Ireland Take Omega World Cup Lead

Ireland lead the Omega Mission Hills World Cup by two shots going into the final round at Mission Hills Resort on Hainan Island after Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy combined for a bogey-free 64 in the third round fourballs.

At 21 under par, the two Major winners edged ahead of Germany and South Africa, who produced best-of-the-day rounds of 61 to join the United States (63) in second on 19 under.

While pre-tournament favourites Ireland look to be in a strong position after carding eight birdies, the last two winners of the US Open Championship are well aware of the big names hot on their heels.

While pre-tournament favourites Ireland look to be in a strong position after combining for eight birdies, the last two winners of the US Open Championship are well aware of the big names hot on their heels.

“We are right where we want to be going into tomorrow,” said McDowell. “The leaderboard was not really going to mean anything until tonight, and we are two shots ahead going into tomorrow, but there are some great teams up there, some great players.

“We are going to have to go and play well tomorrow, but this is where we want to be. We are both playing lovely. I managed to heat my putter up today and make a few, and we are very excited and looking forward to tomorrow.

“When we saw the scoreboard - I think we were on sixth green - we saw Germany were off to a flyer. We actually expected that today - I think there were 18 teams within five shots of the lead.

“We knew someone was going to go low today, and the leaderboard was going to be fairly bunched going into tomorrow.”

Former US PGA Championship winner Martin Kaymer was in sensational form for Germany, holing a 40 foot putt at the ninth as he and Alex Cejka played the front nine in 30.

Cejka then holed a five foot birdie putt at the 11th before Kaymer produced some stunning approaches to leave tap-in birdies at the 12th, 14th and 16th.

Four-time European Tour winner Cejka then chipped in at the 17th to card the pair’s 11th birdie of the day.

“That was kind of a bonus because I was short of the green,” said Cejka. “It was a pretty tough chip and Martin was on the other plateau on the right, so it was a tough putt. It was a bonus for us to make birdie from there, but every birdie counts and is important.”

Kaymer added: “We played very well together. We made lots of birdies and always on different holes.

“We had a slow start on Thursday. We didn't make any birdies the first six, seven holes and then we started making some birdies and even though we missed some greens, I was always pretty sure that Alex would make his up and downs so I could always be fairly aggressive.

“I played very well today, but obviously you can only play well and be aggressive if you have a partner who is playing very consistent and is always there for you.”

Major winners Charl Schwartzel and Louis Oosthuizen matched the Germans’ efforts, thanks largely to a run of four consecutive birdies from the 14th.

Former Open Champion Oosthuizen put their success down to their close friendship. “We know each other really well and we travel most weeks together,” he said. “We are good friends and I think it definitely is a big thing in this format, in any team sport.

“The more you know each other, the better you're going to do, and I think we are very comfortable around each other. We do our own thing and whenever someone needs help, you ask him.

“It makes it a lot easier that we are so comfortable around each other.”

Matt Kuchar and Gary Woodland dropped a shot at the par five second for the USA, before a run of five straight birdies from the fourth put them back on track.

There were three further gains coming in before Woodland rolled in a five footer at the 17th to leave them well placed going into the final round.

“Matt really got us going early,” said Woodland. “I was kind of all over the place, but he made a birdie on the first hole and then made three or four in a row.

“It was nice when I was struggling that he picked me up and fortunately I made some putts on the back nine. He had a huge up and down on the last hole that really kept the momentum going and hopefully gives us a lot more momentum going into tomorrow.”

Overnight joint leaders Australia had a 67, which was not helped by the fact Brendan Jones produced only one birdie all day.

They sit fifth on 18 under, one ahead of The Netherlands after last week’s Iskandar Johor Open winner Joost Luiten birdied the last from eight feet for a 64.

Clarke Slips Back as Fraser Leads

Victorian Marcus Fraser will head into the third round of the Australian PGA Championship with a two-stroke lead thanks to his Friday 65 at Coolum, but there are a host of big names, including Bubba Watson, Robert Allenby and Adam Scott, lurking in the chasing pack.

With seven birdies in a flawless round, Fraser capitalised on favourable conditions to move to 11 under and top billing ahead of American Presidents Cup star Watson, who led by two shots himself when he reached the turn before stumbling on the back nine, leaving him to be content with a four-under 68.

Three strokes adrift of Fraser is another player who impressed last week at Royal Melbourne, South Korean KT Kim (67), while his compatriot and 2009 US PGA champion YE Yang (68), who led before being overtaken in the afternoon, shares fourth on seven under with triple PGA winner Allenby (68), Scott (67) and John Senden.

Fraser's 65 didn't earn him the low round of the day though, with Senden taking those honours by recovering from his opening-round 73 with a superb 64 that for a long time looked like being several shots lower.

Senden looked on track to surpass the course record of nine under set by Min-kyu Han, who shot 62 two years ago when Coolum was a par-71 layout, but after briefly entertaining thoughts of what could have been possible, he ran out of steam.

