The Irish Golf Club Gazette: Mark McNulty

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7/26/2014

Rafferty and Walton Make Cut

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Ronan Rafferty and Philip Walton made the halfway cut in the Seniors Open Championship at Royal Porthcawl ion Friday, trailing runaway leader, Bernhard Langer.

Langer added a 66 stroke card to his opening 65 for an 11 under par total of 131 to move seven clear of Chris Williams and Colin Montgomerie, who produced a stunning 66 for 138, carding eight birdies.

“I played very smart, very aggressive, then very smart and I was fortunate to some extent, but I have played very well the last two days,” Langer said afterwards.

“It wasn’t the kind of start I wanted today, but from that point on, I settled down and I played some really good golf.

Opportunities

“I missed a couple of opportunities earlier on, but then I started to play a little better as well and brought it home to the clubhouse with six-under-par from that point on, which I’m very pleased with overall.”

Rafferty, in his first year as a senior and only a part-time competitor golfer these days, posted a second round two over par 73 for a 36-hole total of 148-six over par, just one stroke inside the cut.

“I have not been playing much lately so my main aim was to make the cut, ” said Rafferty, who played at Porthcawl in the 1980 amateur championship and home internationals before turning professional and competing in the Coral Classic on the South Wales links.

Philip Walton, who threatened to challenge for the lead for a time on Thursday but finished with a one-over-par 72, just survived the cut following a 77 for 149.

Having started with a triple bogey seven and the 1995 Ryder cup winner never recovered although a birdie four at the last saved him from elimination.

“It was tough out there today but no excuses, I played badly,” said Walton.

Des Smyth was disappointed with 79 to go out of the tournament on 151 after starting with four straight bogeys.

Mark McNulty also missed out along with Denis O’Sullivan.

3/26/2014

Profile - Des Smyth

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Full Name: Desmond John Smyth
Age: 51
Hometown: Drogheda, Ireland
Birthplace: Drogheda, Ireland
Birthdate: December 2, 1953
Family: Wife: Vicki (m. 1981); Children: Karen (1982), Gregory (1984), Shane (1988)
Turned Professional: 1974

RYDER CUP EXPERIENCE

Years Played: 1979, 81, 2006 (Vice Captain) (winners), 2014 (Vice Captain)
Total Matches: 7
Career Ryder Cup Record (W-L-H): 2-5-0
Singles (W-L-H): 0-2-0
Foursomes (W-L-H): 1-2-0
Fourballs (W-L-H): 1-1-0
Total Points Won: 2
Total Points Won Point %: 28.57

RYDER CUP RESULTS

1979: The Greenbrier
USA 17, Europe 11
Day 1 Foursomes: Smyth/Brown lost to Irwin/Kite (7 & 6)
Singles: Smyth lost to Irwin (5 & 3)

1981: Walton Heath
USA 18 1/2, Europe 9 1/2
Day 1 Foursomes: Smyth/Gallacher beat Irwin/Floyd (3 & 2)
Day 1 Fourballs: Smyth/Cañizares beat Rogers/Lietzke (6 & 5)
Day 2 Fourballs: Smyth/Cañizares lost to Nicklaus/Watson (3 & 2)
Day 2 Foursomes: Smyth/Gallacher lost to Kite/Nelson (3 & 2)
Singles: Smyth lost to Crenshaw (6 & 4)

EUROPEAN TOUR CAREER RECORD

Events played: 594
Top Ten finishes: 90
In Money: 412
Official Career Earnings € 2,554,241

Smyth was the oldest winner in European Tour history, between March 2001 and November 2012, when he won the 2001 Madeira Island Open, aged 48 years and 34 days. Alongside Mark McNulty was the only other player to win a European Tour event in each of the first four decades of the European Tour. (In all has won a professional event in each of the last five different decades).

