The Irish Golf Club Gazette

8/06/2013

Dave Helps Rory Take Stockton

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Rory McIlroy hasn't enjoyed the best 2013 so far, failing to make the cut in the British andIrish Opens and losing his position as the World's No 1.

So perhaps in a bid to reverse his recent run of form, McIlroy has gone for a severe haircut as he prepares to defend his US PGA title at Oak Hill.

While his baseball cap was covering the severity of his cut, Rory looked like he meant business on the practice round this afternoon.

After a decent start at the Bridgestone Invitational at the weekend, he fell away and eventually finished in 27th place.

One of his own backroom team,Dave Stockton said that the Holywood star will have to 'work' harder to get back to the top of his game.

As McIlroy spoke more in hope than confidence of defending his US PGA title at Oak Hill, Stockton – one of his closest and most knowledgeable advisors – explained how the most naturally gifted golfer of his generation lost his Midas touch.

Two-time PGA champion Stockton is McIlroy's putting coach but also played a significant part in helping the 24-year-old break out of a form slump this time last year.

Stockton (71) said: "I just don't think he has worked."

The highly respected veteran suggested that the head-spinning changes in the young star's life as he rocketed to World No 1 made it difficult to strike the right balance in his career and devote enough time to playing tournaments and practice.

Asked if he thought it was inevitable for McIlroy to come down from the stellar highs of last year, Stockton replied: "I don't think so. I think he is still learning what he wants in life. That's my take on it.

"He has a girlfriend and all these things going on. Things happen, so okay, how do you adjust? I think his is more of a time (management) thing.

8/05/2013

McIlroy Confident Ahead of Oak Hill

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Rory McIlroy remains confident of putting up a strong defence of his USPGA Championship title at Oak Hill this week.

The world No 3 showed glimpses of his best at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, but he again struggled with his accuracy off the tee as he finished 17 shots behind runaway winner Tiger Woods after a final-day 72.

The defending champion has been working hard to correct flaws in his long game over the past fortnight, and he insists he still has the ability to turn his form around at the final major of the season."I definitely had a better week last year, coming out of Firestone with a lot of confidence going into the PGA, feeling good about my game," said McIlroy, who tied for fifth at Firestone last season before romping to a record eight-shot win at Kiawah Island.

"I keep saying my game doesn't feel too far away. It's obviously not where I want it to be, but it's not a million miles away.

"I thought I struck the ball much better in the final round than I did the previous three days, which was great, which was a good sign.

"Obviously I didn't score very well the first day, then I didn't hit it particularly well in the middle two rounds, but actually my short game was good and was able to keep myself around par.

"On Sunday I played nicely, just a couple of bad holes on the back nine. But I have put in a lot of work for the past couple of weeks and I definitely feel things are going in the right direction.

"Once I get my long game back on track, I feel like my short game is exactly where it needs to be. If I can start hitting some fairways, hopefully I can challenge for some tournaments."

GMAC July Player of the Month

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Graeme McDowell has been named The Race to Dubai European Tour Golfer of the Month for July after becoming the second multiple winner on The 2013 European Tour International Schedule with his triumph in the Alstom Open de France.

McDowell, who receives an engraved alms dish and a Jeroboam of Moët & Chandon champagne, claimed a four shot victory at Le Golf National – venue for The 2018 Ryder Cup – on the outskirts of Paris in Continental Europe’s oldest National Open Championship to follow his victory in the Volvo World Match Play Championship in May.

The 2010 US Open Champion, who is currently second behind Justin Rose, the 2013 US Open champion, in The 2013 Race to Dubai, became the first Northern Irishman to win the Alstom Open de France – first played in 1906 – and claimed his third success of a momentous season following another win on the US PGA Tour.

McDowell, who celebrated his 34th birthday on Tuesday, said: “It’s nice to have another reason to celebrate, in addition to my birthday, this week. It was obviously a great win at the French Open. It’s a golf course I’ve always felt I can do well on.

“It was a special win at a prestigious venue. I’m delighted it has been recognised with this award. It’s always nice when it’s recognised that you’re playing well, especially against such a high quality field with some top, top players and in Major season too.”

The Race to Dubai European Tour Golfer of the Month Panel, comprising members of the Association of Golf Writers as well as commentators from television and radio, also considered the winning performances of another Northern Irishman, Michael Hoey, in the M2M Russian Open and Sweden’s Jonas Blixt on the US PGA Tour, in addition to Sweden’s Henrik Stenson’s back-to-back performances in the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open and The 142nd Open Championship.

Stenson included brilliant rounds of 64 and 66 at Castle Stuart Golf Links to finish tied third behind Phil Mickelson, then seven days later demonstrated his brilliance again on the links by taking the runners-up berth behind Mickelson at Muirfield to move to fourth in The 2013 Race to Dubai and re-enter the Official World Golf Ranking top 20.

Derek Lawrenson, Golf Correspondent of The Daily Mail, said: “Henrik Stenson’s rise from the depths of the middle 200s in the Official World Ranking is a heart-warming example of the old adage about class being permanent.

"Nevertheless the Open de France is one of the most historic and best tournaments on The European Tour, played on a top-class course that was presented in perfect shape, and to come out on top Graeme McDowell demonstrated not only great craft and skill but all the combative qualities that make him such a wonderful competitor. He is a most worthy European Tour Golfer of the Month.”