After his early heroics on day one, Jason Day had a steadier round as he grabbed three birdies in a 69 to move to six under, leaving him alongside Stuart Appleby (68), Leigh McKechnie (70), Kieran Pratt (70), Anthony Summers (68), Kurt Barnes (69), Josh Geary (70), Aaron Townsend (71) and Shih-chang Chan (69).

Appleby's round could have been just about anything too after he birdied his first five holes of the day but a double bogey at 16 and bogey at 18 threatened to derail his momentum before he steadied coming home on the front nine with two further birdies.

Joint overnight leader Steven Bowditch, who led by three strokes midway through the morning, gave back four shots on the front nine as he slumped to a 73 and five under, where he is level with Aaron Baddeley (72), Doug Holloway (69), Marc Leishman (69) and Joon-woo Choi (73).

Like Bowditch before him, Choi improved his overnight score from six to nine under with a hat-trick of birdies through his first seven holes but he also dropped four shots overall from there as he battled, none more so than at the last where he had a triple-bogey seven.

Peter Fowler and Australian Open champion Greg Chalmers both shot 69 to be among those tied for 22nd at four under, and Geoff Ogilvy, Greg Norman and Nick O'Hern also signed for that score to be equal 28th at minus three with Alistair Presnell (68) and Aron Price (72).

British Open champion Darren Clarke (73) will start his third round nine off the pace and defending champ Peter Senior (73) from 10 back while Andre Stolz (77) and Mathew Goggin (73) will just make the cut at even par but Craig Parry (83) will have the weekend off.

Two back overnight, Fraser grabbed his initial birdie at the 5th, sparking a run of three in four holes, and after adding another at 11 repeated the effort from the 13th to overtake a faltering Watson, whose final five holes read bogey, bogey, birdie, bogey, birdie.

Senden picked up seven shots in as many holes with five birdies and a hole in one at the par-three 2nd, remarkably the same hole playing partner Chalmers also aced on Thursday.

Like Scott 24 hours earlier, Baddeley had an up and down round.

After slumping to even par with two double bogeys and a bogey in his first seven holes as Appleby was shooting the lights out, Baddeley then birdied six of his next eight holes to close within one of the lead only to give one of the shots back at the 8th.

Ireland Share World Cup Lead

A four under par 68 helped Irish pairing Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy catch Australians Richard Green and Brendan Jones as the two nations claimed a share of the halfway lead at the Omega Mission Hills World Cup after an enthralling second day foursomes session.

Australia were two clear overnight after a blistering 61 in the fourballs, but had to scrap hard for a 70 in the more demanding foursomes format. 

Having birdied the second and bogeyed the fourth, the duo from Down Under had a slice of good fortune when Green chipped in from a bunker at the fifth - turning a likely bogey into a birdie in the process. 

There was no luck involved at the sixth, however, as Jones sent a brilliant second shot to 15 feet and left-hander Green sunk the resulting eagle putt. 

The three-time European Tour winner holed from a similar distance at the 13th but two bogeys over the closing stretch left the event wide open. 

“The important thing for us is that we are still at the top, and everybody is chasing us and we are chasing Ireland now,” said Jones. “We can't win the tournament today, but we sure could have fallen back in the field. 

“So just to be in the position we're in, we've got to take the positives out of that, and I think tomorrow we'll get out and both of us get some rhythm back in our game and play a more attacking game. 

“It's all about limiting your errors in this game, and I think we pretty much did that. A couple of times we slipped up, but that's just the way it is.” 

Green added: “We spoke about our strategy last night, and in foursomes especially we decided that anything under par is going to do all right. So a 70 today achieved that goal I guess. 

“A little bit of a shame to have finished with a bogey, but it's a very difficult finish to this golf course and a very demanding hole, 18. Hopefully we can work that out for the weekend and not do that on Sunday.” 

It was Ireland’s past and present US Open Champions who took advantage, the pair responding to three-putt bogeys on the 11th and 13th with six birdies, the last of which came at the driveable 16th when McDowell splashed out to two feet. 

“I think both of us are very pleased about the score that we ended up shooting today,” Said World Number Two McIlroy. “I think anything in the 60s in the foursomes format is a very reasonable score out there. 

“There is still a lot of golf to be played this week, so it will be nice to get out there tomorrow again and enjoy the fourballs and be aggressive and make a few more birdies. I think we are very pleased with how today went and looking forward to the weekend.” 

Ireland started the week as the bookies’ favourites, and 32 year old McDowell insists there is more to come over the weekend. 

“Alternate shot is a very difficult format,” he said. “We struggled to find our rhythm a little bit on the front nine. Rory really putted well today, which kept things together. 

“I've struggled a little bit on the greens the last couple of days, but I was happy the way I swung the club in general today again and Rory is playing lovely. 

“Looking forward to getting back out there into better balls tomorrow where we can both play a little bit more aggressively and get in our rhythm better. But very, very happy with that performance today - four under par in this format is a pretty good effort.” 

