Rory Fires 64 on Old Course

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Rory McIlroy shot a 64 at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at St Andrews on Saturday on the Old Course to finish 12 under alongside French duo Alexander Levy (68) and Raphael Jacquelin (69).

McIlroy found himself nine shots off the lead after struggling to an opening 73 at Carnoustie, one of the three courses used for the pro-am event.

But the four-time major winner bounced back with a 67 at Kingsbarns on Friday and carried on where he left off at St Andrews, a course he "hated" on his debut in 2005 but which is now a favourite and the place where he will defend the Open Championship next July.

McIlroy, who was an approximate eight under par in beating Rickie Fowler 5&4 in the singles in Europe's Ryder Cup victory last week, birdied five holes in a row from the third and also picked up a shot on the ninth to be out in 30 and move into the lead.

That lead did not last long as Wilson chipped in for an eagle on the fifth and also birdied the sixth, but McIlroy responded with birdies on the 11th, 12th and 14th before dropping his only shot of the day on the 16th, where he needed two attempts to play out sideways from a fairway bunker.

"I got off to a really fast start and was trying to keep it going, and I sort of did through the turn, but the last four holes weren't really what I wanted," said McIlroy, who has finished second twice, third and eighth in five appearances in this event.

"But any time you shoot a score like that around St Andrews, you have to be happy. I got myself into contention going into tomorrow and my dad (his amateur partner) and I are going to get to play St Andrews on his 55th birthday tomorrow which will be a huge treat for both of us.

"Shooting a 59 never really crossed my mind. What did cross my mind was wanting to beat my previous best score round here of 63 (in the first round of the 2010 Open)."

Oliver Wilson will take a three-shot lead into the final round of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at St Andrews.

Wilson, who has finished runner-up nine times on the European Tour but lost his card in 2012, carded a third round of 65 at St Andrews to finish 15 under par.

Wilson is ranked 792nd in the world and a lowly 102nd on the Challenge Tour rankings, but a win on Sunday would be worth almost £500,000 and a two-year exemption on the European Tour.

"I'll be nervous," admitted Wilson, who played on the 2008 Ryder Cup team. "It's a big day for me. Last year I got off to a great start here and kind of fizzled out.

"But the way I played the last two days, I left so many putts out there and I'm still at the top. So that gives me a lot of belief, but tomorrow will be a very different day. But that's what we play golf for, to get in those situations and test yourself. I am looking forward to it.

"I've had the belief for a while, I've just needed a little bit of adrenaline to be honest. I've been flat all year for various reasons and to get the opportunity to come here and play is very nice and I guess I come to a tournament like this with a bit more dynamism."

McIlroy admitted to feeling "a little flat" on Thursday following his Ryder Cup heroics at Gleneagles, where he used a new driver but waited until this week to also switch his irons.

"I thought there might have been a bit of too much hoopla to put them in last week, along with the new driver, so I delayed those for a week," McIlroy added.

Fleetwood matched McIlroy's outward half of 30 and made it six birdies in a row on the 10th as he continued the excellent form which has produced three top-five finishes in his last five events.

"You didn't see any scores like that when we were waiting in the clubhouse to get out there when it was just so cold and damp and windy," Fleetwood said. "I just got on a really good spell in the middle of the round and I kept it going. My putting was just on fire really.

"They are courses that I love and I always like coming to Scotland. I'm always going to look forward to this event. It's never a guarantee that you're going to play well but it just so happens that I've had two good years in the last three.

"It's nice to put another good round in and be competing again on a Sunday here, especially around the Old Course. It's just brilliant."

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Lowry and Harrington Share Second

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Shane Lowry signed for a seond round 70 on a difficult second day of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship on Friday, adding to his opening 66 at Kingsbarns to finish eight under par in the pro-am event, one shot ahead of Scotland's Chris Doak, whose 67 at Kingsbarns was one of the best scores in wet and windy conditions.

A birdie on his final hole ensured Lowry edged ahead of the pack on a crowded leaderboard, with Padraig Harrington, Oliver Wilson and Raphaël Jacquelin all seven under par alongside Doak.

Stephen Gallacher, who made his Ryder Cup debut last week at Gleneagles, had also been seven under before a double bogey on the seventh at Kingsbarns, where European team-mates Rory McIlroy, Martin Kaymer and Victor Dubuisson were also in action.

McIlroy, partnered by his father Gerry and keen to make the cut in the team event so Gerry could play St Andrews on Sunday on his 55th birthday, started the day nine shots off the pace and dropped back to two over par with a bogey on the 14th.

However, the World Number One responded in style with a superb fairway-wood approach to the par five 16th and rolled in the eagle putt from 15 feet before making birdies on the 17th, first and third.

The 25 year old then drove the green on the short par four sixth to set up another birdie and move to four under par, just four behind Lowry and with a potential two more rounds at St Andrews to come.

McIlroy carded an opening 63 over the Old Course in the 2010 Open and has also finished second twice, third and eighth in five appearances in this event.

Raphaël Jacquelin finished with consecutive birdies to snatch the halfway lead at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.

