The Irish Golf Club Gazette: Lee Westwood

Showing posts with label Lee Westwood. Show all posts

8/22/2016

Lowry Hopes to make it in Denmark

Shane Lowry has become the latest high-profile European Tour star to join the field for this month’s Made in Denmark, as the Irishman attempts to play his way into Europe’s team for The 2016 Ryder Cup.

It will be a maiden appearance for Lowry at Denmark’s only European Tour event, which this year has the honour of being the final counting event for the 41st edition of The Ryder Cup, due to be staged at Hazeltine National, in Minnesota, from September 30-October 2.

The 29 year old is relishing the opportunity of making a late case for inclusion in Captain Darren Clarke’s team when the third edition of the tournament takes place at Himmerland Golf & Spa Resort, from August 25-28.

“I can’t wait to get to Denmark for what could be a big week for me,” said the three-time European Tour winner. “I’m determined to play my way onto The Ryder Cup team, so it was a fairly easy decision for me to play that week, and one I hope will pay off.

“I’ve heard great things about this event and especially the fans, which suits me as I love playing in front of big crowds. So hopefully I can show them what I’m capable of, and peak at just the right time.”

Lowry is joined in the field by his fellow Irishman Clarke, who will have more than just his own game on his mind as he finalises his team for Hazeltine.

Martin Kaymer, another player chasing a wildcard pick for the Ryder Cup, will also make his Made in Denmark debut as the two-time Major winner hunts a 12th European Tour title.

Other Ryder Cup hopefuls in the field include Englishmen Matthew Fitzpatrick and Chris Wood, both of whom currently occupy automatic qualification spots; while home favourite Søren Kjeldsen will also be hoping to put on a strong showing in front of Captain Clarke as he too bids to secure a wildcard pick.

8/09/2015

Lowry Lurks in Rose Shadow

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Shane Lowry is looking forward to the final round of the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational after carding a three under par 67 on Saturday.

The 28 year old heads into the last day of the tournament on seven under par, two shots behind co-leaders Justin Rose and Jim Furyk.

Lowry's third round got off to a solid start, with birdies at the second and fourth holes taking him to the turn in 33.

He made another gain at the 11th and came within a shot of the lead after his fourth birdie of the day on the 12th, but he bogeyed the next two holes before a birdie on the 16th sent him to within two shots of the co-leaders.

He said: "I'm pretty happy. There were a couple of slip ups on the back nine, but all in all I played quite nice.

"I gave myself a couple of chances coming in. It would have been nice to hole that one on the last but I'm right where I want to be going into tomorrow.

"I'm looking forward to it. It is a big event and I have a chance of going out there and doing something special.

"My game has been good for a couple of years now. I feel like I'm driving the ball quite well.

"If I can hole a few putts, I can do something special.

"I just need to go out and do my own thing, chill out in the morning and get out there and hopefully do something good."

Englishman Ian Poulter is among a group of four players two shots further behind Lowry after he carded seven birdies and two bogeys on his way to an impressive 65 on Saturday.

The Ryder Cup star began his round with four birdies in the first six holes before a bogey on the seventh slowed his charge.

Three birdies and another bogey on the back nine saw him climb to joint fourth, along with Steven Bowditch, Bubba Watson and Henrik Stenson.

Stenson carded five birdies and three bogeys as he posted a two under par 68 on Saturday.

Graeme McDowell and Brooks Koepka are among those another shot back on four under after firing 69 and 68 respectively on day three.

McDowell is pleased with the progress he has made in recent weeks. He said: "I'm really happy with the leaps I've made the last few weeks. My game is really turning the corner in a positive way, so I'm really happy.

"This is a testing golf course off the tee. I haven't hit enough fairways, but it's getting there with the rest of the stuff.

"It all bodes well for tomorrow. I am looking forward to it and going into next week."

7/24/2015

Hoey on Swiss Roll

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Michael Hoey carded an early hole-in-one as he opened his Omega European Masters campaign with a five-under 65 to lie two shots off first-round leader Gregory Havret at Crans Montana in Switzerland.

In a first-round that was delayed due to fog on the mountain-top Crans-sur-Sierre course, Hoey aced the the 191-yard third hole after opening with two pars.

