won the Masters Tournament and the US Open Championship last season, is hoping to use the achievements of four-time Major winner McIlroy, and others, to spur him on to even greater things.

"You can be satisfied and think about all the stuff you've done or you can look at what these guys who you've looked up to your whole life have accomplished more than you have," he said.

"So look at Tiger (Woods), Phil (Mickelson), Rory, these guys that have done more in the game of golf than I have, and I want to strive to get to what they have done. I want my name to go down in history for as many things as it can. That's where my mind is, I'm less satisfied with what's happened and more hungry to try and keep it going.

"I understand that it doesn't happen overnight. It's a marathon; it's not a sprint. I'm willing to put in that time and go through the process. And you're going to have good weeks, you're going to have off weeks, I understand that. But as long as you can get just a little bit better each year, then the results will come."

To make any inroads into Spieth's lead, McIlroy will have to finish above the 22 year old this week, with Spieth coming into his first European Tour event outside Major Championships and World Golf Championships off the back of a win at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions where he finished 30 under par.

With a field including eight Major Champions, 89 European Tour winners, six European Tour Number Ones and five World Number Ones, however, the Northern Irishman knows that Spieth is not the only man to beat this week.

"I don't play the game on markers at all," he said. "I want to play my best, and I don't have to just beat Jordan Spieth this week. I have to beat another 142 guys.

"So it would be foolish of me to think that that's all that my competition was, I think it would be an injustice to every other player that's in the field because there's so much talent on Tour and there's so much depth that if you forget about everyone else that could win the tournament, it's not really smart to do that.

"I've had four runners-up and I've been close a couple of times. Hopefully I can change that this week."

This will be the seventh consecutive year that McIlroy has started his campaign in Abu Dhabi with those four second-place finishes all coming in the last five years.

He will tee it up alongside Spieth and Rickie Fowler on Thursday morning and is hopeful that he can once again use the event as a springboard to a successful season.

"It was a nice break over Christmas and new year," he said. "I felt like I needed it mentally and physically a little bit. So it was nice to take that extended break and come back feeling really refreshed and excited to go.

"I've said this before: I don't think there's any better place to start the year than here in Abu Dhabi with the weather, the golf course, the field that HSBC is able to put together.

"It's a real competitive start to the year, and I feel like it's really helped me start the year quickly and well over the past few years, and hopefully that's the same case this year.

"Teeing off on Thursday morning, it's your first competitive shot in a couple of months. To tee up alongside those guys, the excitement, there's a buzz about it.

"Every year coming back here to Abu Dhabi, it was sort of the same last year with Rickie and the previous couple of years it was with Tiger. You're teeing off the first round of your season and it feels like you're right into the thick of things at the start. So I think that's really beneficial for a lot of guys to start the year like that."

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Rory Stals as Kaymer Collapses

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 Rory McIlroy finished second at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship on Sunday ending just one stroke off the winner after carding a round of 66.

It was Gary Stal who took advantage of an astonishing meltdown from Martin Kaymer to claim his maiden professional victory after an enthralling final round at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club.

There was no indication of the incredible drama to come when Kaymer, who led by six shots overnight, birdied three of the first four holes to extend his advantage to 10 strokes over the field.

But the expected procession to victory for the German unravelled in spectacular fashion as he double-bogeyed the ninth and ran up a triple-bogey seven at the 13th to gift the lead to the unheralded Frenchman.

Stal had piled the pressure on the German with a sparkling run of six birdies in eight holes, and he held his nerve down the stretch to close out a flawless seven-under 65 - the joint-low round of the day - and earn a thrilling one-stroke victory over Rory McIlroy.

The world No 1 finally found some form on the greens as he carded a seven-birdie 66 to finish on eight under, but he came up a shot behind the winner for the third time after his splash-out for eagle at the last shaved the edge of the cup.

His resulting birdie meant Stal needed only a par at the last to clinch the title, and the 22-year-old calmly played the par-five as a three-shot hole and two-putted from the fringe to collect the lucrative first prize of 380,000 euros.