Only six shots separate the top 20 teams, with Scotland’s Stephen Gallacher and Martin Laird in third on 12 under - Laird’s missed five foot par putt at the last producing their only bogey and denying them a share of the lead. 

Spain, New Zealand and the United States are fourth on ten under, Alvaro Quiros and Miguel Angel Jiménez combining for a bogey-free 69 that included an eagle at the 16th after big-hitting Quiros drove to within 20 feet. 

England, The Netherlands and surprise package Mexico are nine under, with hosts China amongst a group of nine teams one further back.

Clarke Three Off Pace Down Under

Australia's Steven Bowditch matched Choi Joon-woo's six under par 66 to share the lead with the South Korean after the opening round of the Australian PGA Championship at Coolum.

On a day when a host of players, including Jason Day, threatened record scores and fellow Australian Adam Scott staged a remarkable recovery to stay in the hunt, it was firstly Choi and then Bowditch who capitalised most on the favourable conditions.

One shot adrift are Australians Aaron Baddeley, Andre Stolz and Aaron Townsend, as well as American Bubba Watson, while Steve Conran and Marcus Fraser are among those tied for seventh two shots back.

Open Champion Darren Clarke, Day, Robert Allenby, American Rickie Fowler and South Korean Y E Yang all lie at three under par, while Scott, Stuart Appleby and defending champion Peter Senior all finished with 70s.

Day began in blistering fashion with birdies at five of his first seven holes and after grabbing a sixth at the ninth, was still at five under at the turn having also bogeyed the eighth.

However, he lost momentum over the second half of his round to finish three under par.

After a terrible back nine that featured a triple bogey, a double bogey and a pair of bogeys that left him five over, Scott blitzed the front nine in 30 shots with six birdies to lie two under.

Scott's woes stemmed largely from three visits to the water in four holes from the 11th.

Clarke reached four under at one point only to make back-to-back bogeys at the fourth and fifth, but a birdie at the sixth left him in touch with the leaders.

GMAC and Rory Face World Cup Test

Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell will see their partnership put to the test once again this week at the OMEGA Mission Hills World Cup in China.

Two years ago the pair were denied glory by the Italian brothers Francesco and Edoardo Molinari.

This time around, the Irish duo have been installed as favourites to go one better and win the title.

McIlroy, who at number two in the world is the highest ranked player in the field said: “Graeme and I really enjoyed the experience at Mission Hills two years ago, when we came close to winning the title.

“We only missed out by a shot, and are looking forward to forming the Irish team again and trying to go one better this time.”

The 22-year-old reigning US Open champion hasn’t played competitively since finishing fourth at the WGC-HSBC Champions event in Shanghai two weeks ago.

In contrast, McDowell will be making his fifth competitive start in a row at the high class Mission Hills Resort, Hainan Island.

McDowell added: “I was delighted when Rory selected me to be his partner again.

“There is nothing quite like representing Europe in The Ryder Cup or Ireland in the World Cup – It’s a real buzz.

“We worked well as a partnership two years ago, and we can’t wait to try to claim the title.”

The 32-year-old finished a lowly 38th in his latest outing at the Dunlop Phoenix Tournament in Japan on Sunday, an event reduced to 54-holes by heavy rain.

“Disappointing week on the greens this week,” McDowell tweeted.

“Struggled with my speed. Ball striking and short game are right there.

“Bring on the World Cup.”

Rory and Graeme are close friends off the course and following McIlroy’s much publicised switch from ISM, they are now part of the same management team at Horizon.

On-course the two Ulster golfers have developed into a highly effective partnership.

In 2009 they played together at the Seve Trophy winning three points out of four as GB&I crushed Europe.

And then last year they came together again in the cauldron of the Ryder Cup to win one and half points out of three.

They are a proven combination but they will have to see off some other high quality pairings if they are to become the first Irish team to win since Padraig Harrington and Paul McGinley in 1997.

The Molinari brothers are back to defend their title and they will be joined in the 28 team field by Masters champion Charl Schwartzel and 2010 Open Champion Louis Oosthuizen.

The United States will be represented by Matt Kuchar and his partner Gary Woodland.

Both men recognise the honour and privilege of representing the Stars and Stripes.

Kuchar, who was part of the Presidents Cup side that beat the International team in Australia on Sunday said:. “It’s exciting to think about the World Cup and representing the United States.

Woodland said: “Matt is a very consistent player, always in play.

“Hopefully it pans out pretty well.

“I have a little length to add to it, so hopefully I can drive it out there.

“He can knock it close and we both get our putters going and we can make a lot of birdies.”

“That is what we are looking for and hopefully we can play well and get the job done.

“Our form at the minute is quite good and hopefullyb that will continue in this event.”

England’s Ian Poulter has named his close friend Justin Rose to fly the flag for England.

This comes four years after they finished fourth on their only appearance as a double act at the original Mission Hills Resort in Shenzen.