McIlroy's Moving Sunday

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Rory McIlroy was left to reflect on what might have been after producing a storming finish to the 115th US Open at Chambers Bay.

McIlroy began the final day eight shots off the lead, but he carved his way through the field as he finally managed to convert the birdie chances that had gone begging over the first 54 holes.

The world No 1 got going with a 20-foot putt for birdie at the second, but he really heated up around the turn as he backed up his sublime long-game with a much-improved performance on the greens.

McIlroy picked up four birdies in six hole before sending the galleries wild with a thrilling 50-foot curling putt for another gain at the 13th, lifting him to six under on the day and two under for the tournament.

But he missed another opportunity from eight feet at the next which took the wind out of his sails, and he failed to get up and down at the 15th after his tee shot rolled off the left-front portion of the green.

The 2011 champion then missed from three feet for par at 17, and a closing five capped a valiant 66 which saw him finish on level par for the week.

"I really thought after holing a long putt on 13, with 16 and 18 coming in, if I could birdie those two holes and get to four under par I had a great chance with the way the greens are getting out there," McIlroy said. "It would have been a number for the guys to really think about.

"When I look back, the last few holes have not been kind to me this week and that's where I will rue some missed opportunities. I feel like it's one that got away. I feel like I've never hit the ball as well in a major championship."

The performance was a solid comeback from back-to-back missed cuts at the BMW PGA Championship and the Irish Open, and he can now look forward to the remainder of the season with confidence restored.

"Of course I take a lot of positives out of this," he added. "The long game is really in good shape. I was really dialled in all week and confident with that. And if I can just get the putting a little bit better and roll a few more in and get a little bit of confidence with that going, I see nothing but positive signs for the next few months."

McIlroy will now have a week off before teeing up in the Scottish Open at Gullane, and he will defend his Open Championship crown at St Andrews the following week.

"I'll go probably to St Andrews the weekend before the Scottish Open or even the Monday, Tuesday of the Scottish Open and play a couple of practice rounds," he said.

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Harrington Open Chase Fades

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Padraig Harrington's hopes of a second Irish Open success were endedn at Royal County Down on Saturday as Soren Kjeldesen moved up the leaderboard.

The hree-time Major winner Harrington had hoped to apply pressure on the leaders, but dropped seven shots, including three in a row in the final four holes, to finish the day 13 shots behind the leader.

German Maximilian Kieffer shot a course record 65, but along with Spaniard Rafa Cabrera-Bello trails Kjeldesn by three shots after another scintillating round from the 40-year-old Dane.

It was a disappointing day for Irish challengers, with Shane Lowry and Paul McGinley shooting level round scores to remain at +3 and +4 respectively.

Graeme McDowell shot an impressive 69 to move up to three over heading into the final day.

Simon Thornton ended Saturday with  a level par round to remain +5 for the tournament.

Darren Clarke is one stroked adrift on 6 over par signing for a one par 72.

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Søren Kjeldsen’s late slip did not prevent him from taking a handy two stroke lead into the final round of the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open Hosted by the Rory Foundation. The 40 year old was flawless for the majority of a cold, yet bright, day at Royal County Down until he dropped shots on his final two holes.

That ensured the chasing pack remained in touch, led by Maximilian Kieffer after he shot a course record 65 to catapult himself into second place alongside Rafa Cabrera-Bello on five under.

With the weather set to turn sour tomorrow Kjeldsen, who has not won on The European Tour since 2009, had appeared to be making a decisive move when he strung a hat-trick of birdies together from the par four 11th.

The Dane had already picked up three shots on the front nine and as his putter began to run hot – he was only denied an eagle at the par five eighth when rolling a 30 footer just short – his rivals all began to tread water apart from Kieffer.

The German had endured a mixed start to his tournament, as he followed an opening 67 with a 76 yesterday, but was celebrating a new course record this evening as he mixed seven birdies with a single bogey.

