Europe Win Third Ryder Cup

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Europe added another layer of Ryder Cup dominance on Sunday behind Rory McIlroy big start, two big rallies and a rookie who hit the shot of his life to give this performance a finish it deserved.

Jamie Donaldson, unaware he already had done enough to retain the Ryder Cup, hit a 9-iron that settled 2 feet from the cup on the 15th hole. Keegan Bradley walked onto the green, saw Donaldson's ball next to the hole, removed his cap and conceded the birdie. And the celebration was on.

The result in the record book was Europe 16½, United States 11½. It's an old story for the Americans.

Europe won for third straight time, and now has won eight of the last 10.

"It came down to me to close it out, but it's all about the team," Donaldson said. "Everyone played their heart out to retain the Ryder Cup. And that's what it's all about."

McIlroy, Graeme McDowell and Justin Rose made sure the Americans would not get their redemption from the meltdown at Medinah two years ago as the first team to blow a four-point lead at home.

McIlroy was 6-under par on his first six holes and trounced Rickie Fowler to set the tone. The Americans put plenty of red on the board early, just not for long. McDowell was 3-down after five holes and Rose was four behind after six holes. McDowell rallied to beat Jordan Spieth, while Rose earned a halve against Hunter Mahan.

Martin Kaymer, who holed the winning point at Medinah, put Europe on the cusp of victory when he chipped in for eagle on the 16th to beat Bubba Watson. That set the stage for Donaldson.

"The shot of my life," he called it.

Europe captain Paul McGinley, who spoke all week about a template for success, stood by the 15th green with the rest of the players who had finished their matches. Donaldson was mobbed by his teammates, another happy occasion for Europe.

Asked for the highlight of the week, McGinley turned to Donaldson and said, "When you look at a face like that." He put both hands on Donaldson's face and hugged him.

The Americans still can't figure out this exhibition of team play.

They even brought back Tom Watson, at 65 the oldest captain in Ryder Cup history and the last American captain to win on European soil. Watson made a series of questionable moves during team play and the Americans didn't have much hope on Sunday.

Watson attributed the loss to foursomes -- Europe was unbeaten in both sessions and collected seven of the eight points -- though McGinley wrote that off as a fluke. Asked what he would tell his team in a final meeting, Watson said, "You played your best, but it wasn't enough. You've got to find out what it takes a little better."

Except for a victory at Valhalla behind captain Paul Azinger in 2008, the Americans haven't solved this Ryder Cup puzzle.

Phil Mickelson, on the bench for both sessions Saturday, finished off a 2-1 week by beating Stephen Gallacher. Asked about the future of the Ryder Cup, Mickelson went back to that last U.S. victory.

"We had a great formula in '08, and I don't know why we strayed from it," Mickelson said. "What Zinger did was really a good format. Maybe we should relive that."

Azinger has said that Watson never asked him about his "pod" system in which the U.S. team was broken into three groups of four players and stuck together the entire week.

No team embodies togetherness quite like Europe.

The Americans now have to wait two more years -- Hazeltine outside Minneapolis is the next Ryder Cup -- to figure that out.

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Irish Trio Struggle at Pebble Beach

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Pádraig Harrington was thebest of the three Irish after a seocnd round 71 at the AT&T Pro- am in Pebble Beach on Friday - seven strokes of the lead.

Harrington is in his second week of a four-tournament stretch leading up to his defence of the Honda Classic at the end of the month, and used a missed cut at Phoenix to work on elements of his game. 

Playing his second round at Pebble Beach, the Dubliner claimed another birdie on the Par 5 sixth, finding the green with a 3-wood approach from 237 yards and two-putting before adding a third birdie on the 10th where he hit a 170 yards approach from the left rough to 20 feet and rolled in the putt. A wayward drive into rough on the 16th proved costly though as Harrington bogeyed the 16th to drop back to two-under for his round (and five-under for the tournament).

