The Irish Golf Club Gazette

11/14/2014

Harrington Opens with 74 in Mexico

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Pádraig Harrington signed for a three over par first round at the OHL Classic and settled for a 74 in Playa del Carmen, Mexico - and off the pace.

Daniel Berger was making his sixth PGA TOUR start, and birdied 1, 3, 5, 6 and 7 and finished with two pars to match Will MacKenzie, Robert Garrigus, Steve Wheatcroft, Hudson Swafford and Tony Finau at 6-under 65 on Mayakoba's El Camaleon course.

"This is what we work so hard for, so it's great to get off to a good start, but got to keep it going," said Berger, the 21-year-old former Florida State player who earned a PGA TOUR card last season on the Web.com Tour.

The six-player tie is the largest after 18 holes since six players also topped the leaderboard in the 2013 St. Jude Classic.

The Greg Norman-designed course requires accuracy off the tee.

"I think I hit maybe two drivers all day," Berger said. "It's just kind of one of those courses where you've got to hit the fairway. Super tight off the tee, so just put it in play and you've got some birdie opportunities."

The long-hitting Finau hit driver only once.

"I'm still able to use my length by hitting 3-woods and 2-irons and moving it up the fairway still where most guys would have to hit driver," Finau said. "I definitely wasn't able to use my driver length, but I still use my length off the tee."

Fifty-year-old Davis Love III was at 66 in a group that included Aaron Baddeley, Charley Hoffman and Pat Perez.

"I made some putts when I had to," Love said. "I had four birdies in five holes in a little spurt in the middle of the round, and put the ball in play. I think that's what you have to do here. You have to keep it in the fairway and you have to putt well."

Defending champion Harris English closed with a three-putt bogey for a 67.

"It hurt on the last hole, three-putting, but I'm still going to take a lot of positives out of today," English said.

Carlos Ortiz topped the seven Mexican players in the field at 67. He won three times on the Web.com Tour last season.

"I started a little bit nervous with all the people who were watching, family, friends," Ortiz said. "But I had a very good beginning on the first hole with a birdie and then I birdied 3, 4, 5. It helped me a lot to get relaxed."

Canada's Nick Taylor, the Sanderson Farms Championship winner Sunday in Mississippi, had a 71.

11/12/2014

Harrington Plays Mayakoba Classic

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Pádraig Harrington plays the Mayakoba Classic this week at Playa del Caemen in Mexico this week. following a disappointing 73rd place finish at the Sanderson Farms Classic in Mississippi last week.

Having slipped to 353rd in the latest world rankings, Harrington makes one attempt before the Christmas break to get back up the rankings. Attracted no doubt by the prize fund of $6.1million, with almost $1.1million of it to the winner.

Former US Open and Masters champion Angel Cabrera is the top ranked player in the field at 60th, while five players who have the joint lowest ranking possible of 1,547th are competing at El Camaleon.

Defending champion Harris English is currently 66th in the world after struggling to rediscover the form which brought him a second PGA Tour title in the space of five months.

English was second in the FedEx Cup standings in the early stages of last season but drifted all the way to 32nd, therefore narrowly missing out on a place in the Tour Championship in Atlanta for the second year running.

“Last year I didn’t finish the way I wanted to,” English told a pre-tournament press conference.

“Obviously I was in the driver’s seat to make it to the Tour Championship (open to the top 30 players after the BMW Championship) and missed out again. I finished 31st two years ago and 32nd this past season. It’s close. I know I’m kind of knocking on the door.

“I don’t want to be in that situation again where I’m not having to pull against people but knowing my fate is in other peoples’ hands about getting to the Tour Championship. I don’t want that to happen.

“I want to control my own destiny and it’s really made me realise how important every tournament is.”

English has missed the cut in two of his first three events of the 2014-15 season, but did finish 16th in the Shriners Hospitals for Children's Open in Las Vegas.

“I don’t want to panic,” he added. “In this game you can be so close sometimes. It’s a brutal game. It’ll knock you down when you’re at the highest of the high and it’ll do some unexpected things – when nothing’s going your way you’ll do something crazy. You’ve just got to let it come to you.

