GMAC Returns to Pebble

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Graeme McDowell makes his first appearance at the California course where he became the first European for 40 years to win the US Open.

He will encounter a different experience at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am but there will be also a degree of familiarity as he will be playing alongside his 10-handicapper dad Kenny, who was present nearly four years ago for that landmark win.

“It was weird being out there. I forgot how slopey these greens are here at Pebble, how small they are,” said McDowell.

“A lot of people ask me ‘How come you have never been back since 2010?’

“I kind of say ‘Well, what’s the point of coming back? It’s not going to get any better than how it felt last time I was here’.

“It was pretty tough to top the experience that weekend — the emotions, being with my dad on Father’s Day, winning my first major championship — it doesn’t get any better than that so I really wasn’t in a rush to come back.

“Emotionally I don’t think that moment will be beaten in my career but I’m not going to put Pebble up there on a pedestal and say that is the highlight of my career because I want more.

“I want more Pebbles, I want more major championships, I want more things. Hopefully it will not define my career.

“I’m hoping to keep defining my career as I go so there’s a fine balance between getting too obsessed by it emotionally.”

This is McDowell’s first appearance this year and he is beginning his season at least a week earlier than usual, hoping to use the slightly more relaxed atmosphere at Pebble Beach to ease his way back into competition.

“Obviously to get to play with my dad was great but that wasn’t really the deciding factor,” he added.

“I started at Riviera (Northern Trust Open) last year but I felt it was quite a tricky place to start my season, coming in with the inevitable rust on my game.

“So I thought why not come to the pro-am here, have some fun, play golf courses which are maybe not set up as tough as regular tournaments would be.

“You get three rounds under your belt minimum. At least by the end of the week I’ll know where I’m at and I’m be able to start my season from this week and beyond.”

Pádraig Harrington, who has suffered back-to-back missed cuts on his last two outings in Abu Dhabi and Phoenix, is also in the field this week as he seeks the form and putting touch on the greens that will revitalise his game.

Harrington, playing the second of three tournaments on the US PGA Tour, will partner businessman JP McManus this week.

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McIlroy Returns to Honda

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Rory McIlroy reckons he will feel right at home when he competes in the Honda Classic at the end of February - and not just because he's won there before.

The Northern Irishman confirmed on Monday he will be part of the field at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens as he bids for a repeat of his 2012 triumph.

The trip to Florida means McIlroy - who produced a sensational final round two years ago to pip Tiger Woods - will get the chance to stay in his own property in the area. It also will give him the chance to erase the memory of his withdrawal 12 months ago.

Having initially said he was in a "bad place mentally" after ending his second round after eight holes, the two-time major winner later cited toothache as the reason for his early finish.

"I really can't wait to get back to The Honda," McIlroy said in a statement. "It is one of my favourite events of the year, and winning in 2012 was an important landmark in my career.

"Having a place in Palm Beach now also gives the tournament a kind of special feeling - nearly like a home event.

"Last year, admittedly, I had a tough week; a forgettable week. I guess I let frustrations get the better of me and perhaps should have adopted a more mature approach."

Form returning

McIlroy ended a difficult 2013 on a high note with victory in the Australian Open, and there have been further signs at the start of the current year that he's coming back to form.

He finished second in the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship in the middle of January, a two-stroke penalty effectively costing him the chance of lifting the trophy, and then led at the halfway stage of the Dubai Desert Classic last week before his challenge fell away.

"I'm playing really well now, enjoying the game much more and I am looking forward to getting back to PGA National," he continued.

"You could nearly say that I have unfinished business to attend to this year at The Honda.

"I feel good about my game and feel like I'm back to the place that I want to be. I'm driving the ball well, hitting the ball solid and giving myself plenty of chances for birdies. If I can keep doing that, the wins will come."

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Gallacher Leads as McIlroy Slips

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Rory McIlroy admitted he "left a few out there" in his third round after being overtaken at the top of the Dubai Desert Classic leaderboard.

Bidding to win the event for the second time in his career, having claimed his maiden European Tour title at the Emirates Golf Club five years ago, the Northern Irishman managed a 69 on Saturday.

However that wasn't enough for the halfway leader to retain his place at the summit, Stephen Gallacher surging two shots clear thanks to a stunning 63.

McIlroy - who has been battling a bout of food poisoning over the past two days - still heads into the final day firmly in contention and was happy enough with his efforts.

"It was okay," he said. "I bogeyed the first again but birdied two and eagled three which was great.

