Hoey Set for Galgorm Challenge

Michael Hoey completes a hat-trick of years as Tournament Ambassador for the Northern Ireland Open in Association with Sphere Global and Ulster Bank this week with his enthusiasm for both Northern Irish golf and the important role the European Challenge Tour plays in players’ development unabated.

The 36 year old has been involved in the tournament ever since its inception in 2013 and has seen it grow to become the best-attended event on the Challenge Tour, with more than 30,000 fans turning out last year and more expected this week.

Since graduating from the Challenge Tour, Hoey has won five times on The European Tour, and he is excited by the prospect of being joined by more of his countrymen in the near future.

“We haven’t always had that much depth in Northern Irish golf,” he said. “I know we’ve had the tip of the iceberg in Rory (McIlroy), Graeme (McDowell) and Darren (Clarke) and it’s been unbelievable, but myself and Gareth Maybin have been the only others on The European Tour.

“We need a few more additions to that I think, but it looks like we’re going to get them pretty soon. Chris Selfridge has just turned professional and has done great. It looks like he’s going to be on The European Tour very soon and certainly he’s going to be on the Challenge Tour because he’s done well enough.

“Young Tom McKibbin (pictured below) just won the Under 12 World Junior Championships over in America and he’s played the pro-am this week, so he’s a great addition to our field.

“He’s doing what Rory did when he was that age by winning that, which is awesome. My coach Johnny Foster has a lot of young talent, not just Tom but a lot of other teenagers coming through.

“There are a lot of Northern Irish guys coming through, be they from Tom’s age through to Chris.

“I’ve played Challenge Tour myself so I know what it’s like. There’s a lot of good young players this week who will be wanting to get onto The European Tour, some of the older guys who will want to get back on, so there’s a lot of different perspectives this week from young guys to old guys to local talent to people from all over the world.

“I got on The European Tour in 2006 from finishing in the Challenge Tour top ten in 2005 but then my game wasn’t good enough to stay there.

“I came back onto the Challenge Tour in 2008, won a couple of times, was around 20th but not quite inside the top 20, but playing on the Challenge Tour for those years really helped me when I got back on The European Tour.

“But the standard on the Challenge Tour is really good and those years taught me a lot, having somewhere that’s very competitive and you play four rounds of golf.

“It’s a massively important thing and the standard’s getting better every week, the scoring’s really good and it’s a great tour.”

There's a lot of Northern Irish guys coming through and the Northern Ireland Open has a great atmosphere - it feels like a European Tour event with the crowds we get

Hoey comes into this week showing good form after reaching the quarter finals at last week’s Saltire Energy Paul Lawrie Matchplay, though he admits he is more concerned with making this week’s event as successful as possible than any personal glory.

“My golf is not that important this week,” he said. “Obviously I’d like to do as well as I can, but it’s a different position to be in as Tournament Ambassador, and the money doesn’t count towards The European Tour.

“Three years ago the guys up here got in contact with us and needed help from the government and needed a named player.

“I was able, because I was playing on The European Tour, to use my name and help with some funding for the tournament and I think that’s made a big difference, and I’m fortunate to have been in a position to be able to do that.

“Getting all the sponsors involved has been difficult, but Ulster Bank and all the other smaller sponsors have been great, and this year Sphere Global are involved as well which is fantastic, they’re a really successful company.

“It feels like a European Tour event with the crowds we get. It’s a great atmosphere if the weather’s decent, though it doesn’t matter how bad the weather is because a lot of people will always come out to watch. It’s one of the premier events on the Challenge Tour so I’m looking forward to it.”

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Heartbreak Ridge For McIlroy

Rory McIlroy, fresh from a weekend victory in Dubai, is suing Conor Ridge's Horizon Sports Management over the cut his firm was taking from his on and off course earnings.

On Tuesday the world number one is in Dublin to contest the case in court. 

The bitter row over £4.2million in fees has taken the pair all the way to the big business division of the Irish High Court.

