Big Moving Day for GMAC

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Graeme McDowell completed an error free third round 64 at the WGC-HSBC Champions on Saturday  to hold third place ahead of the final round at Sheshan International on Sunday.

McDowell, hunted down current leader Dustin Johnson once before, that was in the final round at Pebble Beach to win the 2010 US Open Championship, and will also fancy his chances after chipping in from the bunker for that eagle two at the 16th.

“I haven't holed a lot of putts, so hopefully I'm saving it for tomorrow,” said the Northern Irishman.

“It’s just nice to be in contention going into tomorrow. I know conditions are going to be fairly similar again tomorrow and I'll have to go low to even finish second here.”

Dustin Johnson carded two double bogeys at Sheshan International but still holds a three shot lead after the third round in Shanghai.

Despite having taken six at the par four tenth, Johnson stood on the 18th tee with his five shot overnight lead in tact thanks to a front nine of 30 for the second day running and four more birdies in succession from the 13th.

However, the big-hitting American then drove into the water down the right-hand side of the par five and found a greenside bunker with his fourth shot before eventually signing for a seven and third round of 66.

At 18 under par, Johnson led by three from defending champion Ian Poulter, who carded a 63, with Ryder Cup team-mate Graeme McDowell a shot further back on 14 under following a 64.

US Open champion Justin Rose, first-round leader Rory McIlroy and Canada's Graham DeLaet were all on 12 under, while Germany's Martin Kaymer was ten under after setting a new course record with a flawless 62.

Poulter, looking to become only the second player after World Number One Tiger Woods to successfully defend a World Golf Championships title, had charged up the leaderboard with five birdies in a row from the third and another on the ninth to be out in 30.

The Englishman also birdied the tenth but Johnson was producing some equally impressive figures, making five birdies in a row from the fifth to match Poulter's outward score.

However, the seven-time US PGA Tour winner then made a complete mess of the tenth, twice seeing his pitch to the green fail to get to the top of a steep slope and roll back to his feet.

His third attempt clattered into the pin and in the end Johnson did well to hole from 12 feet to limit the damage to a double bogey six.

When Poulter then holed from 20 feet for an eagle on the 14th the gap was suddenly one shot, but Johnson responded once more with birdies on the 13th, 14th, 15th and 16th.

“It was another really good day,” said 29 year old Johnson. “I played really well; obviously the two doubles hurt a little bit. 

“To have a three shot lead going into the last day is good, and looking forward to the challenge. I still have to play really well - the guys that are right behind me, they are playing very well too. 

“Making two doubles, there's no excuse for that. Especially the way I'm playing right now, it shouldn't happen.”

Poulter three-putted the 17th for his only bogey of the day but birdied the last to remain firmly in the hunt for the first prize of €1,012,145 in the second event of The Race to Dubai Final Series.

“It was a nice day,” said the 37 year old. “Guys have shot low today; benign weather conditions, not much wind, soft greens, perfect greens to putt on, you've got to make birdies.

“As well as I played, I felt that other guys were still going to make birdies. So I felt like I had to keep pressing. 

“You had to get it inside 15 feet. The greens are so perfect and if you start it on line, it's going to go in. I could see other guys doing exactly the same - Kaymer shot ten under, and I think Dustin had ten birdies - this golf course is giving up a lot of birdies.

Rory McIlroy carded a more modest days' work on Saturday, compared to blistering opening round on Thursday of 65. A bogey on the par three 4th the only lost shot in card with 67 strokes. 

But his face however was etched with frustration having seen a few other opportunities go amiss and that first 2013 win slip away once more.

McIlroy trails Johnson by six.

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A Tale of Two MAC's

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Rory McIlroy birdied holes 6-8 at Sheshan International to become the first player this week to reach 10 under and looked like he was ready to cruise to a comfortable 54-hole advantage.

Then the bogeys hit. First on No. 11. Then No. 15. Then on the par-5 18th when an aggressive second shot from a sidehill lie splashed in the water short of the green and led to a third bogey.