The 36-year-old from Ballymoney in Antrim dropped a shot at the short par-four fifth but a birdie three on the seventh helped him turn in two-under 33.

A second birdie of the day came on the 10th before back-to-back gains on the 14th and 15th moved him to five under. He dropped a second shot on the 16th but finished on a high with a birdie three on the 18th.

Havret also had a hole in one early in his round as he shot to the top of the leaderboard with a 63. After starting with a bogey on the 10th, the Frenchman holed his tee-shot on the 195-yard 13th and followed it up with back-to-back birdie fours on par-five 14th and 15th holes to move to three under.

Six straight pars followed for the three-time European Tour winner before another scoring burst came with back-to-back birdie threes on the fourth and fifth and a second eagle of the day on the short par-four seventh.

Speaking about his hole-in-one, Havret said: “It’s a little bit strange, for a few seconds you don’t know what to do because you can’t believe it.

“Then when you hear everybody shouting and cheering by the green, you know it’s real and you start to go crazy yourself.

“After that happened, you couldn’t take the smile from off my face, because I knew that whatever happened for the rest of the round, I would have a very nice prize waiting for me. So I was very happy, and I play my best golf when I’m happy.”

Havret’s 63 gave him a one-shot lead over Lasse Jensen, the Dane carding six birdies and no bogeys in a 64, while Hoey is among 12 players that ended the day on five under.

Among the group was Danny Willett, who continued where he left off at the British Open, the 27-year-old English golfer including an eagle and five birdies in his round.

Willett’s fellow English golfers Seve Benson, Richard Bland and Tyrell Hatton are also on five under, along with a trio of Swedes in Pelle Edberg, Rikard Karlberg and amateurMarcus Kinhult.

The tournament, which is co-sanctioned with the Asian Tour, also saw 65s carded by Australian left-hander Richard Green, the South Korean duo of YE Yang and Seukhyun Baek and Thailand’s Jazz Janewattanond.

Welshman Bradley Dredge was one of six players on four under along with defending champion David Lipsky of America.

American Ryder Cup player Patrick Reed opened with a three-under 67 as sis Swiss amateur Marco Iten, who leads the home challenge.

Lee Westwood, whose 42 career wins include a Crans success in 1999, recovered from a poor start to reach two under with three birdies in his closing five holes.

Another to recover from a poor start was world No 10 Sergio Garcia after he opened double-bogey, bogey before four birdies rescued his day as he signed for a one-under 69.

Peter Lawrie is in a share of 21st position on three under after he carded four birdies and a bogey in his 67.

Damien McGrane finished three over par after a 73 that included six bogeys and a tough task on Friday to secure weekend action.

7/03/2015

McDowell Misses French Cut

Graeme McDowell admits he has work to do on his game after missing the cut at Le Golf National.

The Northern Irishman's bid for a third successive title in France came to a frustratingly early end, as the former US Open champion's poor form continued.

McDowell was one of the early starters on Friday after thunderstorms had left 42 players unable to complete their opening rounds on day one, making par at the 18th to close and opening 72 and lie within four of the lead.

However, after a short break McDowell was back out on the course which will stage the 2018 Ryder Cup and slumped to a second round of 78, his worst score in 32 rounds at the venue.

The 35-year-old failed to register a single birdie during his second round, posting three bogeys and two double-bogeys, including at the second after sending his shot in to the hazard, to end the week eight over.

"I struggled to get in the fairway mainly and, as firm and as fast as this course is, if you're not hitting the fairway you have a bit of a problem getting close to the flag," McDowell said. "It's just a bad first nine both days.

"I rescued it coming in last night but it was a fast turnaround from a 9pm finish last night to an early start this morning and I just didn't come out of the blocks this morning at all.

"It's very disappointing, this course has been so good to me over the years, just not to be this year. It's a work in progress, I'll keep grinding and it's a big summer ahead."

It leaves McDowell without a top-ten finish since February's Dubai Desert Classic, with the Ryder Cup star in danger of dropping out of the world's top 50 unless he can produces an upturn in results.

"I have a lot of technique in my head to be honest and I have to strip that out," McDowell told Sky Sports 4. "I've got to get back to basics and try to clear the mind.

