The Irish Golf Club Gazette

9/25/2013

Phelan and Whitson at School

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Kevin Phelan and Reeve Whitson started brightly in their attempts to overcome the opening hurdle in the scramble to secure European Tour cards in the First Qualifying Stage Section C Ribagolfe, Portugal.

Both Waterford's America-based Phelan, who played in all four rounds in the US Open in June, and the rapidly improving Whitson from Mourne fired highly respectable rounds of two-under-par 70 in Lisbon.

Phelan and Whitson are tied for 10th, five strokes behind round one leader Thomas Pieters.

Nicholas Grant has a lot of work to do following an opening 75, three-over-par after two double-bogeys.

Justin Pieters fired a seven under par round of 65 on Tuesday to carve out a two stoke lead at the Ribagolfe, Portugal.

The Belgian has been under the guidance of compatriot Nicolas Colsaerts, and he put that experience to good use in making nine birdies on Tuesday. He also dropped a couple of shots in his first 18 holes, but that did not take the shine off an otherwise sublime performance in Lisbon.

Pieters is now handily placed to be one of those in 24th place and ties who will progress to the second stage.

Two strokes back are American Daniel Berger who carded six birdies and two bogeys in his first eight holes en route to a five under par opening score, and Chile’s Martin Ureta.

Three Spaniards – Vicente Blasquez, Eduardo Larrañaga and Diego Suazo – are all at four under par and in a tie for fourth, and they are alongside Canada’s Jordan Krantz.

9/24/2013

Profile - Suzann Pettersen

In 2011, Suzann played the majority of her season on the LPGA and had a sensational season including 2 wins and 11 top-ten finishes. First victory came in May at the Sybase Match Play Championship and her second win at the Safeway Classic Presented by Coca-Cola.

She finished fifth at the Money List and made a total of $1,322,770.00 season’s earning. She also played three LET events which included a win at the Ladies Irish Open and tied for 6th place at the Evian Masters. Made her sixth appearance at the Solheim Cup and helped lead the European Team to victory by securing one of the most important points in the Sunday singles.

In 2010, Suzann played the majority of her season on the LPGA. Finished runner-up at the Honda PTT LPGA Thailand, the Kraft Nabisco Championship and the Bell Micro LPGA Classic; tied for second at the U.S. Women’s Open, the CN Canadian Women’s Open and the Lorena Ochoa Invitational with season’s earnings of $1,557,174.50. Suzann’s best finish on the LET was 5th at the Evian Masters Presented by Société Générale.

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

Won the French Open in 2001 in only her second start as a professional after beating Becky Morgan in a playoff. Finished runner up at the German Open behind Karine Icher. Finished runner up at the WPGA Championship of Europe behind Helen Alfredsson. Finished second at the Mexx Sport Open behind Karine Icher after a playoff. Won LET Rookie of the Year on 2001. Lost another playoff to Karrie Webb for the Australian Open in 2002.

Lost yet another playoff to Iben Tinning for the Irish Open. Lost in her most recent playoff to Sophie Gustafson at the 2003 HP Open after shooting 62 to get into it. Playoff is not her favourite word!

Represented Europe in the 2002 Solheim Cup in her rookie year. Represented Europe in the 2003 Solheim Cup, winning four points and conceding her singles match to Beth Daniel when she knew Europe had won the Cup. Represented Europe in her third Solheim Cup at Crooked Stick GC, Carmel, Indiana, where she was undefeated winning 3 points out of a possible four.

Played in The Solheim Cup in 2007 at Halmstad GC in Sweden. Won six tournaments around the world in 2007 and rose to number two in the Rolex Women’s World Rankings by the end of the year. Won 2 LET tournaments in 2008: the Deutsche Bank Ladies Swiss Open at Golf Gerre Losone and the AIB Ladies Irish Open at Portmarnock Links. Ranked fifth in the world at the end of the 2008 season.

Earned 10th worldwide victory at the 2009 the CN Canadian Women's Open. Made 5th Solheim Cup appearance at Rich Harvest Farms, USA. Ranked as World No.3 at the end of 2009. In 2011 added three more individual victories (two on the LPGA and one on the LET) to her CV. She also made her sixth Solheim Cup appearance at Killeen Castle, where the European Team regained the Cup from the US Team. She won one of the most vital points in her singles match against Michelle Wie, recovering from being 1 down and finishing with three birdies to help secure victory for European team.

