Harrington Bogeys US Open

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Padraig Harrington will miss the US Open for the second successive year after a bogey on the 36th hole saw him fall out of a play-off in qualifying at Walton Heath.

A run of four birdies from the 13th to the 16th in the afternoon on the Old Course had put the three-time major winner five under and in position to enter a six-man play-off for the final four spots available.

But he recorded a bogey five to miss out as South Africans Garth Mulroy, Thomas Aiken, Tjaart van der Walt and Australian Marcus Fraser qualified from the extra holes with Welshman Oliver Farr missing out.

"It was disappointing to bogey the last," Harrington said. "I nearly walked off after four holes this morning so I was surprised to have a chance at all.

"It was nice to get a run going on the back nine. It's one too many, so it is disappointing, especially after making a few birdies and getting inside the mark."

Two-time European Tour winner Alexander Levy will make his US Open debut at Chambers Bay next month after finishing top of the leaderboard at 11 under following a 66 on the Old Course and a 67 in the afternoon.

"I'm really happy. I played really good golf for the two 18 holes," he said. "I was positive and had a good attitude.

"It's nice to play the US Open. I was a little upset to slip out of the top 60 before Wentworth so it's great to now get in.

"It will be my first time in the US Open. I missed the Masters, so it will be great to play in another major."

Englishmen John Parry and Jason Palmer also qualified with the latter likely to get attention in the United States due to his unusual one-handed chipping style.

"The chipping is incredibly unique but it has saved my career, because there is no way I'd be competing as a professional if I didn't find the one-handed method," he said.

"At the end of last year I went from 50th on the Challenge Tour to having a win, a second place, and being on The European Tour and now this. I'm having an incredible time. I love the game of golf and at the moment it is being good to me.

"I doubt there have been many one handed chippers at the US Open before. The rough might be a bit too deep to play one-handed, so I'll have to assess it when I get there, but it is a problem I'm looking forward to have."

India's Shiv Kapur, Swede Alex Noren, Denmark's Lucas Bjerregaard and German Marcel Siem were the other qualifiers with Shane Lowry, Matteo Manassero and Nicolas Colsaerts among those to miss out.

Meanwhile, Wen-Chong Liang, Masahiro Kawamura, Hiroyuki Fujita, Kurt Barnes and Baek Seuk-hyun all progressed from the qualifying tournament in Japan.

Peter Lawrie and Gareth Maybin also failed in their efforts to make one of the the top eleven spots.

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Maybank for McDowell and McGinley

Maybank will celebrate its tenth year as title sponsor of the Malaysian Open with the confirmed participation of 2010 US Open Champion Graeme McDowell and Europe’s Ryder Cup Captain Paul McGinley. 

The Irish duo will join a stellar cast from The European and Asian Tours for the prestigious co-sanctioned championship, which will be held from February 5-8, 2015, at Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club.

McDowell claimed his tenth European Tour victory this year when he successfully defended his ALSTOM Open de France title. 

Two months later, he played his part in Europe’s victory over the United States at the Gleneagles Hotel, winning three points out of a possible three. 

That triumph was masterminded by McGinley, who will be making his first appearance in the Maybank Malaysian Open since 2008. 

Tan Sri Dato’ Megat Zaharuddin Megat Mohd Nor, Chairman of Maybank: “In 2015, as we celebrate the tenth year as title sponsor of the Malaysian Open, we continue with the tradition of bringing a selection of golfing personalities to Malaysia. Fresh from recent victories and with their charisma attracting a huge worldwide following, Graeme McDowell and Paul McGinley offer fans exciting and competitive golf every time.

“We are proud of our role in the Maybank Malaysian Open, showcasing a world-class tournament steeped in Malaysian history. The tournament has produced some varied winners, and I expect this next edition to produce similar excitement.”

The Malaysian Golf Association (MGA) reinforced the critical role that the tournament has played in expanding the reach of the game in the country.

“The Maybank Malaysian Open represents a consistent and considerable investment by Maybank towards the development of the Malaysian golfing scene, with the largest allocation of playing spots to top local professionals and amateurs who want to participate in the tournament,” said MGA president Admiral (R) Tan Sri Dato’ Setia Mohd Anwar Mohd Nor. 

