Colm Shares Concra Wood Lead

Getty Images

Paul Doherty and Colm Moriarty share the lead on three under par at the Kingspan Concra Wood Open after each shot 69 on the opening day of the 888poker.com PGA EuroPro Tour event.

The pair are one clear of the six golfers who share third place on two under at the par-72 course in Castleblayney, Ireland.

Scotsman Doherty (Vale Hotel) carded birdies on the first, fifth and 11th to sign for an opening-round 69. The 28-year-old missed the cut at Concra Wood in 2012 but didn’t suffer a single bogey in the opening round of this season’s tournament on Wednesday.

Moriarty, who plays out of Glasson Hotel and Golf Club in Westmeath, started his round on the tenth and turned home two under after birdies at 15 and 17. A four on the par-five first took him to three under and he closed out the remainder of his round to par, matching Doherty’s 69 to share the lead ahead of day two.

A finish which featured an eagle at 15 and birdies at 17 and 18 saw last year’s Kingspan Concra Wood Open winner Billy Hemstock (Teignmouth GC) transform a score of two over par to sign for a two-under 70, leaving him as one of six players just one stroke off the lead.

Irishmen Ruaidhri McGee (Rosapenna), Neil O’Briain (Old Conna Golf Club) and Michael McGeady are also two under after day one, as are Scotland’s Jordan Findlay (Paul Lawrie Golf Centre) and England’s Alex Belt (De Vere/Snainton), who won his first888poker.com PGA EuroPro Tour event at the PDC & WSL Open at Collingtree Park in June.

A two-hour highlights package of the event will be broadcast on Sky Sports HD at 7pm on Tuesday, August 6, repeated on Wednesday, August 7.

Related articles

• Bateman Wins First 888poker.com PGA Europro Tour Title At Buildbase Open
• Amateur Jon DuToit Wins Minnesota State Open
• Monagle holds up against Crouch charge
• Moriarty Enjoys Scottish Power
• Mickelson wins Open for 1st time
• Lefty resumes chase for first Open title, shoots 69

Captain McGinley Backs McIlroy

Getty Images

Europe's Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley says Rory McIlroy will bounce back from his recent poor run of results.

McIlroy missed the cut in last week's Open Championship at Muirfield, labelling his own play "brain dead" following an opening round of 79, three weeks after also missing the weekend in the Irish Open at Carton House.

The 24-year-old Northern Irishman won five times last year, including his second major by eight shots in the USPGA Championship, to finish top of the money list on both sides of the Atlantic.

But he has yet to record a win in 2013 since a controversial multi-million pound switch to Nike in January, also damaging his reputation by walking off the course during his defence of the Honda Classic and bending a club out of shape during the final round of the US Open last month.

McGinley, who will want a fully firing McIlroy at Gleneagles next year against the United States, told Standard Sport: "At 46 years of age, one of the lessons I've learned is that you have to know who you are and play to your strength, not your weakness.

"Looking back, when I was 24, I wish I got to know myself better. That would have helped my golf.

"Hopefully, Rory will get to know himself really well. Keep doing what works for him. Identify his package, making it stronger and stronger. Rory is not arrogant. He has a lot of common sense and is willing to listen. He will learn and I have no doubt he will come back."

McGinley also pointed to how McIlroy recovered from last year's Open disappointment at Royal Lytham, where he could only finish 60th.

He predicted that the Northern Irishman would target his defence of the year's final major, the US PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, New York next month, as the time to find his best.

"Everybody was saying Rory was playing rubbish (after Lytham)," added Dubliner McGinley. "A month later he went to the US PGA and won by eight."

Related articles

• Team Mickelson is Open Winner
• Major McIlroy Will be Back - Ian Poulter
• McIlroy Ups and Downs - McGinley
• How Rory McIlroy Needs to Adjust Mindset After 2013 British Open Catastrophe
• McIlroy Under Stockton's Wing
• Rory Responds to Faldo Remarks

Higgins and Company in Russia

Getty Images

David Higgins to action days after the Open Championship, an event he failed to qualify for the after he discovered he was carrying fifteen clubs in  his bag at the qualifier in North Berwick at the start of July.

Higgins is joined by Michael Hoey, Alan Dunbar, Damien McGrane, and Gareth Shaw in an event that sees  the European Tour this week return to Russia for the first time in five years with the M2M Russian Open at the stunning Tseleevo Golf and Polo Club.

After three successful years hosting the Challenge Tour, this Jack Nicklaus designed course hosts European Tour competition for the first time with all three previous winners in the field looking to rekindle that winning feeling.

Spain’s Carlos Del Moral (2010), England’s Sam Little (2011) and Frenchman Alex Kaleka (2012) have also tasted success here and looking for repeat performances, as is the current course record holder, Tommy Fleetwood, who shot a six under par 66 in the 2010 M2M Russian Challenge Cup.

Michael Campbell, the 2005 US Open Champion, is joined by a host of European Tour champions including India’s most successful golfer, Jeev Milkha Singh, former Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year and Portugal Masters Champion Tom Lewis and six-time Tour winner Simon Dyson.

