The Irish Golf Club Gazette: USOpenGolf

Showing posts with label USOpenGolf. Show all posts

6/22/2015

Spieth Heads Towards Top Spot

Getty Images

Jordan Spieth has closed the gap on world No 1 Rory McIlroy to less than two average ranking points after his US Open win.

The 21-year-old American’s second major triumph of the season lifted his average to 11.06 ranking points per event, up from 9.28.

Northern Irishman McIlroy dropped from 12.92 to 12.77 after finishing in a share of ninth place at Chambers Bay on Sunday.

American Dustin Johnson jumped four places to third in the list after his agonising near miss in the US Open, when he three-putted the last hole to finish one shot behind Spieth.

South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen, who shared second place with Johnson, returns to the top 20 in 16th.

England's Justin Rose is up one place to fourth, while Australia's Jason Day, who played on at Chambers Bay after collapsing from vertigo to finish alongside McIlroy on level par, rises from 10th to eighth.

Australian Cameron Smith is the big mover up the list from 167th to 89th after finishing in a share of fourth place.

Former world No 1 Tiger Woods has tumbled a further 10 places to 205th after his miserable run continued as he missed the cut at the US Open after firing an 80 and a 76 in the opening two rounds.

Latest leading positions and points average:

1 Rory McIlroy (NIrl) 12.77

2 Jordan Spieth (USA) 11.05

3 Dustin Johnson (USA) 6.97

4 Justin Rose (Eng) 6.65

5 Bubba Watson (USA) 6.64

6 Jim Furyk (USA) 6.61

7 Henrik Stenson (Swe) 6.44

8 Jason Day (Aus) 5.90

9 Sergio Garcia (Esp) 5.84

10 Rickie Fowler (USA) 5.70

11 Adam Scott (Aus) 5.38

12 Jimmy Walker (USA) 5.17

13 JB Holmes (USA) 4.78

14 Hideki Matsuyama (Jpn) 4.52

15 Patrick Reed (USA) 4.29

16 Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa) 4.10

17 Matt Kuchar (USA) 4.08

18 Chris Kirk (USA) 4.02

19 Billy Horschel (USA) 3.96

20 Phil Mickelson (USA) 3.87

McIlroy's Moving Sunday

Getty Images

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.

Some If's and Putts for Lowry

Getty Images

Shane Lowry admitted the 115th US Open Championship had been a bittersweet experience, as he left Chambers Bay proud at having achieved his joint highest finish in a Major, but feeling he might have come away with the trophy.

A closing round of 71 meant Lowry finished in a tie for ninth place alongside fellow Irishman Rory McIlroy and Australian Jason Day on level par but, with a better performance on Chambers Bay’s notoriously testing greens, he may have been challenging Jordan Spieth for the title.

Lowry mixed two birdies with four bogeys in an eventful back nine in which, by his own admission, nerves got the better of him at times.

But he grew in composure as the round progressed, making gains at the tenth, 12th and 16th holes and making – yet spurning – countless other opportunities.

A closing bogey left a somewhat sour taste in Lowry’s mouth, but the two-time European Tour champion still left Seattle with experience and positives aplenty.

He said: “I feel like I played the golf today to really have a chance to win at the end, but I missed a couple of short putts for par that you can’t be doing on days like this. I just didn’t do enough on the greens this week – if I’d holed a few more putts, I would’ve had a chance coming down the stretch.

“Even then, I was thinking if I could birdie 17 and 18 and get to three under, I’d have a chance. In the end it wasn’t to be, but it was still a good week for me and I’m probably back inside the top 50 in the world. That was a good coming into the week, so I’m pleased to have achieved that.

“It was a long day today, and I’ll learn from it. I thoroughly enjoyed the whole week, to be honest. I loved the golf course, and I loved how tough it played. Tough courses tend to suit me and bring the best out of me. Overall, I’m pretty pleased with how I played. When you walk away from a Major Championship and you feel like you played the golf to win, you’ve got to be happy with yourself.”