"I've been working too hard on trying to get the technique fixed and been making it worse. I know it's in there; you take the rough with the smooth and it's been a great three or four years. I will dig this out and I'll be back."

5/26/2015

DDF Irish Open - Tee Times

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Rory McIlroy will play with Rickie Fowler and Martin Kaymer in the pick of the draw at the Irish Open.

Walker Cup rivals turned Major rivals, Fowler and McIlroy, who is largely responsible for the stellar names littering the draw at Royal County Down, will tee off at 8am on Thursday.

They will be following another home favourite Graeme McDowell, who has been grouped with Miguel Angel Jimenez, fresh from his second place finish in the PGA Championship at Wentworth, and England’s Lee Westwood.

There is little love lost between three-time Major winner Padraig Harrington and Sergio Garcia and the two will start together from the 10th tee along with 2014 winner Mikko Ilonen at 12.50pm.

Shane Lowry returned to form at Wentworth, finishing tied for sixth place and a shot behind Francesco Molinari, and the two tee off at 1pm on Thursday with big Ernie Els.

Elsewhere, Ryder Cup captain Darren Clarke has been drawn with Luke Donald and Danny Willett, while Wentworth winner Byeong Hun An isjoined by Victor Dubuisson and Tommy Fleetwood.

Selected tee times:

07:40 Darren CLARKE Luke DONALD Danny WILLETT

07:50 Graeme MCDOWELL Lee WESTWOOD Miguel Angel JIMÉNEZ

08:00 Martin KAYMER Rory MCILROY Rickie FOWLER

08:10 Michael HOEY Stephen GALLACHER Marc WARREN

08:20 Matteo MANASSERO Kevin PHELAN George COETZEE

08:30 Paul MCGINLEY Paul LAWRIE Robert KARLSSON

08:40 Tyrrell HATTON Peter UIHLEIN Chris WOOD

08:50 Chris DOAK Ricardo GONZALEZ John G KELLY

12:30 Damien MCGRANE Thorbjørn OLESEN Alexander LEVY

12:40 James MORRISON Anirban LAHIRI Thongchai JAIDEE

12:50 Padraig HARRINGTON Mikko ILONEN Sergio GARCIA

13:00 Ernie ELS Shane LOWRY Francesco MOLINARI

13:10 Victor DUBUISSON Tommy FLEETWOOD Byeong Hun AN

13:20 Pablo LARRAZÁBAL Andy SULLIVAN Bernd WIESBERGER

13:30 Marcel SIEM Kiradech APHIBARNRAT Ross FISHER

13:40 Peter HANSON Nicolas COLSAERTS David HOWELL

13:50 Peter LAWRIE Romain WATTEL Richie RAMSAY

14:00 Steve WEBSTER Alex NOREN Simon THORNTON

14:10 Mike LORENZO-VERA Robert DINWIDDIE Gavin MOYNIHAN (AM)

5/22/2015

Reed Pulls out of County Down

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Patrick Reed has pulled out of next week's Irish Open.

The 24-year-old United States player was due to compete at Wentworth from Thursday before moving on to the event at Royal County Down, Newcastle.

He has opted to play in this week's Crowne Plaza Invitational in Texas.

"We will not be able to travel overseas at this time. My sincere apologies go to the organisers of both events, and to the fans," said Reed.

The Irish Open takes place from 28-31 May and is being hosted by world number one Rory McIlroy's charity foundation.

A statement issued by Reed said: "I am really looking forward to playing on the European Tour this year which makes me even more disappointed to withdraw from Wentworth and the Irish Open.

Four-time major winner McIlroy has been instrumental in assembling a high quality field for the Irish Open.

Among those playing at the famous links course at the foot of the Mourne Mountains are Kaymer, Ernie Els, Sergio Garcia, Rickie Fowler, Luke Donald and Lee Westwood.

McIlroy's fellow major winners from Northern Ireland, Graeme McDowell and Darren Clarke, are also taking part.

Rory McIlroy Double Winner

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Rory McIlroy has been chosen as Golfer of the Year and Players' Player of the Year at the European Tour Awards.

The world number one secured the double after a year in which he won the Open and the US PGA Championship as well as playing in Europe's Ryder Cup triumph.

The 26-year-old's last 10 European Tour finishes have seen him claim five victories and three runners-ups places.

