Clarke Targets BMW PGA

Darren Clarke is eyeing victory at the BMW PGA Championship - 20 years after he first appeared at the tournament.

The reigning Open champion admits he would love to add the title at the European Tour's flagship event to his CV.

Clarke, who first appeared at Wentworth back in 1992, finishing 54th, said: "I think if you ask any player on the European Tour to pick one event outside the Majors that they'd want to win one day it would be the BMW PGA Championship and I am no exception.

"Obviously to do it on the 20th anniversary of my first playing in the tournament would be extra sweet but I'm under no illusions about the task in hand because the field is always one of the strongest of the entire year.

"I can't really believe it is 20 years since I played for the first time - time really does fly by when you are having fun. If I'm being honest though, I can't really remember much about my debut in 1992 but what I do remember was thinking that if I'd qualified to play at Wentworth, I really must have arrived on the European Tour."

Clarke has finished runner-up at Wentworth on two occasions - 1997 and 2000 - and he feels that shows that going one better remains a possibility.

The Northern Irishman added: "I have come close a couple of times and it is a course I feel I can compete on.

"I've always liked the golf course and it has always been demanding, but it is a really tough challenge nowadays after the changes Ernie (Els) made to it.

"In the past, on the odd occasion, you used to see people finish perhaps birdie, eagle, eagle to suddenly burst into contention, but with the changes that is a lot harder to do nowadays. It is a much tougher test than it used to be."

This year's tournament takes place from May 24-27.

Defending champion and world number one Luke Donald will appear, as will Rory McIlroy and Lee Westwood.

Donald Returns to Number One

Luke Donald regained top spot in the world rankings from Rory McIlroy after finishing third in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.

The Englishman needed a top-seven finish to move back to the head of the standings and a final-round 67 saw him finish third, two shots adrift.

American Jason Dufner beat Ernie Els in a play-off for his first PGA Tour title after they finished tied on 19 under.

Masters champion Bubba Watson carded 70 to end tied 18th at 11 under.

The world number one spot has changed hands nine times in the last 18 months, with Tiger Woods, Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer also holding the position.

With Donald absent this week, McIlroy can regain top spot in the Wells Fargo Championship in North Carolina.

“All in all, pretty good week. All this different media attention tires you out. It's something you got to get used to”Masters champion Bubba Watson

"It's been going back and forth a little bit. Rory's turn next week. It was a little bit of a motivation to try to play well today," said Donald on Sunday.

Dufner took a two-shot lead into the fourth round but his two-under 70 was not enough to hold off Els's 67.

Both missed birdie putts within eight feet on the par-five 18th on the first play-off hole, but Dufner holed a short birdie putt and Els missed one from the fringe on the 18th for a second time to hand the 35-year-old a first title in 164 starts on the PGA Tour.

Dufner lost play-offs last year to Mark Wilson in the Phoenix Open and Keegan Bradley in the US PGA Championship for two of his three career runner-up finishes.

"To get the monkey off of my back, it's a great feeling," said Dufner, who is getting married next weekend.

Three-time major winner Els last won on the PGA Tour in the 2010 Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill.

"It was a nice little charge I made and, you know, nice to catch the leader," said the South African. "I had a chance to win the tournament with a six-footer and missed it, but I made quite a few putts on the back nine to keep myself in it."

Defending champion Watson, playing for the first time since his Masters win over Easter weekend, entered the final round eight shots off the lead and was unable to mount a charge after bogeys on his first two holes.

"All in all, pretty good week being tired, coming back for the first time after winning the Masters, all this different media attention," Watson said.

"It's something you got to get used to. It wears on you, tires you out. Somehow I finished - I'm in the top 20. A lot of guys wished they did that."

Wiesberger Impressive Maiden Winner

A master class from Bernd Wiesberger brought the first European Tour title at the Ballantine’s Championship for the Austrian as he cruised to a five shot victory.

Five clear overnight after consecutive course-record rounds of 65, the 26 year old was coolness personified as he compiled a closing round of 68.

Twice a runner-up on The European Tour last season, there was never any danger of Wiesberger missing out this time as he played his final 59 holes without dropping a shot at Blackstone Golf Club.

Paul McGinley finished nine shots adrift of the winner after a final two under par round of 70, leaving the Dubliner securing a four way share of 7th p[lace with Ross Fisher, Felipe Aguilar and Alexander Noren.

A good weeks' work having also equalled the course record on Saturday.

Australian Marcus Fraser was first to try and challenge Wiesberger, trimming his advantage to four with a 30 foot birdie putt at the third.

But Wiesberger, a runner-up in Scotland and South Africa last season, responded with a pitch to six feet at the long fifth for a first gain of the day after opening with four consecutive pars.