McIlroy finished the round at even par and in the same 7-under position in which he opened the round.

"Disappointing, frustrating," he said. "Obviously played nicely the front nine and then started to hit a lot of sloppy shots on the back. Missed the last six greens in a row. Missed seven greens on the back nine, so a bit of work needed on the range this afternoon."

While he was dropping shots on the back nine, McIlroy wasn't falling far down the leaderboard. He left the course in a second-place tie with Bubba Watson and Boo Weekley, behind only leader Dustin Johnson.

"It would have been nice to play a bit better and start tomorrow with a few more shots in hand but I guess I'm in a decent position going into the weekend, and still have a great chance at winning this tournament," McIlroy said.

A victory in this tournament would be McIlroy's first on TOUR since 2012 when he won the PGA Championship, Deutsche Bank Championship and BMW Championship in the span of five weeks.

Graeme McDowell trails Henrik Stenson by €443,725 on the money list, with Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño leaping from 35th to fourth with last week’s BMW Masters triumph.

“There are big repercussions for me to play well this week, especially with what Gonzo did last week,” said McDowell. “I played him last week and he’s the kind of guy who gets his eye in using the putter, he can be a pretty dangerous player, as he is a quality iron player. 

“So while Henrik still leads the Race to Dubai there are players like Gonzo behind me and I need to do my best that they don’t go past me. 

“Also I am not playing Turkey next week so I have to make the most of this week before Dubai and the final event.”

A three under par round of 69 keeps McDowell in a share of fifth place alongside Fernández-Castaño, Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter and Ernie Els.

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Record DJ Leaves MAC's Back

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Rory McIlroy carded a level par second round at the WGC HSBC Champions on Friday to remain in a three way share of second place, but dropping five strokes off the lead in Shanghai.

The World Number six reached ten under par with a hat-trick of birdies McIlroy did not create a single birdie opportunity on the back nine and paid a heavy price on the last.

Having seen his tee shot finish leak right and finish a yard from the water, the undeterred 24 year old went for the green in two at the par five but only succeeded in finding the lake. After taking a drop, McIlroy fired a spectacular fourth to ten feet, but missed the putt for a third bogey of the day and level par 72.

Dustin Johnson up ahead equalled the Sheshan International course record with a nine under par 63 to take control of the WGC-HSBC Champions.

The Ryder Cup star birdied sixth of his first seven holes in a blistering start and, having dropped his only shot of the day at the tenth, picked up four shots in his last six holes.

That took the big-hitting Johnson to 12 under par, and five shots clear of compatriot Bubba Watson and Boo Weekley and Northern Ireland’s first round leader Rory McIlroy.

Graeme McDowell finished three under par and dropped only two shots along the way to trail McIlroy by one.

 

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McIlroy Fires into HSBC Lead

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Rory McIlroy established a two shot lead on the opening day of the WGC-HSBC Champions as the former World Number One set about justifying his pre-tournament predictions.

McIlroy won five times in 2012, including a second Major title by eight shots, to finish top of the money lists on both side of the Atlantic but has yet to taste victory this season.

Down from first in the Official World Golf Ranking to sixth as a result, McIlroy is 62nd on The Race to Dubai and needs to move into the top 60 this week to have a chance of qualifying for the DP World Tour Championship in November.

McIlroy is less than €4,000 behind Garth Mulroy in 60th place, but will need to win much more than that to feel safe.

The first prize of €1,012,145 would of course take care of everything and McIlroy took confidence from his one shot victory over Tiger Woods in their 18-hole exhibition match at Mission Hills on Monday, insisting he was more likely to win in Shanghai than miss out on a trip to Dubai.

And that did not appear to be an idle boast as the 24 year old opened with a seven under par 65 to lead Wales’ Jamie Donaldson and last week’s BMW Masters champion Gonzalo Fernandez-Castaño by two.