“Maybank has ensured that the sport is one that is treated with the seriousness and importance that it deserves. We hope that our local players will deliver truly inspiring performances that we all can be proud of and hopefully bring home the Seagram Trophy this year.”

The first national Open in Asia to be co-sanctioned by the European and Asian Tours in 1999, the 2015 Maybank Malaysian Open will once again feature leading professional players in its 156-man line-up.

George O’Grady, Chief Executive of The European Tour, said: “Since joining our schedule in 1999, when it became the first event to be co-sanctioned by The European and Asian Tours, the Maybank Malaysian Open has grown in stature year on year; and with Maybank celebrating a decade of title sponsorship, the 2015 edition looks set to continue that trend. 

“The fact that Lee Westwood and Louis Oosthuizen have both added their names to the trophy in recent seasons bears testament to the quality of field that this tournament now attracts, and we look forward to another week of top class action in Kuala Lumpur next February.” 

Kyi Hla Han, Chairman of the Asian Tour, said: “The Maybank Malaysian Open is one of the most important championships on our annual Schedule, and one that our players enjoy participating in. 

“We look forward to yet another exciting tournament in Malaysia next year, and I would like to congratulate Maybank for ten fantastic years as title sponsor of the Maybank Malaysian Open.”

The premier event has seen the likes of Peter Thomson, Vijay Singh, Padraig Harrington, Retief Goosen, Michael Campbell, Lee Westwood, Rory McIlroy, Louis Oosthuizen, Charl Schwartzel and Sir Nick Faldo hold aloft the Seagram Trophy down the years, and in more recent times has produced young and exciting winners in the form of Korean sensation Noh Seung-yul (2010) and Matteo Manassero of Italy (2012).

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McIlroy Wins Race to Dubai

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Rory McIlroy described it as a “great feeling” to win The Race to Dubai for the second time in three years.

The Northern Irishman had already been confirmed as European Number One before his runner-up finish at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai courtesy of a remarkable summer.

Having won The European Tour’s flagship BMW PGA Championship in May, McIlroy went on to add The Open Championship and US PGA Championship either side of a first World Golf Championships victory at the Bridgestone Invitational.

“It's a great feeling to know that I've played the best golf throughout the season of any of the guys for the second time in three years, it's really nice,” said McIlroy, who finished two shots behind Henrik Stenson at Jumeirah Golf Estates.

“I never expected 14 under to have a remote chance of winning this golf tournament.

“It just seemed like no one really took the tournament by the scruff of the neck and went with it. The two guys, Rafa and Henrik, were on 16 for quite a while, and sort of stayed there.

“I saw Rafa went back to 15 under as I birdied 15 to get to 14 under and I thought if I could post 16, I might have a chance. 16 would have been good enough for a play-off in the end.

“I just didn't play well enough to win this week, and if I had of won by playing like that, it would have been a bit of a surprise.

“A lot of positives heading into 2015 and something I'm really pleased about this year is that consistency that I've shown in my golf. I haven't finished outside the top 25. My last few results have been very consistent, very good, and a lot of good stuff going into next year.

“I feel like, as you said, this year has been full of up-and-downs, mainly ups, which is a great thing.

“I learned a lot from it and I feel like I came through this year stronger and wiser, and I can go into 2015 in a much better place. 

“I'm happy with the success that I've had, and I feel like there's been a lot that I've learned this year, as well, and that's a great thing going into the future.”

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McIlroy Slips as Stenson Storms

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Rory McIlroy’s challenge stuttered on the back-nine on day two of the DP World Tour Championships as Henrick Stenson cruised to an inward 32 to return a six-under 66 which got him to 10 under at the halfway stage  at Jumeirah Golf Estates.

Stenson put himself on course to retain his DP World Tour Championship title as he roared into a two-shot lead after the second round in Dubai.

A raft of earlier starters had given encouragement to the first-round leaders with some excellent scores, with Rafael Cabrera-Bello and Justin Rose making huge strides up the leaderboard.