"I am just trying to keep going and increase that tally," said McIlroy.

"There is a lot to play for this year. I have got off to a great start and I just need to continue that."

Brooks Koepka, from the United States, was another double winner as he received the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year Award and the Challenge Tour Graduate of the Year Award, after winning November's Turkish Airlines Open to go with four other top-10 finishes.

There were also celebrations for the full Ryder Cup team, while Welshman Jamie Donaldson won the Shot of the Year award for the approach which sealed the winning point at Gleneagles.

The European players were joined on stage by former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson who was invited by captain Paul McGinley to address the team before the start of the September 2014 contest.

McIlroy noted: "Even with all the personal success I have had over the past year, the Ryder Cup was the most enjoyable week."

2/17/2015

Els and Garcia Confirm Irish Open

Irish Open hosted by The Rory Foundation, will srr two more legends of the game – four-time Major-winner Ernie Els and Ryder Cup talisman, Sergio Garcia – become the latest superstars to add their names to what is fast becoming one of the strongest fields in the tournament’s recent history.

This year’s event at Royal County Down will mark Garcia’s first appearance in 15 years at the tournament which launched his professional career as a precocious teenager in 1999, when he captured his first European Tour title at Druids Glen.

Meanwhile Els, who has accumulated 28 Tour titles during the course of a glittering career spanning more than a quarter of a century, will visit the Irish Open for the first time since 1998.

Their long-awaited return will only add to the growing hype surrounding this year’s event at Royal County Down in Northern Ireland, with American Rickie Fowler and former World Number One Lee Westwood having already announced their attendance alongside tournament host and World Number One Rory McIlroy, his compatriots Darren Clarke and Graeme McDowell and defending champion Mikko Ilonen.

McIlroy, whose charitable foundation The Rory Foundation will be the official tournament host this year, has been instrumental in attracting some of the biggest names in world golf to the County Down venue, regarded as one of the greatest links courses in the world.

Garcia, 35, is eagerly anticipating his first appearance on Northern Irish soil as a professional having enjoyed great success in the Republic, where he won the Irish Open as a teenager before playing a prominent role in The Ryder Cup at the K Club in County Kildare seven years later.

“I cannot wait to return to a tournament which has such great memories for me,” said the Spaniard, who won four points as part of the victorious European team at The K Club.

“You could say this event is where it all began for me. I was just 19 when I won in Druids Glen in 1999, only two months after I turned professional.

“Not only am I returning to a very special event, but to a venue of which I have heard some incredible things. Royal County Down is a world-famous links and going by what Rory has been telling me, it could possibly be the best course I play this year.

“I feel like I have a great connection with the Irish golf fans, not only from my victory back in 1999 but also from The 2006 Ryder Cup at The K Club. They are knowledgeable and respectful and also good fun so it is going to be a great week.”

Els, meanwhile, is relishing the opportunity to claim a second career title in Ireland, having won the WGC - American Express Championship at Mount Juliet Country Club in 2004.

He said: “I haven’t played in the Irish Open for a while and I spoke with Rory in Dubai recently about the event and am very happy for him that he is involved in hosting such a prestigious event. It is a similar role I have taken with the South African Open and it is a great honour to be able to host your national open.

“I was at Royal County Down with my dad and a friend in 1998 and remember the course well. It has such great history and is probably in my top five links courses in the world.

“I am excited to play and I think the decision to host such a prestigious national open on such a great course is the correct one. Hopefully the weather will behave and we will have a great championship, I can’t wait.”

McIlroy, meanwhile, has been blown away by the response he is receiving from his friends in the golf world and is hopeful that more stars will follow suit in the coming months.

“When I took on the hosting of this event on behalf of my charitable foundation, I was confident I could convince a lot of great players to come and play the Irish Open this year but the response so far has exceeded all of my expectations,” said the four-time Major winner.

“To have Rickie, Sergio, Ernie, Lee, Darren and Graeme, as well as Mikko, already committed by February is incredible and I’m really proud to be involved in what is shaping up to be one of the great events of The European Tour season. Hopefully we’ll have a few more big names to add to that list in the next 100 days.”

More than 80,000 spectators are expected and tens of thousands of tickets have already been sold for the event, which is supported by Tourism Northern Ireland.

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