6/21/2015

Lowry Positive in Chambers

Shane Lowry is Europe's best chance of a fifth US Open victory in the last six years after benefiting from a positive attitude at Chambers Bay.

The course and conditions have come in for a large amount of criticism, with Masters champion Jordan Spieth calling the 18th "dumb" and "unbelievably stupid" when played as a par four and Henrik Stenson comparing the greens to "putting on broccoli."

USGA executive director Mike Davis said players would need 10 practice rounds to get to grips with the course, which only opened in 2007 - but 36 holes of practice were enough for Lowry to finish his third round on one under par, three off the lead shared by Spieth, Dustin Johnson, Jason Day and Branden Grace.

"I said to my caddie coming up the last, it's probably one of the most enjoyable days I've had at a golf course in a while," Lowry said after a second consecutive 70 which featured three birdies and three bogeys.

"Being in contention in a tournament like this, what more do you want? It's great. I'm excited about tomorrow. I'm really looking forward to it. It's tough. It's very tough. But I think it's playable. I think it's been getting a lot of stick.

"The greens are not the best surfaces, but if you hit a good putt nine times out of 10 it goes in. Sometimes you hit a good putt and it misses. That's the thing a lot of players are focusing on.

"It's tough to hit greens but at the end of the day it's a US Open. If you missed the green at Pinehurst last year you couldn't chip. I think that was a little more unfair than this is."

Asked if such an attitude was vital, the 28-year-old added: "Yeah, I said it about three or four months ago. A couple of guys came up and played here and then I saw a few comments on Twitter from a few people. Talking about the golf course before you get here is not necessarily the right thing to do.

"You want to get here and see it and see how it plays. When I got here on Monday I thought, yeah, it's a bit funky, like the first (hole) if you miss it left.

"But the more you play it, the more it grows on you and that's what I felt. And that was one of the reasons I think I'm in the position I'm in today. It would obviously mean everything (to win). I'm going to go out there and give it a hundred per cent tomorrow and what happens will happen.

"I think if I played the way I played today I should have a chance coming down the last few holes."

McIlroy No Rub of Green

Getty Images

Rory McIlroy admitted he had doubts over his putting after squandering a number of chances to get back into contention for the US Open in the third round.

The world No 1 was again impressive from tee to green at Chambers Bay, but he needed 31 putts in a frustrating level-par 70 that left him on four over par for the tournament.

McIlroy, who has now had 96 putts over 54 holes, started confidently with the short stick as he holed a great putt for par from 15 feet at the first and nailed another from similar distance for birdie at the second.

He converted another sublime approach at the seventh, but he missed "seven good chances" on the back nine and dropped shots at the 11th and 15th before holing from 12 feet to salvage a par-five at the last.

"I missed seven good chances on the back nine, or seven makeable putts, anyway," said McIlroy, who dropped shots on the 11th and 15th. "It was just nice to see one drop at the last there. I feel like I turned a 65 into a 70 today.

"Whenever you start to miss a couple you start to get a little tentative. You start to doubt yourself. You start to doubt the greens a little bit. And then it just sort of snowballs from there. I holed a few nice ones early on, but once I missed a couple it got into my head and couldn't really get out of it."

Henrik Stenson had likened the greens to putting on broccoli after the second round, but McIlroy joked: "I don't think they're as green as broccoli. I think they're more like cauliflower.

"They are what they are, everyone has to putt on them. It's all mental. Some guys embrace it more than others, and that's really the way it is. It is disappointing that they're not in a bit better shape. But the newer greens like seven and 13, they're perfect.

"I played last Sunday and I felt like they (the USGA) brought it a little too much towards the brink then. And it's always a struggle from then to sort of rein it back little bit. I would have liked to see them keep it a little greener for the practice rounds and then gradually as the tournament progresses get a little firmer.

"That might have kept the greens in a bit better shape, but you never know. I've never been here before, but I hear that the weather isn't always like this. If there had been a little bit of moisture and had it been overcast the greens might not have gotten baked out and as bumpy as they are."

