Lawrie Prospers in Round One

There was no shortage of green splashed across the top of the leaderboard at the Czech Open today, as a trio of Irishmen staked an early claim for the title. Peter Lawrie holds the outright lead on six-under-par and is closely followed by Damien McGrane, Shane Lowry and Paul McGinley at the Prosper Golf Resort.

Lawrie, who did not drop a shot, credited a new putting technique with helping him to the fore in Celadna. Last year’s runner-up is now on course to go one better following a change to his putting style he first attempted in the Irish Open at the end of last month when he finished eighth.

“I played lovely golf,” said the 37-year-old from Dublin, whose only European Tour win was in the Open de Espana just over three years ago. “No bogeys, which always helps. A couple of nice up-and-downs when I really needed them — on two and three — my 11th and 12th.

“Every chance I gave myself from short range, I holed it, though I missed about a 10-footer at the last. But everything went according to plan. I’ve been playing quite steady all year, holing a few nice putts in Ireland. I did one or two things different in Ireland with my putting which seemed to work, and it’s working well out here as well.”

Starting at the 10th hole, Lawrie conjured birdies in three of the last five — the fifth, sixth and eighth on the course — to propel him into the lead.

Lawrie is followed on five under by McGrane, Frenchman Victor Dubuisson, in only his second year as a pro on the European tour, and Spain’s Pedro Oriol.

McGrane, who dropped only one shot in his round, said: “The scoring conditions are perfect so it’s possible to create a lot of chances.

“But creating them is one thing, converting them quite another. So to make six birdies and just the one bogey was very pleasing. It’s probably going to be a low-scoring week because the greens are in fantastic condition, so I’ll have to keep making those birdies.”

Lowry stands at four under, with the highlight of his round being an eagle at the 576-yard, par-five fifth.

Lowry said: “Since I had a good finish at Wentworth I haven't really done too much, and that's purely down to my putting, because I've been playing quite nicely from tee to green. When you're not putting well, it tends to affect the rest of your game, because you tend to try to force the issue and attack the pins too much.

“So it was pleasing to roll a few putts in today, and I just hope it continues for the rest of the week now.

"I saw that Peter and Damien were right up there coming down the last, so it was a very nice surprise. Let's hope we're battling it out on the final day, although there's a long way to go.”

He was joined by Sweden’s Mikael Lundberg, who chalked up four birdies on the back nine to help make amends for a double-bogey six at the third.

At one stage another Swede in Fredrik Ohlsson was poised to be amongst the leaders when he made six birdies in seven holes, only to drop four shots in two holes late on and finish on one under.

Scottish trio Gary Orr, Richie Ramsay and David Drysdale, along with McGinley, are amongst a host of players on three under.

The leading player in the field and course co-designer, Spain’s Miguel Angel Jimenez, was facing a fight to make the cut after a four-over-par round of 76.

Leaderboard

Walton and Dignam Share Tullamore

Philip Walton and John Dignam finished in semi-darkness at the Tullamore Dew PGA pro-am tournament last night to both post a three-under-par 67 and push long-time leader Ger Hall off the top of the leaderboard.

Former Ryder and Walker Cup player Walton covered holes four to 14 in a superb five-under-par to be four-under, having dropped a shot at the par four first hole.

He then bogeyed 15 and 16 but steadied the ship with birdie three at the last for his 67.

Despite the horrid conditions, Dignam was steady as a rock with birdies at 10, 12 and 13 and 15 pars on his card.

Hall carded an early day two-under-par 68 with the work done over the opening five holes which he covered in four-under to lay the basis of his winning round.

He didn't keep up the birdie blitz, however, and blew the chance of winning as he double-bogeyed the last hole to be one-over on the way back.

European Tour player Shane Lowry took time out to play at Tullamore and grabbed a share of second place, one stroke behind the winners.

The former Irish Open champion, from nearby Esker Hills, had trouble with the short holes on the way out and dropped strokes at the second and fourth before his first birdie, a three at the eighth.

He gave that shot back to the course at the par four 10th hole but finished strongly with birdie three at 13, a four at the long 14th and a finishing birdie three at the last green.

Lowry shared his one-under-70 with Darren McWilliams, John Dwyer, David Ryan and Mark Staunton while Lexus Race to Mount Juliet in association with PING leader David Higgins carded a 73.

David Keating's Tip Win's US PGA

Keegan Bradley said it felt like "a dream" after beating fellow American Jason Dufner in a play-off at the US PGA to win his first major. The 25-year-old triumphed by one shot in a three-hole shoot-out after the pair tied at eight under in Atlanta.

It was only six months ago that Killarney Golf & Fishing Club professional, David Keating, tipped the young American to be en route to PGA Tour victories this season. Although a Major win would have seemed a far fetched dream. 

 

Bradley had triple-bogeyed the 15th to hand Dufner a five-shot lead but kept his nerve as his rival faltered.

"It feels unbelievable, I can't believe this trophy is sitting next to me," said Bradley.

"It seems like a dream and I'm afraid I'm going to wake up here in the next five minutes and it's not going to be real."

In a tournament filled with unfamiliar names at the top of the leaderboard, Bradley delivered an unforgettable finish.

The rookie was five shots behind with only three holes to play after his chip raced across the 15th green and into the water, leading to a triple bogey, but he refused to let it throw him off his game.

"I just kept telling myself, 'Don't let that hole define this whole tournament,"' said Bradley.

He proceeded to make back-to-back birdies, including a 35-footer that rattled into the cup on the 17th, while leader Dufner saw his game fall apart.

