The Irish Golf Club Gazette: Omega European Masters

Showing posts with label Omega European Masters. Show all posts

7/24/2015

Hoey on Swiss Roll

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Michael Hoey carded an early hole-in-one as he opened his Omega European Masters campaign with a five-under 65 to lie two shots off first-round leader Gregory Havret at Crans Montana in Switzerland.

In a first-round that was delayed due to fog on the mountain-top Crans-sur-Sierre course, Hoey aced the the 191-yard third hole after opening with two pars.

The 36-year-old from Ballymoney in Antrim dropped a shot at the short par-four fifth but a birdie three on the seventh helped him turn in two-under 33.

A second birdie of the day came on the 10th before back-to-back gains on the 14th and 15th moved him to five under. He dropped a second shot on the 16th but finished on a high with a birdie three on the 18th.

Havret also had a hole in one early in his round as he shot to the top of the leaderboard with a 63. After starting with a bogey on the 10th, the Frenchman holed his tee-shot on the 195-yard 13th and followed it up with back-to-back birdie fours on par-five 14th and 15th holes to move to three under.

Six straight pars followed for the three-time European Tour winner before another scoring burst came with back-to-back birdie threes on the fourth and fifth and a second eagle of the day on the short par-four seventh.

Speaking about his hole-in-one, Havret said: “It’s a little bit strange, for a few seconds you don’t know what to do because you can’t believe it.

“Then when you hear everybody shouting and cheering by the green, you know it’s real and you start to go crazy yourself.

“After that happened, you couldn’t take the smile from off my face, because I knew that whatever happened for the rest of the round, I would have a very nice prize waiting for me. So I was very happy, and I play my best golf when I’m happy.”

Havret’s 63 gave him a one-shot lead over Lasse Jensen, the Dane carding six birdies and no bogeys in a 64, while Hoey is among 12 players that ended the day on five under.

Among the group was Danny Willett, who continued where he left off at the British Open, the 27-year-old English golfer including an eagle and five birdies in his round.

Willett’s fellow English golfers Seve Benson, Richard Bland and Tyrell Hatton are also on five under, along with a trio of Swedes in Pelle Edberg, Rikard Karlberg and amateurMarcus Kinhult.

The tournament, which is co-sanctioned with the Asian Tour, also saw 65s carded by Australian left-hander Richard Green, the South Korean duo of YE Yang and Seukhyun Baek and Thailand’s Jazz Janewattanond.

Welshman Bradley Dredge was one of six players on four under along with defending champion David Lipsky of America.

American Ryder Cup player Patrick Reed opened with a three-under 67 as sis Swiss amateur Marco Iten, who leads the home challenge.

Lee Westwood, whose 42 career wins include a Crans success in 1999, recovered from a poor start to reach two under with three birdies in his closing five holes.

Another to recover from a poor start was world No 10 Sergio Garcia after he opened double-bogey, bogey before four birdies rescued his day as he signed for a one-under 69.

Peter Lawrie is in a share of 21st position on three under after he carded four birdies and a bogey in his 67.

Damien McGrane finished three over par after a 73 that included six bogeys and a tough task on Friday to secure weekend action.

1/17/2014

Mickelson Watches McIlroy Magic

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Rory McIlroy had Open Champion Phil Mickelson reaching for the superlatives after storming into contention.

Mickelson had a front-row seat as McIlroy covered the back nine in 31 for a round of 67 which left him seven under par and just two shots behind the halfway leaders.

"The back nine was really impressive, a beautiful nine holes of golf," said five-time Major winner Mickelson, who returned a 70 to lie one under. "He is really striking the ball well. His game looks really sharp and his driving was impeccable."

It was all a far cry from the same event 12 months ago, when McIlroy fizzled out with a missed cut after consecutive rounds of 75.

"Coming off the last green last year I was deflated to say the least," admitted McIlroy, who endured a turbulent 2013 before finally claiming his first win of the season in the Australian Open in December.

