McDowell Shares Maybank Lead

Asian Tour

Graeme McDowell believes he is reaping the benefits of a hard winter’s work after taking a share of the lead on day one of the Maybank Malaysian Open.

The Northern Irishman carded a six under par 66 at Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club to join defending champion Lee Westwood at the top of the leaderboard.

And the former US Open Championship was pleased to continue the progress he made last week, when he finished tied for ninth in Dubai on his first start of 2015.

“I was fairly happy with the way everything looked coming into the new year,” said the 35 year old Ryder Cup star. “I did a lot of work off the course over the winter improving some things physically and in my swing, and things seem to be clicking really well. 

“It’s early days, but I’m feeling relaxed and my attitude’s good. If I can continue that for the rest of the year then good things will happen.”

In breezy conditions, McDowell’s Ryder Cup team-mate Westwood carded four birdies in an outward 32 at the venue where he romped to a seven shot victory last year.

A further gain followed at the long third, but the 41 year old dropped his only shot of the day after missing a five footer at the sixth.

Westwood was one of those tied for ninth with McDowell last Sunday, and he responded with birdies from six feet at the seventh and 20 feet at the ninth.

“I putted very nicely and started the ball on line well,” said Westwood. “I left a couple short in the middle when I was fooled by the grain, but overall I’m very happy. It’s probably the toughest I’ve ever seen this golf course play.”

McDowell had also started on the back nine, and having picked up shots at the tenth, 15th and 17th, started for home with consecutive gains.

Like Westwood he dropped his only shot at the sixth after failing to get up-and-down from in front of the green, but holed from eight feet at the next and six feet on his final hole.

And the 35 year old would have led outright but for missing a five foot chance in between at the short eighth after a tremendous tee shot.

“I’m pretty happy,” added McDowell. “I hit the ball great today - drove it well and gave myself a lot of looks for birdie. 

“Generally I’m very, very happy with that start. I’ve enjoyed the way this golf course looks from the start and I enjoyed playing it this morning with good company from the boys - it’s a solid start.

“It’s tough to pinpoint what you have to do right on this course because you have to do everything right. You have to drive it well, hit your irons well, and chipping and putting around the greens is tough as well. 

“It really is kind of an all-round golf course, and the guys who have won round here – Lee Westwood, Thongchai Jaidee and Ryan Moore on the PGA Tour – are good all-round players. I think when I’m on, I’m one of those players as well.”

The leading pair are one ahead of England’s Tommy Fleetwood, who holed a lengthy birdie putt at the eighth in his round of 67, and home favourite Danny Chia.

Paul McGinley, Europe's 2014 Ryder Cup Captain, was among those on three under after an impressive round of 69 in his first outing of the 2015 season, as was another of his charges from Gleneagles, Stephen Gallacher.

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Lowry Claims Share of Second in Wales

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Shane Lowry was never able to get on level terms with the leaders on the final day of the ISPS Handa Wales Open, carding two bogeys and one birdie in his first five holes to sign for a round of 70 at The Celtic Manor.

So it was Joost Luiten who breathed a sigh of relief after overcoming a poor start and nervous finish to claim his fourth European Tour title in Wales.

The Dutchman, who was fifth in the defence of his KLM Open title on home soil last week, saw his two shot overnight lead disappear when he bogeyed the first two holes of the final round at The Celtic Manor Resort.

But the 28 year old hit back with three birdies and one bogey on the back nine to card a closing 71 and finish 14 under par, one shot ahead of England's Tommy Fleetwood and Ireland's Shane Lowry.

Fleetwood had looked out of contention following a double bogey on the 13th, but then chipped in for a birdie on the 14th, holed from five feet for eagle on the next and also birdied the last three holes for a closing 67.

That left Luiten needing to par the last three holes to win and he looked to have done the hard part with a superb up and down from a greenside bunker on the 17th, only to hit an amazingly wild drive on the last.

It took several minutes for the ball to be found in dense rough but Luiten was able to hack it across the fairway and into more rough, from where he found the green with his approach and two-putted from long range.

"It was tough, it was hard work down the last," Luiten admitted. "I didn't have the start I wanted with two bogeys and I just tried to hang in there and wait for my chances and made some nice birdies at the end and a par down the last was luckily enough.

“There's always a lot of tension on the first hole – you try to settle down, try to make an easy par or birdie and then I left myself quite a tricky first putt and I just didn't read it well. I didn't give the right pace and you leave yourself an eight footer downhill left to right and that's one you can make or miss and I missed it today. 

“You just try to settle down the first couple holes, and after that, I got back into my game. I started to hit greens, and I just didn't really make any putts in the middle part - luckily we made a couple at the back.”

Like Luiten, Fleetwood has also come into form late in the season, finishing fifth in both the D+D REAL Czech Masters and Omega European Masters recently.

