The Irish Golf Club Gazette: Par (score)

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2/12/2016

Dunne Cards Eagle at Monterey Peninsula

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Paul Dunne card a four-under 67 in his opening round at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am in California, four shots behind leader Chez Reavie, who also played the par-71 Monterey Peninsula course, one of three played in the event.

Starting on the par-five 10th hole, Dunne made an eagle three before handing one shot back on the par-three 11th. Six straight pars followed before his round took off with four birdies in five holes as he made it to five under. A bogey on the par-three 17th saw him drop back to a share of 16th position.

Dunne and former R&A chief executive Peter Dawson are tied for sixth spot on the pro-am leaderboard on nine under.

Pádraig Harrington was a shot behind Dunne on three under after five birdies and three birdies in a 68, also at Monterey. Shane Lowry carded an even-par 71 on the same course.

American Reavie rebounded superbly from missed cuts in his last two PGA Tour starts to fire an eight-under-par 63 at Monterey and grab a one-shot lead in the opening round.

While some of the biggest names in the game battled hard to post sub-par scores, Reavie covered his final nine holes in a sizzling seven-under 30, considered the easiest of the three venues being used for this week’s event.

That left Reavie, whose only PGA Tour victory came at the 2008 Canadian Open, one stroke in front of Australian Cameron Smith and American Bronson Burgoon, who also played at Monterey, after a picture postcard day of unbroken sunshine.

Swede Freddie Jacobson had the best score at the Pebble Beach host course, a seven-under 65, while Englishman Justin Rose and American JB Holmes were best at Spyglass Hill, with six-under 66.

World number one Jordan Spieth, back on the PGA Tour after playing tournaments in Abu Dhabi and Singapore, struggled with his short game as he mixed four birdies with three bogeys for an opening 71 on the challenging Spyglass Hill layout.

“I played the hardest holes on this golf course in four under par and then I played all the easy ones over par,” Spieth, 22, told Golf Channel. “It’s kind of a bit odd.

“I’m just not quite dialled in with my wedges or with the short game right now. I had three (birdie) chances on par-fives greenside, just little chip shots, basic shots, and I made par as well as bogeying that 115-yard par-three.

“So a little frustrating with that but, all in all, to actually shoot one under with what I felt like I should have shot today is promising, considering we are going to the two easier courses, in my mind.”

Australian world number three Jason Day also had to fight hard as he matched Spieth with a 71 at Spyglass Hill.

“It’s a little frustrating,” said Day, who birdied two of his last six holes to finish the round with something of a flourish.

“I feel like I am hitting the ball pretty good and then I stand over some shots and I just don’t quite have the control that I would like to have.

“I feel okay with how I am driving it. I feel like it’s really close. Once I start getting that control back in the swing and I start gaining a little bit more confidence, then hopefully from there I will start playing a little better.”

8/09/2015

Lowry Wins WGC-Bridgestone

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Shane Lowry shot a flawless final round of 66 to win the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in Akron and claim his third European Tour title.

The Irishman fired four birdies on Sunday to finish the tournament on 11 under par, two shots ahead of two time Major Champion Bubba Watson.

Lowry began the final round at Firestone Country Club two shots off the lead held by overnight co-leaders Justin Rose and Jim Furyk, but he wiped out the deficit with birdies on the second and eighth holes.

The 28 year old began his back nine with a birdie on the tenth to take a two shot lead over the chasing pack on ten under par.

Furyk went within a shot of Lowry when he sank his five foot birdie putt on the 11th, only to bogey the next and drop back to eight under.

Lowry maintained his two shot advantage with a superb par save from 20 feet on the 14th after finding a fairway bunker off the tee.

Lowry's lead was cut to one shot when Watson fired his sixth birdie of the day at the 17th to go to nine under par.

But he held his nerve and went 11 under par when he sank his six foot putt at the last to win his first WGC title.

Rose and Furyk finished in a share of third place on seven under, with Robert Streb one shot further back.

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.”

5/22/2015

Rory McIlroy Cut at Wentworth

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Rory McIlroy limped to a disappointing early exit from the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth after missing the halfway cut by four shots.

The world No 1 again looked out of sorts and short on energy as he stuttered to an error-strewn second-round 78 featuring six bogeys and a double-bogey at the 11th, finishing well down the field on five over par.

Playing the fourth of five tournaments in succession, McIlroy had admitted he was mentally fatigued following his opening 71 which was littered with frustrated outbursts, including hurling his three-wood away in disgust at the 17th which could incur a fine from the European Tour.

