Westwood Returns to Irish Open

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Lee Westwood has confirmed he will return to the Irish Open this season after a six-year absence.

Westwood will be making his first professional appearance in Northern Ireland at the event, which is being hosted by the Rory Foundation - started by his Ryder Cup team-mate Rory McIlroy - at Royal County Down from May 28-31.

The Republic of Ireland has been a good hunting ground for the Englishman, who won back-to-back European Opens in 1999 and 2000 and was part of the Ryder Cup winning side - all three events at The K Club.

He joins a field full of world-class talent, with home favourites McIlroy, Graeme McDowell and Darren Clarke all signed up along with American star Rickie Fowler.

Westwood, who is defending his Malaysian Open title this week, told the European Tour website: “I’m really looking forward to playing. I’ve heard a lot about the golf course - County Down has that legendary status.

“I haven’t played in the Irish Open for a long time. It’s somewhere I’ve been successful and had a lot of support from the local fans. I’ve always seemed to get on very well with the Irish.

“I played the Amateur Championship in Northern Ireland – at Royal Portrush in 1993 – but this will be the first time I’ve played as a professional there.

“I can’t wait to go back and play the Irish Open. It’s a great tournament and I’m really excited that it’s back on my schedule for the first time since 2009.”

Also in the field will be defending champion Mikko Ilonen, who took the title in front of huge crowds at Fota Island last summer, and is looking forward to taking on one of the world's leading links courses.

“I played with Rory at Portrush three years ago and it was massive. The fans know and appreciate their golf and it’s an amazing place to play," the Finn said.

As an amateur, Ilonen won the West of Ireland Championship at Rosses Point, Co Sligo, in 1999 and he added: “Even before my Irish Open victory, I was recognised as the guy who won the ‘West’ and I couldn’t believe people could remember that from so long ago.

“I actually played Royal County Down in the Amateur Championship that same year, 12 months before I won it, and I can remember almost all of the holes and how good the greens were. It will be an amazing week with the Rory Foundation involved and so many good names in the field.”

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McDowell Shares Maybank Lead

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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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McIlroy Posts PGA Target

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Rory McIlroy described his second round in the US PGA Championship at Valhalla as “a job well done”.

The 25-year-old Northern Irishman followed up his opening 66 with a four-under 67 to move to nine under at the halfway stage.

World number one Rory McIlroy shot 67 to lead the US PGA Championship after round two.

McIlroy, who is bidding to complete a hat-trick of victories after his wins in The Open and the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, made a slow start in torrential rain in Louisville.

He bogeyed the 12th, after starting at the 10th, but got back on track with birdies at the 13th and 15th and missed from six feet for another on the 16th.

But he made amends by holing from 30 feet for an eagle on the 18th and could have had another eagle on the seventh, missing from eight feet after a stunning five-wood approach.

That birdie took him to eight under and another birdie at the ninth left him two shots clear of the field when he completed his round.

“I think it was a job well done,” McIlroy told Sky Sports. “The conditions were very tricky whenever the rain was coming down, obviously, and you sort of just had to wait for the moment when you had a break in the weather and you could sort of take advantage of the soft conditions.

“But I would have taken 67 going out this morning so yes it’s a job well done.

"The golf course was pretty wet so the ball is not running anywhere and whenever it's like that and no rain coming down it is very playable and you could make a score."

The world No 1 insists he is not thinking about lifting the trophy at this stage and is just concentrating on his game.

“Honestly, I am not thinking about winning,” added McIlroy. “I am just trying to think about trying to play solid golf and every shot at a time.

“I am sticking to my couple of little thoughts I have out there, a couple of little sort of trigger words that I have, and it has been working well. So I just need to keep doing that for the next two days.”

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McDowell Needs Valhalla Performance

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Graeme McDowell will have the Ryder Cup in mind when he tees off in the US PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club

Along with Lee Westwood,  McDowell is desperate to make the European team for September's showdown at Gleneagles and know a big performance in the year's final major could secure their spots.

To triumph at Valhalla this week, they'll need to get the better of the par 71 course in Kentucky and also new world No 1 Rory McIlroy, who goes into the event on the back of superb victories in The Open Championship at Hoylake and the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in Ohio on his last two starts.

“He’s the best player in the world, currently," said McDowell of his fellow Northern Irishman. "You can’t set out trying to beat him this week, you can only hope to go down the stretch on Sunday afternoon and hopefully I can be there and give it a shot

Westwood concurs that McIlroy will be hard to beat.