The case centres on McIlroy's contract with Dublin-based Horizon and two other linked companies, the Malta-based Gurteen and Canovan Management, also based in the Irish capital.

The golf star, who took up the game as a youngster in Holywood, Co Down, and now has a home in Florida, claims the terms were inferior to those given to other top 10 players including fellow countryman and major winning friend Graeme McDowell, who was in the same stable.

In court papers when the case was launched in late 2013, it was claimed McIlroy signed up with Ridge's agency at an informal meeting on the day of Horizon's Christmas party in 2011.

The golfer, whose address at the time was given as Avenue Princess Grace in Monaco, alleged he was exploited, misled and taken advantage of when he joined the Dublin agency.

The court heard he had no legal advice or knowledge of negotiating before he signed up, and trusted them to charge the appropriate rates.

McIlroy's case will be heard before the president of the High Court, Judge Nicholas Kearns, unless the two sides attempt an 11th hour settlement.

The dispute involves McIlroy's claim that Horizon charged almost four times what top 10 golfers pay to agents.

The pre-tax rates were set at 5% of prize winnings and 20% of sponsorship and appearances money, a charge his lawyers claim is reserved for an "inexperienced or unproven golfer'', the court heard last year.

McIlroy's business interests are now overseen by Rory McIlroy Incorporated, which is headed by Donal Casey, formerly of Horizon, his father Gerry and family friend and business executive Barry Funston, who also oversees much of the golfer's charitable work under the Rory McIlroy Foundation.

Another dispute in the case is an alleged 166,000 euro (£141,000) donation to Unicef on the eve of a trip to Haiti when McIlroy was an ambassador for the charity.

There was another row over Horizon using complimentary airline seats on a flight to Abu Dhabi booked by tournament organisers in McIlroy's name.

The young golfer's career soared in the year after he signed for Ridge from Chubby Chandler's stable, earning more than £10m in 2012 before hitting a slump to earn about £2m in prizes.

He was with the company when he won the 2012 PGA Championship, rose to number one in the world and signed a five-year sponsorship deal with Nike, said to be worth in excess of £60m.

A dip in form followed and his engagement to tennis star Caroline Wozniacki ended, but the Northern Irishman has four majors to his name.

And if recent form on the course offers any insight into his demeanour in the face of a potentially ugly court case, McIlroy appeared focused when picking up his latest trophy.

Sunday's win at the Dubai Desert Classic is a repeat of his first as a professional back in 2009.

He is now favourite to complete the career grand slam of golf, aiming to have the commercial dispute over before vying for a famous green jacket at the US Masters in Augusta in April.

Unless both sides agree to last minute mediation - a plea for which already failed last December - the relations between arguably the world's most marketable sports star and a Dublin-based agent are set to play out in public over the next four to six weeks.

Ridge's Horizon is counter-suing McIlroy for at least £1.65m after breaking his contract early.

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RMAC on the Attack in Dubai

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Rory McIlroy’s peerless power and precision has put him in pole position at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic.

The Northern Irishman produced a superb bogey-free eight-under-par 64 to take a one-shot lead over Scotland’s Marc Warren at 14-under.

Graeme McDowell trails Rory by two strokes after firing a second round 65

McIlroy underlined his class by closing with three successive birdies but even so, he would have come off the course with the feeling he could have gone even lower on a track where he recorded his maiden professional victory in 2009.

That shows how far the 24-year-old’s expectations have risen in the six years since he lifted the title at the Emirates Golf Club, during which time he has won four majors with two of those coming in the last six months.

“It was good. I hit a couple of loose shots early on but found my rhythm and after that I played pretty well and converted most of my chances,” he told European Tour Radio.

“You can’t ask for much more: bogey-free, eight birdies. I’ve set myself up nicely for a good run at it in the next couple of days.

“I saw a stat yesterday that since the first round of The Open, I’ve played 45 rounds and a third of them were 66 or better, which just shows you the level that I am at.