Despite having a later tee time for day two, McIlroy was clearly still suffering the effects of his busy schedule and, after opening with a pair of pars, he found three bunkers on the third hole alone before salvaging a bogey with an excellent up-and-down.

McIlroy dropped another shot at the fifth, although he gave himself a lift with a birdie at the eighth before making a torrid start to the back nine. He followed a bogey at 10 with an ugly six at the 11th after another wayward tee shot forced him to take an unplayable lie, and he then hooked his third into the crowd and hit a spectator.

He bunkered another errant drive at the 13th and again failed to save par, and his shoulders sagged further after another bogey at 16 ended any slim hopes of being around for the weekend.

A birdie at 17 was scant consolation, and his performance was summed up at the last when he sculled his second from the left rough to short of the green, pitched 15 feet past the flag and three-putted to close with a six.

McIlroy had not missed a cut in a European Tour event since last June's Irish Open, a tournament he is hosting next week at Royal County Down before he takes a well-earned break prior to preparing for next month's US Open at Chambers Bay.

"I'm not going to read too much into it," he said afterwards. "It was inevitable at some point the run was going to come to a bit of an end. I am back to my usual at Wentworth! It was not great before last year and it has not been great this year.

"I think it was a bit of mental fatigue, especially when I was trying to muster up a few birdies coming down the back nine. I just couldn't get anything going. I would much rather be here for the weekend but if any good comes of this I have a couple of days over the weekend to refresh myself and I will be okay for next week.

"I'm not angry, just a little disappointed I'm not going to be here for the weekend. But coming off the back of three good weeks in the States, I'm probably in need of a rest. I'd rather still be here, but it's not all bad getting to go home for the weekend.

"Any time you're defending a title, you want to come back and give it a valiant effort. This week wasn't really that, but I'll dust myself off and get ready for a big week next week at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open."

5/17/2015

McIlroy Sets New Record

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Rory McIlroy further underlined his status as the best player in the world after taking control of the Wells Fargo Championship with a stunning 11-under 61 in the third round.

McIlroy broke his own course record at Quail Hollow after a sensational display of shot-making backed up by another solid performance on the greens as he stormed to 18 under par, four clear of joint-overnight leader Webb Simpson.

The world No 1, who fired a closing 62 to claim his maiden PGA Tour title in this event in 2010, began with a pair of pars before igniting his challenge with birdies at the third and fifth holes.

But after a par at the sixth, he then put together a remarkable run of nine birdies in 10 holes to pull five clear of the field, and thoughts turned to the possibility of a magical 59 when he holed his 11th birdie putt of the day at 16.

However, the prospect of making three birdies over the Green Mile proved beyond him as his tee shot to the 180-yard 17th ignored instructions to draw in the air and settled 40 feet right of the target.

McIlroy safely two-putted for par, and he did well to scramble a par-four at the last after his drive finished barely a yard from the creek on the left of the fairway before his approach bounded past the pin and found the rear fringe.

However, his second consecutive bogey-free round was enough to earn McIlroy a commanding four-stroke advantage over Simpson, who stayed in touch with the runaway leader with birdies at five, seven and 13 before he drained a 20-foot putt for eagle at the 15th.

But Simpson's drive at the last found the creek on the left, although he limited the damage to a bogey-five with an excellent up-and-down from 60 feet as he signed for a 68.

Robert Streb, who shared the halfway lead with Simpson, endured an erratic day as five birdies and four bogeys added up to a 71 which left him seven behind McIlroy, while Brendan Steele (68) and Patrick Rodgers (70) are a further stroke adrift.

Justin Thomas had set the early clubhouse target at nine under after an entertaining 65 which included two eagles in three holes on the front nine, but Phil Mickelson failed to build on a bright start which raised the prospect of a final-day showdown with McIlroy.

The left-hander cruised to the turn in 32 and atoned for a bogey at 12 with a birdie at the 14th, but he carved his final drive into water and went on to run up an ugly triple-bogey seven which saw him plummet to eight under and out of the running.

5/10/2015

Rory Suffers Cold Putter at Players

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Rory McIlroy admitted he needs a "pretty special" final round at TPC Sawgrass if he is to contend for a maiden Players Championship title on Sunday.

The world No 1 continued to delight from tee to green, but he struggled to contain his frustration after again failing to convert a number of excellent birdie chances as he carded a two-under 70 to close on six under.

