Harrington Happy About Rio

Padraig Harrington is thrilled to be going and dreams of gold.

“I’m really looking forward to Rio. My whole family are going,” the 44-year-old Irishman said after a long session on the practice putting green on a sizzling hot and stormy Baltusrol, where the PGA Championship begins on Thursday.

“We’re busy getting our tickets organized for the second week that we’re there. It’s a big deal for us.”

Harrington, winner of the 2008 PGA Championship and two British Open titles (2007, 2008), accepted the honor of playing for Ireland after the withdrawals of four-times major champion Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell citing concerns over the Zika virus.

Later Shane Lowery also withdrew over Zika worries, opening the door for 297th-ranked Seamus Power to join Harrington in the 60-man Rio field as golf returns to the Olympic programme after an absence of 112 years.

World number one Jason Day of Australia, the defending PGA champion, and Americans Dustin Johnson and Jordan Spieth, ranked second and third, respectively, also bowed out from Rio consideration due to health concerns.

The mosquito-borne Zika virus, which the World Health Organization says is spreading rapidly in the Americas, can cause crippling defects in babies and has been linked to the neurological disorder Guillain-Barre in adults.

“I’m going down there to try and win. No doubt about it, I believe I can win,” said Harrington, who has slipped to 150th in the world rankings.

Harrington, like others who played at the Open at Royal Troon, are returning for the season’s final major with just one tournament week in between them in a tour season condensed to make room for the Olympic tournament.

Some players, including world number eight Adam Scott of Australia and South Africa’s world number 15 Louis Oosthuizen, said they opted out of the Rio Games for scheduling reasons.

Harrington said he had planned to play two majors and the Olympics this summer. “I wanted to do my preparation for all three and if I played well in one of those three would have a good chance of winning,” he said.

“It didn’t happen at the (British) Open. I’ve won three majors and I’m happy to take either,” he said about this week’s PGA or next month’s Summer Olympics.

“I could understand if you haven’t won a major, making that more of a priority. But I think an Olympic gold would add a lot to my career.”

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McIlroy Claims Irish Open Title

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Rory McIlroy produced a sensational finish to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat and win the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open for the first time at The K Club.

McIlroy had seen his three-shot lead turned into a one-shot deficit with three holes to play as Scotland’s Russell Knox carded four birdies and an eagle in a final round interrupted twice by hailstorms and torrential rain.

But the world No 3 then birdied the par-five 16th as Knox three-putted and, after lipping out for birdie on the 17th, fired a stunning approach from 252 yards to within three feet of the hole on the 18th for a closing eagle.

The resulting 69 meant McIlroy finished three shots clear of Knox and Wales’ Bradley Dredge to claim the first prize of €666,660, which he will donate to his own foundation which hosted the tournament for the second year.

Dredge surged through the field with a 66 to secure the biggest pay-day of his career, with Knox returning a 68.

McIlroy had missed the cut in his home event for the last three years, but completed an error-free 70 in the weather-delayed third round on Sunday morning to claim a three-shot lead over Masters champion Danny Willett.

And, although Willett’s challenge stalled in the final round with 13 straight pars before he collapsed to a closing 77, Knox ensured McIlroy would not have things all his own way.

Using a driver borrowed from Sweden’s David Lingmerth after cracking the face of his own club on Thursday, Knox missed good birdie chances on the first two holes before holing from 20 feet for eagle on the fourth.

Playing partner McIlroy birdied the same hole to retain his three-shot advantage before Knox birdied the fifth to reduce the gap, with both players then dropping a shot on the sixth.

After a delay of 69 minutes following the first deluge, McIlroy edged two shots clear with a birdie on the 10th, only to three-putt the 11th and then see Knox draw level with a birdie on the 14th before play was temporarily halted again due to another spell of hailstones.

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Harrington Happy with Irish Open Slot

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Padraig Harrington is intent on going with the flow as he prepares for this week’s Dubai Duty Free Irish Open at the K Club.

“This is a tough week for all the Irish guys,” he said. “There’s a lot going on. The key here is that you’ve got to embrace what’s going on and not fight against it.

“You can’t do your regular stuff, you can’t do your regular routines, your preparation isn’t going to be the same this week as it is any other week.

“You have to embrace that and accept it. I certainly fought against that for years and I really found this the toughest event. Now, I just accept I won’t be able to do everything right.