"I didn't drive the ball particularly well, I'm probably going to work on a few things on the range and I felt like I hit a lot of good putts that just didn't go in.

"I felt like I left a few out there but it was a tricky day and shooting anything under 70 wasn't a bad score. Obviously Stephen had a phenomenal round, 63 today is a really impressive effort."

Reigning champion Gallacher, who could become the first player to successfully defend the title, had looked well out of contention when he played his first eight holes in one-over-par to lie seven shots off the lead.

However the Scot then played his next 10 in a blistering 10 under, including taking just 28 shots on the back nine.

"I didn't know that," McIlroy replied when told about Gallacher's astonishing exploits from the ninth onwards. "That's a great stretch of holes and hopefully he doesn't continue it tomorrow!

"I played with him the first two days and he played very well.

"Obviously he was on fire today, I just need to go out there and try to hit a few more fairways, focus on a few things in my game, not really focus on what he's doing and make a few putts and see where it puts me.

"It's the second week in a row for me going into the last day with a chance to win, it's a great position to be in."

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McIlroy Holds Halfway Lead

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Rory McIlroy still expects to win the Omega Dubai Desert Classic for the second time, despite his frustration at failing to build a commanding halfway lead on Friday.

Damien McGrane finished in 70 strokes to share third place with Danny Willett at the halfway point.

McIlroy looked back to his brilliant best as he posted a sparkling opening 63, the former World Number One carding seven birdies and an eagle at Emirates Golf Club, the scene of his first European Tour title in 2009.

Eveen if he struggled to a more pedestrian 70 on Friday, the 24 year old's halfway total of 11 under par kept him on top of the leaderboard, one shot ahead of American Brooks Koepka, whose flawless 65 equalled the lowest score of the day.

Willett also shot 65 to share third place on eight under alongside McGrane and France's Julien Quesne, with European Number One Henrik Stenson and defending champion Stephen Gallacher among seven players another shot back after a 67.

World Number One Tiger Woods, playing alongside McIlroy, could only manage a 73 to make the cut with just one shot to spare on three under.

McIlroy dropped his first shot of the tournament on his opening hole on Friday and also hit bad drives at the next two holes, although he did birdie the par five third and, after picking up further shots at the fifth and seventh, admitted he expected to pull away from the field.

"I thought so, yes," McIlroy said. "Making a few birdies on the front nine and turning two under par was a good effort, especially as the wind started to get up.

"I birdied ten, played 11 and 12 okay but then missed that little one (a par putt from inside two feet) on 13, had a chance on 15 and didn't convert and made bogey on 16, but it was nice to birdie the last and at least give myself a one shot lead going into tomorrow.

"I will just go back tonight and regroup and realise that I am still leading the tournament. I hit a couple of loose drives which I haven't done the last couple of weeks but I still feel like I'm playing well enough to go and win the tournament."

Asked if he expected to claim his sixth European Tour title on Sunday, McIlroy added: "I do. I am leading the tournament, I've been in this position before and went on to win.

"I have led from the front quite well in tournaments that I have won. I feel like I am still playing well, I know the course as well as anyone else and I expect to go out there and shoot two good scores over the weekend and hopefully lift the trophy."

Stenson could well be one of McIlroy's biggest challenger after the Swede continued his excellent recovery from being three over par after five holes on Thursday.

"I think there is still a little way to go but today was the best I have putted for a long, long time," said Stenson, who became the first man to win the FedEx Cup and Race to Dubai in the same season in 2013.

"I was threatening on every putt and kept the score together with no bogeys, which is always a good sign."

Willett began the week in unusual fashion with a charity skydive, but joked that the terrifying experience might have put golf's worries firmly into perspective.

"It was a different way to start the week, but if you are standing on the first tee trying to hit a drive onto the fairway it seems a little less nerve-racking than jumping out of a plane at 13,000 feet, so it might have prepared me quite well," the 26 year old said.

"As soon as you jump out you think 'What are we doing?', but after that you level out and start to feel like you are just floating down and it's unbelievable."

Speaking about his round of eight birdies and one bogey, which started at 0715 local time, Willett added: "A half-four alarm is never great but it's a great time to play golf in the desert.

"The back nine is the scoreable nine and I was really, really clinical, didn't miss a green, hit a couple of par fives in two and it was a real easy six under. The front nine gets a little trickier with the breeze and the doglegs but all in all it's two good days' work."

Michael Hoey dropped back to 58th place, but one shot inside the -2 cut line, with a second  72.