The Frenchman, a four-time European Tour winner, carded a second round 70 at Kingsbarns to lie nine under par in the pro-am event also played over Carnoustie and The Old Course at St Andrews.

That was one ahead of Irish pair Padraig Harrington and Shane Lowry and England’s overnight leader Oliver Wilson.

Wind and rain made scoring more difficult on Friday but Jacquelin birdied his final two holes to move into pole position for a fifth European Tour title.

“I’m pretty happy, especially the way I finished,” said Jacquelin, whose last title came at last year’s Open de España after a record-equalling nine-hole sudden-death play-off.

“I birdied 17 and 18, so it was good before having dinner and going to rest. 

“I didn't play that well, and not as well as yesterday, but it was not that easy, a bit of wind, a bit of rain, a bit of cold as well. 

“I feel good - it's a long weekend, a lot of golf to play, so the game of golf it's not that easy.”

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No Easy Ryder for McIlroy at Carnoustie

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Rory McIlroy, was struggling to reproduce his Ryder Cup form on the opening day of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship on Thursday.

McIlroy was an approximate eight under par in beating Rickie Fowler 5&4 in the singles at Gleneagles as Europe defeated the USA for the eighth time in the past 10 events.

The 25-year-old failed to register a birdie in the first 12 holes of his first round in the pro-am event which is played over the Old Course at St Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns.

Carnoustie is traditionally the hardest of the three courses but was playing relatively easy in benign conditions, with the top four on the leaderboard all at the Open venue.

France’s Raphael Jacquelin had recorded four birdies and an eagle to lead the way on six under par after 13 holes, one ahead of his compatriot Alexander Levy, England’s Oliver Wilson and the Ryder Cup vice-captain Padraig Harrington, who won the first of his successive Open titles at Carnoustie in 2007.

McIlroy had recorded one bogey on the sixth and 11 pars to place in jeopardy his ambition to win a fifth tournament this year and also make the cut in the team event, thereby allowing his amateur partner – his father Gerry – to play the Old Course at St Andrews on his 55th birthday on Sunday.

McIlroy’s Ryder Cup team-mates Martin Kaymer, Victor Dubuisson and Stephen Gallacher were also playing Carnoustie – Kaymer one over par after 11 holes but Gallacher one under after eight and Dubuisson level par at the turn.

McIlroy finally registered a birdie on the par-five 14th but bogeyed the 16th and eventually signed for a one-over-par 73, nine shots behind clubhouse leader Oliver Wilson, who had fired a 64 on the same course.

“A little bit flat, if I’m honest,” McIlroy told Sky Sports 4 when asked about his round. “Obviously with the crowds and everything we were playing in front of last week, to come here it seems a little quiet out there, but it was fun to get to play with my dad.

“I wish I had played a bit better and made a few more birdies but hopefully that will happen over the next couple of days.

“I want to win every week and I want to play well this week and at least give myself a chance. It was not the best score out there for me but we got the hardest course out of the way.”

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Dougherty and Wilson Praise Galgorm

Nick Dougherty and Oliver Wilson led the glowing tributes from the Challenge Tour players after the hugely successful first staging of the Northern Ireland Open Challenge presented by Clannah and XJET.

Having played professional golf at the very highest in every corner of the globe, there are few better judges than three time European Tour winner Dougherty and former Ryder Cup player Wilson when it comes to assessing the quality of an event.

With almost 21,000 people visiting the tournament during the week, and an outstanding test of golf at Galgorm Castle, the Northern Ireland Open Challenge has quickly established itself as one of the Challenge Tour’s strongest events.

Wilson said: “This is the best Challenge Tour event I have played. Simple as that. From the moment you drive in the gates here at Galgorm you just get the sense that there is an event on. Everything you would expect from a Tour event is here, from the tented village to hospitality and the most important thing of all – good crowds.

“The facilities are first class and the set-up is as good as you will find anywhere on the Challenge Tour.

“Then you get out onto the golf course and you find a real good test. The greens are in the top three that we will putt on all year. It is so nice to play on a golf course that really asks questions of you and forces you to think about your strategy and to play good shots. 

“I have played well this week and I think a big part of that is the fact that it feels like a big event and that has an effect on players. Obviously I am just starting to play better and coming into better form, but I do think that the set-up here and feeling around the event has played a part in me performing well.” 

Dougherty added: “This tournament has been great. It feels like a step-up from the usual events on the Challenge Tour. To have such big crowds in has been amazing and I was lucky enough to have a lot of people following me round and it felt like being at a main Tour event. 

“The golf course matches that as well. We are playing on a course this week that I would consider one of the best we will play on this year. It is nicely defined and the greens are outstanding. The whole set-up and conditioning of the golf course is worth of The European Tour so it has been a great experience. 

“It just shows you what can be achieved when you put the effort in and have good people working on events and that is clearly the case here. I have been speaking to a few people associated with the club this week and they are very ambitious and have a very clear plan of and having spent the week here I have no doubt they can achieve those goals.”

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Huizing Wins NI Open Challenge

Challenge Tour

Daan Huizing confirmed his reputation as one of European golf’s hottest talents with a brilliant play-off win over former Ryder Cup player Oliver Wilson at the Northern Ireland Open Challenge presented by Clannah and XJET.