Unflappable all afternoon, he hit his tee shot into the water on the 15th for the first of three straight bogeys that led to the three-hole play-off.

Bradley birdied the 16th hole in the play-off to take the outright lead and went on to win by one shot.

He is only the third player to win a major on his first try and his victory breaks the United States' longest drought at major championships, which had reached six since Phil Mickelson's win at the 2010 Masters.

"I don't want to be one of the guys that kind of disappears," said Bradley.

"I would love to be up in a category with the best players and be mentioned with Phil Mickelson, one of my idols. I hope I don't disappear. I don't plan to."

Bradley, nephew of LPGA great Pat Bradley, went into the tournament ranked 108th in the world but his win lifts him to 29th in the rankings.

KEEGAN BRADLEY FACTFILE

1986: Born 7 June, in Vermont, in same year that aunt Pat Bradley wins three of her six majors

2008: Turns pro, wins Southern Dunes title on Hooters Tour

2009: Wins Texas Honing Open on Hooters Tour, fails to win PGA Tour card

2010: Finishes 14th on Nationwide Tour, ends year 329th on world rankings

2011: Wins Byron Nelson in play-off; Wins US PGA - his first major - in play-off with Jason Dufner; Climbs to 29th in the world rankings

Governor Hugh Carey 1919 - 2011

Governor Carey with GUI Officials 1003

Former New York governor Hugh L. Carey, the inspiration behind the biennial matches between the MGA and the Golfing Union of Ireland that now bear his name, died on Sunday, August 7, at his summer home on Shelter Island, N.Y. He was 92.

Born in Brooklyn on August 11, 1919, Carey was a World War II veteran who was first elected to Congress in 1960, representing a large swath of Brooklyn that stretched from Park Slope to Bay Ridge. A Democrat, Carey presided over New York as its 51st governor from 1975 through 1982, and built an almost iconic status thanks to his leadership that guided the state out of one of the most severe fiscal crises since the Great Depression. However, it was his Irish heritage and interest in golf that ultimately resulted in his permanent association with the Metropolitan Golf Association and the creation of the Carey Cup Matches.

The Carey Cup began in 1996, as Governor Carey revived what was formerly known as the “Metedeconk International Challenge Cup,” which pitted six-man teams of Met Area amateurs against members of the Golfing Union of Ireland in a Walker-Cup-style competition featuring four-ball, foursomes, and singles matches. As a proud Irish Catholic who attended St. Augustine’s Academy and St. John’s University, Carey sought to maintain and grow commerce between the two countries and saw the competition as the ideal means of fostering goodwill and sportsmanship.

“Governor Carey will be remembered as one of this country’s most devoted and effective public servants," said Jay Mottola, Executive Director of the Metropolitan Golf Association. "He loved this country, he loved the people of New York, and he was a true leader in guiding the state through difficult financial issues similar to those we face today. He was also passionate about the game of golf and was a long time member of Gardiner’s Bay Country Club on Shelter Island. The MGA was proud to work with Governor Carey and his family in hosting the Golfing Union of Ireland in Matches that since 1996 have been known as the Carey Cup. He was extremely proud of his Irish American heritage and we will miss him at this year’s Matches in October. He would have loved to greet old friends from Ireland at the Black Course at Bethpage, a New York State facility.”

Governor Carey is survived by his daughters, Alexandria McManus, Susan Dempsey, Marianne Hayes, Nancy Cassidy and Helen O’Neill; his sons Christopher, Michael, Donald, Bryan, Kevin and Thomas; his brothers Denis, John and Martin; 25 grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren. While the race to earn a spot on this year’s Carey Cup team is in full swing among Met Area amateurs, the event will sorely miss the presence of Governor Carey and his tremendous contributions to the game of golf in the metropolitan area.

Williams Attracts Much Criticism

Tiger Woods former caddie Steve Williams has come in for stinging criticism from professionals on the tour after using Adam Scott's victory at the Bridegstone Invitational to air grievances against his former employer.

Williams, who has previously caddied for top players including Australian Greg Norman and American Raymond Floyd, was stunned when Woods abruptly decided to end a highly successful relationship dating back to 1999.

The New Zealander was axed after the AT&T National at Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, although the split was not made public until after the July 14-17 British Open to limit any distraction for Scott.

Williams later broke his own silence in an interview with New Zealand television, saying he was "very disappointed" and felt he had wasted two years of his life with Woods having been sidelined for long stretches by leg injuries.

"I was absolutely shocked that I got the boot to be honest with you," Williams, 47, said. "I've caddied for the guy for 12 years, I've been incredibly loyal to the guy and I got short-shrifted."

During the build-up to this week's event at Firestone, where Williams caddies for Scott, Woods explained during a news conference how he had parted company with the New Zealander.

"We had a nice conversation," the 14-time major winner said. "We did it after he completed play at AT&T National up in the boardroom. It was a tough conversation but we said what we needed to say to each other face-to-face and man-to-man."

Williams, who has now been on Scott's bag for four tournaments in a row, disagreed.

"I was told on the phone that we need to take a break and, in caddie lingo, that means you're fired, simple as that," he said.

"At the AT&T the details of why I was fired were discussed, and that's for my own personal stuff."

Many golfers, though, feel Williams has broken the unwritten rules of caddies not talking to the media about the pros, and feel it has distracted from the biggest victory of Scott's career.

The 31-year-old Australian finished four shots ahead of England's world No 1 Luke Donald and young American Rickie Fowler - with Woods a massive 18 strokes behind in 37th place.

Oliver Wilson tweeted: "Cannot believe they have interviewed Steve Williams. Nice of him to take away from Scotty's win. Says it all."