Four further pars saw Wiesberger turn in 35 and still five clear, and he clocked up five further pars as Richie Ramsay came charging from the pack.

The Scot hit his tee shot to five feet at the 16th for his sixth birdie of the day to close the gap to three, but that was as close as anyone got to Wiesberger.

The two-time Challenge Tour winner responded with a glorious pitch at the par five 15th to eight feet, holed a 20 footer at the 16th and drained a 15 foot birdie putt at the last for good measure to finish with an 18 under par total.

“I just tried to enjoy it and I had the three best rounds of my life,” said Wiesberger. “I tried not to make bogeys and I did that pretty well, it was awesome. 

“My game plan was to hit as many greens as possible and try to make putts, and they dropped in the end.

“I didn’t get nervous, I had three or four shots. There was a pretty shaky moment at 12 but I made a great chip and a putt for par, but I just tried to enjoy it the last three or four holes in.

“I fly home tonight, I’m pretty sure I’ll have a shot of Ballantine’s in the Emirates lounge. I'm going to bring back a couple of bottles of Ballantine's so they will be opened, I'm sure."

Ramsay birdied the last to finish second on 13 under after a 65, two ahead of Fraser and France’s first-round leader Victor Dubuisson.

“I'm really, really pleased with the round, it's been fantastic,” said former South African Open Champion Ramsay. “You never want to lose - being a golfer, we always want to be the one that wins - but Bernd has played fantastically well out there. 

“Obviously the fact that he's a really nice guy - I played with him a few times on The Challenge Tour - and he's a top-class guy. If you're going to get beat by somebody, it might as well be Bernd because he's a good guy.

“Ballantine's has done a fantastic event here. The sponsorship has been brilliant, the tournament has been run fantastically well, and it's great to come here and obviously there's a lot of people out here today which makes it good to hit some nice shots.

“All in all it's been a great week and I felt that it had been coming and it's nice to just put a number on the board.” 

Fraser, who won this event on Jeju Island in 2010, played some beautiful golf from tee to green but, as in his third round, struggled to get his putter going as he signed for a 70.

“I think I made just six birdies for the weekend,” said the 33 year old. “It’s frustrating - I had a lot of chances yesterday and a few chances today but didn't take them. 

“I think I played the par fives in one under for the weekend. I’m going to finish seven shots behind, and with the par fives, that's the majority of it right there. To finish third in a European Tour event is never a bad thing, but it’s still frustrating.

“I said to Bernd: ‘get used to that because you're going to do that quite a bit’. He's as impressive a golfer as I've ever seen. 

“If he keeps working on the right things and doing what he's doing, he's obviously got a great support team around him and he can go onto do whatever he wants. 

“A guy that size and hits it that far and still putts unbelievably, you don't see that too often. He's got massive things ahead of him and I wish him all the best. He's an absolute gentleman on the course, it was great fun being out there and watching it.” 

Shane Lowry finished  in a tie for 32nd place on four under par overall, after signing for a 70 on Sunday.

Gareth Maybin was one under par ending the weekend on 2 under.

Damien McGrane struggled again on the last day finishing with a two over par 74 for a +3 finish overall.

Paul M

McGinley 65 Still Not Enough

 

Paul McGinley put together a spectacular run of birdies to move to within a shot of the lead during the third round of the Ballantine’s Championship. The former Ryder Cup hero, who won the last of his four European Tour titles back in 2005, started with five birdies in his first six holes at Blackstone Golf Club.

He added another again at the 12th, and then at the 18th to sign for a third round 65 and 7 under for the tournament.

But it was Bernd Wiesberger who again took complete control after a second consecutive 65  at the Blackstone Golf Club. One clear of 2010 champion Marcus Fraser overnight, Wiesberger matched his own course record to reach 14 under par.

“I think that's what we call a great day at the office,” the Austrian said afterwards. “It was fun out there. It was nice conditions again like yesterday, and really nice set up for the course. I enjoyed myself out there, made a lot of putts and that was the key to another perfect day.” 

A 15 footer for birdie at the fourth and a five foot putt at the sixth kept him ahead on the front nine, and he forged clear with a spectacular inward 31.

The 26 year old barely missed a putt after the turn, holing a 12 footer for birdie at the tenth, converting from ten feet for another gain at the 12th, then preventing a first dropped shot in 36 holes by saving par from 15 feet at the 13th.

That was followed by a brilliant downhill 20 footer for birdie at the 14th, and Wiesberger displayed his all-round talents with a tee shot to two feet at the 16th and a chip to within a foot at the last.“Out there on the greens I really felt like I saw the lines perfectly today and I putted the ball nicely,” added Wiesberger, who won twice on The Challenge Tour in 2010 and was a runner-up twice on The European Tour last year. 