Kaymer looked understandably downcast as he limped in with a three-over 75 to finish third, two behind the champion, while Victor Dubuisson and Thomas Pieters were one stroke further adrift.

After the three-time champion had got off to a flying start, Stal appeared to be winning the race for second when he picked up shots at the fourth and sixth before reeling off four consecutive birdies around the turn.

Kaymer’s bogey at the sixth – his first dropped shot since the 12th hole in the first round - looked to be only a temporary blip, but the German was forced to take a penalty drop at the ninth after driving into the scrub and he was unable to stave off a double-bogey six.

Worse was to follow for the reigning US Open champion at the 13th, where another errant drive and three putts added up to a seven which saw him relinquish his lead to Stal, who then went two clear when he drained a 25-foot putt for birdie at the 16th.

Meanwhile, McIlroy had ignited a belated challenge with three consecutive birdies from the eighth, and he suddenly found himself within a shot of the lead when he also converted fine approaches to the 13th and 15th holes.

But further birdie attempts at 16 and 17 had slightly too much pace to take the break, and he was unable to find the eagle he required at the last to have a chance to force a play-off after he blocked his aggressive second shot.

Stal was a model of assurance as he made a cast-iron par at the difficult 17th and avoided trouble coming down the last, where he lagged to within a foot from 20 feet to leave himself the simplest of tap-ins to cap the most memorable day of his career.

Kaymer closed with five pars to claim outright third ahead of Dubuisson, who kept a bogey off his card to hand in a commendable 67, while young Belgian Thomas Pieters (70) was out of touch with his putter down the stretch as he parred the last eight holes to join Dubuisson on 16 under.

English pair James Morrison and Tyrrell Hatton both carded five-under 67s to earn a tie for sixth along with Bernd Wiesberger, while Jamie Donaldson failed to build on three straight birdies from the seventh as he parred every hole on the inward half to remain 13 under.

Stal's 65 matched the earlier efforts of former US Open champions Justin Rose and Ernie Els, who both vaulted to 12 under with flawless seven-birdie rounds.

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McIlroy's Day Moves Wrong Way

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Rory McIlroy admitted he felt like "punching himself" after a dreadful performance on the greens left him eight shots off the lead after the third round of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship.

The world No 1 was just two behind leader Martin Kaymer at the halfway stage but, as the German crafted a sublime bogey-free 65, McIlroy laboured to a 71 despite excelling from tee to green.

McIlroy missed only two fairways and hit 17 greens in regulation, but he struggled to contain his frustration as a succession of birdie chances failed to find the target.

The Northern Irishman, twice a runner-up in Abu Dhabi, did manage to convert excellent approaches at the sixth and 12th holes, but hopes of a grandstand finish effectively ended with a bogey at 13.

After another chance grazed the lip on the final green, McIlroy’s tap-in for par was his 34th shot with the putter as he closed on 12 under par.

A clearly-deflated McIlroy told Sky Sports 4: "I feel like punching myself. I'm very disappointed, I just didn't putt well – yesterday or today.

"I'm going to have to do something a bit better on the greens to shoot a good number and finish the tournament off well"

"I hit the ball just as well as I did yesterday and gave myself so many chances but I didn't convert any. I was very wasteful today. It looks like I'm playing for second place tomorrow.

"From tee to green I've never felt more comfortable. I'm driving the ball great. It's just a matter of capitalising on the chances you give yourself and I didn't do that today.

"I tried to stay as patient as possible but it was very frustrating. I started the ball on line for the most part but struggled with the speed as well, so it's a combination of that.

"You're always trying to improve and get better and I'm going to have to do something a bit better on the greens to shoot a good number and finish the tournament off well.

"I am now trying to win the other tournament. Martin's playing in something a little different than everyone else. I think I'm two behind Thomas Pieters and I will try and catch him. It's obviously very unrealistic that I'm going to catch Martin."

In contrast, McIlroy’s Ryder Cup team-mate Victor Dubuisson reflected on a fine day’s work after the Frenchman vaulted up the leaderboard with an eight-under 64 – the low round of the day.