“I’ve put the work in and I’ve worked hard; I continue to work hard and this is the result, which is nice.

“I am very comfortable and a lot of the parts of my game are in good shape but the conditions out there are absolutely perfect so I would expect the scoring to stay low for the weekend and I am going to have to carry on playing like this.

“It is the best place to be, one shot ahead, but you just got to go out and be aggressive and try to make as many birdies as you can.

“I’m going to need something similar over the weekend to stay in the same position, as there are so many people close to the lead, it is so bunched up, you can’t play defensively on this course.”

McIlroy’s power advantage was evident early on as he almost eagled the 351-yard second after driving the green but had to settle for one of three birdies in his first five holes.

That put him four off the lead but back-to-back birdies at the 10th and par-three 11th, where he hit a brilliant approach to three feet, got him moving again and he would have advanced quicker had a four-foot birdie attempt not lipped out at the next and not mis-read from inside 10 feet at the 13th and 14th.

But he continued to push hard and at both 16 and 17 he hit driver then wedge to eight and six feet respectively before holing an 18-footer at the 564-yard last having flown the water-guarded green with his approach.

McIlroy’s performance took the shine off Warren’s round of 65, which was possibly not as clean but included nine birdies – including five in six holes from the 13th, having started on the back nine.

The in-form Scot, runner up in Qatar last week, is now 30 under for his last five rounds and he told Sky Sports News: “It was very good from the fairways but scrappier than I would have wanted off the tees.

“(In) Abu Dhabi I drove the ball really well, I improved my iron play last week and I am giving myself lots of chances.”

England’s Seve Benson and Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell lead the chasing pack with 12 players within four shots of the lead.

Among them are Englishman Lee Westwood, who was bogey-free in carding 68, and Dane Morten Orum Madsen who had seven birdies and an eagle on the way to a best-of-the-week 63.

Darren Clarke was the only one to miss the cut after a second round 71.

Peter Lawrie made it into the money with a 69 on Friday which put just on the cut line and an invaluable weekend's golf.

Michale Hoey ended T49th after a 70

Damien McGrane carded a 71.

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Open Place for Amateur Dunne

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Paul Dunne was one of twelve players who secured their places at The Open Championship at the conclusion of Final Qualifying at Sunningdale, Gailes Links, Woburn and Hillside.

At Woburn, Irish amateur Dunne survived a huge scare before he came through to win Final Qualifying over the Marquess course.

The 22-year-old from Greystones arrived on the first tee with just one minute to spare ahead of his opening round but managed to retain his composure and post two rounds of 67 to claim a three-shot victory on 10-under 134.

“It gave me a bit of a fright,” admitted the Irish International who was part of the winning European collegiate team at last week’s Palmer Cup at Walton Heath.

“I misjudged the time it would take me to get from the clubhouse out to the 10th tee but fortunately I managed to hit my opening tee shot straight down the middle.

“This is the first time I have ever played in an event like this so I wasn’t sure what would be a good score. I just decided to press and see what happened and it turned out very well.”

At Sunningdale, England’s Matthew Southgate and Chris Rodgers and South Korea’s Byeong-Hun An qualified. At Gailes Links, three Scottish golfers earned their passage to The Open, Marc Warren, Jamie McLeary and Paul McKechnie. At Woburn, the places went to amateur Paul Dunne of Ireland, and England’s Oliver Fisher and Rhys Enoch, and at Hillside the three qualifers were John Singleton and Christopher Hanson of England and Oscar Floren of Sweden.

Sunningdale proved the most testing of the four qualifying venues where only two players managed to break par. A total of 288 players competed for 12 places at The Open, which will be played from 17-20 July at Royal Liverpool.

Southgate carded an opening one-over 70 before charging to the top of the leaderboard with a closing 64 for a four-under-par 134 winning aggregate. The 25-year-old finished one stroke ahead of An, who shot 69, 66 for a 135 total.