“There aren’t enough hours in the day to get everything done in an Irish Open week, and by trying to fit everything in, you’ll actually fail miserably.”

One area where players shouldn’t have too many causes for concern is on the actual course, which has come in for praise.

“The guys are giving it a very positive appraisal,” the 44-year-old revealed. “I haven’t managed to get a practice round in, I’ve been too busy!

“I play the pro-am tomorrow (Wednesday) and I’ll see the golf course. I assume my past knowledge of it will be good enough to get myself around it. 

“But I’m looking forward to it. I hear it’s in good condition. The two weeks of good weather in the last two weeks really brought it on.” 

The lure of a big pot has attracted a stellar field and Harrington confirmed: “A €4million event has basically ensured that all the European players play.

“It counts for so much when it comes to making the Ryder Cup team and the Race To Dubai itself.

“If you talk about changing the date, next week is the BMW Championship in the UK, which is one of the biggest events.

“So players see it as a natural sequence of a couple of events.

“It has got a good time at the moment - it is a good slot on the European schedule.”

The Dubliner also revealed the influence Christy O’Connor Sr had on his career on the day the legendary golfer was laid to rest. 

“It was very sad news,” he said.“I went out and saw the family today. 

“I was reminded of a little story. My dad only took up golf because of Christy O'Connor Sr. So I wouldn’t be playing golf, only for Christy O'Connor Sr.”

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Peter Lawrie Amongst The K Club Invites

Dubai Duty Free Irish Open 2015 - Getty Images

Peter Lawrie has received an invitation to the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open Hosted by the Rory Foundation which will be played at The K Club from May 19-22 in County Kildare.

Also included in the cherished list are Irish golfers Paul Dunne, of Hartl Resort, in Bad Griesbach; Gavin Moynihan of The Island GC; Kevin Phelan of Mount Juliet; Ruaidhri McGee of Rosapenna. Along with Ryan Evans of Wellingborough GC and Seve Benson of the Wentworth Club.

They all are joined Martin Kaymer, who has added his name to the all-star field, with a host of his fellow Ryder Cup players and European Tour winners also entered for the 61st edition of Ireland’s national Open.

Kaymer makes his fourth appearance - in what is now a €4 million tournament - with a tied tenth finish at Adare Manor in 2008 as his best performance to date. 

The German has not won though a regular European Tour event for five years – his last victory being the 2014 US Open Championship. But a top six finish on his last outing at Real Valderrama Club Open de España, Hosted by Sergio Garcia Foundation two weeks ago offered encouraging signs. 

Not unlike The K Club, which hosted a memorable Ryder Cup in 2006, Kaymer became synonymous with golf’s greatest team contest after holing the putt which ensured the trophy would remain in European hands at Medinah Country Club in 2012. 

A strong showing at The K Club under the eye of Europe’s 2016 Captain, Darren Clarke, would enhance Kaymer’s claims for a fourth straight Ryder Cup appearance. Englishman Chris Wood and Austrian Bernd Wiesberger also be hoping for inclusion in Europe’s line-up later in the year. 

Rafa Cabrera Bello, Soren Kjeldsen, Matt Fitzpatrick and Andy Sullivan all currently occupy automatic qualifying places for 2016 The Ryder Cup. 

Danny Willett will also be teeing up at The K Club has already confirmed his place at Hazeltine National in September following his victory at The Masters last month. 

Peter Lawrie was part of that strong field in Valderrama two weeks ago courtesy of being a former Open de España winner. Over the four days the Dubliner made good use of his return to a European Tour event with a solid performance in a tough field and testing conditions.

“It’s great news to get a start at our National event, said Peter from Rabata in Morocco, "Even more so as it has been revitalised by Rory McIlroy and Dubai Duty Free.” 

“With the Trophée Hassan this week it will offer another great opportunity to fine tune a few things and compete in another tough field.”

“So I’m really looking forward to the next few weeks,” concluded Lawrie

Lawrie lost his automatic playing rights after finishing 124th in the Race to Dubai last season.

*Peter Lawrie is sponsored by PGA Catalunya [Girona] and NewstalkFM [Dublin]

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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.

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Final Irish Amateur Open for Royal Dublin

Flogas Irish Amateur Open

The Irish Amateur Open Championship will have a new home in 2017 following a 10-year run at Royal Dublin. The move will see the oldest Championship in Irish Amateur golf move to Royal County Down as of next year.