Dubuisson had been hampered by a back injury in the latter part of 2014, but he appeared to be swinging freely in Abu Dhabi as he rolled in eight birdie putts and kept a bogey off his card to move to 11 under.

But while he was delighted with his performance, Dubuisson still trails runaway leader Kaymer by nine shots and he knows he needs something special over the final 18 holes.

"It was a good day, I played really well. I holed some good putts compared with the other days. I'm very happy about the score," Dubuisson said. "But I think I'll need to shoot 10 under tomorrow to have a chance."

The world No 19 rose to worldwide prominence with his run to the final of last year’s WGC-Accenture World Match Play, and he also played a starring role in Europe’s Ryder Cup victory at Gleneagles in September.

But Dubuisson is keeping his expectations realistic for the coming year, insisting he has not followed McIlroy’s lead in compiling a list of targets for the season.

"I just want to do better for myself, I don't feel any more pressure," the 24-year-old added. "Golf is a sport where you can have two or three bad years and then come back. It's very difficult to keep the same level every year so I'm just trying to do my best on every round, every event.

"It's difficult to write, 'this year my target is to win two majors' because I haven't even won one. I haven't won a PGA Tour event, so first I try to keep consistent in my game, maybe win one or two events."

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Kaymer Has Rory in Rear View

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Martin Kaymer will take a one-shot lead into the weekend of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship as Rory McIlroy remained in touch with the German after a spectacular hole-in-one on the second day.

Kaymer kept a bogey off his card as he added a classy 67 to his opening 64 to set the early clubhouse target at 13 under, and that proved enough to earn him the halfway lead after Thomas Pieters bogeyed his final hole.

But it was McIlroy who provided the highlight of the second round when he celebrated his first ace in professional competition – a perfectly struck nine-iron finding the bottom of the cup at the 177-yard 15th that lifted him to within three of the lead.

The world No 1 struggled on the greens for much of the day, but he rolled in a clutch par putt from 12 feet at the 17th and holed from similar range at the last for a closing birdie – his fifth of the round – to cap a six-under 66.

McIlroy had started his day with a pair of birdies just as Kaymer was putting the finishing touches to his second round, and the US Open champion headed off to lunch having extended his overnight lead to five shots.

Highlights and reaction from the second day of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship.

Kaymer, who has won three of the previous nine events in Abu Dhabi, started at the 10th and soon got into his stride with birdies at 12 and 13 before another at the 18th completed a back-nine 33.

He started the front nine with an unlikely birdie as he holed his escape from a greenside bunker, but a cold putter then halted his momentum until he got one to drop at the eighth before closing with a cast-iron par.

But Kaymer insisted afterwards that he was happy with his performance despite letting a few opportunities slip on the greens, and he was particularly pleased with his game from tee to green.

"I guess the greens, I can read them very well and my stroke always feels well when I come here," Kaymer told Sky Sports 4. "Again, today, I didn't miss many fairways, which gives you the opportunity to go for a lot of flags.

"To be honest I really believe the golf course plays two or three shots tougher in the morning than in the afternoon, because once you miss the fairway, you're in that thick, wet grass and then it's almost impossible to get home in two on the par fours.

"So therefore, I was very happy to shoot five under today."

McIlroy was denied a place in Saturday’s final pairing by Pieters, who carded an excellent 67 despite not making a birdie at any of the four par-fives.

The young Belgian matched Kaymer’s back-nine 33 and three birdies over the next six holes pulled him level with the leader until his blotted his card at the ninth to close on 12 under.

England’s James Morrison earned himself a place alongside McIlroy in the third round after he birdied the final two holes to complete a six-birdie 67 that elevated him to nine under par.

Morrison shares fourth place with Peter Uihlein, who kept a bogey off his card in a solid 68, while Frenchman Alexander Levy (70) and Australian veteran Richard Green (68) are a short further adrift.

Further down the field, star American attraction Rickie Fowler scraped into the weekend with nothing to spare on two under after labouring to a 75 which was blighted by an ugly triple-bogey eight at the long eighth.

