The Irish Golf Club Gazette: 10/24/12

10/24/2012

Harrington Grand Slam Champion

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Padraig Harrington fired a second round of 67 to win the PGA Grand Slam of Golf by a single stroke from Webb Simpson in Bermuda.

Having opened with a 66 on Tuesday, Harrington - who was a late replacement after Ernie Els pulled out of the event through injury - held a two-shot lead over Masters champion Bubba Watson at the start of the day.

But Watson could manage only a level-par 71 to fall out of contention and it was US Open champion Webb Simpson who emerged as Harrington's only serious challenger.

Indeed, Simpson pulled to within one shot of the Dubliner with his third birdie of the day at the par-five seventh.

Both men then picked up shots at the eighth, but Harrington took a stranglehold on proceedings with a run of three consecutive birdies at 11, 12 and 13 to pull four clear.

Simpson halved the deficit with birdies of his own at 14 and 17 but, with the luxury of a two-shot cushion, Harrington was able to make bogey at the last and still emerge victorious on nine-under-par.

The three-time major winner succeeds Keegan Bradley as champion, the American firing a closing 67 to finish level with Watson at three-under.

The win will taste especially sweet for Harrington given that the 41-year-old lost play-offs at Mid-Ocean in 2007 and 2008 when he took part after winning his major titles.

"It was always the right decision no matter what," Harrington said of his decision to travel to Bermuda.

"You've got to give yourself the chance - it's a fantastic tournament and even if I finished fourth I'd be quite confident that I made the right decision.

"It is a bonus to come and win, no doubt about it, and it was unfinished business for me having lost in two play-offs.

"I believe I'm playing really good golf. I see a lot of good things happening and I do believe that I'm turning the corner into a peak. What those peaks are, we'll wait and see."

Encouraged

Simpson, who shot a 65 on Wednesday, was full of praise for the man that pipped him to the title.

"He's playing well and made the putts you've got to make, but I'm really encouraged with how I played," he said of Harrington.

"My weakness this year has been when I'm in between clubs and I try to smooth one. My body kind of shuts down and doesn't work as well - it's just an eye-opener that I've got a lot of work to do in the off-season.

"I wish I could have putt a little more pressure on Padraig (at the last), but he'd probably have two-putted if he had to."

Harrington, who got his chance after the first two reserves, Graeme McDowell and Tiger Woods,opted not to play, joins 1991 champion Ian Woosnam as the only European winners of the title.

McIlroy Targets Dual Money Lists

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World number one Rory McIlroy will continue his bid to top the money lists on the European and United States tours at the BMW Masters in Shanghai.

He has a US$1.91m lead over Tiger Woods on the PGA Tour, but can be overtaken by both Justin Rose and Branden Grace on the Europe tour this week.

Luke Donald became the first man to win both money lists in one year in 2011.

The field at Lake Malaren includes 11 of Europe's victorious Ryder Cup team, as well as captain Jose Maria Olazabal.

Of the side that came from behind to win 14½-13½ at Medinah, Spaniard Sergio Garcia is absent, while the Republic of Ireland's Padraig Harrington and Australian Marcus Fraser are the only two of the Race to Dubai's top 30 not in Shanghai.

England's Rose and South African Grace could both overtake McIlroy with victory in China, with the Northern Ireland player on guard after finishing second on the European money list in two of the last three years.

"It would be good to knock that off and try and do what Luke did last year and win the money list on both tours," said the 23-year-old.

"I've got a big run left in my year with four tournaments in the next five weeks, so I would like to finish off the season as well as I can.

"I've got Justin and Branden right behind me and there is still some big-money events still to play, so I've four events left and if I do play well in those four events hopefully I can achieve that goal."

If McIlroy finishes outside the top seven, a top-two result would see Rose take over at the top of the Race to Dubai.

Rose, who won the European Tour title in 2007, is drawn with McIlroy and fellow Englishman Lee Westwood in the final group that tees off at 04:20 BST on Thursday.

"There are some big events coming up and an exciting finish to the Race to Dubai," said Rose, who trails McIlroy by 437,000 euros (£353,000).

"I think Rory is playing more tournaments than me in the lead-up, so I am going to have to play well, absolutely.

"To be number one of any tour around the world, especially the European Tour, that's a huge goal and would be a huge honour."

European Tour 2012 money list

1. Rory McIlroy (NI) - 2,813,962 euros

2. Justin Rose (Eng) - 2,376,628 euros

3. Branden Grace (SA) - 2,028,216 euros

4. Francesco Molinari (Ita) - 1,778,944 euros

5. Ernie Els (SA) - 1,756,971 euros

PGA Tour 2012 money list

1. Rory McIlroy (NI) - US$8,047,952

2. Tiger Woods (US) - US$6,133,158

3. Brandt Snedeker (US) - US$4,989,739

4. Jason Dufner (US) - US$4,869,304

5. Bubba Watson (US) - US$4,644,997

Clarke Looking for BMW Repeat

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Last time BMW sponsored a European Tour event in Asia Darren Clarke emerged victorious, and five years on the Northern Irishman is hoping to contend again at the BMW Masters in Shanghai.

The former Open Champion notched the 11th of his 14 European Tour titles at the 2008 BMW Asian Open, although Clarke expects Lake Malaren Golf Club to provide a tougher test than the nearby Tomson Shanghai Pudong where he emerged victorious.

“It was my first win on The European Tour for five years - the Tomson club was a really nice event,” said the 44 year old. “The golf course was great and obviously it suited me.

“It was great to see a sponsor as good as BMW back in Asia again - this course is much longer and much more difficult.”

It is not only the challenging layout Clarke has to contend with - The Ryder Cup vice-captain is up against 11 of Europe’s winning team from Medinah, and four of the top five players from the Official World Golf Ranking.

“It's a really strong field,” he added. “We have four of the top five in the world - that's a fantastic achievement for a European Tour event, and not just those four, but all the rest of the players that are here. It's a fantastic event with lots of World Ranking points.

“It's my first time playing the golf course and it's playing really nicely at the moment. The greens are tough because of the severity in the slopes, but all in all, I'm sure it's going to be a very exciting week.“

Clarke’s compatriot Graeme McDowell comes into the event chasing a first win in two years after a consistent albeit frustrating season.

The former US Open Champion has finished no worse than 12th in the four Majors, and was second at Webb Simpson at the Olympic Club.

However, victory has eluded him and the 33 year old is keen to put that right this week.

“I'm playing five of the next six weeks; I'm ninth in The Race to Dubai right now and I could do with a couple big weeks to get myself in decent position going into the World Championship,” he said. “I’m really keen to come on this stretch of golf to really put a bit of a shine on what's been a good, frustrating, should have been, could have been, whatever kind of year.

“I'm keen to try and finish strong and give myself a couple chances to win down the stretch here and really put a bit of a shine on the year.

“There's no doubt that this year has had a bittersweet taste to it. It's been a fairly consistent year, and definitely my strongest year in the Major Championships, but yet, there is that little sense of disappointment inside me that I didn't do better in the last rounds.

“I've got to take the positives away and kind of renew my belief that I can win more Major Championships - if I keep preparing the way I'm doing and improving the way I am.

“I’ve just got to keep doing what I'm doing and hopefully the good stuff will come in the future.”