It was the best round on a day scores improved dramatically – there were 15 rounds of 60 compared to 14 in total on the first two days – although World Number Nine Rickie Fowler proved that the Newcastle course was hardly playing easy.

Fowler remarkably finished with a pair of eights, he lost his ball off the tee at the 17th as he ran up a quadruple bogey, after he had chipped in to eagle the reachable 16th and give himself hope on the final day.

The American’s forgettable finish almost certainly wiped away those ambitions and put into context Kjeldsen’s own troubles at the end of an otherwise impressive round.

"If you had given me 67 stood on the first tee I would have been very happy.

"I played terrific all day and didn't think I did too much wrong on the last two holes, so I will focus on the first 16," said Kjeldsen.

"Competition is pretty hard out here. It's not easy to win and it's not like I have played poorly for six years, but it's nice to have a chance and it would mean everything to win this event.

“But it's too early to think about that. There are a lot of great players behind me and I need to play well (on Sunday) to have a chance. It's still that open."

Kieffer, chasing his first European Tour title, revealed he benefited from some local knowledge from his friend Stephen Sweeney, who was an assistant professional at Royal County Down for four years.

"He showed us around in the practice round and this is definitely a course where local knowledge helps a lot," Kieffer said.

The highlight of Cabrera-Bello’s day arrived on the 16th when the Spaniard drove the green and sunk an eagle putt, although he dropped a shot on the last – which gave up just two birdies all day.

“I missed a short three putt but overall really pleased,” he said.

“It's been really tough out there, lots of wind, pretty cold and playing in control of my game most of the time. I think it's going to put me in a great position for tomorrow.”

A stroke back sits a group of three players including Bernd Wiesberger, Richie Ramsay and Tyrrell Hatton – who had all shared in last night’s six way lead with Kjeldsen, Cabrera-Bello and Chris Wood.

Wiesberger was level with Kjeldsen after 12 holes today only to join the list of players to struggle into the wind over the closing holes, carding bogeys at 14 and 16.

He was nonetheless content to remain in contention and play well to mark his mother’s 57th birthday.

“It will play tough (tomorrow)”, he said.

“It was not ideal to pick up two bogeys there but it was a tough stretch coming in, and I'm just happy with a round under par today.”

Niclas Fasth was next best placed on two under, as the Swede returned a 67, while Lucas Bjerregaard had equalled the old course record of 66 to be one under alongside former World Number One Luke Donald, Jake Roos and Anthony Wall.

An Byoeng-hun, who won at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth last week, shot a 67 to be level with the card.

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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.

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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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Padraig Seeks Top Sixty

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Padraig Harrington has not given up hope of qualifying for the US Open, despite missing out in Monday’s qualifying event at Walton Heath.

Harrington bogeyed the final hole to finish one shot outside a play-off for the remaining four places at Chambers Bay next month, but can still qualify via the world rankings published in the week of the year’s second major.

“I believe that the top 60 after the St Jude Classic (in Memphis) still get into the US Open,” said Harrington, who is currently ranked 86th. “So I have this week’s Irish Open and the St Jude Classic. I won’t play the one in between. I’m already on a run of four events.

“I have to win 25 world ranking points in that time, something like that. I certainly think a win here or at St Jude will push me across the line, or some sort of combination (of results).

“Having missed out yesterday it was very disappointing, but it will be a lot more disappointing in three weeks’ time when I’m sitting on the couch watching it on TV and realising how close it was and really having done all the hard work.”

Harrington played the 36-hole qualifying event despite having lasted just two holes of the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth with a shoulder injury, and the 2007 champion is confident the problem will not affect his participation in the Irish Open at Royal County Down.

“It’s certainly improved enough that I don’t feel like there’s any doubt about me playing on Thursday,” he added. “It’s not quite 100 per cent at the moment but I was pleased yesterday that as much as a hindrance it was early on, as I got into it more and more it was less of a problem.”

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