Justin Rose also made the cut on the number after managing four birdies in a workmanlike 69, but his Ryder Cup team-mate Henrik Stenson was unable to avoid a weekend off.

The world No 2 made a gallant attempt to bounce back from Thursday’s torrid 76, but his five-birdie 68 merely lifted him back to level par for the tournament, while defending champion Pablo Larrazabal’s 72 was one too many to make the weekend.

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McIlroy Makes Fast Season Start

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Rory McIlroy began his 2015 season in impressive fashion, alongside playing partner Rickie Fowler, with the Ryder Cup opponents carding five-under-par 67s to be two shots off the early clubhouse lead.

The world No 1 picked up his first shot at the 10th - his opening hole - but dropped back to level par before coming into his own with a hat-trick of birdies just after the turn.

Another birdie, after a superb putt at the seventh, lifted the Northern Irishman to four-under after 16 holes.

At that stage Fowler was two shots ahead, sharing the lead, but the American bogeyed his final hole while McIlroy rattled in another birdie on his penultimate hole for his 67.

On a crisp morning in the United Arab Emirates, McIlroy's sumptuous chip to 10ft on his opening hole had given him the chance to begin the season with a birdie, and he did not pass it up.

That failed to inspire him though, and he struggled to create many birdie chances before eventually bogeying the 17th after a wayward 8ft putt.

The 25-year-old appeared in trouble on the third, his 13th hole of the day, after his tee shot left him on the lip of a bunker but he superbly managed to get his approach shot onto the green before holing for birdie.

"It was a nice finish and I'll need to do more of that in the next few days if I'm to have a chance to win."

Two more birdies followed and he then holed a 15ft putt on the seventh to leave himself in a decent position before his final birdie at the next and a par to finish.

McIlroy told Sky Sports 4: "I was just trying to keep up with this guy (Fowler). He was making birdies. I hung around in the middle of the round.

"He was kicking me on, for sure. I didn't want to let him get too far ahead of me. I just wanted to try to stay as close to him as possible and thankfully I was able to do that."

"It was a nice finish and I'll need to do more of that in the next few days if I'm to have a chance to win. I'll need to hit more fairways as well. I didn't drive the ball particularly well today.

"I need to do a little bit better if I'm (going) to have a chance."

Fowler, playing only his third event since the Ryder Cup, enjoyed birdies at the 15th, 17th, first, fourth, fifth and seventh to head the leaderboard before his only mistake at the ninth, his final hole, saw him slip back to join McIlroy on five-under.

"I was a little shaky this morning," he said. "I haven't played in quite some time, so it's nice to get things off to a consistent start and throw some birdies in there.

Watch as Miguel Angel Jimenez hit a hole in one during the first round of the Abu Dhabi Championship

"Unfortunately I made bogey at the last but I made some good swings coming down the stretch and I'm definitely pleased with the start."

England's Tom Lewis illuminated his round by enjoying a hole in one on the par-three 200-yard seventh for the 10th ace in tournament history and third on that hole.

"As soon as I hit it, I knew I hit it good, coming in high, and I said, that's got a chance," he said. "I was just like, 'perfect'. I was just pleased I didn't have to putt. The green there is tricky to read and obviously I hit a great shot."

Lewis finished on three-under, four behind early pacesetter Thomas Pieters of South Africa.

Pieters, who has never won on the European Tour, claimed the outright lead after recovering nicely to birdie the 18th.

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Mickelson Watches McIlroy Magic

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Rory McIlroy had Open Champion Phil Mickelson reaching for the superlatives after storming into contention.

Mickelson had a front-row seat as McIlroy covered the back nine in 31 for a round of 67 which left him seven under par and just two shots behind the halfway leaders.

"The back nine was really impressive, a beautiful nine holes of golf," said five-time Major winner Mickelson, who returned a 70 to lie one under. "He is really striking the ball well. His game looks really sharp and his driving was impeccable."

It was all a far cry from the same event 12 months ago, when McIlroy fizzled out with a missed cut after consecutive rounds of 75.

