The Irish Golf Club Gazette: PGA Championship

Showing posts with label PGA Championship. Show all posts

4/07/2016

Veteran McCluskey Caddies for GMAC

GMAC and Kevn McCluskey

US Army veteran Kevin McCluskey caddies for Graeme McDowell in the Par 3 event at the Masters eight years after having both legs blown off in Afghanistan and also losing all sight in his right eye.

McCluskey, who is from Philadelphia and served with the 101 Airborne Division in Afghanistan, said that he had been left "speechless" by McDowell's offer.

2010 US Open champion McDowell, whose two-under-par total left him six behind winner Jimmy Walker in the Par Three event, said that McCluskey's battles "puts life and golf in perspective".

"I hit a roadside bomb. I lost both my legs. One above the knee and one below the knee. I have a fake hip and a fake pelvis," said the US Army veteran.

"I lost a lot of motion in my wrist but I'm getting it back to normal now.

"I had shrapnel go through my face so I'm blind in my right eye but other than that I'm good. My mind is good.

"I've a beautiful family, a beautiful wife and many friends at home. Everybody has just helped me get back to where I need to be."

1/29/2016

Dunne Fits Right in at Farmers

PGA Tour newcomer Paul Dunne looked at ease in his firts outing carding a three-under-par 69 to finish round one three shots off the lead at the Farmers Insurance Open in San Diego.

Dunne, at the tournament thanks to a sponsor's invite, shot a sole bogey to sit in a 19-way tie for 15th which also included Patrick Reed and Phil Mickelson.

Offaly's Shane Lowry also made a solid start at Torrey Pines, going round in a one-under 71

Americans Scott Brown and Andrew Loupe shared the lead as home players occupied the first seven places after the first round.

The duo were tied on six under par after both opened with rounds of 66 with Brown having eight birdies and two bogeys in his round.

Brown played the more difficult South Course whereas Loupe's opening round was on the North Course.

Brown said: "I hit it really well coming in, the last 11 holes. I made a couple of length putts and capitalised on the short ones.

"It's a hard golf course, if you're out of position you are immediately playing for par. Fortunately I drove it good and hit a lot of good iron shots today," Brown added in an interview on the PGA Tour website.

Loupe had two eagles, four birdies and two bogeys as he and Brown led fellow countrymen Billy Horschel, Patton Kizzire, Tom Hoge, Rob Hoppenheim and Harold Varner III by a single stroke.

A seven-way tie on five under par included Americans Gary Woodland, Brendan Steele, Scott Stallings, Matt Every and Chesson Hadley.

Also sharing eighth place were South Korea's KJ Choi and Japan's Hideki Matsuyama.

Defending champion Jason Day had gone into the tournament hoping to be competitive despite suffering from a virus but he ended the opening round tied forth 76th on even par in a group which also included England's Brian Davis.

English pair Greg Owen and Paul Casey both shot one over par rounds of 73 to be in a tie for 90th place.

1/27/2016

PGA Farmers is Dunne Deal

Paul Dunne is relishing the chance to take a big step towards his "overall goal" when he makes his PGA Tour debut at the Farmers Insurance Open on Thursday.

The Greystones hit the headlines last summer when he became the first amateur since 1927 to share the lead of the Open Championship after 54 holes, before eventually finishing 30th at St Andrews.

The 23-year-old went on to gain his European Tour card via the qualifying school in November but is taking advantage of a gap in his schedule, and a sponsor's invite, to play in the United States, where he attended the same college as former US Open champion Graeme McDowell - the University of Alabama in Birmingham.

Dunne said playing on the PGA Tour is his ultimate ambition.

"I'm very excited to make my PGA Tour debut this week and spend a few weeks in California," said Dunne, who turned pro after helping Great Britain and Ireland to Walker Cup glory.

"I set my goals at the start of the year to just try to improve every day."

"When I was playing in college I was always striving to turn pro and play golf on a professional tour and I was excited to get my European Tour card back in November. Now I have a few weeks off the European Tour I'm really excited to see what the PGA Tour has to offer.

"Category 16 status on the European Tour is for Q-School graduates, so it doesn't get you in every event.

When I was looking at the schedule I knew I had the first couple of events in South Africa [he finished ninth in the Joburg Open] and then my category wouldn't get me into the events in the desert swing.

"So I knew I had a good break in tournaments and then we just sought places to play and looked to America. We were lucky enough to get invites over here.

"Obviously the overall goal for me would be to end up on the PGA Tour so any exposure I can get to that early is great.

"In terms of goals for the week, I kind of set my goals at the start of the year to just try to improve every day - get better each week and let results take care of themselves. So I'm just going to keep working on my game and hopefully I put some good scores together."

World number two Jason Day is a doubt for the defence of his title at Torrey Pines after being laid low by a virus.

Day pulled out of the pre-tournament pro-am but hopes to be fit enough on Thursday to play the opening round of the £4.5m event, one of the five tournaments he won in 2015.

The last time he missed a pro-am, he went on to shoot 61 in the opening round of the Barclays and win for the third time in four starts.