Starting from the tenth with a birdie, McIlroy gave the shot straight back at the next but also picked up shots at the 12th, 14th and 16th.

A long birdie putt was left inches short on the par three 17th but McIlroy made no such mistake from four feet on the par five 18th to reach the turn in 32, before another birdie on the first took the former World Number One into a share of the lead on five under.

McIlroy moved into the outright lead with a birdie on the par five second and although he missed from six feet to double his advantage on the third, he holed from similar distance on the next to avoid a three-putt bogey.

Open Champion Phil Mickelson emerged to join McIlroy at the top of the leaderboard with his sixth birdie of the day on the short par four seventh, the left-hander driving close to the green and producing a trademark pitch to three feet.

But in the group ahead, McIlroy holed from seven feet for a birdie on the par five eighth to regain top spot on seven under par, and Mickelson dropped four shots on the eighth moments later to undo much of his good work.

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Make of Break for McIlroy

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Rory McIlroy admits it is a case of make or break at the WGC-HSBC Champions in China this week as the former World Number One looks to secure his place in the DP World Tour Championship.

The current Race to Dubai champion finds himself 62nd in this season’s rankings, with only the top 60 after next week’s Turkish Airlines Open qualifying for the season finale in Dubai.

However, the Northern Irishman insists that after finishing 27th at last week’s BMW Masters presented by SRE Group his game is in the sort of shape where he is more likely to be contending for the title on Sunday than struggling to qualify for Dubai.

“It's a big week obviously - it's sort of make or break,” said The Ryder Cup star. “If I don't play good enough here, then there's a good chance I won't play in Dubai. I think there's a bigger chance of me winning this tournament than not playing in Dubai, I feel. 

“I'm looking forward to going out there and playing well. I feel like I'm capable of winning this golf tournament and I feel like my game's coming together nicely. 

“I did a little short game work over the last couple days and I feel like if I can get that part of my game where it needs to be, then I've got a good chance. 

“Of course I expect myself to be a lot higher than that. I won The Race to Dubai last year, and I was second in '11 and I was second in '09. So I've been a factor in it for the last few years and to be down where I am obviously doesn't feel too good and is a reflection of how my year has gone. 

“It's just the reality and the reality is I haven't played well enough to be a factor.” 

With a big performance needed, the timing of playing at one of his favourite courses could not have been better for the 24 year old.

“I'm really glad that this tournament is back here at Sheshan,” he added. “It's a golf course that I've done well on, as you've said, and it's a golf course that I really like. It's one of my favourite venues of the year quite honestly. 

“It suits my game and I play well here. I played the golf course for the first time today and in great condition. It's always in great condition and they have got the greens quite firm already for early on in the week. 

“It should be a good test. It suits my game - you've got to hit it pretty long. A few of the par fives are reachable for the longer hitters and if I can keep driving the ball the way I am, it should give me a bit of an advantage and obviously be a good chance this week.”

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Rory Out of Woods - Tiger

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Tiger Woods believes Rory McIlroy is slowly getting his game back on track and predicted that the former world No1 would claim his first victory of the year by the end of December.

McIlroy was on top of the world at the end of 2012, having won the orders of merit on both sides of the Atlantic, but he has had a turbulent season this year on and off the course.

The Northern Irishman changed his clubs to Nike in January, a switch that was criticised by several pundits. He is also in the middle of a bitter court dispute with his former management team and, according to media reports, has split from his girlfriend, Caroline Wozniacki.

"He is playing better and swinging a lot better," Woods said. "You can see that some of the stuff he and his coach are working on is starting to come together.

"He's starting to put together a few good rounds, now he just has to make a few more putts. I can definitely see him winning sometime this year because his game has come around."

Woods, winner of 14 major titles and currently world No1, had a close-up view of McIlroy when he lost to the twice major winner in a lucrative head-to-head exhibition match on China's Hainan Island on Monday.

The two golfers are both based in Florida and the 37-year-old American said he and McIlroy, now world No 6, had formed an excellent relationship.