The 23 year old, who won his maiden European Tour title at Gleneagles last year, said: "After the double bogey on 13 I definitely wasn't thinking about getting to 13 under, just try your best on the last few and see what you can get. I wanted to get back to level par or under par for the day. I thought that would have been a good effort.

"After a poor summer, I wanted to finish the season well. I've been playing well recently and the more you get up there, the better. This is how you learn. You can't practice this on the range when you're coming down the stretch in the top five and just the more you do it, the better it is."

Five players shared fourth place, Ryder Cup debutant Jamie Donaldson carding a 67 to finish alongside Nicolas Colsaerts, Eddie Pepperell, Marc Warren and Edoardo Molinari.

"I'm very pleased," Donaldson said. "Celtic Manor is a tough golf course which doesn't quite suit my eye. It's been hard for me this week to keep focused and try and see the shots. If you take your foot off the pedal and there's a lot of trouble about.

"I'm happy the way I played over the last four or five weeks, building up to the Ryder Cup. I couldn't have asked for any more, really."

Team-mates Thomas Björn and Lee Westwood carded closing rounds of 74 and 76 respectively, Westwood having to birdie the 16th and 18th to avoid an even worse score.

"I needed to play some competitive golf and I've done that," said the 41 year old ahead of his ninth Ryder Cup. "I hit a few good shots (this week), not so good today, but I probably had one eye on next week. I don't think the concentration and the focus was there.

"The Ryder Cup is very special, I am looking forward to getting there tonight and preparing for Friday when it starts."

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Lawrie Looks Good at Laguna

Peter Lawrie signed for a third round 67 at Laguna National in Singapore on Saturday to secure a tie for 20th place and into the money for the first time this season.

The Dubliner birdied the par-five 15th before he added four straight birdies after the turn and carded one bogey at the sixth. Then recovering a stroke at the next before making par over the last two holes.

Anders Hansen and Panuphol Pittayarat share the lead going into the final day of the event.

The duo are tied on 16 under par, with Denmark’s Hansen enjoying a strong finish to move level with day-two leader Pittayarat.

Hansen signed for birdies on the 15th, 16th and 17th holes to take a five-under-par 67 for the day, with Thailand’s Pittayarat three under.

A victory charge is a real boost for Hansen, who is playing in just his fourth tournament following a six-month absence owing to wrist surgery.

“I’m very pleased,” he said. “I didn’t hit the ball that great but I made a couple of good putts and I hit a lot of greens.

“Every time you are up there you have to be pleased and I am looking forward to tomorrow.”

Dutch golfer Robert-Jan Derksen, in his final season, is two shots behind the leaders, sharing third with America’s David Lipsky. Gregory Bourdy and England’s Chris Woodare next on the board.

England’s Tommy Fleetwood is one of four players four shots off the pace, being joined by Felipe Aguilar, Terry Pilkadaris and Rahil Gangjee.

Like Lawrie, Gareth Maybin and Simon Thornton will also be looking for strong final rounds after both made it to eight under at the end of play on Saturday.

Maybin carded two birdies and had no dropped shots in a two-under 70, while Thornton’s 69 was a mixed bag that included seven birdies, two bogeys and a double-bogey five at the par-three 17th.

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Hoey Finishes 8th in China

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Michael Hoey finished in a tie for eighth place at the Volvo China Open on Sunday, after a final round 68 and dropping three shots on two of the last three holes. Which included a double bogey five on the par three 16th.

It was a good weeks work for Hoey who has three top ten finishes so far this season, one of which was a second place at the Tshwane Open in South Africa last month, with no missed cuts since December. 

A rich vein of form that currently places him 34th in The Race to Dubai with three hundred and seven thousand Euro in prize money through 12 tournaments so far played this year.

Hoey will retun to action in mid May for the Open de España at PGA Catalunya.

The winner of the Volvo China Open, Alexander Levy, was so relaxed on the course on Sunday, not even a double bogey that erased his comfortable lead could wipe the grin from his face.

Rather than get down over what could have been a costly mistake, the 23-year-old Frenchman recovered with back-to-back birdies on his final two holes to capture his maiden European Tour title by four strokes over Tommy Fleetwood.

The smile, he said, was the key to victory.

"You need to take the pleasure on the golf course and keep the smile because if you are upset about a missed shot or not lucky because you make a lip out or something like that, it's not good to have this feeling on the golf course," he said. "You need to enjoy and have the smile."

Levy, playing in just his second year on the tour, vaulted into the lead with a career-best 10-under 62 in the second round and looked to be headed for a runaway victory after making a birdie on the 13th Sunday to extend his lead to five shots.

But then he ran into trouble on the par-4 15th. After hitting his approach shot well past the green, he putted from the fringe and sent the ball off the other side of the green. He chipped back to the green and two-putted for a double bogey, allowing Fleetwood back within two strokes.

Fleetwood, playing in the group ahead of Levy, then tightened the pressure further with a birdie on the par-5 17th to pull another shot back.