“It’s getting a lot better. I’ve been working hard the past couple weeks, couple months and it’s coming together.

“I know it’s not perfect right now. It’ll never be perfect but I’m feeling good. If I can keep getting better and better every day and keep giving myself opportunities, then it’ll click.”

Spanuards Gonzalo Fernandez-Caratano and Alvaro Quiros also play

Garcia Chases McIlroy in Turkey

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Sergio Garcia hopes to take his pursuit of “quite extraordinary” Rory McIlroy to the last event of The Race to Dubai with victory in this week's Turkish Airlines Open presented by the Ministry of Youth and Sport.

The Spaniard requires victory at the Montgomerie Maxx Royal in Antalya and another at next week's DP World Tour Championship in Dubai in order to have any chance of preventing McIlroy winning The Race to Dubai for a second time in three seasons.

That Garcia is still in the hunt at all is testament to the 34 year old's form this season – having won in Qatar he has also amassed three runner-up finishes, two of them to McIlroy at The Open Championship and WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.

As well as those wins McIlroy collected a second Major Championship of the year at the US PGA Championship and took The European Tour's flagship BMW PGA Championship, and Garcia was quick to praise his opponent for the European Number One crown.

“I'm a big believer that if you have done something extraordinary to be able to achieve that, to win [The Race to Dubai] before the last tournament happens, why shouldn't you be the winner,” said Garcia, who along with Jamie Donaldson and Marcel Siem is one of only three players with a chance to stop McIlroy heading into the penultimate event of The Final Series.

“I think Rory did something quite extraordinary this season and this summer more than anything, and maybe he deserves to be The Race to Dubai Champion, even before we play the Dubai World Championship next week.

“There's no doubt that it's nice to be a part of it, to have still a little chance of winning it.

“It's obviously very difficult but to at least be in the race for it and have a possibility of becoming The Race to Dubai Champion, it's something that you look forward to and I'm going to need a couple of really, really good weeks - we'll try it until it's over.”

Garcia missed the inaugural staging of this event last year, but was determined to come after hearing his fellow European Tour pros rave about the venue.

“I definitely have heard a lot of good comments,” added Garcia. “Obviously it's a fairly new tournament but a lot of good comments.

“It's one of the things that made my decision easier to come and play this year. I'm excited about seeing the course today - I heard it's in good shape. I heard the rough is a little bit high but it looks really, really good, and obviously the resort is quite spectacular, so we are enjoying that.”

11/10/2014

McGeady Survives School Test

Attrition is the word most commonly used about European Tour Qualifying School and the Second Stage has again taken its toll this week in Spain, ending the hopes for next season for seven Irish golfers.

Only the one player earning a spot for the Final Stage next week at PGA Catalunya.

Niall Kearney the unexpected casualty after a one over par final round 72 saw the Dubliner drop 15 places and out of contention when he finished T21.

Having started the day in 4th place - and looking comfortable - it disappointingly proved insufficient for Kearney as those around him fired four and five under par rounds, leaving Kearney short sided at Lumine Golf and Beach Club.

Only the top 17 finishers at each venue and ties qualifying.

Kearney however earns Category 15 Membership of The European Tour for next season having finished within the top 25 places.

Michael McGeady enjoyed better news after clinching a share of fourteenth place after a final 70 - for a 3 under par overall at Campo Golf El Saler. The former Irish PGA Champion making the turn level and then picking up two shots on the home stretch to ensure his place inside the minimum mark.

Niall Turner signed for a 70 and moved up ten spots to a share 38th place at Las Colinas Golf and Country Club. But without making it any closer to full tour playing rights for 2015 on this occasion.

David Higgins carded a third round 70 for a share of 41st place and Mark Murphy dropped to 62nd after a final round 75. Both Waterville men left without full rights either.

Brendan McCarroll signed for 79 and share of 68th place.

Ruaidrhi McGee ended his campaign this year with a 68 and share of 51st place at Panoramica Golf and Sport Resort.

Gareth Shaw carded a 71 albeit with an improved position in 60th place.