The 24 year old also proposed to girlfriend Caroline Wozniacki in Sydney on New Year's Eve and joked he had been hanging around tennis players too much after grunting with the effort of a recovery shot from the heavy rough.

That was the result of a rare wayward drive - another into a bush cost him a double-bogey on the sixth - but McIlroy has otherwise been delighted with his long game.

"Standing there 30 yards ahead of everyone else is nice," the former World Number One said. "When you are confident with the driver it takes a lot of pressure off your game.

"I got a few putts to drop on the back nine which was nice and I feel like I have a great chance of winning.

"It would be nice to win your first start of the season rather than your last start. It's exactly what I wanted. It's a great way to test your game under pressure. With a strong start to the year you can really get some momentum."

Michael Hoey and Paul McGinley are four shots further adrift of McIlroy with Damien McGrane 2 under for the day after a round of 72.

Darren Clarke and Gareth Maybin remain one under overall.

Craig Lee and Rafael Cabrera-Bello share the lead at the halfway stage of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship after an enthralling second round.

Scotland’s Lee had set the clubhouse target on nine under par after adding a 67 to his opening 68, the 36 year old looking for his first European Tour win after losing out to Thomas Björn in a play-off for the Omega European Masters last September.

"I think Santa has brought me a good putting stroke for Christmas," Lee said.

"My brother installed an astroturf putting green in my front garden at the end of last year and that's made a difference as I've been able to keep putting every day. It's 20 feet by 14 feet and the neighbours have been peering over the fence."

Overnight co-leader Cabrera-Bello did reach ten under par with his sixth birdie of the day, but dropped a shot at the ninth, his last.

That saw the Spaniard sign for a 68, as Cabrera-Bello continued to impress on his first start of the calendar year.

“I am playing well, putting good, and putting the ball in play, hitting the fairways and so I'm feeling confident,” he said.

“Pretty much I'm just happy with the way I'm playing with all of the clubs in the bag. There's nothing that I'm complaining about at the moment.”

Björn was another just two shots behind Cabrera-Bello and Lee on seven under after shooting his own 67, and Lee added: "I would like to take the two of us side-by-side in a play-off again."

The round of the day came from England's Danny Willett, who carded seven birdies and an eagle in his 63 to finish eight under par and continue a brilliant fightback.

Willett was five over par after ten holes on Thursday, but played the remaining eight in four under and is a total of 13 under for his last 26 holes.

"To be honest I've not done a massive amount different," Willett said. "If you miss a fairway by two or three yards and get a bad lie you've got no way to get to some of these greens.

"Today I played nice, hit it a little closer and hit a few more fairways and rolled a few putts in. I holed a wedge from 50 yards on eight (for eagle) which helps and the last 20-odd holes have been pretty good."

Argentina’s Ricardo Gonzalez shot a 66 to be alongside Björn and McIlroy, while England's Tommy Fleetwood made the most of his chance to impress Ryder Cup Captain Paul McGinley - although he may not get the full benefit of his flawless 65.

As well as McGinley, Fleetwood was playing with fellow Nike professional Thorbjørn Olesen and the pair turned up in almost identical clothes, much to McGinley's confusion.

"He kept saying good shot but he never knew which one it was," joked Fleetwood, who won the Johnnie Walker Championship at Ryder Cup venue Gleneagles last year, four days before the qualifying race started, and was third in the Volvo Golf Champions last week.

"He kept throwing a name out there and we're like 'No, no, Paul, it was the other one.'

"I played with him in Holland last year as well and scrapped it around there for two days so to finally play some good golf is good.

"It's every single European golfer's dream to play in a Ryder Cup, you watch it every year on TV and get so motivated by it you want to go out and fight someone when you're watching it.

"It's the best sporting event in the world but at the moment it's one thing I am trying to keep at the back of my mind."

Padraig Harrington (74), Peter Lawrie (75), Kevin Phelan (76), Shane Lowry (71) and Simon Thornton (74) missed the cut

9/23/2013

McGinley Offers Ryder Cup Spots

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Paul McGinley says players on the European Tour will have every chance of earning a place in his European Ryder Cup team, even if they do not qualify automatically.