McDowell will now be considered – along with previous winners Chris Wood (January), Darren Fichardt (February), Marcel Siem (March), Raphaël Jacquelin (April), Matteo Manassero (May) and Justin Rose (June) – for The 2013 Race to Dubai European Tour Golfer of the Year Award, and all will be seeking to follow in the footsteps of last year’s winner, Rory McIlroy.

8/04/2013

McIlroy Tees Off with PGA Winners

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Rory McIlroy will begin the defence of his title in the company of his fellow Major winners Martin Kaymer of Germany and Fiji’s Vijay Singh when the 95th edition of the US PGA Championship gets under way at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, New York.

The trio, who tee off in the first round at 1.25pm on Thursday afternoon, all know what it takes to triumph at the last Major of the season, with Singh having won the US PGA Championship in 2004, before Kaymer followed suit six years later.

Both victories were earned after play-offs, in stark contrast to McIlroy’s triumph by a record-breaking eight shots at Kiawah Island 12 months ago.

Twenty minutes after McIlroy and co. tee off, American Phil Mickelson, England’s Justin Rose and Australian Adam Scott, respectively the reigning Open, US Open and Masters Tournament Champions, will go in search of their second Major successes of the season.

No doubt The Ryder Cup will be a hot topic of discussion between Europe’s Captain Paul McGinley and his American counterpart Tom Watson, who will take to the course at 12.35pm alongside another player who has become synonymous with golf’s greatest team event, Darren Clarke.

Davis Love III, Watson’s predecessor as America’s Captain, will get his first round underway at 8.35am in the company of the 2011 US PGA Champion Keegan Bradley and World Number One Tiger Woods, who has won the tournament four times.

Ten minutes later, young American Peter Uihlein, the winner of the Madeira Islands Open, will bid to enhance to his burgeoning reputation in his maiden Major appearance alongside two players with a wealth of experience in the Major arena, his compatriot Jim Furyk and Denmark’s Thomas Björn.

Other notable groupings include Dustin Johnson, Henrik Stenson and Charl Schwartzel, who precede the Woods group at 8.25am; while Schwartzel’s fellow South African Ernie Els and Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell will both bid to bring their Major pedigree to bear when they get their challenge underway alongside American Bill Haas at 8.05am.

Having come so close to winning The Open Championship, England’s Lee Westwood will go in search of his Major breakthrough alongside South African Tim Clark and big-hitting American Bubba Watson at 1.05pm.

Westwood’s compatriot Luke Donald, who is also searching for his first Major title, will tee up at 1.35am alongside his fellow European Tour champion Gonzalo Fernandez-Castaño and rising American star Jordan Spieth.

Walton Shows Form in Koln

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Philip Walton fired a final round of 69 at Berenberg Masters on Sunday to secure a four way share of 14th place, along with Des Smyth, with the Dubliner continuing a trend which saw him open with a round of 70 at Muirfield last week at the Senior British Open.

But it was Steen Tinning who lasted the distance to secure his debut European Senior Tour title in only his sixth appearance.

The Dane signed for a flawless round of 69 for a nine under par aggregate total which was just enough to hold off a late surge from home hero Bernhard Langer, who delighted the locals at Golf- und Land-Club, in Cologne, with a blemish-free round of 68.

Having seen Langer fail to get up and down for birdie from the greenside bunker on the par five 18th hole, Tinning knew a closing par would be enough to secure victory and with it a cheque for €60,000, and he duly obliged to consign the German to the runner-up spot for the second weekend in a row.

Tinning’s ‘reward’ for his victory is a place in next weekend’s Ironman European Championship in south-west Germany, where he will swim 1.9kms, cycle 90kms and run 21.1kms.

“I’m only half-mad,” he joked, “because it’s only a half Ironman!

“But on a more serious note, I’m just so happy right now. Happy, and also a little bit relieved. My hands were shaking on that putt on the last, so I was very pleased to see it drop. I hit a lot of good putts today but none of them seemed to go in, so I just couldn’t pull away from the field early on.

“But I didn’t get frustrated, I stuck to the task and I executed it well. I managed to stay calm, because I knew I was playing well enough to win. I knew what I needed on the last hole because one of the volunteers told me Bernhard had made a par, so I used a five-wood from the tee, a six-iron for my second shot and then a chip and two putts. It sounds easy, but it definitely wasn’t!

“I’m surprised how quickly I’ve won on the Senior Tour. Most parts of my game have been pretty good, but I just haven’t been able to pull it all together. Luckily for me, this was my week. It feels even more special to beat Bernhard into second place, because he’s such a great competitor.”

For his part, Langer was typically magnanimous in defeat, labelling Tinning a worthy winner before bemoaning his own luck on the greens.

He said: “I played so much better than yesterday, but the difference today was that I just couldn’t get the putts to drop – I lost count of the lip-outs and near misses. I couldn’t have done any more, and I’m just sorry for the people that I came up a little bit short. But there’s no shame in finishing second, and hopefully I can come back next year and go one better.”

Langer’s cheque for €40,000 saw the two-time Masters Tournament winner move to €225,867 and extend his lead in the Senior Tour Order of Merit to €116,315, whilst Tinning climbed nine places to fourth with season’s earnings of €97,791.

England’s Nick Job also climbed into the top 20 of the Order of Merit after he finished in third place on seven under par courtesy of a closing round of 71, which was matched by Spaniard Miguel Angel Martin, who finished one stroke back in fourth place.

Ian Woosnam’s bid to win this event for the second time came up short after he laboured to a round of 73 to finish in a share of eighth place.

Denis O'Sullivan finished i 38th place.

8/06/2013

Dave Helps Rory Take Stockton

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