“He’s won more majors than any of the other new lads on the block and he seems more consistent and, technically, he seems better than most as well so there’s not too many idiosyncrasies in his swing that can go wrong,“ said the Englishman.

As well as trying to win his first major, Westwood is also hunting Ryder Cup points.

He showed signs of a return to form at Firestone last week when he closed what looked set to be a modest tournament by shooting a sparkling final round 63 to make the top 20.

Westwood said: “It’s the last chance to win a major this year. It’s an opportunity to hopefully build on what I started last week and keep playing well. It’s about time I started playing well again.”

McDowell, meanwhile, looks to be peaking at just the right time after winning the French Open last month, finishing ninth in The Open at Hoylake and warming up for Valhalla with a top 10 at Firestone on Sunday.

However, the 2010 US Open champion isn’t presuming he’s already done enough to make Paul McGinley’s team just yet.

“It looked like I’d maybe left it a little late but thankfully I’ve played really well the last couple of months and got myself in great shape going forward,” said McDowell.

“No-one’s a lock, let’s be honest, there’s lots of things that can happen between now and the team being picked.”

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Rory Hopes End at Flowering Crab Apple

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Rory McIlroy endured "bad breaks" in a "frustrating" second round at the Masters where an 18th-hole putt saw him make the cut by one shot.

The two-time major champion started the day one under, but dropped four shots on the back nine to shoot 77 and finish four over par, 11 shots off the lead.

"It was very frustrating," said the 24-year-old. "I just really couldn't get anything to go my way.

"Eleven shots back is going to be nearly impossible to make up."

McIlroy, the US Open champion in 2011 and USPGA Championship winner in 2012, had no idea his testing putt on the 18th had to drop if he was to stay in the tournament.

He admitted it "was a bit of a sigh of relief" to still be involved, but rued his luck during a round in which an approach shot into the 13th green bounced off a sprinkler and into bushes, forcing him to drop a shot.

His biggest troubles coming on thee Flowering Crab Apple par 2 fourth hole 

As the last man in the field, the world number nine will start round three first at 15:15 BST and will be without a playing partner, while tournament leader Bubba Watson will tee off at 19:45 BST.

Watson has only ever won one of eight tournaments he has led at the halfway stage, but if McIlroy is to win, he will need to close the biggest deficit in Masters history - an eight stroke come back by Jack Burke in 1956 is the current best.

The four par five holes on Augusta National played as the easiest on the golf course on day two. In all, 143 of the 290 birdies on the second day came on these holes, with leader Bubba Watson picking up shots on the back nine's two par fives

In pursuit of American Watson, Britain's best-placed players going into the weekend are Welshman Jamie Donaldson and Scotland's Stephen Gallacher, who both sit on one under par.

Gallacher, a Masters debutant, birdied the par-five 15th as he ended the day on the same mark as he started.

The 39-year-old hit 12 of 14 fairways from the tee, but admitted he was "glad to still be in the red numbers" after a round which included four bogeys.

"You've got to keep your temperament," said Gallacher. "Your acceptance levels here have got to be through the roof, you've just got to hit it, accept it and get on with it.

"It's a very strategic course. I think everyone at home knows how to play it but it's just a case of trying to do it."

Donaldson described his standing at six shots behind Watson as "a good position", but acknowledged he has "to try to hit more fairways" over the weekend after finding just 14 of 28 so far.

On day two of the tournament, Augusta National's four par five holes played the easiest statistically, with 143 of the day's 290 birdies and seven eagles arriving on the quartet.

Lee Westwood was unable to capitalise on their generosity for the second day running and finished one under par for the day and level for the tournament.

"I didn't play the par fives well enough again," said 40-year-old Westwood who is still searching for a first major title. "Over two days, I've made eight fives and that's where you make your scores. You need birdies over the weekend on them.

The 11th hole, named White Dogwood, played the hardest on the course for the second day. A par four, it is averaging more than 4.5 shots and claimed 37 bogeys and 10 double bogeys on Friday.

"There's good scores if you play well and disasters if you start hitting a few wild shots. I'm comfortable out there and can see a way around it."

US Open champion Justin Rose and fellow Englishman Ian Poulter both carded scores of 70 on day two to move to two over for the tournament.

"That was one of the best rounds I have had at Augusta in terms of ball striking, but I finish disappointed because I left shots on the course," said Poulter.

"I three-putted at 10 and at 14. I know I am playing well, my scores are not reflecting that but they are coming and I need to stay patient."

Elsewhere, Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell conceded "Augusta is still a work in progress" for him after missing the cut along with England's Luke Donald.