McIlroy admitted he was frustrated to four-putt the 17th and drop another shot on the 18th in his second round, but was happy to have ground out a score after missing the cut in his previous two events.

6/20/2015

Cool Hand Lowry

Getty Images

Shane Lowry is relishing being in contention for a maiden major title after making the cut in the US Open for the first time.

The Irishman missed the cut at Congressional in 2011 and Pinehurst last year, but he is finding Chambers Bay more to his liking as he added a second round of 70 to his opening 69 to reach one under at the halfway stage.

"I was going along nicely and missed a great chance on 12," Lowry said after a round containing three birdies, one bogey and a double bogey. "I thought if I hit a great putt there to get to three under for the tournament I would have been cruising.

It's a bit early to be talking about winning. There's lots of golf to be played yet, so I need to just keep doing my own thing

"Then I felt I got unlucky on 14 and just pulled my second shot. Got an awful lie in the bunker and ended up making double from there.

"I hit a great shot into 15, great shot into 16 (without making birdie) and made a great putt for par for 17 from 10 feet. That was massive in regards to the whole round and then I went on to birdie the last, which was nice.

"It was one of those days that I'm quite happy with. It could have been a little bit better, but I'm in a great position for the weekend.

"The good thing for me is I'm feeling a bit more comfortable on the greens. Not 100 per cent, but I'm liking what I'm doing and liking the way I'm hitting my putts.

"It's a bit early to be talking about winning. There's lots of golf to be played yet, so I need to just keep doing my own thing. I'm driving the ball well. My iron play is good. My putting is getting to where I want it. You never know what can happen on Sunday.

"I felt quite in control of myself all day yesterday and today. It feels good to be here and feeling like the way I felt the last couple of days.

"I was in control of myself, my emotions and everything. I just need to keep that intact the next few days."

6/18/2015

GMAC's Vale of Motivation

Getty Images

Graeme McDowell has revealed a tough 12 months has seen him questioning his motivation to stay in golf.

The 2010 US Open champion has recorded just one top-10 finish on the European Tour this year and says he struggled for motivation after the birth of his daughter Vale in 2014.

McDowell's victory in 2010 was the first of four wins in the past five years by European players, with fellow Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy and Ryder Cup team-mates Justin Rose and Martin Kaymer following in his footsteps.

I've been wrestling a little bit with my level of motivation the last 12 months with getting married and having a baby and all the exciting things in my life happening," McDowell said ahead of this week's US Open at Chambers Bay.

"I haven't felt the same desire and urge to go out there and grind and practice, and that's affected my game.

"It's one of those things that you never think is going to happen to you, I suppose. But I think when it happens, I think it's important to have a good team of people around you to help you acknowledge it and help you sift through kind of where the problems lie.

"Is it that you don't love the game anymore or is it the fact that you just love being home with the family a bit more than normal? So I think just acknowledging it is obviously a big part of it. It's not fun.

"I obviously haven't enjoyed the season; not playing well, not scoring well, losing a little of confidence and belief. Thinking am I done, finished, washed up? Should I think about getting a new job?

"All these crazy human-instinct thoughts go through your mind and it's just about trying to get back in your processes and trust what you're doing.

"And knowing that it's not necessarily going to happen fast.

"You've got to just dig in and start grinding again and go back to all the things that worked in the past. And just start enjoying the game really.

"It's hard. It's not been fun this year, definitely been one of the tougher seasons in the last seven or eight.

"But I feel like I'm learning a lot from it. Something I've done well in my career to this point is reacting well to the tough years and coming out the other side better and stronger and smarter.

"That's what I'm kind of in right now, I'm in that learning curve and looking forward to being back on the leaderboard very soon."

Asked what other job he could have done, McDowell joked: "I don't know what I'd do. I didn't get my engineering degree, so I can't see me going back to college at this point."

Rory US Open Ready

Getty Images

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.”

6/22/2015

Related articles

Related articles

Related articles

6/21/2015

Related articles

Related articles

6/20/2015

Related articles

6/18/2015

Related articles

Related articles