“It feels like I'm getting into position more often, and played well when I was in those positions in the last half of the year last year. It was a good preparation the last two years, and I hope it pays off tomorrow.”

Australian Fraser played some fine golf in his 69, but in contrast to his playing partner struggled to get the putter going and now has five shots to make up in the final round.

Chile’s Felipe Aguilar (68) and England’s Oliver Fisher (67) share third on eight under, with Ryder Cup veterans Miguel Angel Jiménez and Paul McGinley a shot further back.

But they will all need something special to catch Wiesberger and Fraser certainly feels it will be difficult to stop the runaway leader claiming his first European Tour title.

“I felt really comfortable out there, hit a lot of good shots inside 20 feet, and just couldn't get anything going,” said the 33 year old.

“I hit putts where I was wanting to hit them, but they just weren't taking the break. 

“I felt like I was playing chase out there most of the day and trying to keep up. Bernd is playing great - so much game and definitely a star of The European Tour to come. He's obviously a great player now but he's got big things in front of him, that's for sure. 

“It reflects the way he's playing. He played great here and gives himself a chance on every hole and he's a great putter, as well. 

“If I was a betting man, I would put the house on him. He's just played so well and looks very comfortable.”

Shane Lowry signed for a third round 70 and share of 29th place on 2 under par.

Gareth Maybin was one strike further back with an improved 67 on day three.

Damien McGrane was 2 over par overall after Saturday's round of 73.

Clarke Misses out in Incheon

Darren Clarke carded a level par second round on Friday, after an opening round of 77, and just misses the cut by one stroke at the Ballantine's Championship. The tough weather conditions at the Blackstone Golf club on the opening day left him battling at five over par total to earn a weekend stay.

Gareth Maybin on the other hand just made the mark after a second round 75 left him on +4 overall - and one stroke to the good.

Damien McGrane, Shane Lowry and Paul McGinley are alllevel for the torunament at close of play on Friday. 

But it is Bernd Wiesberger who leads and believes he is mentally ready to win his first European Tour title after taking full advantage of benign morning conditions to lead at the halfway stage.

The 26 year old Austrian carded a brilliant seven under par 65, and having opened with a respectable level par 72 on a blustery first day, leads by one from Australian Marcus Fraser.

Wiesberger was twice a runner-up in his rookie season last year, and having been beaten in a five-man play-off at Gleneagles by Thomas Björn feels he has gained some crucial experience to help him over the weekend.

“Last year I've always kind of hung in there,” he said. “So I feel comfortable up there. It's different for you if you go in the last day as the leader, but we'll see how it goes. 

“We'll see how tomorrow goes, and I'll just take it easy and hope that I have a nice day tomorrow.”

After starting on the back nine and turning in 33, Wiesberger holed a 20 footer for birdie at the second, knocked in a 25 foot uphill putt at the fifth, and struck his approach to five feet at the sixth.

That took him into a share of the lead, and the two-time Challenge Tour winner finished by holing a downhill chip from the rough at the ninth to complete a blemish-free second round.

Fraser, who won this title on Jeju Island in 2010, signed for a 67 that left the 33 year old one ahead of Swede Oskar Floren.

“Today I couldn't really do anything wrong really,” added Wiesberger. “It felt like everything was going in the right direction. 

“I’m just trying to hit a lot of greens and try and hit on the right spots, which is important here. It's a tricky golf course when you hit into the wrong places.” 

Fraser started on the back nine and turned in 32 after four birdies, the last of which came when he chipped to within a foot from a greenside bunker at the par five 18th.

He then added further gains at the first and second, the latter after an approach to five feet, but bogeyed both par threes on the front nine and only a birdie at the fifth kept him in solo second.

“Obviously yesterday was very windy, pretty tricky for everybody,” said the two-time European Tour winner. 

“And then today was completely different. We basically had no wind for most of the day and then it kicked up a little bit over the last maybe five, six holes. But overall, I’m very happy and very pleased with the way it's going at the moment.” 

Asked what it was about the Ballantine’s Championship that brought the best out of him Fraser joked: “It's obviously just the alcohol – I can't really survive without it! 

“It's obviously one of our premiere events now on The European Tour, and Ballantine's have been such a great sponsor and product. It’s just a great week and somewhere I love coming back.”

Floren was level par for his round and the tournament with five holes to play, but followed birdies at the 14th, 16th and 17th with an eagle three at the 18th.

“I hit a terrible, terrible tee shot on 14 but got a break with it and hit a good shot in and knocked in the birdie,” he said. “From there on, I hit only good shots.”

Spanish Ryder Cup star Miguel Angel Jiménez, England’s Anthony Wall and Chile’s Felipe Aguilar share fourth on four under, with none of the afternoon starters able to break into the top six in much windier conditions.