If Day does miss out, the event can still boast an impressive field, with new world number four Rickie Fowler making the 17-hour journey from Abu Dhabi after winning his second European Tour title on Sunday.

Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson and Justin Rose are also competing.

1/15/2016

Honolulu for Harrington and McDowell

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Padraig Harrington carded a first round 66, hitting five birdies marred by a bogey on the first, at the Sony Open in Honolulu. Hawaii

Graeme McDowell was four shots adrift of the Dubliner after three birdies and three bogeys to leave him on 70 for the round.

Former world number one and 2005 champion Singh rolled back the years as he charged into a share of the first-round lead with a sizzling seven-under-par 63 in the opening round of the Sony Open in Honolulu, Hawaii on Thursday.

Seeking to become the oldest winner in PGA Tour history, the 52-year-old Fijian racked up seven birdies with his cross-handed putting style on the tight, palm tree-lined layout at Waialae Country Club.

He finished the day in a five-way tie along with Americans Ricky Barnes, Morgan Hoffmann, Kevin Kisner and Brandt Snedeker.

Singh, who turns 53 next month, narrowly missed a nine-foot putt for eagle on his final hole, the par-five ninth, as he ended a bogey-free display with consecutive birdies in relatively benign morning conditions.

“I was feeling good about my body, my swing, my mind, so I just went out there -- it was early -- started off well and just kept it going,” Singh told Golf Channel after making his 19th career start at the event.

“I scrambled very well. Early on, I didn’t hit too many fairways but I got it around the greens, chipped in once and my putter was working really well.”

If he wins on Sunday, Singh would become the oldest winner in PGA Tour history, eclipsing the record held by Sam Snead, who won the 1965 Greater Greensboro Open at the age of 52 years, 10 months and eight days.

Singh, a 34-times winner on the PGA Tour, has not triumphed since 2008, and in recent years battled assorted health problems which impacted his trademark loose-limbed swing, but he still believes he is capable of winning at the game’s highest level.

“I just want to play,” he replied when asked what kept motivating him as one of the PGA Tour veterans. “I feel like I can come out and win any tournament if I play well. It’s been the same way for the last five, six years.

“I just haven’t produced the scores that I want to produce, but I’m always optimistic about my next day, my next round, my next tournament. Same this year,” added Singh, who has long been renowned for his workaholic approach to practice.

Among the leaders, Kisner and Snedeker played in the afternoon.

“I’ve always struggled at this course,” said Kisner, who credited his improvement to having had a chance to shake off the rust at last week’s Tournament of Champions on nearby Maui.

Reigning champion Jimmy Walker, who is bidding for an unprecedented third victory in a row at Waialae, carded a 69.

1/11/2016

Harrington Makes Moves in Hawaii

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Padraig Harrington closed with a final round 67 which consisted of six birdies and 12 pars in a tie for sixth in Hawaii at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions on Sunday.

The Dubliner's performance at the Plantation Course saw him rise 22 places in the world rankings to 120th. However he will need to make his way back into the world's top 50 to gain a place at the US Masters in Augusta in April.

Jordan Spieth strolled to a seventh PGA Tour title with an eight-shot victory which saw him come close to a recording-breaking 72-hole score.

The world number one came into the final round five shots in front of Brooks Koepka, but there was never any danger of anyone catching him as he carded a six-under-par 67 to finish a staggering -30.

If his birdie attempt at 17 had not fell a foot short of the hole, he would have levelled the PGA record for 72 holes of 31 under which is held by Ernie Els.

Although the 22-year-old missed out on history, he was in glorious form in Hawaii and proved comparisons to Tiger Woods are not misplaced as he becomes the third youngest man to reach seven PGA titles, taking just a month longer than Woods.

Had Spieth matched his second-round score of 64 he would have broken Els' record, but he saved his highest score of the tournament for the final round.

It still contained seven birdies and one bogey and was enough to ensure a sixth tour win in the last 21 outings.

However, he is keen to play down any comparisons to Woods.

"I am nowhere near, I don't think there's any reason to compare, it is awfully early," he said. "I'm very excited with where I am at as a start to my career and what Tiger has done I can't imagine ever being done again, but it's very nice to be in that company.

"Any time that you can get into the company of him and other great players, it's a goal I've had since I was a little kid."

On his performance, he added: "I'm very satisfied. I felt comfortable all week, I felt it was just a short three-week break over the holidays and then just trying to continue what I was doing last year. It worked this week and all parts of the game were firing."

First-round leader Patrick Reed finished in second place after a four-under-par 69 ensured a -22 score while Koepka, who started the round in second place, slipped back to tied third with Brandt Snedeker.

Graeme McDowell finished on -4.

1/08/2016

Harrington Happy at Hyundai in Hawaii

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Padraig Harrington who bogeyed the last and carded four birdies a share of 12th place after day one of the Hyndai Tournament of Champions - courtesy of his win earlier this year at The Honda Classic.

Patrick Reed struck four birdies and an eagle in the final six holes to fire an eight-under 65 and take his place at the top of the first-round leaderboard at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions in Hawaii.

The four-time PGA Tour winner was well down the leaderboard after turning on two under, but was in scintillating form on the back nine, reeling off birdies at the 13th, 14th and 15th holes.