CAREER VICTORIES

EUROPEAN TOUR INTERNATIONAL SCHEDULE VICTORIES: Total 8
1979 Sun Alliance European Match Play Championship
1980 Newcastle Brown ’900’ Open, Cold Shield Greater Manchester Open (play-off)
1981 Coral Classic
1983 Sanyo Open
1988 BNP Jersey Open (play-off)
1993 Madrid Open
2001 Madeira Island Open

EUROPEAN SENIOR TOUR VICTORIES: Total 5
2005 Arcapita Seniors Tour Championship
2007 Wentworth Senior Masters
2010 Travis Perkins plc Senior Masters
2011 Van Lanschot Senior Open
2012 Travis Perkins plc Senior Masters

CHAMPIONS TOUR VICTORIES: Total 2
2005 SBC Classic, Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf

OTHER TOURNAMENT VICTORIES: Total 8
1979 Irish National PGA Championship, Irish Fourball Championship (with Jimmy Heggarty)
1985 Irish National PGA Championship
1986 Irish National PGA Championship
1990 Irish National PGA Championship
1995 Glen Dimplex Irish Match Play
1996 Irish National PGA Championship
2001 Irish National PGA Championship

TEAMS (PRO)

Ryder Cup 1979, 81, 2006 (Vice Captain) (winners), 2014 (Vice Captain)
Alfred Dunhill Cup 1985, 86, 87, 88 (winners), 2000
World Cup 1979, 80, 82, 88, 89
Hennessy Cognac Cup 1980 (winners), 82 (winners), 84
UBS Cup 2001
EURASIA CUP 2014 (Vice Captain)

7/26/2013

Walton Shoots 70 at Royal Birkdale

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Philip Walton finished three strokes off the lead, after a level par round of 70 at Royal Birkdale on Thursday, the same as fellow Irish man Mark McNulty, on the first day of The Senior Open.

Christy O’Connor Junior and Denis O’Sullivan both shot 75, one better than Des Smyth.

Northern Ireland amateur Frank O’Donoghue went around in 83.

The leader, Gene Sauers posted an opening-round of three-under-par 67 in Southport, and the 50-year-old American, who is making his first appearance at the tournament, ended up one shot clear of a group of four players, including Germany’s 2010 champion Bernhard Langer.

Sauers reached the turn in a bogey-free 34 and made his first birdie of the day at the par-four 10th.

He then bogeyed the following hole, but went on to finish well, making a hat-trick of gains in succession from the 15th.

“I’m very proud of that,” Sauers said.

“I just made sure I hit a lot of solid shots. If you hit it really solid then the wind won’t really mess with it too much and so I’m pleased with the way I played.

“It’s a great place and a privilege and honour to be here. I’ve not played an awful lot of links golf but I like the different challenge; you don’t know which way the ball is going to bounce so you’re kind of hitting and hoping sometimes, but I’m really enjoying it.”

Sauers only returned to golf less than two years ago after suffering from the potentially fatal skin condition Stevens-Johnson Syndrome.

“It’s a second chance,” he added. “Both arms, both legs were burned up. After Duke University diagnosed me, I spent seven weeks in hospital, had seven lots of skin grafts and it was torture.

“I tell you, I don’t want anybody to go through that. I’m blessed and I’m glad to be here.”

Alongside Langer on 68 are David Frost of South Africa, Australian Peter Senior and Frankie Minoza of the Philippines.

Sauers’ compatriot Fred Couples, the defending champion, struggled to a four-over-par 74.

Langer made 13 pars and bogeyed once up to and including the 14th, and then, like Sauers, concluded strongly with three birdies in his last four holes.

Reflecting on that round, the 55-year-old said: “How I finished was very pleasing because 18 (which he birdied) is not a simple hole.

“I wasn’t totally happy with my first seven or eight holes because I had a number of chances to make birdies and just didn’t putt well.

“But it was very tight. I played very well off the tee and into the greens and gave myself opportunities, kept it out of these pot bunkers and out of the long grass.

“I had opportunities and finally the putter started working at the end.”