Cabrera-Bello threatened something truly special on the Earth Course as he birdied the opening five holes and picked further shots at the eighth and 10th.

But hopes of the European Tour’s first sub-60 round ended when the Spaniard bogeyed the next two, although he bounced back to eagle the long 14th before he rolled in another birdie putt at 17 as he carded a 64 to set the clubhouse target at seven under.

Rose, who was four over after 10 holes in his first round before salvaging a 71, also hit the birdie trail as he cantered to the turn in 33 and added four more birdies after the turn to hit the front on eight under.

But Rose took the gloss off his round as he ran up a scrappy six at the last to card a 66, before Kristoffer Broberg birdied four of the last six to join the clubhouse leaders at seven under.

McIlroy, meanwhile, birdied the opening hole for the second day running before embarking on a battle with an occasionally errant driver and a cold putter as he put together a run of 10 straight pars.

A bunkered drive at the 12th led to his first bogey of the week, but he hit back with birdies at the 14th and 15th before blotting his card again at 16 with three putts from 10 feet.

The world No 1, already assured of the Race to Dubai title for the second time, responded with a two at the 17th and he scrambled a par at the last after blocking his drive into water.

McIlroy’s two-under 70 left him two adrift of the defending champion, who birdied three of the first five holes while giving one back at the fourth.

The Swede’s long game was in good order after the turn as he birdied the 10th and 13th, and he added two more in the last three holes to claim the outright lead.

McIlroy shares second place with Danny Willett, who fired seven birdies in a 67, while Richie Ramsay earned a place alongside the world No 1 for the third round after a three-under 69.

Shane Lowry, who shared the overnight lead with McIlroy, struggled early on as he bogeyed three of the first four holes while managing birdies at the second and ninth.

But the Irishman provided the highlight of the day at the 183-yard par-three 13th, where his perfectly struck mid-iron pitched six feet short of the pin and rolled gently into the cup for a superb hole-in-one.

Lowry parred in to card a 71 which leaves him on seven under alongside Cabrera-Bello, Rose, Broberg and Thorbjorn Olesen (70), while English pair David Howell and Tyrrell Hatton are a further stroke adrift.

Profile - Simon Thornton

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Simon Thornton achieved much in his Rookie year on the European Tour and more than the results suggested at first glance. All of which gave him the chance to learn the ropes after years on the Irish PGA Region and the Challenge Tour. 

Having finished 136th in the Race to Dubai in that year Thornton returned to Q School with the knowledge that his consistency in the 2010 season was rewarded in the two of the season’s re-ranks. 

Having missed the cut in his first Tour event in South Africa Thornton then went on to finish a creditable 17th - in only his second event - which was followed by 36th place at the Open de Andalucia and then 10th place at the Madeira Islands Open BPI – Portugal in April – an event he decided to risk playing although it was the weekend his first Daughter was due. 

In the build up to the first Re-rank in May the former Royal County Down Assistant Professional missed five consecutive cuts - Open de España in Sevilla, BMW Italian Open in Italy, Ibedrola Open Calla Millor Mallorca and the Madrid Masters – but was fortunate to have done enough in the early part of the season to move to 18th place. 

At the Celtic Manor Wales Open in June Thornton notched up a 61st place finish which was followed by the sixth missed cut at the Estoril Open de Portugal and then a 9th place in Germany. His weekend at the BMW International Open at Eichenreid Golfclub in Munich saw him play in the final group on Sunday with Bradley Dredge and Ross Fisher - following three rounds of 67 – showing that Thornton clearly has the game for the big time. 

At the 3 Irish Open Thornton was disappointed with his first round of 71, which was followed on Friday by a 74, to finish three shots off cut and an early trip home to Newcastle, County Down. 

Thornton earned his European Tour card after successfully negotiating his way to Final Stage Qualifying School in 2009. Doing just enough to see him finish inside the ten under par cut-off for the 29th card. 

For the 2011 season Thornton had to qualify once again at PGA Catalunya and was joined by Gary Murphy. Who after ten years was back to basics.