The Dubliner said players such as Thomas Bjorn, who have missed recent versions of the event, could well play their way back into the side.

McGinley was speaking a year and a day from the start of the 2014 Ryder Cup, as he travelled up to Edinburgh on the Ryder Cup Express steam train.

The Irishman will have three captain's picks to make next year and said: "I'm hoping it's going to help me, that's why I went from two to three.

"Considering so many guys are playing in so many parts of the world, it's important that I have that flexibility, should I need it.

"I'm going to be in America quite a bit next year but I'll also be playing a full European schedule so I'll see a lot of the players there. I'm going to be watching the guys playing on the European Tour very closely.

"If someone shows a lot of form on the European Tour going into the Ryder Cup, even if they're not in the top 50 in the world, I'm going to look closely at guys like that and they could possibly be a pick."

Bjorn played for winning Ryder Cup teams in 1997 and 2002, and has been in good form of late, winning the Omega European Masters earlier this month.

McGinley said: "Thomas is a wonderful player and the thing is that you don't have to play consecutive Ryder Cups. You can miss one or two, then come back in and play a very good Ryder Cup, which a lot of people have done in the past.

"Thomas is one and there are others too, who may have missed one or two Ryder Cups but are capable of slipping back into the team."

McGinley also said he is enjoying life as Ryder Cup captain and is expecting a close contest next year.

"When I was appointed initially, I knew it was going to be busy but I thought it might quieten down," he said. "It's actually kept going and it's been a busy time, but very enjoyable too.

"You're always confident, particularly when you have the quality of players we have in Europe at this time.

"But we won the last two Ryder Cups by a point, and the margin between the two teams is very small.

"There's not a big difference between the teams and we know that, if we're going to win next year we're going to have to play extremely well.

"(American captain) Tom Watson is going to add a lot to the American package. He's an iconic figure in the game and a very astute, intelligent man. We're aware of what we're up against."

Asked whether there was any news on possible vice-captains, he added: "Not at this moment in time. I can think of 20 people right away who would be well capable and would do a good job as vice-captain.

"Next year, as the team evolves, I'll start putting a bit of structure around it, so next summer I'll have a better idea."

9/10/2013

Clarke Backs Bjorn Bid

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Darren Clarke says European Masters champion Thomas Bjorn has a "very realistic" chance of making Europe's 2014 Ryder Cup team.

Bjorn moved to the top of the European Ryder Cup Points List after winning the Omega European Masters at Crans-Sur-Sierre in Switzerland on Sunday - a victory which also took him back into the top 50 in the world rankings.

It was the Dane's first European Tour win (14th in all) since he won the same tournament two years ago.

Clarke is a former Ryder Cup colleague of Bjorn's and the pair were also fellow vice-captains for Europe's incredible win at Medinah last year.

"He'd been knocking on the door all year. He's been playing really, really well," said Clarke.

"He's one of the best, maybe one of the top three, wedge players in the game and Switzerland's always going to suit him because players have so many short irons into greens up there.

"To see him get over the line and win again was fantastic. He's still a world-class player and I'm sure he's got his sights on being involved in playing the Ryder Cup this time as opposed to being involved in the backroom staff."

Bjorn is now 43 but 2011 Open champ Clarke believes Bjorn's chances of playing in a third Ryder Cup - his previous appearances were back in 1997 and 2002 - are "very realistic".

"Thomas is a brilliant golfer. It's a great start for him and I'd be surprised if he's not very close (to automatically qualifying) come the end."

Bjorn could also be in the frame for a wildcard pick if he didn't make it and one of the first congratulatory texts he received after his win at Crans-sur-Sierre came from European Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley.

9/07/2013

Swiss Rolf for Three Irish

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Padraig Harrington fired a second round 65 at the Omega European Masters on Friday and moved to seven under and within three shots of the leaders.

Harrington carded eight birdies and two bogeys in his round to put himself in a share of 13th position going into the weekend at Crans-sur-Sierre.

