The Irish Golf Club Gazette: Northern Ireland

Showing posts with label Northern Ireland. Show all posts

4/08/2016

McIroy Must Make Most of Par 5's - Montgomerie

Colin Montgomerie believes Rory McIlroy needs to continue to make the most of the par-fives and cut out the mistakes in his game after a steady start to the Masters.

The world No 3 bogeyed the last hole to close a two-under 70 and sit four shots adrift of early pacesetter Jordan Spieth, with the four-time major champion having the most success on Augusta's longer holes.

McIlroy carded an eagle and two birdies when tackling the par-fives on Thursday, which Montgomerie feels keeps the Northern Irishman in contention.

"He has played them in his four under which he had to do and that has kept them in it," Montgomerie told Sky Sports. "He is driving the ball magnificently and he'll be very disappointed with his finish after the driving the ball so brilliantly.

"He has done what he has to do and he has to keep doing that over the next three days. He has to keep birdieing these par-fives. If he does that, then he has a chance.

"The rest of the course he played in two over, which isn't that great, but those par-fives have kept him in the top 10.

"There were four dropped shots from Rory, which is four too many for someone as good as Rory. He has got to cut out the unforced errors like at 18 if he is to beat Jordan Spieth.

8/17/2015

McIlroy Happy With Comeback

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Rory McIlroy was pleased with his comeback at the US PGA Championship despite not being able to defend his title at Whistling Straits.

Coming into the tournament, the 26 year old had not played a competitive round since a closing 66 at the US Open Championship at Chambers Bay after suffering ankle ligament damage whilst playing football with friends in early July.

But he finished 17th in Wisconsin after rounds of 71-71-68-69 and is confident he will be back to his best soon.

"I feel like I did well," he said "Obviously coming back after the lay-off, not hitting a competitive shot in two months, shooting nine under was a decent effort.

"I didn't see 19 under winning this week. I thought something between ten and 15 but it just shows you how high the standard is these days.

"But first week, coming back, I thought I did pretty well."

He added: "The ankle is fine. We came up with a plan that after this week I could take a couple of weeks off just in case anything did happen or there were any setbacks.

"It feels fine, but I'm just going to take a couple of weeks off and not need a strap or anything to play. And then after that I've got another week off, so by the time I'm in the middle of September, there will be no issues and hopefully I can give it a good run in the FedEx Cup.

"I felt like I gave it a good run this week and the ankle is in good shape.

"Overnight the ankle did swell a bit, but once I got it moving and compressed it a bit, it was fine. It probably won't look like a normal ankle for two or three months, but there is no pain in it, which is the main thing."

The Northern Irishman began his round on Sunday with five pars but made a sensational up and down from the rough to make birdie on the sixth and followed that with another on the seventh.

Another gain was made on the tenth and, despite dropping a shot on the 13th, McIlroy picked up another on the 16th and feels his game will come back together as he plays more often.

"I just need to sharpen up," he said. "I feel like ball striking-wise, tee to green, it's there. And it's sort of been there all year. If anything, just around the greens (I've got to be) being more efficient, really. When I give myself opportunities inside, wedges in my hand, I've got to take advantage of those.

"And today is a prime example, it's my fourth day of competitive playing, getting those two balls up and down on 17 and 18, that's something just playing a bit more and just having experience with certain shots and certain lies.

"That all just comes with playing a bit more."

8/16/2015

Rory Retains Whistling Chance

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Rory McIlroy was frustrated at being unable to build on a "dream start" to his third round at the 97th PGA Championship, as his lengthy injury lay-off caught up with him at Whistling Straits.

The defending champion was nine shots off the lead at the halfway stage following a pair of erratic 71s, but he made early strides up the leaderboard when he birdied the second and fourth and then holed a monster 65-foot putt for eagle at the fifth.

But a poor wedge cost him a shot at the next, and he also bogeyed the eighth before mixing four birdies with two further shots on the inward half to post a 68 - six under for the tournament.

McIlroy will have to break the tournament comeback record if he is to retain his title on Sunday, and he admitted his lack of competitive golf while recovering from ankle ligament damage over the last seven weeks had hampered his chances.

"I got off to a dream start, really," said McIlroy, who had not played since the US Open in June after suffering his ankle injury playing football with friends on July 4. "To be four under through five, having not birdied the first and third, was a bonus.

"I knew six was a chance and the way the wind was on seven and eight, they weren't playing as tough as they had been earlier in the week. If you get a good tee shot down on nine, you've got a wedge in your hand there and all of a sudden you're thinking about shooting 30 on the front nine and then you've got some chances on the back nine.