After hitting par at the 16th, he was back in the red with another birdie before bringing his round to a close with an eagle on the par 5 18th.

He came home in just 31 shots, six under par.

Reed's playing partner and world number one Jordan Spieth finished one shot behind on seven-under after another blemish-free round, registering seven birdies.

Brandt Snedeker, J.B Holmes and Danny Lee are all placed on six under while two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson is a further two behind after shooting 69.

World number two Jason Day did not enjoy as productive days as Reed and Spieth, but is still well-placed thanks to a bogey-free three under.

Scotland's Russell Knox is the best-placed Brit on two under.

Graeme McDowell struck two double bogeys in his two-over-par 75

Harrington told the Golf Channel after his round: “Last year was quite a disappointing year for me. I didn’t play as well as I would have liked.

“But I liked what I saw today and that’s good enough for me, because it’s all about the moment and what you’re doing.

“I made a few changes during the winter and first week out I’m liking what I see and I hope that it will go from strength to strength during the season.”

Harrington has featured at six Ryder Cups but now finds himself 141st in the world rankings.

While not giving up hope of an unlikely spot on the European team later this year, the 44-year-old has admitted that his focus for the time being is very much on his own individual performances.

“It’s a big ask from the position I’m in,” he added.

“I’m going to have to have a big year.

“I’m literally going to have to win at least twice or a major.

“It really is going to have to be a big year for any guy to get into the Ryder Cup team.

“Especially as I’m not in those World Series events - I wasn’t in the ones at the end of last year.

“So as much as I’d like to play - and it’s a goal of mine - it’s not necessarily on my radar. I’ve got to go out and get a win under my belt and then I’ll start thinking about it.”

8/17/2015

Spieth Second Tops World

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Jordan Spieth was still smiling after his second place finish in the 97th PGA Championship as it saw him take Rory McIlroy's place as world No 1.

Spieth concluded his remarkable season in the major championships by finishing three shots behind Jason Day at Whistling Straits, but that result was enough to lift him to the top of the Official World Golf Ranking.

The 22-year-old won the Masters and US Open before finishing in a tie for fourth in the 144th Open at St Andrews, where his dreams of a Grand Slam finally came to an end.

Asked by Sky Sports' Rich Beem if the No 1 spot was a nice consolation prize, Spieth said: "Sure it is. That's as good of a consolation prize as I have ever had.

"I'm really pleased. It was not easy to get out there and try to dethrone Rory, and it's going to be even harder to try and stay on top.

"But this year, the way we have played I think we've earned it as a team and we are going to work our butts off to stay in this position."

Spieth started the day two behind Day but could never quite get close enough to put pressure on the Australian, who was winning his first major championship after a number of near misses.

A dropped shot at the ninth proved particularly costly and Spieth said that was the key part of the round where he should really have been making up ground.

He added: "The middle of the round, really eight through 12, I had a really good opportunity to shoot three-under and I played those holes even par.

"That was killer because at that point I would have got it to about square and it would have been a different story coming down the stretch.

"But it was Jason's day today and he really didn't miss many shots, and when he did it ended in a good spot and he made plenty of putts."

8/12/2015

The Making of a Captain

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Darren Clarke is steeped in Ryder Cup history and a specially commissioned half hour documentary – produced by European Tour Productions and shown on Sky Sports this week – looks not only at that aspect, but also goes behind the scenes to capture the man behind the headlines.

‘Darren Clarke – The Making of a Captain’ – looks back on his five Ryder Cup appearances as a player and two as vice-captain, and also spends time with the 2011 Open Champion at his home in Portrush as well as garnering the thoughts of the people closest to him as to what makes the 46 year old the man he is today.

At times poignant, at times funny, the documentary – which gets its first airing on Thursday at 1.00pm on Sky Sports 4 – explains why the 14 time European Tour champion feels the captaincy is the highest honour which could be bestowed on him by his Tour peers, and also how he feels about going up against his good friend, Davis Love III in Minnesota.

Speaking to the media ahead of this week's US PGA Championship at Whistling Straits, Clarke said the anticipation was growing ahead of the impending start of the Ryder Cup Points Race but that he would be focusing on his own game for now.

"First week in September when the Points Race starts, I'll start playing very close attention to what's going on," said Clarke. "But at the moment I still want to try to play the best I can myself. But that will change as soon as the points start. I'll be more into how the team is shaping up and what's going on.

"But we have a big date coming up the end of the September, where Davis and I are at Hazeltine, we'll have a lot of stuff to do there. I know the European Tour have been out to Hazeltine looking at things. But Davis has the first choice on team rooms, hotel rooms, and rightly so, he's the home captain. But when I get there, I'll have the opportunity to look at things and make some more choices then.

"But certainly there's a lot of things that go on behind the scenes. But in terms of my first and foremost role is to try and do whatever I can to enable the European Tour to have the strongest team possible. My interest is more in the players. We've got a wonderful backroom team in the European Tour looking after the Ryder Cup. I trust those guys implicitly with their decisions that they make. They involve me in them, but I trust them enough that they will make the right decisions for me. My interest is more on what the players are doing, and what their plans are."

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