As South Korean Sung Kang shot the lights out to grab the clubhouse lead in the AT&T Pebble Beach pro-am, Phil Mickelson provided proof of the old adage that class is permanent.

Kang briefly flirted with posting a magical 59 - before having to settle for a 60 that gave him a midway total of 11-under-par 231 - as Mickelson, a four-time winner of the tournament, reminded everyone of his pedigree with a second round 65 for 10-under-par.

Of the three Irish players in the field, three-time Major champion Pádraig Harrington - benefitting from a couple of chip-ins - led the way as he moved into contention with 71 for four-under 139. But Shane Lowry, coming into the tournament on the back of a tied-13th in Torrey Pines and a tied-sixth finish in Phoenix, and Paul Dunne struggled until late rallies and both face a battle to survive the three round cut.

Paul Dunne, playing on a sponsor’s exemption, struggled at the famed links and was heavily penalised for finding a number of bunkers. That tendency to find sand was apparent from the first hole when he found a greenside bunker and suffered an opening bogey.

On the second, Dunne’s drive found a fairway bunker and compounded matters by also finding a greenside bunker on the Par 5 en route to another bogey. Further bogeys followed on the fifth and eighth, the only bright light coming with a tap-in birdie on the sixth. Dunne’s homeward run also featured further visits to sand traps, with bogeys on the 12th and 14th. A 10-footer for birdie on the Par 3 17th got him back to one-over overall before an eight-footer on the 18th left him on level-par 143 alongside Lowry.

Lowry - playing alongside Harrington - got off to a good start with an opening birdie but gave the shot back immediately with a bogey on the second, where he drove into a fairway bunker and then compounded matters by finding another trap with his next shot. Although Lowry managed a birdie on the sixth, he then suffered back-to-back bogeys on the eighth and ninth to turn in one-over 37.

Mickelson set the course alight at Monterrey Peninsula with a front nine of 29 that featured five birdies and no bogeys. But such fireworks failed to continue on the run home as he added two birdies and suffered two bogeys, including a dropped shot on the 18th, to finish with a 65 which tied his best low round at the course in 2012. On that occasion, he went on to win the tournament.

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Rory Recovers After Wet Start

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Rory McIlroy overcame a nervy start to open the defence of his PGA Championship title with an encouraging one-under 71 at Whistling Straits.

In his first competitive round since the US Open, the world No 1 hit back from a three-putt bogey at the first with a birdie at the next and missed good chances at three and four before producing a stunning par-save from shallow water at the fifth hole.

McIlroy pulled a seven-iron left of the green with his third to the par-five, but he rolled up his right trouser leg, splashed out to 12 feet and calmly knocked in the putt to stay at level par.

He couldn't avoid a bogey after missing the fairway at the eighth, but he responded with a pure approach to four feet to set up a birdie at nine and a huge drive and an eight-iron into the long 11th yielded a comfortable two-putt for birdie.

McIlroy failed to convert mid-range birdie putts on each of the next four greens, but he got one to drop after pitching to six feet at the 16th before he was berating himself for pushing his approach to the last into thick rough, from where he played a poor chip and two-putted for bogey.

But he reflected on a good day's work in tough, blustery conditions, and he had no concerns with his left ankle after completing his recovery from the ligament damage he suffered during a friendly game of football with his friends just before the Scottish Open early last month.

And he was delighted with his highlight of the day at the fifth, where his main worry was getting his feet wet.

"The only thing I was trying not to do was get my feet wet, because if the water gets through this shoe, then the tape [on his left ankle] gets wet and then that would be annoying or uncomfortable for the rest of the day," McIlroy said.

"It was a little bit deeper on the right side, so I just rolled my right trouser leg up and it was fine. I just had to remember to hit it hard. And I was very fortunate to escape with a par there.