"But to give those shots away again on six and eight, you really have to battle to shoot four under in the end. I guess that probably shows just a lack of competitiveness considering this is the first week back in a few weeks.

"But really positive signs out there. Hitting the ball great. I putted much better today thankfully. So if I keep showing improvement each and every day like I have done, it's a good sign going into the rest of the season."

The 26-year-old conceded that his chances of lifting the Wanamaker Trophy for the third time were remote, but he is refusing to hand over his title without a fight.

"It's all about setting a realistic goal and target," McIlroy added. "I know that the way the back nine's playing there, the leaders could be 14, 15 under by the time the day ends. So, that would leave me eight or nine shots back.

"In the back of your mind, you still think you have a chance, because that's what your competitive nature tells you. But if you're looking at it realistically, I want to go out there tomorrow and shoot the best score that I've shot this week.

"I've stood still a little on Thursday and Friday, but definitely improved today and you want to improve on that again tomorrow. If I do that, I think that, as a whole, the week would be somewhat of a success. It wouldn't be quite what I wanted, but as I said, I can take positives from it and move on."

8/12/2015

McIlroy Praises Lowry Steel

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Rory McIlroy praised the "ballsy" performance of his friend Shane Lowry at the weekend in Akron after the Offaly man claimed victory at the Bridgestone Invitational at the weekend.

Showing nerves of steel to hold off the challenge of three Major winners to secure the biggest win of his career and a cheque for €1.45m, McIlroy was watching on was impressed by the resolve shown by his fellow Irish golfer.

"Shane's victory was fantastic," he said. "I played 18 on Sunday morning and came back to the house we are renting to watch it.

"Once he got into the lead, he hit a couple of wonder shots- that shot on 10, which was incredible. And he holed some big par putt putts down the stretch

"I texted him and said it was a pretty ballsy victory. And yes, he could be in the Olympics too, depending on how everything goes the next 52 weeks."

McIlroy has spent the past few days practising on the Wisconsin course, having been sidelined since early July when he suffered a rupture of his left ankle ligaments during a game of football with friends.

"If anything, my ankle feels even better when I swing hard," he told the Daily Mail.

The 26-year-old's injury ruled him out of the Scottish Open and the defence of his Open and WGC-Bridgestone Invitational titles, but he has been playing since the Monday that Zach Johnson inherited his Open crown.

"I've played a lot of golf since then, just finding the middle of the clubface again," he said. "And I've been chipping and putting basically since it happened, with my protective boot on...

"I did think about coming back last week at the Bridgestone but Steve (McGregor, his fitness coach) held me back. He thought it important for me to basically play a tournament behind closed doors and after I completed that successfully, it felt the right time to come.

"I'm ready to play and I expect to do well."

The four-time major winner has been paired with Jordan Spieth and Zach Johnson for the first two rounds on Thursday and Friday.

He has not played a competitive round since a closing 66 in the US Open at Chambers Bay on June 21.

"Obviously it's important to remain world number one, I've made that clear. It's been a year since I got it back,"

"But it's just about playing well and winning tournaments and that's my main focus this week."

In his absence McIlroy has seen others such as Lowry make progress and he was quick to praise the 28-year-old for his victory in Bridgestone - even if he is now another rival.

8/05/2015

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.”

6/18/2015

Rory US Open Ready

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Rory McIlroy believes spending three days in London as a tourist has helped prepare him mentally for his bid to win a second US Open title this week at Chambers Bay.

The world No 1 goes into the second major of 2015 off the back of two consecutive missed cuts at Wentworth in the BMW PGA Championship and at the Irish Open.

Despite his dip in form after winning two of his previous four tournaments, the 26-year-old appears relaxed in Washington after a low-key build-up to the tournament.

McIlroy is looking for a fifth major after claiming his first in the same event at Congressional in Maryland four years ago.

He said: "I had commitments with Nike on the Monday after (the Irish Open). I did some biomechanical testing on the Tuesday.

“My trainer Steve (McGregor) was over on Wednesday so we did a couple of sessions and then I went to London on Thursday for a few days.

“I was a tourist for three days, went to the London Eye, did a lot of walking, which I didn't know was a great preparation for this place. I think I walked about 10 miles a day so that helped.

“That got me in the right frame of mind. I obviously didn't want to miss those two cuts in Europe, but I think that's just the way I'm going to be.

“I'd rather in a six-tournament period have three wins and three missed cuts than six top-10s. Volatility in golf is actually a good thing. If your good weeks are really good, it far outweighs the bad weeks.”