“It’s amazing, I must have tried to qualify for The Open 10 times since I got down to scratch as an amateur,” said Southgate, whose final round contained six birdies and just the one dropped shot at the 11th.

“I have been working hard with my coach, my preparation has been good and I’m just delighted it all came together.”

An was the only other player at Sunningdale to break par. Despite starting his second round with a bogey, the former US Amateur champion (2009) rallied with four birdies and no dropped shots.

“I played steady. It’s the sort of course you need to have a game plan and I stuck to it, you have to be patient,” said the 22-year-old, who is looking forward to a week’s break back home in Orlando after four months on the road.

Instead of playing on the Challenge Tour in Switzerland in a couple of weeks, An will now return to England to compete in his fourth Major. In 2010 he played in The Open at St Andrews, The Masters and the US Open after his US Amateur success.

Rodgers had an agonising wait before realising his dream of playing in The Open for the first time. Despite bogeying the final hole, the London professional shot 67, 72 for a one-over-par 139 to secure the third and final spot.

“It’s a dream come true. I can really look forward to Hoylake and see what happens,” said the 38-year-old.

Former World Cup winner Marc Warren came with a late surge to move ahead of long-time leader Jamie McLeary for top spot at Gailes Links in Ayrshire.

Helped by a course-record 63 in the morning, McLeary set a formidable target of seven-under on a course that became more and more fiery in the glorious sunny conditions.

Scotland’s Warren, a two-time European Tour winner, had set out in the afternoon six shots off the pace in his bid to secure a second successive Open appearance.

But a 64, coupled with a 72 from McLeary, who got off to a shaky start in his second round saw the 33-year-old Glaswegian finish in top spot by two shots on nine-under 133.

“I was really confident coming in here as it’s a course I play a lot,” said Warren after signing off in style in the afternoon by holing from a greenside bunker for a birdie.

“It means a lot to get back into The Open. Last year was my first taste of it. But I was frustrated as I was close to making the cut and you want another shot at it.”

McLeary, also 33 and from Bonnyrigg in Midlothian, will be making his Open debut, as will former PGA EuroPro Tour number one Paul McKechnie, who closed with a 67.

The 37-year-old secured the last spot up for grabs after beating Welshman Rhys Davies (71) with a birdie at the first play-off hole after they finished tied on three-under.

“To have achieved this after being 40 to the bend in the morning is incredible,” admitted McKechnie, who is attached to the Braid Hills Golf Centre in Edinburgh.

Paul Dunne finished three shots ahead of Oliver Fisher, who also opened with a five-under 67, then secured second with a two-under 70. “I played steady golf all day,” he said. “Tee to green I was very good but I didn’t hole quite as many putts as I would have liked.”

The last spot was decided in dramatic fashion after English Amateur Tomasz Anderson, Australia’s Jack Wilson and Rhys Enoch from Wales all tied for third on six-under-par 138.

The trio went down the first extra-hole where Enoch overshot the green with his approach from behind a tree but then holed a 25-foot downhill pitch for a winning birdie three.

“It’s strange I pitched poorly all day but as soon as I got to my ball I had a feeling something strange was going to happen,” he said. “All golfers want to play in The Open but never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I’d get into the Championship that way. It’s all a bit surreal.”

Birkenhead factory worker John Singleton, Challenge Tour players, Chris Hanson from Yorkshire and Oscar Floren, qualified at Hillside after a four-man play-off when Yorkshire amateur Nick Marsh couldn’t match par at the second extra hole.

Marsh — in the last match on course — made a birdie on a final hole for a second successive 69 to make it into the four-man play-off on six-under-par 138.

First time around the quartet all made par but Marsh found a bunker off the tee at the second and failed to make par and his dream was over.

Singleton, who kept his PGA status but also works in a resin factory, was absolutely delighted to have made it to Royal Liverpool, which is only five minutes from his Wallasey home. He added a best of the afternoon 66 to his opening 72.