"I think anything under par this afternoon was a decent score. I thought trying to shoot something under 70 was realistic. I sort of had a chance to do that after birdieing the 16th. I missed a good chance there on 17. Unfortunate bogey on the last, I guess. Just hit a 3-iron and held it up a little bit too much into the wind and leaked it right."

McIlroy's 71 was matched by playing partner and rival for the world No 1 spot Jordan Spieth, the Masters and US Open champion looking to become only the third player after Ben Hogan and Tiger Woods to win three majors in a year.

Spieth followed 10 straight pars with a three-putt bogey on the 11th, but chipped in on the next and also birdied the 16th.

"We really battled back after 10 and 11, which were disappointing holes for me, to salvage an under par round and really stay in this tournament," the 22-year-old said. "If I didn't get that good break on 12, it could have been a different story the rest of the round."

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Rory Has Strait Chance - McGinley

Paul McGinley expects four-time major champion Rory McIlroy to be firmly in contention for this week's 97th PGA Championship.

McIlroy will return to play his first tournament since rupturing an ankle ligament six weeks ago, but McGinley has backed the 26-year-old's decision to compete at Whistling Straits.

"I think he can contend no doubt," said McGinley.

"He's the world number-one player, he's confident, he's had a good few weeks practice, his game is in good shape, and the golf course suits him.

"He's proven in the past that coming back form a big lay-off doesn't really affect him, he can come back and hit the ground running. But coming back from a serious injury, it will be interesting to see how it all unfolds for him.

"Steve McGregor [McIlroy's fitness trainer] has done a great job on him. He's very highly respected within the game and within this industry knowing exactly what fitness is about.

"He couldn't have been in better hands in terms of this rehab with Steve. I'd say he's in good shape but is he going to be competitively sharp? That's going to be the question."

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Rory Whistles While He Works

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Rory McIlroy stepped up his bid to play in next week's US PGA Championship by playing a practice round at Whistling Straits on Saturday.

The world No 1 has been sidelined for the last month after rupturing ligaments in his ankle while playing football with his friends.

That injury forced him to miss the defence of his Open title at St Andrews, but he published videos of a training session earlier in the week before heading to Wisconsin.

Speculation that McIlroy would play in the final major championship of the season stepped up a notch on Friday when he was handed a 1.20pm local time (7.20pm BST) grouping for Thursday's opening round.

The Irishman will, assuming he is fit to play, go out alongside Masters and US Open champion Jordan Spieth and Zach Johnson, who claimed the Claret Jug in thrilling fashion last month.

McIlroy enjoyed success on his last visit to Whistling Straits, a tough links-style course, when he finished third at the 2010 US PGA, one shot away from getting into the three-hole play-off Martin Kaymer went on to win.

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Ryder rather than Rio - GMAC

Graeme McDowell says making the Irish Olympic team for Rio next year is well down on his list of priorities.

GMAC is more focused on putting himself into contention for a place on Darren Clarke's Ryder Cup team and going to France to participate in the French Open, a tournament that has served him well in the past.

While McDowell says the calendar for next year is "a mess", he has clearly stated where his priorities lie and championed Padraig Harrington and Shane Lowry to represent Ireland.

"Where will I be? I'll probably be in France, and I'm okay to sort of admit that. I'd like to have the option, like I say, but France has been very good to me, and that's probably where I'll have to be," McDowell told in an interview with Irishgolfdesk.com.

"It's going to be difficult because Shane is obviously a fantastic player. Padraig has obviously shown some big signs as well.

"I'll be more interested in making the Ryder Cup team, to be honest with you, come that point in the season. That's always my focus. I think the Olympics are so hard to quantify.

"I'm not going to get myself into a race with Shane or Padraig. I'm just not going to get into a race with them. I'm going to be trying to take care of my own business and get myself on a Ryder Cup team and have a big 2016.

"If the Olympics gets in the way, great. I'm not going to get myself in a head-to-head battle with these guys. There's no point. I can only control my golf ball. Of course I'd love to be there, let's be honest."