"Coming off the last green last year I was deflated to say the least," admitted McIlroy, who endured a turbulent 2013 before finally claiming his first win of the season in the Australian Open in December.

The 24 year old also proposed to girlfriend Caroline Wozniacki in Sydney on New Year's Eve and joked he had been hanging around tennis players too much after grunting with the effort of a recovery shot from the heavy rough.

That was the result of a rare wayward drive - another into a bush cost him a double-bogey on the sixth - but McIlroy has otherwise been delighted with his long game.

"Standing there 30 yards ahead of everyone else is nice," the former World Number One said. "When you are confident with the driver it takes a lot of pressure off your game.

"I got a few putts to drop on the back nine which was nice and I feel like I have a great chance of winning.

"It would be nice to win your first start of the season rather than your last start. It's exactly what I wanted. It's a great way to test your game under pressure. With a strong start to the year you can really get some momentum."

Michael Hoey and Paul McGinley are four shots further adrift of McIlroy with Damien McGrane 2 under for the day after a round of 72.

Darren Clarke and Gareth Maybin remain one under overall.

Craig Lee and Rafael Cabrera-Bello share the lead at the halfway stage of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship after an enthralling second round.

Scotland’s Lee had set the clubhouse target on nine under par after adding a 67 to his opening 68, the 36 year old looking for his first European Tour win after losing out to Thomas Björn in a play-off for the Omega European Masters last September.

"I think Santa has brought me a good putting stroke for Christmas," Lee said.

"My brother installed an astroturf putting green in my front garden at the end of last year and that's made a difference as I've been able to keep putting every day. It's 20 feet by 14 feet and the neighbours have been peering over the fence."

Overnight co-leader Cabrera-Bello did reach ten under par with his sixth birdie of the day, but dropped a shot at the ninth, his last.

That saw the Spaniard sign for a 68, as Cabrera-Bello continued to impress on his first start of the calendar year.

“I am playing well, putting good, and putting the ball in play, hitting the fairways and so I'm feeling confident,” he said.

“Pretty much I'm just happy with the way I'm playing with all of the clubs in the bag. There's nothing that I'm complaining about at the moment.”

Björn was another just two shots behind Cabrera-Bello and Lee on seven under after shooting his own 67, and Lee added: "I would like to take the two of us side-by-side in a play-off again."

The round of the day came from England's Danny Willett, who carded seven birdies and an eagle in his 63 to finish eight under par and continue a brilliant fightback.

Willett was five over par after ten holes on Thursday, but played the remaining eight in four under and is a total of 13 under for his last 26 holes.

"To be honest I've not done a massive amount different," Willett said. "If you miss a fairway by two or three yards and get a bad lie you've got no way to get to some of these greens.

"Today I played nice, hit it a little closer and hit a few more fairways and rolled a few putts in. I holed a wedge from 50 yards on eight (for eagle) which helps and the last 20-odd holes have been pretty good."

Argentina’s Ricardo Gonzalez shot a 66 to be alongside Björn and McIlroy, while England's Tommy Fleetwood made the most of his chance to impress Ryder Cup Captain Paul McGinley - although he may not get the full benefit of his flawless 65.

As well as McGinley, Fleetwood was playing with fellow Nike professional Thorbjørn Olesen and the pair turned up in almost identical clothes, much to McGinley's confusion.

"He kept saying good shot but he never knew which one it was," joked Fleetwood, who won the Johnnie Walker Championship at Ryder Cup venue Gleneagles last year, four days before the qualifying race started, and was third in the Volvo Golf Champions last week.

"He kept throwing a name out there and we're like 'No, no, Paul, it was the other one.'

"I played with him in Holland last year as well and scrapped it around there for two days so to finally play some good golf is good.

"It's every single European golfer's dream to play in a Ryder Cup, you watch it every year on TV and get so motivated by it you want to go out and fight someone when you're watching it.

"It's the best sporting event in the world but at the moment it's one thing I am trying to keep at the back of my mind."

Padraig Harrington (74), Peter Lawrie (75), Kevin Phelan (76), Shane Lowry (71) and Simon Thornton (74) missed the cut

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