Chris Paisley won his Second Stage event of The European Tour Qualifying School at Las Colinas Golf & Country Club with a five under par last day round of 66, which took the Englishman to 17 under in total. At the Spanish event, 18 players progressed.

Those 18 spaces where hotly contested and a four man playoff ensued for the remaining three spots when Englishman Matthew Cort, Dane Christian Gloet, Australian Geoffrey Drakeford and German Sebastian Heisele all finished in tied 16th position on seven under par.

Heisele and Gloet progressed in 16th and 17th place respectively, birdieing the second and third playoff holes, while it was Cort who missed out as Drakeford birdied the fourth playoff hole capturing the last qualifying spot in the process.

In the corresponding event at Panoramica Golf & Sport Resort, Englishman Matthew Southgate leapfrogged his compatriot Toby Tree with a five under par 65 to steal first place on 22 under par. However, again the real drama unfolded lower down the leaderboard on 13 under par as a sudden death six man playoff ensued for the remaining spaces.

After a tense battle, it was South African amateur Zander Lombard who took the 15th spot and Dane Jeff Winther the 16th. Gary Lockerbie then proceeded to hold his nerve to take the 17th place with a par three on the fifth playoff hole.

Elsewhere, Welshman Garry Houston stole the show at Campo de Golf El Saler, firing home in a seven under 65 to win the event.

But as with the other events, the real action came at the cut off for progression; Dane Daniel Løkke and Englishman Chris Lloyd hung on to take two of the last three qualifying places, where they were joined by Norwegian Espen Kofstad, who leapt up four positions to snatch qualification on two under par.

Meanwhile at the final event, Portuguese whiz Ricardo Gouveia completed his qualifying campaign with a rock steady level par 71 at Lumine Golf & Beach Club to stay at 18 under and advance on pole. A quartet of four players, consisting of France’s Guillaume Cambis, Englishmen Garrick Porteous and Nathan Kimsey and American Wes Homan, all shared the last progression spaces at nine under par.

Across the four venues, a total of 69 players qualified to the Final Stage where the top 25 players plus ties will earn their playing rights for The 2015 Race to Dubai.

Turkey Action for Darren Clarke

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Darren Clarke, a five-time Ryder Cup winner as a player and two-time victor as vice captain, tees off in the Turkish Airlines Open by the Ministry of Youth and Sport.

Shane Lowry also plays this week in the searsh for a place the world top 50.

In all nine members of Europe’s triumphant team from Gleneagles in the star-studded field, there will be a distinct Ryder Cup feel to the US$7 million event.

Sergio Garcia, Henrik Stenson, Martin Kaymer, defending champion Victor Dubuisson, Jamie Donaldson, Thomas Bjørn, Stephen Gallacher, Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter will all lock horns at the Montgomerie Maxx Royal in Belek, Antalya, from November 13-16.

The links to golf’s greatest team event do not end there, however, with Miguel Angel Jiménez, who served as a vice captain to Paul McGinley at Gleneagles, also teeing it up along with the 2010 captain and course designer Colin Montgomerie.

Also confirmed for the tournament is England’s Luke Donald, a four-time winner of The Ryder Cup.

Ahmet Ali Ağaoğlu, president of the Turkish Golf Federation, said: “We are so proud that such a strong field will be playing at the Turkish Airlines Open.

“The Ryder Cup caught the imagination of the golfing world and beyond, so it is a big honour to have so many of the players that showed such quality and passion for the sport together again in Turkey.

“We believe that the depth of quality in the field reflects the growing importance of this tournament in the golfing calendar.”

Louis Oosthuizen, the 2010 Open Champion, and two-time Major winner John Daly will also feature in the penultimate event of The 2014 European Tour campaign.

The 78 players participating will be battling it out for a prize fund of US $7million.

The top 60 players in The Race to Dubai rankings after the Turkish Airlines Open will then move on to the United Arab Emirates for the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai, the final tournament on The 2014 European Tour International Schedule.

11/14/2014

Harrington Opens with 74 in Mexico

11/12/2014

Harrington Plays Mayakoba Classic

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