The Newcastle links has been the venue for the Irish Amateur Open in the past but this is the first occasion in modern times that RCD will be host.

Since the Irish Amateur Open was revived in the mid-1990s, Royal Dublin has become synonymous with the Championship and has witnessed a litany of great champions such as Portmarnock’s Noel Fox – a two-time winner – South African Louis Oosthuizen and The Island’s Gavin Moynihan, who captured his second title in 2015.

Widely regarded as the finest golf course in the world, Ireland’s premier Championship will return to Royal County Down after a 58-year gap. Jimmy Bruen (1938) and Cecil Ewing (1948) are among the list of players who have won Ireland’s blue-riband amateur championship at RCD.

In 2015 Royal County Down hosted the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open and it also staged the Walker Cup matches in 2007.

Flogas has also joined forces with the Golfing Union of Ireland to become the new title sponsor of the Flogas Irish Amateur Open Championship which takes place this week at Royal Dublin [May 5th - 8th].  

Flogas has agreed a three-year sponsorship deal which continues into 2017 and 2018.

As an added incentive for this year’s winner at Royal Dublin, a place in the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open at The K Club awaits. 

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McIlroy Talks Olympic Golf

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Rory McIlroy believes he may only have two chances to win an Olympic medal unless there is a change in attitude to the sport’s return to the Games.

Adam Scott, Louis Oosthuizen, Charl Schwartzel and Vijay Singh have all made themselves unavailable for selection for this summer’s Games in Rio, when golf is included in the programme for the first time since 1904.

Scott had previously said winning an Olympic medal was nothing he had ”ever aspired to do” and questioned the 72-hole strokeplay format for what he called ”an exhibition event,” while Oosthuizen cited “family and schedule issues” and Singh also expressed concern about the Zika virus.

McIlroy said in January that major championships would always be more important to him than an Olympic medal, but asked on Wednesday why he would be playing in Rio, the 27-year-old said: “Two reasons — Because of how it’s being approached in golf circles, it’s being played in Rio this year and Tokyo in 2020, I’m not sure if we’re going to have another opportunity to win a gold medal after that, depending on what happens.

“The second thing — Paul McGinley is the Irish team captain and he is so into it. He’s more into it than I am quite honestly, but because he is, I would feel like I am not only letting him down, I’d let the country down as well. Paul is a very close friend of mine and if I didn’t play I’d let him down big time.

“That’s why I want to go and give it my best shot. I’m going to get all my shots next week from the doctor on site at the Players (Championship), get my shots for Zika and everything else I need and go play four rounds really competitively and try to win a gold medal.”

Speaking in a press conference ahead of his defence of the Wells Fargo Championship, McIlroy added: “I don’t know how that will stack up against the other things I’ve done in my career now, but maybe I might look back in 20 years’ time and a gold medal might be one of my crowning achievements in the game. You never know.

“It’s an opportunity to do something you’ve never done before. I get that a lot of players aren’t playing because of family matters and other things, but while I don’t have those issues of a family it’s a good opportunity. If nothing else it will be a great experience.”

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McIlrory Invites McKibbin to Irish Open

Tom McKibbin 

Northern Irish teenager Tom McKibbin has been invited to play alongside Rory McIlroy in the pro-am ahead of the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open on 18 May.

McKibbin, 13, took up golf just before his ninth birthday and won the Junior Honda Classic in Florida earlier this year.

In August 2015 he won the World Junior Championships aged 12. McIlroy won the same event at the age of nine.

"Tom McKibbin is a great talent," said McIlroy, whose foundation is hosting the Irish Open for the second year.

"I played a round with Tom in Florida recently and he is the real deal. At only 13 years of age I think he has a remarkable golfing future ahead of him.

"Having seen him play a couple of times now, he impresses me more each time. And I can think of no better place to showcase his talents than at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open at the K Club."

McKibbin, who is from Co Antrim, said: "I met Rory while I was in Dubai last October and we got chatting while we were both practising. When I won the Honda Classic in Florida in January, Rory sent me a message and invited me to play golf with him.

"I have to thank Rory for inviting me to play in the pro-am at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open. Not only do I get a day off school, but I get to play alongside one of the best golfers in the world! It's getting close now and I'm pretty excited. I've been practising as often as possible."

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