“It will be amazing to play in The Open, and I expect I’ll have a lot of support from my friends and family,” said Singleton.

As for Hanson, he has finally made it to The Open after he too carded a pair of 69s.

“I’ve reached final qualifying several times before but the nearest I came was here (Hillside) a few years ago when I missed out by three strokes. It’s unbelievable, a dream come true and I’m delighted.”

Floren, who added a 71 to his opening 67, has played in The Open twice, St Andrews in 2005 and last year at Muirfield.

“I’ve been struggling a bit on the Challenge Tour to be honest,” said Floren. “But I played well today and hopefully I can carry it into this week’s tournament in Germany and on to Hoylake.”

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McIlory Rors Back into PGA Mix

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For a second day running, defending champion Rory McIlroy put together a flying finish to surge inside the top ten as the third day progressed at the US PGA Championship.

McIlroy, who yesterday birdied four of his last seven holes after a stuttering start had earlier threatened his place in the weekend action at Oak Hill Country Club, was level par on Saturday through 12 holes before three birdies in his last six holes – including two in succession to finish – helped the Northern Irishman sign for a superb 67.

The third round of a golf tournament is commonly known as ‘Moving Day’ and McIlroy’s heroics, completed amidst bright but breezy conditions in Rochester, certainly helped him do just that as the 24 year old jumped back inside the top ten and back within a few shots of the lead as much of the field struggled on Saturday.

It was indeed a remarkable turnaround, having been four over par for the tournament midway through his second round before a resilient fight back saw him close level par on Friday, and the two-time Major Champion showed some more of the same iron grit to get right back in contention.

A birdie at the sixth hole was tempered by his only dropped shot of the day at the tenth, before a second gain of the day at the long 13th preceded a truly extraordinary close.

Ranked by far the hardest two holes on the golf course, the World Number Three belied the statistics to sink a 50-foot birdie putt at the 17th before chipping in from off the green for a precious three at the last.

“It was good to feel the sort of rush again,” said McIlroy, who triumphed in record-breaking circumstances at Kiawah Island 12 months ago. “Making a birdie on 17 is like an eagle and then to follow it up with another on the last is even better.

“I had 24 putts for 71 on Friday and I had 25 putts for 69 on Saturday so clearly my short game has been really, really good and it was just a matter of trying to get a long game in shape.

“I wouldn't say that that was my best ball striking round out there by any means, but I got it up and down when I needed to and that was the most important thing.”

With many of the field over par for the day, McIlroy knows he still might have a real chance of becoming the first from Britain to defend the same Major title since Nick Faldo in 1989-90.

“The way the conditions are with the swirling wind, it's tricky out there so I felt like I still had a chance,” he continued. “I felt good enough about my game that I could go out there and post a good one today and at least give myself a chance going into tomorrow.”

Scotland’s Marc Warren was another to take advantage of the high scoring on Saturday, firing five birdies en route to a two under par 68, a superb performance that saw the 32 year old US PGA debutant jump inside the top 20 on one under par for the tournament.

Warren has wife Laura with him this week and their four month old son, Archie, who has now been overseas to Ireland, France and the US since he was born.

“After the first day here on Monday I felt practice went really well but then I was a bit frustrated after the first round score I shot,” said Warren, who narrowly missed out on the flagship BMW PGA Championship in May, losing out in a play-off to Italy’s Matteo Manassero at Wentworth.

“I just felt I was trying a little too hard to be perfect with my swing but managed to settle down after that and yesterday’s round was one of the best tee-to-green all week so it was a good 67 and then to back that up today with a 68 is very pleasing.

“The wind makes the conditions a little tougher because when we played in the rain yesterday there was no breeze to speak of and that made clubbing a bit easier. Heading into tomorrow I will just work on the same things. I won't hit that many balls this afternoon and will just chill out and get ready for tomorrow."

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