McIlroy made a confident start with a birdie at the second, but his problems scoring on the front nine over the Stadium Course continued as he bogeyed the fifth and eighth and then whiffed a pitch at the long ninth.

Left of the green in two, McIlroy's lob wedge slid straight under the ball in the lush rough, but he composed himself before playing a sublime fourth to within three feet to save his par.

He got one shot back with a four at the 11th, and he rolled in a tricky downhill putt for birdie at 13 before two-putting from 15 feet for another at 16.

McIlroy had a chance to get to seven under following an excellent drive and approach to within 10 feet at the last, but the opportunity slid past and left him to reflect on what might have been.

"Tee to green it's been really good, I've given myself a lot of chances and really could not convert much," McIlroy told Sarah Stirk at the Sky Cart on Sky Sports4.

"I've struggled to read the greens all week and just don't quite have it on the greens like I did last week (when he won the WGC-Cadillac Match Play).

"I've left myself in a position where I am going to need something pretty special tomorrow to have a chance; a 64 or 65 to get somewhere around 13 or 14 under. I think that would go very close."

4/12/2015

McIlroy Loses Masters Direction

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Rory McIlroy admitted a poor finish to the third round had left him with little chance of completing his career grand slam in the Masters at Augusta.

McIlroy was six under par for his round after 15 holes but bogeyed the 16th and 18th and had to settle for a 68 to finish six under, with 36-hole leader Jordan Spieth showing no signs of coming back to the field.

"I'm going to need something basically around 61, 62 (tomorrow) to have a real chance. I'm not sure that's going to happen but we'll see," said McIlroy, who is looking to become just the sixth player in history to win all four major titles.

"I've really just tried to treat it like a normal golf tournament or treat it like any other year. Any other year that I've came to the Masters, I've done the same things.

"I wasn't approaching it like I was trying to win the grand slam. I was approaching it like I was trying to win another golf tournament. So I don't think it's really had any impact on the way I've played this week."

McIlroy feels like his knowledge of Augusta is improving with every round, although the bogeys near the end of his Saturday effort left him feeling a little flat.

He added: "I got off to a good start, sort of the way I wanted to play the front nine.

"I had not really played the front nine too well the last couple of days, so to play them under par was nice.

"I made a couple of good birdies on 13 and 15 so got it to eight under through 15 and then a disappointing finish. Overall I felt like I played pretty well and just a little disappointed the way I finished.

"I definitely feel like I play this golf course better and better every year that I come here. I just need to keep putting numbers up like I did today. I know I'm capable of it. Just a few stretches of holes have held me back and that's really been the case this year again."

3/20/2015

All Positives for McIlroy

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Rory McIlroy insisted there were plenty of positives to take from his opening round at Bay Hill, despite squandering several chances to move higher up the leaderboard.

McIlroy hit all but one of the greens in regulation on his Bay Hill debut – equalling his career best on the PGA Tour – but was only able to convert that into three birdies during an opening round 70.

The Northern Irishman, yet to post a sub-70 round in America this year, had already missed five birdie putts from within 20-feet when he saw his approach to the par-five 16th pitch into a bank short of the green and roll back down into the water.

Although McIlroy’s fourth shot after a penalty drop found the green, his 35-foot par-save putt drifted left of the cup in his only blemish of the round.

Despite the disappointment with the putter leaving McIlroy four strokes off the lead, the four-time major winner was left encouraged by his opening round.

Golf's world No 1 Rory McIlroy insists he feels okay and isn't worried about a below average round at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Speaking to Sky Sports 4, McIlroy said: "I feel okay. I saw a lot of positives out there and was just trying to stay as patient as possible.

“I’m disappointed to play the par-fives in even par for the day, especially around here. If you can play the par-fives well you’re going to do well, so hopefully I can improve on that over the week.”

“The greens are not quite as good as they could be and if it had been a better putting day it could have been a lot lower, but I feel a lot better about my game and it was nice to finish with a birdie."

This week’s event is McIlroy’s last before attempting to complete a career grand slam with Masters victory at Augusta next month.

While McIlroy has struggled, in recent displays at Palm Beach and Doral, to replicate the form that saw him storm to victory at the Desert Swing finale in Dubai, he is determined to get back to challenging at the top of leaderboards.

"I want to feel that feeling of being in contention,” McIlroy added. “The win in Dubai feels like a long time ago. It will be nice to get myself into the hunt going into the weekend."

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