AMATEUR

World Amateur Champion 2000, British Girls Champion 1999, Norwegian Champion 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000. Gained Evian Tour card after finishing 11th in LET Qualifying School 2001.

PERSONAL

175cm with blond hair and blue eyes. Lists most sports, especially skiing, keeping fit and music amongst her hobbies. Names Norway’s Athlete of the Year in 2008 and 2010. Attached to Oslo GC. Represents Nike.

TOUR VICTORIES

2001 French Open, 2007 SAS Masters, 2008 Deutsche Bank Ladies Swiss Open, 2008 AIB Ladies Irish Open, 2011 Ladies Irish Open.

OTHER VICTORIES

2007 Michelob ULTRA Open, McDonalds LPGA Championship presented by Coca-Cola, Longs Drugs Challenge, HANA Bank KOLON Championship, Honda LPGA Thailand 2007, 2009 CN Canadian Women's Open, 2011 Sybase Match Play Championship, 2011 Safeway Classic Presented by Coca-Cola.

SOLHEIM CUP

2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011.

Factfile

DOB: 7th April 1981

Place of Birth: Oslo Norway

Residence: Norway

InterestsAll kinds of sport and music

Turned Pro. 4th September 2000

Exemption Status: LET Ranking Tournament Winners

SponsorNike

RepresentsNorway

9/23/2013

McGinley Offers Ryder Cup Spots

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Paul McGinley says players on the European Tour will have every chance of earning a place in his European Ryder Cup team, even if they do not qualify automatically.

The Dubliner said players such as Thomas Bjorn, who have missed recent versions of the event, could well play their way back into the side.

McGinley was speaking a year and a day from the start of the 2014 Ryder Cup, as he travelled up to Edinburgh on the Ryder Cup Express steam train.

The Irishman will have three captain's picks to make next year and said: "I'm hoping it's going to help me, that's why I went from two to three.

"Considering so many guys are playing in so many parts of the world, it's important that I have that flexibility, should I need it.

"I'm going to be in America quite a bit next year but I'll also be playing a full European schedule so I'll see a lot of the players there. I'm going to be watching the guys playing on the European Tour very closely.

"If someone shows a lot of form on the European Tour going into the Ryder Cup, even if they're not in the top 50 in the world, I'm going to look closely at guys like that and they could possibly be a pick."

Bjorn played for winning Ryder Cup teams in 1997 and 2002, and has been in good form of late, winning the Omega European Masters earlier this month.

McGinley said: "Thomas is a wonderful player and the thing is that you don't have to play consecutive Ryder Cups. You can miss one or two, then come back in and play a very good Ryder Cup, which a lot of people have done in the past.

"Thomas is one and there are others too, who may have missed one or two Ryder Cups but are capable of slipping back into the team."

McGinley also said he is enjoying life as Ryder Cup captain and is expecting a close contest next year.

"When I was appointed initially, I knew it was going to be busy but I thought it might quieten down," he said. "It's actually kept going and it's been a busy time, but very enjoyable too.

"You're always confident, particularly when you have the quality of players we have in Europe at this time.

"But we won the last two Ryder Cups by a point, and the margin between the two teams is very small.

"There's not a big difference between the teams and we know that, if we're going to win next year we're going to have to play extremely well.

"(American captain) Tom Watson is going to add a lot to the American package. He's an iconic figure in the game and a very astute, intelligent man. We're aware of what we're up against."

Asked whether there was any news on possible vice-captains, he added: "Not at this moment in time. I can think of 20 people right away who would be well capable and would do a good job as vice-captain.

"Next year, as the team evolves, I'll start putting a bit of structure around it, so next summer I'll have a better idea."

Higgins Claims Career Best

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David Higgins claimed the best result of his career on the European Tour as he finished joint runner-up to France’s Julien Quesne at the Italian Open in Turin.

Higgins, 40, claimed just over €130,000 for finishing alongside England’s Steve Websterat Golf Club Torino, with a birdie on the 18th helping him close with a 68 to finish on 11 under par.