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Scottish Open for Clarke and Westwood

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Darren Clarke and Lee Westwood have confirmed they will join one of the strongest fields in the history of the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open at Royal Aberdeen Golf Club from July 10-13.

Two of the most decorated players in European golf, Clarke and Westwood are also close friends and have formed one of most formidable Ryder Cup partnerships of recent times, winning six points out of a possible eight when paired together in golf’s greatest team event.

Clarke, in particular, will be hoping his return to the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open will conjure memories of one of the greatest moments of his career, when he claimed his first Major at The 2011 Open Championship a week after playing in Scotland’s national open.

Clarke, who finished runner up to Edoardo Molinari in 2010, is hoping that he can add a 15th title to his European Tour trophy haul on Scotland’s stunning North East coastline.

“It is no secret that I love links golf,” said the Northern Irishman. “So to have a new links course on The European Tour’s International Schedule is very exciting for me, and especially at an event with which I feel I have a real affinity.

“The Scottish golf fans are some of the most knowledgeable in the world so it is always a pleasure to return to this event and I hope that I can give them something to shout about.”

Last year, American Phil Mickelson became the latest player to benefit from the experience of the Scottish links in his quest for Open glory, defeating Branden Grace in a play-off to claim his first Scottish Open title before going on to earn his fifth Major title and first Claret Jug at Muirfield a week later.

Westwood, the former World Number One and the first winner of The Race to Dubai back in 2009, returns to this event - which he won in 1998 - for the first time in three years. The Englishman also has a proven track record in Scotland, having also captured the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at the Home of Golf in 2003.

“I am really looking forward to returning to the Scottish Open,” said Westwood. “It is a course I have never played in competition so it is going to be a new challenge, and I have heard great things about it.

“I think it will also be the perfect place to prepare for The Open Championship and that is one of the reasons why I have made the decision to return this year.

“Of course, being a former winner of this event makes it extra special for me and hopefully I can feed off the positivity that brings and challenge for the title.”

Defending champion Mickelson, two-time Major winner Rory McIlroy and Jimmy Walker, three-time winner this year on the US PGA Tour, have all confirmed their attendance at what is one of the Tour’s most prestigious events, in which Aberdeen Asset Management and the Scottish Government are key partners.

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Padraig Shane and 3-Mac's

Padraig Harrington and Shane Lowry join Graeme McDowell, Rory McIlroy, Paul McGinley athis week at the BMW Masters presented by SRE Group an event that heralds the beginning of a four tournaments worth more than US$30 million in  The Race to Dubai - that will conclude with the crowning of The European Tour’s Number One player. 

The magnificent Lake Malaren Golf Club in Shanghai will host many of the game’s greatest names in the second edition of the BMW Masters, where Peter Hanson will defend the US$7 million title against a field littered with Major Champions, Ryder Cup stars and European Tour winners. 

Henrik Stenson, the man they are all trying to catch at the top of The Race to Dubai, will aim to continue the stunning run of form which yielded the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup last month as he seeks to to become the first player to claim the Race to Dubai and FedEx Cup. 

Stenson’s return to the summit of world golf has been nothing short of astonishing. The 37 year old Swede has, in the past two years, put his career back together to return to his current position of World Number Four from outside the top 200. 

He began 2013 showing signs that he was on the road to recovery and since his third place finish in the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open in July, he has produced the best golf on the planet. 

Second place finishes at The Open and WGC – Bridgestone Invitational were followed by third place in the USPGA Championship before the doors to victory opened at the Deutsche Bank and Tour Championships in America to propel him back to the upper echelons of the World Ranking. 

Luke Donald third to Hanson at Lake Malaren last year, will be in Shanghai looking to close the gap on Stenson’s Race to Dubai lead, along with Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter, Louis Oosthuizen and Martin Kaymer. 

The man defending the title, meanwhile, is looking forward to trying to keep his hands firmly on the trophy. 

“The victory last year was special,” said Hanson. “To go up against Rory when he was World Number One and playing the best golf in the world at that time was something you don’t get the chance to do that often, and to be able to sneak ahead of him to take the title was awesome. 

“I am looking forward to getting back to Lake Malaren. The BMW Masters is one of those tournaments that everyone wants to be a part of. You are playing on a great golf course against so many of the top players in the world and that is where you want to be competing. 

“The golf course sets up well for an exciting tournament. It is quite wide open so you can really go for it off the tee and give yourself an advantage to then get it in close on the green and make birdies. I think that is what people prefer to watch and you certainly get the chance to do that there.”

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