Perhaps ominously for McIlroy is the fact he has compared the hard and fast conditions at Chambers Bay with Muirfield when it served as the venue for the Open in 2013.

Back then, the Northern Irishman missed the cut at a time when he was struggling to adapt to new clubs following his switch to Nike but is confident of performing better this week.

He added: “I'm a completely different player. I'm in a completely different place. I had no control of my golf game at that point in time and I feel like I'm pretty much in full control of it at the minute.

"I can tell you a repeat of that is definitely not going to happen. Chambers Bay plays more like a links course than some links courses. It's so fast, so firm.

“It reminds me of 2013 at Muirfield and '06 at Hoylake when Tiger (Woods) won. The course is getting burned out.”

5/29/2015

McIlroy Cut in County Down

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Rory McIlroy has missed the cut in his home event for the third year running after failing to recover from a nightmare first round at the Irish Open.

The world No 1 always faced an uphill battle to avoid a third straight cut in the event after crashing to an opening 80, with McIlroy failing to make the weekend after a second round 71 at Royal County Down GC.

McIlroy made his first gain of the round with a lengthy putt at the seventh, before keeping his slim hopes alive with a birdie at the 12th to move back within two of the projected cut.

After a five foot par-save dribbled in at the 14th, McIlroy lost his advantage with a double-bogey at the next, sending his second shot into the rough and thinning his third past the green before three-putting from 40 feet.

Birdie chances from within 10 feet at both the 16th and 17th were dragged wide of the cup, before the tournament host gave the sell-out crowd something to cheer about by rattling in a lengthy birdie at the last.

“When the wind is like this, even when you’re giving yourself birdie chances it’s hard to take them,” McIlroy told Sky Sports 4. “I was trying out there as hard as I could, but just couldn’t get a run of holes going and any momentum.

“I was a couple under through 14 but still needed a good finish, but unfortunately I wasn’t able to do that. I left myself too much to do from yesterday and felt I played a solid round of golf today but just wasn’t enough.

“The support out here is phenomenal; it’s the third year in a row that they’re not going to get to see me play over the weekend, so it’s disappointing to say the least.”

Ryder Cup team-mates Martin Kaymer, Sergio Garcia and Victor Dubuisson also failed to reach the weekend, while American star Rickie Fowler is safely through after carding a second consecutive level par 71 of the week.

Harrington Up and Down Friday

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Padraig Harrington continued to do everything in his power to ensure his prediction of a home winner came true as the Irish Open resumed at a windswept Royal County Down on Friday.

Former champion Harrington predicted on Wednesday that an Irish player would lift the trophy on Sunday, with world number one Rory McIlroy seemingly the most likely contender.

But while McIlroy faced an uphill battle to avoid a third straight cut in the event after crashing to an opening 80, Harrington claimed a share of the overnight lead with Germany's Max Kieffer with an opening 67.

And after starting his second round on the back nine with a run of six pars, Harrington picked up his first birdie of the day on the 16th to move into the outright lead on five under par.

However depsiet reaching the tun in 34 a double bogey on his 12th started atough runm for hiome that eneded in 4 over poar - signing for a second round 73.

There was simialr news for 2009 Three irish Open winner Shane Lowry who broke his putter as a run of three bogeys in four holes dropped him to four over par.

That was one shot outside the current projected cut, although that seemed certain to rise as more players took to the course, with McIlroy scheduled to start his second round at 1pm.

Harrington holed from 15 feet for birdie on the 17th to extend his lead and missed from just six feet for an eagle on the par-five first, but the tap-in birdie took him further ahead of the chasing pack.

At seven under par the 43-year-old, whose victory in the Honda Classic in March was his first on a major tour since the 2008 US PGA, was three ahead of Kieffer, who had started with two pars, with 2002 winner Soren Hansen, Austria's Bernd Wiesberger and France's Alexander Levy all two under.

Lowry bogeyed the 17th but successfully two-putted the 18th with a wedge to reach the turn in 40, his putter understood to have been damaged after he missed a short putt on the 12th.

Lowry shrugged off his equipment problems to birdie the first and second and improve to three over par, but Harrington's serene progress had come to a grinding halt in the match ahead.

A bogey on the second was followed by a double bogey on the third and another dropped shot on the fourth, leaving the two-time Open champion three under par and one shot behind new leader Wiesberger.

Wiesberger had finished the back nine with birdies on the 16th and 17th and an eagle on the 18th, and then saw playing partner Andy Sullivan hole out with a two iron from 259 yards on the par-five first for an albatross.

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