Shane Lowry misses the weekend by one after a second round 73 on Friday left him -1. 

Gareth Maybin carded a 73, Simon Thornton 71 and Peter Lawrie 73 to also fail to earn weekend playing rights.

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Harrington Makes Slow Start

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Padraig Harrington carded just one birdie on day one of the Waste Management Phoenix Open in Scottsdale to finish with a round of 73 to hold 103rd place overnight.

But from the moment Phil Mickelson set foot at TPC Scottsdale early Thursday morning, it was clear that the back pain that sidelined him last weekend was gone.

"My back is fine. My game was a little rusty," Mickelson said after opening his Waste Management Phoenix Open title defense with an even-par 71.

After effortlessly hitting his opening drive 300 yards down the middle on the par-4 10th, Mickelson dumped a 90-yard wedge shot into the left greenside bunker. He blasted 10 feet past the hole and sighed in relief when his par putt slid in.

A few minutes later on the par-3 12th, Mickelson found the water hazard along the right side of the green. His chip from the fringe stopped about 15 feet short and he two-putted for a double bogey. He three-putted twice, once for par and another for bogey.

"I threw away a lot of shots," Mickelson said. "I made some careless swings. Hitting it in the water on 12 was just pathetic."

He was seven strokes behind leaders Bubba Watson and Y.E. Yang.

"I got off to a poor start, played a couple over, and finished poorly," Mickelson said. "In the middle of the round, though, I hit a lot of good shots and had a good little run, but it just wasn't quite sharp. I wasn't quite focused on every shot the way I need to be and let way too many shots slide."

Mickelson first felt soreness in his back two weeks ago in Abu Dhabi, and pulled out of his hometown event in San Diego after making the 36-hole cut at the Farmers Insurance Open. He flew to Georgia to see back specialist Tom Boers and was told his facet joints locked up.

"It's fine. Honestly, it's no big deal," Mickelson said. "It was a five-minute fix. I just have to be careful for a week or two as it heals up. It's fine. Mobility is back. It's just not a big deal. ... It happens every now and then. Last time was about four years ago."

After the double bogey on 12, he rebounded with 20-foot birdie putts on the next two holes, but three-putted for par on the par-5 15th after hitting a hybrid pin-high from 245 yards.

"Fifteen really stung," Mickelson said. "It was only a 12- or 15-footer, and I am thinking eagle. I roll it 6 feet by and I miss it coming back. That was costly.

Mickelson got to 3 under with birdies on Nos. 17, 1 and 4, then bogeyed three of his last five holes. He three-putted the par-4 fifth -- missing from 5 and 3 feet -- and failed to get-up-down for par after finding greenside bunkers on Nos. 7 and 9.

"Playing the last five holes at 3 over ... that was really bad," Mickelson said.

He hit five of 14 fairways, 11 greens in regulation and had 30 putts.

"I wasn't as sharp as I need to be, for sure," Mickelson said.

In his victory last year, he opened with a 60 -- lipping out a birdie putt on the final hole -- and matched the tournament record at 28-under 256. The 43-year-old former Arizona State star is making his 25th appearance in the event that he also won in 1996 and 2005.

"It's fun to be back here," Mickelson said. "I love playing here."

Watson and Yang shot 64.

Watson birdied four of the final six holes. The 2012 Masters champion had eight birdies and a bogey in the afternoon session.

"This golf course, if your ball-striking is good, you can shoot some good numbers here," Watson said after hitting 17 greens in regulation. "Hit a lot of greens, didn't make too many mistakes, didn't miss too many fairways. Just played solid."

Yang birdied the final two holes. The 2009 PGA winner also had eight birdies and a bogey, playing the back nine in 6-under 30 in his morning round.

"I think you have to be aggressive," the South Korean player said through a translator. "At the same time, you can't be too aggressive. ... You have to really balance it out, but you still have to be a little bit more aggressive than other tournaments."

Scottsdale residents Pat Perez, Kevin Stadler and Matt Jones were a stroke back at 65 along with Harris English, William McGirt, Greg Chalmers and Chris Kirk.

English birdied Nos. 12-15 to top the leaderboard at 8 under, but bogeyed the par-3 16th -- the rowdy stadium hole -- and the par-4 18th.

He hit an 8-iron over the green on the 178-yard 16th.

"I guess I was a little juiced up on that tee," English said. "I left myself with an impossible up-and-down."

The crowd was estimated at 88,113, a record for the first round.

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