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McDowell Finds Route 66

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Graeme McDowell enjoyed a welcome return to form on the opening day of the Scottish Open on Thursday.

McDowell’s sole top-10 finish on the European Tour this season came back in February and he missed the cut when bidding for a third successive French Open title last week, a second round of 78 being his worst score in 32 rounds at Le Golf National.

The 35-year-old admitted he needed to “clear his mind” of thoughts about technique and looked to have succeeded with an opening 66 at Gullane, which was marred only by bogeys at the last two holes.

“It’s always disappointing to finish with a couple of bogeys but I played some good stuff today,” said McDowell, who carded four birdies in succession in a front nine of 30 and also birdied the 16th before three-putting the 17th and 18th.

“I drove the ball well and the putter was quite spicy the first 11 or 12 holes before cooling down, but I would have taken 66 before going out and I will take it now.”

McDowell revealed he and coach Pete Cowen had found the solution to his poor form by looking at videos of his swing from 2010, the year he won the US Open at Pebble Beach and holed the winning putt in the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor.

“I’m trying to get back to basics and we have narrowed my stance and used my body to swing the club how I used to,” McDowell added.

“And it was nice to get back on a course that gives you a few opportunities in benign conditions. I just need a few low numbers to get my belief and confidence back and today will go a long way towards that.”

McDowell was by no means the only player to take advantage of the 7,133-yard par-70 composite course, with American pair Rickie Fowler and Matt Kuchar also finishing four under.

Thorbjorn Olesen had set the clubhouse target on seven under after a flawless 63, with England’s Matthew Nixon, Spain’s Adrian Otaegui and American Ryder Cup player Jimmy Walker on five under.

In a week dominated by Rory McIlroy missing his British Open defence due to an ankle injury suffered playing football, Olesen could sympathise with the world number one after injuring himself getting off a camel in Dubai last year.

“When I had to get down I pulled a muscle in my groin and it took a few weeks before I could walk properly again,” Olesen admitted with a smile.

The 25-year-old also discovered a tendon problem in his left hand over the winter but battled on for four events – missing the cut in the last three – before undergoing surgery at the start of February.

“It’s been a tough time but I keep working on the right things and hopefully it will come,” said Olesen, who lost a play-off for the Mauritius Open in May in his first event back after three months on the sidelines. “I showed today I can still shoot low rounds.

“I hit almost every green – only missing the 18th – and hit a lot of fairways and greens today, which was the key.”

Two birdies in the final five holes helped Pádraig Harrington card a two-under 68

Damien McGrane was in the clubhouse after a round of 69

Michael Hoey signed for a level-par 72.

Paul McGinley got off to a disastrous start, finding himself on four over after two holes following a triple bogey on the opening hole and a bogey on the second to end Thursday on a six-over 76.

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Rickie Hasn't Lost That Number

Rickie Fowler is looking forward to his trip to Ireland later this month and a head to head with Rory McIlroy in Royal County Down, a tournament he feels will be "special".

“I am looking forward so much to getting back to Royal County Down as every time I get to talk to Rory, he’s talking about how strong the field is going to be for the Irish Open,” said Fowler.

“But to be heading to the tournament later this month now as the Players Champion is going to be extra special.

“I left Royal County Down eight years ago as a young golfer unsure of where my career was headed. I was 18 and unsure what future lay ahead of me.

“So to be returning to Northern Ireland is not only special given what we managed to achieve back in ’07 but to now have won the Players, and to have had the support heading into the play-off from guys like Billy Horschel, who was one of my Royal County Down team-mates, means the world to me."

McIlroy's powers of persuasion have resulted in US Open champion Martin Kaymer, former world number one Luke Donald and American Ryder Cup star Patrick Reed in confirming their participation in the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open.

McIlroy's foundation is hosting the event at Royal County Down from May 28-31 and the world number one has been a major influence in attracting a top-class field, who will compete for a prize fund of €2.5m an increase of 25pc from last year.

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