"Rory has become a good friend of mine over probably the past year, year and a half," Woods said. "It seems like every tournament we're paired together, we're also playing practice rounds together and we have really hit it off.

"He plays on both tours, US and European, so we see each other at big events and, when we do, we try and play practice rounds whenever we can."

The American is to miss the final World Golf Championship event of the season in Shanghai this week but will compete in next week's Turkish Open.

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Shane is Shanghai Alternate

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Shane Lowry sits in Shanghai over the next day or so as one of the alternates for the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions which gets under way this week with Henrik Stenson one of the names on the watch list. 

The Swede is scheduled for an MRI on Tuesday on a swollen right wrist that flared up while practising at home in Orlando

Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy are the Irish contenders in the field with both wanting to improve on last week's four rounds at the BMW Masters presented by SRE Group at Lake Malaren.

Although McIlroy arrives to the event boosted by a win having beaten Tiger Woods in an exhibition match at Mission Hills on Monday.

The course this week is the Sheshan International GC (West), a 7,266 yards, par 72 course and set amid 1,000-year-old gingko trees, manmade waterways and a natural quarry. The Nelson & Haworth design returns as host after a one-year absence when the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions went to Mission Hills. 

Sheshan International opened in 2004 as the Shanghai region’s first golf club and remains one of its most exclusive. Tiger Woods once called the layout “the crowning jewel of all of Asian golf.” To create the layout’s drastic elevation changes, work crews reportedly moved more than 2 million cubic yards of earth.

The new FedExCup champion Henrik Stenson and three reigning major winners join defending champ Ian Poulter in the 77-man field. Stenson is up to No. 4 in the Official World Golf Ranking after winning the Deutsche Bank Championship and TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola in the FedExCup Playoffs and with world No. 1 Tiger Woods and No. 2 Adam Scott sitting out, British Open champion Phil Mickelson is highest ranked player in the field at No. 3. 

U.S. Open winner Justin Rose and PGA Championship titleholder Jason Dufner also make the trip. Jordan Spieth, fresh off Rookie of the Year honors, tees it up for the first time in a WGC event. He took three weeks off after The Presidents Cup, where he went 2-2 as a Captain’s Pick.

Former U.S. Amateur champion Peter Uihlein also will make his WGC debut. He won a European Tour stop in Portugal last May.

Last year Poulter roared back from a four-shot deficit entering the final day with a 7-under 65, adding a stroke-play title to his Ryder Cup heroics less than a month earlier. No fewer than five different players topped the leaderboard in the final round, but the English pro proved steadiest in collecting another World Golf Championships title to go with his Accenture Match Play crown in 2010. 

The victory allowed Poulter to avoid just his second winless season since turning pro in 1995. Jason Dufner’s closing 64 highlighted a four-way tie for second, two shots off the pace alongside Ernie Els, Phil Mickelson and Scott Piercy.

This year even without Woods and Scott, the WGC-HSBC Champions has the strongest field of the PGA TOUR’s new fall start. 

The lineup features 15 of the top 25 players in this week’s world rankings with Stenson leading the European Tour’s money list entering its four-event Finals series.

Europeans have claimed the trophy in each of the past three years – Poulter, Germany’s Martin Kaymer (2011) and Italy’s Francesco Molinari (2010).

The final field contains 25 of the 2013 European Tour winners, 22 of the 2013 US PGA Tour winners, 40 of the world's top 50 ranked players and 23 Ryder Cup players with 66 appearances between them. The stellar field boasts 19 Majors, 12 World Golf Championships, 244 European Tour victories, 244 US PGA Tour victories and four players who have been ranked number one on the world rankings. T

he USA enjoys the highest representation in the field with 24 American stars hoping to join Phil Mickelson on the winner's roster, while England have ten players and South Africa, the third highest, with eight. There are six Chinese golfers in the field; Wu A-shun, Li Haotong, Huang Mingjie, Hu Mu, Liang Wenchong and Huang Wenyi.

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