Scotland’s Stephen Gallacher and Denmark’s Thomas Bjorn shared the halfway lead .

Gallacher recorded seven birdies in his second round of 65 but a bogey at the 394-yard 18th meant he surrendered the outright position at the top of the leaderboard.

Bjorn, the 2011 champion at Crans-sur-Sierre, also came unstuck at the last and had to settle for six birdies in his 66, which was good enough to lift him to 10 under.

The pair led the chasing group of Englishmen Danny Willett, Richard Finch and Tommy Fleetwood, France’s Victor Dubuisson and 2010 winner Miguel Angel Jimenez by one stroke.

A further shot back were the likes of first-round leader Anirban Lahiri, who managed only a level-par 71, and Paul Casey, with a 69.

Gallacher has been struggling recently with a back injury and will take some time off after this week but it did not hamper him too much in the Swiss mountains.

“That was a solid round again today,” he said. “I hit the ball really well on the front nine and got my just rewards for the putts and I’m still in there for tomorrow.

“My back has been a bit sore but I’ve had a lot of physio and it has settled right down. I am having a break after this week to get it properly right.”

Bjorn credited a break of a different kind for putting him in contention.

“I’ve been struggling technically and there have been some big changes this week because I found myself very poor technically over the last few weeks,” said the Dane.

“I’ve gone back to doing it myself and sometimes that’s the best way.

Experience always seems to come through on this course and that’s what I’m hoping for at the weekend. But you can’t get carried away on this golf course or you will run up big numbers.”

Having been through a serious slump – dropping to 169th in the world rankings after a snowboarding accident – Casey has re-emerged as a force on tour this season and having broken back into the world’s top 100 he has his sights set on making the top 50 to ensure his entry to next year’s majors.

“Winning is the biggest goal, getting back in the top 50 is the other biggest–- everything else takes care of itself,” he said.

“There are lots of other goals but it is about continuing to keep playing solidly and give myself opportunities to win tournaments and try to close them out.

“You have to have a lot of patience and creativity this week. If you are not willing to risk something you are probably not going to get it close.

“You don’t need to do a lot wrong to struggle round this place but I’m still happy to shoot two under par as it still keeps me in the mix.”

Gareth Maybin shot a one-under 69 to make the cut on three under, with Michael Hoey a shot further back on two under.

Simon Thornton, Darren Clarke, Damien McGrane and and Peter Lawrie all missed the cut.

9/05/2013

Harrington Hoping for More 66's

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Padraig Harrington is relishing the atmosphere at Crans-sur-Sierre as the Dubliner returns to Switzerland for the first time in 13 years to tee up in this week’s Omega European Masters.

The Irishman last played this event back in 2000, but is clearly enjoying his return to the stunning mountain venue. Although not always a fan of the mountain course opened his account in the Pro-am on Wednesday with a round of 66.

“Clearly it is right up there as the most beautiful venue we play tournament golf at around the world,” Harrington said. “It is a beautiful place, let alone the golf course. Secondly, it always has a great atmosphere here.

“The course is in the centre of the town and everyone seems to be into their golf here. You walk around the town and there are three caddie carts outside the pub because they haven’t made it home. It reminds you of home because a lot of links courses at home are like that and the clubhouse is nearly in the town and everyone, even if they don’t play, are involved.

“Here you can’t go ten yards without seeing a poster for the event. Every shop window has clubs and balls in it. It really is a nice atmosphere. I’m staying in a golf hotel and it is stunning, with stunning views. There is a putting course in front of us and I am going to have a game against my caddie - the big match of the week! It really looks difficult too; there is a volcano hole and I don’t know how you play it!”

While the three-time Major Champion is enjoying matters off the course this week, Harrington knows there is plenty of work to be done on it after five years without a European Tour title.

And the 42 year old feels he has a good idea of what is required if he is to end that run.

“Two six unders and two two unders would be pretty close,” he added. “It’s really hard. There are some short holes, but there is a lot of difficultly around the greens.

“The condition of the course is immaculate and there is a substantial difference in the quality and condition of the course from back when I played it.”

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