Having begun the final round with a six shot lead, and having performed magnificently for the first three rounds, the tournament looked to be a forgone conclusion but Huizing struggled in the swirling winds at Galgorm Castle Golf Club, dropping four strokes on the front nine to allow Wilson and a host of other players back into the tournament.

As the leaders reached the turn, Huizing found himself in a four way tie for the lead with Wilson, James Heath, and Jamie McLeary but he rediscovered the smooth rhythm that had served him so well for the first 54 holes to pick up birdies on the 12th and 14th holes to move to clear of the pack.

But the drama was nowhere near over as Wilson birdied the 17th to get within one of Huizing and set the clubhouse target of 13 under par, with McLeary and Heath finishing the day on 12 under.

A par five at the last would have been good enough to give Huizing the prize but he lost his drive in the thick rough and was forced to play his provisional ball from the middle of the fair way. Huizing’s fourth shot was 40 yards short of the green leaving him needing an up and down to secure a play-off.

With the adrenaline pumping, and a crowd of over 8,000 people surrounding the 18th, he hit a poor pitch and left himself a 25 foot putt to keep his hopes alive.

“I suppose at that moment I proved how much I really wanted this victory,” said Huizing. “I hit a really good putt and once I had made it I knew I still had a chance.”

A perfect drive at the first extra hole put the Dutchman in pole position as Wilson found the bunker off the tee. But the English played a fine second from the sand, leaving himself 50 yards short of the green in two, while Huizing found the putting surface in two with a fine three wood approach.

Wilson’s chip stopped ten feet short before Huizing rushed his eagle chance eight feet past the hole.

“I was pretty sure that he was going to make his putt so I kind of felt I had to make mine. When he missed I just knew that was the moment for me and thankfully I managed to ignore the shakes and make a good stroke and get the ball on line.

“This has just been an amazing week. The tournament has been great and to play in front of so many people was really cool. Playing in front of crowds like this makes the win even more special, and hopefully I can keep playing well and win a card for The European Tour next year.”

Huizing is certainly in position to do that. His victory, worth €27,500, propelled him to sixth place in the Rankings, with the top 15 players winning European Tour cards at the end of the season.

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Dutch Daan Takes Route 66

Dutchman Daan Huizing will take a six-shot lead into the final round of the Northern Ireland Open after producing a flawless 66 on Saturday.

Huizing kept a bogey off his card to be six ahead of Sweden's Jens Dantorp, England's James Heath and Germany's Bernd Ritthammer going into Sunday.

2008 Ryder Cup player Oliver Wilson is in fifth spot seven off the pace.

Jonathan Caldwell is the leading Irish player in share of 12th place on five under after firing a 71 on Saturday.

Ballymena amateur Dermot McElroy lost ground as a disappointing opening 12 holes led to him carding a three-over 74 which dropped him back to a share of 36th on two under.

Derry man Michael McGeady, who was only one off the pace after his 65 on Thursday, also slipped back to two under after a 74 which included five bogeys in marked contrast to his nine birdies on day one.

Mourne amateur Reeve Whitson performed creditably as a one-over 72 left him on one under but the big talking point at the Ballymena course was Huizing's dominant performance in front of over 6,000 spectators.

The 22-year-old Dutchman has now gone 35 holes without a bogey at Galgorm Castle as his rounds of 65, 66 and 66 put in control of the tournament.

Huizing started his round with six pars on Saturday but four birdies in six holes from the seventh saw him pull away from the field.

Even a run of five straight pars from the 13th didn't see his advantage trimmed and for good measure, he birdied the last to put further daylight between him and the trio on 10 under.

"It took me a few holes to relax into the round today but once I did that I managed to play really well and take a few chances," said Huizing, who has produced four top five Challenge Tour finishes in just six appearances this season.

"To be six ahead is really good because I can probably be a little bit more conservative tomorrow."

Englishman Heath's six-birdie 65 moved him into a share of second place with Swede Dantorp (69) and first-round joint-leader Ritthammer (68).

European Ryder Cup star from 2008 Wilson showed that he is edging back to some kind of form as his 68 left him alone in fifth place on nine under.

"At the start of the year, I was playing absolutely terribly. I didn't know where the ball was going but it has been getting better over the last month or so," Wilson told BBC Sport.

Wilson's compatriot Sam Walker charged up the leaderboard after squeezing into the weekend action on the cut mark of one under as he equalled the best round of the week with his 64, which included an eagle at the ninth.

Clandeboye man Caldwell battled back well with two late birdies which helped undo some of the damage of three straight bogeys from the ninth as he signed for a 71.

Amateur McElroy opened with five pars on Saturday but a dropped shot at the sixth was then followed by three straight bogeys after the turn.

McElroy's lone birdie came at the last which left him on two under alongside McGeady.

Former Madrid Masters champion Ross McGowan, who shared second place overnight, tumbled down the leaderboard as a 76 dropped him to three under while three-time European Tour winner Nick Dougherty is on one under after a disappointing 73.

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