The Irish Golf Club Gazette: Kevin Stadler

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7/06/2014

GMAC Defends French Title

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Graeme McDowell will head into the Open Championship buoyed by his first ever successful title defence following a dramatic final round of the Open de France.

McDowell overturned an eight-shot deficit thanks to a brilliant closing 67 despite the wet and windy conditions at Le Golf National, although he also had plenty of help from the American Kevin Stadler.

Stadler’s four-shot overnight lead disappeared with a front nine of 41, but he battled back well with birdies on the 14th and 16th to pull within one of McDowell, who had moved three ahead with his fifth birdie of the day on the 16th.

With McDowell then dropping his only shot of the day on the 18th after finding heavy rough off the tee, Stadler needed to par the 18th to force a play-off but missed from two feet just as McDowell left the recording area to prepare for extra holes.

Stadler’s closing 76 left him in a tie for second with Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee, who dropped five shots in the first four holes but played the remainder in four-under for a 72.

“I’m very surprised,” McDowell said after claiming his 10th European Tour title. “Midway through my second glass of red wine last night, when I was very disappointed with my back-nine performance on Saturday, I really didn’t think I’d be a) standing here with an opportunity to be in a play-off and b) with a trophy in my hands.

“I feel very fortunate. Kevin Stadler is a great, great player. I literally gave him that putt on the last green. I didn’t expect him to miss that. It’s not really the way you like to win. I was ready to go for the playoff, but I’ll take it and run. I really needed this victory. It’s a special one for me. It’s pretty timely. There’s a busy summer ahead and this a really good kick-start to the summer.”

McDowell has deliberately played a lighter schedule this year – even missing the PGA Championship at Wentworth – to leave himself fresher for the second half of the season.

“It’s a good decision now, but I have to say myself and my team were starting to question it,” the former US Open champion added. “But my body has probably never been in as good a shape at this point in the season coming into two major championships, the FedEx Cup play-offs and hopefully the Ryder Cup.

“I’m very proud to defend my first title ever and this is the boost I needed on many fronts, especially the Ryder Cup [the win takes him 10th on the European points list].”

McDowell, who held the outright lead after the first round of the Open the last time it was held at Hoylake, in 2006, added: “I was at Hoylake a couple of weeks ago. I think it’s my type of set-up. You really have to find fairways off the tee and there are big flat greens where you can hole some putts. This is a nice confidence booster and I will be back at Hoylake next Sunday ready to go.”

Stadler found himself five clear of the field when his playing partner, Jaidee, got off to a terrible start and the local favourite Victor Riu followed a birdie on the 1st with a double bogey on the 2nd.

But the 34-year-old then missed from 18 inches for par on the 4th and four feet on the 6th, before running up a double-bogey six on the next, where his ball was only found in the deep rough because an on-course television commentator stood on it.

Stadler was allowed a free drop but could only hack the ball a few yards sideways and eventually did well to get up and down from short of the green for a six.

A poor chip from left of the 8th green led to another bogey and two more early in the back nine looked to have ended his chances as McDowell picked up shots on the 13th, 14th and 16th.

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7/03/2014

GMAC in Stadler Slipstream

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

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

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

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

Damien McGrane finsihed level opn day one.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

8/31/2013

McIlroy Trails Mickelson 63

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Rory McIlroy was left frustrated after a topsy-turvy one-under-par 70 after the defending champion signed for six birdies and five bogeys.

"The mistakes are coming from missing it in the wrong spots," he said.

"It's a bit mental but I still made six birdies, so not that much is wrong, (but) it's the worst it could have been."

Graeme McDowell is two shots further back on one over par.

Up ahead it was Phil Mickelson who took a share of the lead on the opening day of the Deutsche Bank Championship after a sublime eight-under-par 63 - yet it could have been even better for the reigning Open champion.

Mickelson, fourth in the FedEx Cup standings, was well on course to card a magical 59 after starting his round on the back nine with seven birdies to reach the turn on 28.

Yet the front nine posed a different proposition for the left-hander, who found the bunker at the first for his only bogey of the round before bouncing back with an eagle on the next after landing his second shot to two feet from the pin.

However, a run of pars followed before the American finished his round birdie-bogey at TPC in Boston to share the lead with England's Brian Davis.

"I still felt I could have shot three or four under (on the finishing nine)," Mickelson told the PGA Tourwebsite. "I wasn't too worried about shooting 59."

Mickelson, who also opened with a round of 60 at the Waste ManagementPhoenix Open earlier this year, was satisfied with his round, however.

"I putted really well. There were a couple that didn't go that had every bit as good a chance to go as the ones that did and that's the sign that you're putting well," he added.

"There was only one putt the entire I should have made; the par putt on one that didn't go in and the other ones were really good."

Davis, 80th in the FedEx Cup and needing a good week to qualify for the BMW Championship for the fifth time in his career, joined Mickelson at the top of the leaderboard after an unblemished round.

The 39-year-old catapulted up the standings with five birdies in seven holes before finishing with back-to-back birdies to move to eight under, one shot ahead of Kevin Stadler, who made eight birdies and a solitary bogey on the 12th in his round of 64.

World number one Tiger Woods and Barclays winner and Masters champion Adam Scott were in the same playing group as Mickelson although they failed to take inspiration from the 43-year-old.

Woods, who on Thursday told reporters his back problem is not as bad as first feared, struck a 68 although Scott was well off the pace and is tied for 87th following a two-over-par round.

American pair Hunter Mahan and Roberto Castro, and Sergio Garcia were on six under par, while Englishmen Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter were among 16 players on shot further back.

8/23/2013

McIlroy Bounces Back at Barclays

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Rory McIlroy's opening round of level par 71 at the FedEx Cup play-offs was every bit as explosive, unpredictable and sometimes spectacular as the electrical storms which twice interrupted play at The Barclays in Jersey City.

Showing the same fighting spirit which propelled him into the top-10 at the recent US PGA, McIlroy bounced straight back from ugly double-bogey sixes with a birdie and then an astonishing eagle at Liberty National.

Graeme McDowell joined the Holywood star on the same score, after a less erratic round. The two compatriots sat seven shots behind the early club house lead of Kevin Stadler, who was one ahead of Ryan Palmer and Henrik Stenson. Though wayward from tee to green, Tiger Woods scrambled brilliantly for a bogey-free 67.

All season, McIlroy has been blighted by grievous errors on the golf course, but the difference at Oak Hill, and again yesterday, was his blunt refusal to let them get him down. However, yet a third double-bogey when he hit his tee shot out of bounds at the ninth, his final hole, cast a dark pall over his day's work.

One under after holing from five feet for birdie at the par-five 13th, McIlroy made a hash of 15, where he pulled his tee shot left into the waste area, found the front left bunker in two and then hit his next through the green on the way to an ugly six.

Still, he rebounded with a sweet birdie six at 16.

McIlroy responded to his double-bogey at five, where he hit his approach into water tight to the left of the green, by holing from 29 feet for a fabulous eagle at the long sixth.

Those storms led to two long stoppages as the early starters, including McIlroy, Woods and McDowell played their first round.