It is also an opportunity for some of the lesser lights to shine and secure their place among the game’s elite for next season, much as Peter Uihlien did in Madeira and Simon Thornton in St Omer, and for Russia’s golfers to showcase their emerging talent.

The three Russian professionals in the field are former tennis grand slam champion Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Andrey Pavlov and Konstantin Lifanov and they are joined by five Russian amateurs.

Russia has provided the launchpad for a number of players over the years, including Jamie Donaldson, winner of the 2012 Irish Open and this year’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Champions, whose first professional victory came in the Challenge Tour in Russia in 2002.

The last time the M2M Russian Open was played on The European Tour, Sweden’s Mikael Lundberg claimed the title in 2008. This was three years after he won the event for the first time in 2005 and he will hoping to become the first player to win the title three times. Indeed, Lundberg was the last player to win the same European Tour event for their first two Tour titles.

Tseleevo Golf and Polo Club, a classic Jack Nicklaus Design, has been carved out of mature forestland which adds character to the shape of all the holes combined with natural looking water features which compliment this majestic course. It has received rave reviews from those players who have faced the challenge over the last three years as one of the finest courses on the schedule.

Related articles

• Video: Golfer Rory McIlroy battles Jeff the robot in European Tour challenge
• Ambassador Hoey Visits Galgorm
• Magnificent Seven Ride into Carton
• McGrane in Scottish Open Mix
• GMAC Open to Muirfield Challenge
• Casey Irish Eagle Adds RESPECT

Claret Phil Knocks Rory to Number 3

Getty Images

Phil Mickelson moves up to No. 2 in thw World Rankings aftre his vocry at Muirfiled, four points average behind Tiger Woods, on the strength of his sixth victory in a major. Mickelson ranked No. 5 before the Open. Woods held his lead with his T-6 finish.

During 2013, Mickelson has a net gain of 193 points for the rankings, while Woods has a net gain of 164.

Missing the cut at the Open, Rory McIlroy drops a spot to No. 3 and reigning U.S. Open champion Justin Rose drops two spots to No. 5. 

Reigning Masters champion Adam Scott remains No. 4 after his T-3 finish at Muirfield.

Woods also tops the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings, with Steve Stricker in second and Scott third; Mickelson rises to 14th.

The top 10 players in the Official World Golf Ranking as of Monday, July 22:

Tiger Woods . . . 12.64

Phil Mickelson . . . 8.63

Rory McIlroy . . . 8.61

Adam Scott . . . 7.72

Justin Rose . . . 7.71

Matt Kuchar . . . 6.54

Brandt Snedeker . . . 6.08

Graeme McDowell . . . 6.07

Luke Donald . . . 5.55

Lee Westwood . . . 5.21

Related articles

• Official World Golf Rankings 2013: Phil Mickelson moves up to No. 2
• Mickelson Ranks No. 2 in World Golf
• British Open Results 2013: How Top Stars Performed at Muirfield
• Mickelson goes to No. 2 in world golf rankings
• How Rory McIlroy Needs to Adjust Mindset After 2013 British Open Catastrophe
• World Golf Rankings 2013: Phil Mickelson back in the Top 5 heading into British Open

Major McIlroy Will be Back - Ian Poulter

W

Ian Poulter believes Rory McIlroy needs to go his own way to rediscover the form which brought him two major titles by the age of 23.

McIlroy missed the cut in last week's Open Championship at Muirfield, labelling his own play "brain dead" following an opening round of 79.

The 24-year-old Northern Irishman won five times last year, including his second major by eight shots in the USPGA Championship, to finish top of the money list on both sides of the Atlantic.

But he has yet to record a win in 2013 since a controversial multi-million pound switch to Nike in January, also damaging his reputation by walking off the course during his defence of the HondaClassic and bending a club out of shape during the final round of the US Open last month.

Asked if he had any advice for his Ryder Cup team-mate, Poulter said: "Stop reading the newspapers, stop listening to other people, go out there and do your stuff.

"There is a reason he was sought after by a new manufacturer and why they pay the big bucks because he is that good. He's just going to have to settle into the equipment, settle into himself being in a different environment now.

"The expectations after winning both money titles, there is some comedown after that. He just has to go out there and be himself."

Speaking at Woburn during his junior invitational event, Poulter added on Sky Sports News: "He knows how good he really is and the second he gets comfortable again you are going to see him winning golf tournaments.

"You don't win two majors by the age of 23 and disappear. Rory is here for a long time and he is going to be back at the top very soon."

Related articles

• The Open 2013: Rory McIlroy may turn to psychologist to halt slump
• Rory....Just Call Andy Murray
• British Open Payout 2013: Golfers Who'll Enjoy Bigger Payday at Next Major
• Open 2013: Ian Poulter and Bubba Watson find Muirfield hard going
• How Rory McIlroy Needs to Adjust Mindset After 2013 British Open Catastrophe
• The Open: Why has it all gone wrong for Rory McIlroy?