Quesne claimed his second European Tour title thanks to a brilliant final round of 67 that had got off to a terrible start.

He began the day four shots off the lead and looked out of contention when he ran up a double-bogey six on the second, but birdied the fourth and sixth and then stormed home in 31.

The 33-year-old picked up shots at the 10th, 11th and 15th before chipping in from short of the 17th green and holing from six feet for another birdie on the last to complete a closing 67.

That set the clubhouse target on 12 under par just moments before overnight leaderMarcus Fraser, who was also 12 under, three-putted the 15th and dropped another shot on the par-three 16th after missing the green from the tee. Fraser eventually signed for a 74 to finish joint eighth on nine under.

Club member Francesco Molinari briefly threatened a fairytale victory when he recovered from two early bogeys by holing a bunker shot on the eighth and making a birdie on the ninth, but the Ryder Cup star stumbled home in 39 to finish seven under.

Simon Thornton’s challenge never materialised as he carded a 74 that saw him finish on seven under, while Damien McGrane closed with a 72 to end the week on level par.

Rory Drops and Henrik Rises

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Rory McIlroy has fallen another two places in the latest world golf rankings, the former world number one slipping to sixth in the current standings.

Tiger Woods remains in top spot while Henrik Stenson, who collected a $10 million bonus following his win at the Tour Championship in Atlanta last night, is up to fourth on the table.

Having twice plunged extraordinary depths in his career after scaling impressive heights, Stenson savoured double satisfaction on Sunday after winning both the Tour Championship and FedExCup honours.

The Swede clinched the PGA Tour’s season finale by three shots after carding a two-under-par 68 on a hot, muggy afternoon at East Lake Golf Club.

Stenson’s fourth career triumph on the US PGA circuit also earned him the eye-popping FedExCup playoff bonus of $10 million and capped an astonishing run of form he has produced since July, featuring six top-threes in his eight starts worldwide.

“Confidence can turn around very quickly in this game, but it can take quite a long time as well,” the 37-year-old Swede, who won the Deutsche Bank Championship earlier this month, told reporters after posting a 13-under total of 267.

“Every player, no matter how good or bad you play, you still have to kind of battle certain feelings, certain times, certain shots you don’t like, and it’s no different for me. It’s just been a great summer, way beyond what I could imagine.

“The play that I have performed since mid-July has been incredible,” added Stenson, whose purple patch started with the Scottish Open in July and includes two wins, a runner-up spot at the British Open and third place at the US PGA Championship.

However, it has twice been a long road back for the Swede, who won the biggest title of his career at the PGA Tour’s 2009 Players Championship at Sawgrass but struggled for form for much of 2001 and 2002, and again during his 2011 campaign.

“It’s been a lot of hard work and a couple of changes,” he said. “I went back to my old sports psychologist last summer and put a more of a long-term plan in place for all the different areas of the game.

“It’s been some good work there that’s starting to pay off big time. It wasn’t like you wake up in the middle of July and you start playing fantastic. I put the work in during the spring.”

Asked what getting back to number four in the world rankings on Monday would mean to him, Stenson replied: “It says that I never give up.

“I went from way, way back down in 2001 and got back up to No. 4 the week after my win at Sawgrass in 2009, so I’m obviously touching my personal best there.

“If I keep on playing well, I will have a chance, I guess, later on in the year to be able to improve on that.”

Stenson is looking forward to a four-week break from golf before he sets his sights on trying to win the European Tour’s Race to Dubai (money list) title to complete a unique double on both sides of the Atlantic.

“That’s obviously next on the horizon,” said the Swede, who leads the Race to Dubai rankings from Graeme McDowell (second) and Justin Rose (third). “Thankfully, I’ve got a whole month now where I can rest and enjoy this incredible run that I’ve had.

“Then have some time to get back into get some good practice down before I head out to the BMW tournament in Shanghai there on the 19th of October. I’m in a great position for winning the money title in Europe. Again, it’s going to take some good play.

“I’m going to try my hardest to accomplish that. No one’s won the FedExCup and the Race to Dubai. Luke (Donald) and Rory (McIlroy) won both the money titles. We’re going to give that our next shot.”

9/25/2013

Phelan and Whitson at School

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Profile - Suzann Pettersen

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