Levy responded, however, with a flawless 3-iron approach shot over a lake on the same hole to set up a three-foot birdie putt.

"I just closed my eyes and got one of the best shots of the week to the green," he said.

After Fleetwood bogeyed the 18th, Levy sealed the win by dropping another perfectly placed approach shot three feet from the pin for another birdie. He shot a final-round 69 for a 19-under 269 overall.

"We aim for wins, but today I didn't really have a chance. I had to play outstanding golf, but Alex has led from Friday, and that's one of the hardest things you can do," Fleetwood said. "What a performance from him."

Levy has faltered under pressure before. Last year, he was tied with Ernie Els entering the final round of the BMW International Open in Munich but let the title slip away with four bogeys on the back nine. He ended up in third, his previous best result on the tour.

Since then, however, he said he's been inspired by the success of his good friend and compatriot, Victor Dubuisson, who beat Tiger Woods to win his first European Tour title at the Turkish Airlines Open in November and then was runner-up to Jason Day at the Match Play Championship in February.

The other French players have given him plenty of encouragement as he chased his first tour victory this week, too.

Dubuisson has sent him text messages throughout the week, and the French contingent in Shenzhen doused him with celebratory champagne after he sank his final putt on the 18th.

"We have some great players in France, both young and old, and we all have a great relationship," Levy said. "There are some very good players and have been some great wins for Victor, Julien Quesne, Greg Bourdy, Raphael Jacquelin over the past couple of years which is great for French golf and great with the Ryder Cup coming to France in 2018."

Fleetwood was second at 15 under and Alvaro Quiros of Spain was third, another two strokes back.

No. 3-ranked Henrik Stenson, who was bedridden with the flu earlier this week, finally put together his first solid round of the tournament, with seven birdies and no bogeys for a 65. The Swede improved to joint fifth place but still fell short of the win he needed to overtake Tiger Woods at the top of the world rankings.

"It's really tight and I just need to play better if I want to get to that spot. And I should have to play better than I have done earlier on this year if I want to get to world No. 1, that's for sure," he said.

PGA champion Jason Dufner opened with a birdie-eagle on his first two holes before slipping back to joint 54th with two double bogeys and a triple bogey on the 17th.

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Padraig Finished Fifth in Durban

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Padraig Harrington signed for a final round of 67 to secure a top five finish at the Volvo Masters in Durban, the Dubliner finishing three shots adrift of winner Louis Oosthuizen.

Only Harrington and South African Thomas Aiken managed to go as low as 67 on the final day but it was too little too late thanks to the 68s shot by Oosthuizen and Branden Grace, who finished second on 11 under.

Joost Luiten (71) and Tommy Fleetwood (72) both finished on 10 under, one ahead of the Irishman and the French pair of Raphael Jacquelin and Victor Dubuisson.

“It was nice to feel I had a chance coming down the stretch. “I’m happy with how I am hitting the ball but distraught with the way I’m putting.”

Darren Clarke, whose weekend began so positively with a 69, dropped to one over thanks to a 77, while Michael Hoey (74) and Simon Thornton (71) ended on four over and five over, respectively.

Oosthuizen was one shot behind Grace with two holes to play, but birdied them both to card a closing 68 and 12-under-par total. Grace had watched on television as former Open champion Oosthuizen holed from two feet on the 17th and then chipped to the same distance for another birdie on the short par-four 18th.

That meant all seven European Tour events staged at Durban Country Club have now been won by South Africans, while eight of the last 11 tournaments in South Africa have been won by home players.

Fleetwood had held a one-shot advantage heading into the final round and briefly stretched that to three thanks to a birdie at the second and mistakes from his rivals. However, three bogeys in five holes from the fifth threw the tournament wide open and Grace was the first to take advantage with a hat-trick of birdies from the sixth.

Oosthuizen then vaulted into contention with an eagle from 12ft on the par-five eighth and the South African duo swapped the lead on the back nine before Grace - winner of the title in 2012 — looked to have made the decisive move with birdies on the 16th and 18th.

Oosthuizen had fallen victim to the 16th for the second day running, following his triple-bogey seven on Saturday with a bogey five to fall one behind, but a brilliant approach to the 17th got him back on level terms and set up a simple winning birdie on the driveable 18th.

“After my tee shot on 16 I was lucky that I could chip it out and nearly made a great par,” Oosthuizen said. “But when I stood over the ball on 17 I saw that Branden had made birdie on 18 so I knew that second shot was crucial to give myself a good opportunity and I hit it really close.

“And then 18, everyone thinks you just need to make a birdie but around that green it’s not easy and luckily I was far enough past where I could pitch it back into the grain and get it close.

“It was nerve-wracking through the round but I finished strong and I’m just happy that I got it done. It’s an awesome start for the year. Confidence-wise it’s great. I haven’t really played well last year with all the injuries so hopefully I can build from here on and just go better next time.”

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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.

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