However it was his victory in the 2013 Najeti Hotels et Golfs Open that completed a remarkable rise through the professional ranks. 

Born in Yorkshire but now an Irish passport holder after moving to Newcastle, in County Down, he was playing off a handicap of seven just a decade or so ago. 

“When I first went over to work as an assistant in the pro shop at Royal County Down, I could barely hit it out of my own shadow,” he admitted. But his hard work and perseverance paid off as he progressed firstly through the Irish PGA regional circuit, before moving onto the EuroPro Tour and then graduating to the Challenge Tour in 2011. 

Thornton posted two top ten finishes en route to 51st place in the Rankings, but later earned a European Tour card for the first time after successfully negotiating his way through the Second and Final Stages of the Qualifying School. 

Showed his determination and grit in a turbulent week at the 2011 Apulia San Domenico Grand Final, during which he learned of the birth of his second child back in Ireland and also battled illness and intense pressure of possibly missing out on a European Tour card before posting the best round of the final day, a 64, to clinch his spot. Lost his card in 2012 and was playing on the Challenge Tour again at the start of 2013, before victory in Saint-Omer gave him exemption for The Race to Dubai until the end of 2014.

At 2014 European Tour Final Qualifying a T30 finish proved insufficient to reclaim his tour card.

Fact File 

Date of Birth:March 18th, 1977 

Attachment: Team Ireland Golf 

Place of Birth: Bradford, England 

Turned Pro: 2005 

Qualifying School: (2005), (06), (07), 08, 09* (10) 12 (14)
Career earnings: €577,449 November 2014

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Lowry and McIlroy Joint Earth Leaders

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Rory McIlroy displayed the quality of golf that has made him Race to Dubai champion as the World Number One joined friend Shane Lowry in a share of the lead on day one of the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.

McIlroy carded six birdies and no bogeys in a flawless 66 on the Earth Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates to finish alongside Ireland's Lowry in the climax of The European Tour Final series.

That took the 25 year old to an amazing 80 under par for his 21 rounds to date in this event, after previous finishes of third, fifth, 11th, first and fifth.

McIlroy, who wrapped up The Race to Dubai title for the second time in three years with a week to spare, certainly looked ready as he birdied four of his first five holes, the only aberration coming when he missed from eight feet on the third.

A surprising run of nine successive pars followed before birdies at the 15th and 16th ensured he delivered on his promise not to rest on his laurels at the end of a phenomenal season.

“It was a great way to start,” said McIlroy. “You never expect to start like that, but I've been hitting the ball well for the last couple of weeks that I've been practicing and it was just a matter of trying to take that good range play on to the course, and I was able to do that today, which I'm really happy about. 

“I feel like it really suits my style of play. I can be aggressive with the driver, and that can set me up to hit shorter irons into greens and obviously give myself a lot of birdie opportunities like I did today. 

“I didn't feel like I took as many of them as I could have but it still added up to six under and I'm very happy with that.”

Lowry birdied four of the last six holes as he looked to make amends for his collapse in the final round in Turkey on Sunday, when he eagled the fourth to claim a share of the lead only to triple bogey the next hole and make a double bogey on the sixth.

"The whole day Sunday and the flight down here you're thinking about it," Lowry admitted. "It's one of those things. But I gave myself a chance to win last week. If I can give myself a chance to win again this week, maybe I'll do it.

"I have been playing well for most of the year. I've been very consistent. I've been shooting some great scores, making a lot of birdies and I did that today again."

Scotland's Richie Ramsay and Denmark's Thorbjørn Olesen were a shot off the pace on five under, with defending champion Henrik Stenson another stroke back alongside Argentina's Emiliano Grillo.

Ramsay said: "I'm really happy. Obviously it was a great start, three birdies on the spin, and then played lovely in the middle, had a lot of chances but just didn't take a few.

"But most important was I stayed patient, stayed with it. I kept on hitting good shots and then took a couple of chances on 14 and 15 and then finished off pretty solid coming down the stretch.

"I played great in the middle part of the season. I know the game is there. (It's) just a matter of staying out of my own way and committing to it."

Olesen had reached seven under par at one stage, but double bogeyed the 16th to miss out on the overnight lead.

“It feels like a second home golf course for me really,” said the recent ISPS Handa Perth International winner.

“I played lovely, hit a lot of fairways and a lot of greens. Hit a few really close, and the putter was working nicely. It was a really solid day.

“When you're seven under going to 16, and you know you have 18 which is a possible birdie chance, also, of course it's a little bit disappointing, but I took a chance and it didn't work out very well. 

“I felt like it was going so well and I felt like I could pull it off - that's what happens in golf.”

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Ilonen Leads On Day One at Fota

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Mikko Ilonen carded a course record 64 at Fota Island Resort to establish a two shot lead after the first round of the Irish Open.

The 35 year old from Finland made eight birdies and dropped just the one shot during his seven under par effort, which left him two clear of Germany’s Marcel Siem, former European Number One Robert Karlsson and his fellow Swede Magnus A Carlsson.

Having turned in a three under 32 Ilonen bogeyed the first – his tenth – after missing the green with a wedge in hand.

Ilonen, who won the British Amateur title in 2000 at next month's Open Championship venue Hoylake, is looking to climb into the Official World Golf Ranking's top 50 for the first time and boosted his chances with five birdies in his last seven holes.

“It was a slow start really,” said Ilonen, who lost a play-off to Sergio Garcia for the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters earlier in the year.

“The first sort of four or five holes I felt like I can't get anything going, but I stayed patient and then the birdies kept coming. In the end I managed to hit a couple of good putts which was nice.”

Siem stormed home in just 29 shots – almost holing his approach to the 14th in the process – as he carded seven birdies and two bogeys in his round of 66.

That was swiftly matched by Karlsson, who would have held second outright but for a missed five footer at the last following a sensational wedge approach.

The 44 year old has gone four years without a European Tour victory, but showed signs of return to form with a brilliant closing 63 at the recent Nordea Masters and started here with a bogey-free round.

"It was nice, I'm very, very happy," said Karlsson.

"I worked quite hard when I've been at home since the Nordea Masters, so it's been nice to keep it going.

"I've done a bit of work with my coach and things are coming together quite nicely. The long game was very, very good today."

Carlsson is targeting his first European Tour victory after two runner-up finishes, carded six birdies and a single bogey.

Three-time major winner Padraig Harrington returned a two under 69 matched by defending champion Paul Casey, who dropped two shots in his last six holes to finish one behind playing partner Graeme McDowell.

English teenager Matt Fitzpatrick, who was the leading amateur in last week's US Open, carded a one over 72 in his first tournament round as a professional.

Rory McIlroy could only manage an opening 74, despite the 25 year old having the added incentives of being able to move top of The Race to Dubai and getting back inside the top five on the Official World Golf Ranking with a good performance.

"I still drove the ball great and got in the positions that you need to, but short-sided myself a couple of times, hit a couple of loose shots with my wedges and could not get a putt to drop," said McIlroy, who had carded an approximate 62 in Wednesday's pro-am.

"I was pretty sloppy with the scoring clubs so I might head to the range this afternoon to work on those. I need to do better tomorrow to be here for the weekend."

Michael Hoey signed for a 68 and  shares 9th place with McDowell and  a number of others.

Peter Lawrie matched Harrington with an opening 69, along with Amateur Gavin Moynihan.

Shane Lowry, Kevin Phelan, John Kelly, Garethr Maybin and Cian McNamara all carded 71's.

David Higgins, Darren Clarke, Damien McGrane, Simon Thornton and Amateur Gary Hurley were a stroke further back.

Paul McGinley signed for a 73 and is joined in that crowded group by Brian McElhinney and Dermot McElroy AM.

With McIlroy on 74, four players two strokes behind - Mark Staunton, Gareth Shaw, Eamonn Brady and Daniel Sugrue. 

Damian Mooney finished n 77 along with Ruardhri McGee.

Robbie Cannon AM ended the day on 79 strokes.

Brendan McGovern was eleven strokes over par on 88.

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