The Irish Golf Club Gazette: January 2014

1/31/2014

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.

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.

1/30/2014

McIlroy Rors into Dubai Lead

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Rory McIlroy ended day one of the Omega Dubai Desert Classic with a round of 63, to reinforce his position as the pre-tournament favourite, in a group that included Tiger Woods.

It was a good day for the Irish as Damien McGrane carded a brilliant six under, 66, while Shane Lowry and Michael Hoey signed for two under, 70s. Gareth Maybin shot 71, while Simon Thornton had a disappointing 75.

McIlroy carded seven birdies and an eagle at Emirates Golf Club to set the clubhouse target on nine under par, three shots ahead of defending champion Stephen Gallacher, France’s Julien Quesne and South African Richard Sterne.

Woods, playing alongside Gallacher and McIlroy, carded nine straight pars to complete a four-under 68 which meant the marquee group were a combined 19 under par, with just one bogey — from Gallacher — between them.

“It was good,” McIlroy said with considerable understatement.

“It was really nice. I played really well from tee to green, drove the ball well again; I think I only missed a couple of fairways and only missed one green where I had to really get it up and down.

“I took advantage of how I am driving the ball and just need to do more of the same the next three days.”

Asked how close he was to his best, the two-time major winner added : “It’s close, obviously. This year I’ve shot a couple of good rounds. This is a little lower than I went in Abu Dhabi and I feel very comfortable with my game.”

Woods began his 2014 campaign in the Farmers Insurance Open last week, but carded a third round of 79 at Torrey Pines — a venue where he has won eight times — to miss the unusual 54-hole cut.

The world number one insisted his game was “just a fraction off” and demonstrated that with a number of wayward drives, but made birdies on the three par fives on the back nine and picked up another shot on the 15th to reach the turn in four under.

“He’s a true pro, he knows there are no pictures on a scorecard,” McIlroy said of his Nike stablemate.

“He was hitting it a lot better at the end of the round but to shoot the score he did on our front nine was a good effort.”

Woods added: “I played all right today. I probably could have got a couple more out of it. I didn’t hit a bad putt today which was nice, it was just that sometimes the grain grabbed it pretty hard at the end.”

The 38-year-old revealed he has been working on making a shorter backswing with coach Sean Foley due to the numerous knee operations he has endured over the years.

“I’ve always played my best from a shorter position,” he added.

“Looking back at my younger days on tour it as even shorter than it is now, the only difference is I can’t wheel on it like I used to.

“I used to snap the knee at the end to get the power, if I did that now I’d destroy the knee just like I did before. That’s one of the reasons why I’ve had so many operations on it.”

Damien McGrane carded a six under, 66, while Shane Lowry and Michael Hoey signed for two under, 70s.

Gareth Maybin shot 71, while Simon Thornton signed for a round of 75.

Peter Lawrie finished four over par after a 76.

Padraig Cannot Waste Chances

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Padraig Harrington is optimistic of bringing his winless run to an end in 2014.

The three-time major champion has not tasted victory on the US tour since his 2008 PGA Championship triumph, while his last worldwide win came in 2010 at the Iskander Johor Open in Asia.

However, the 42-year-old Irishman is hoping to turn his fortunes around this year, in time to claim a place at the Masters, for which his five-year qualifying exemption that he earned as a result of his major wins in 2008 has expired.

He must now either climb from his current 130th in the world into the top 50 or win a tournament to gain an invitation to Augusta National in April.

"Win, win, win," Harrington said of his aims for his first outing of the season at the US PGA Tour's Phoenix Open that starts on Thursday. "That's pretty straight forward for me.

Long shot

"It's a longshot, you know, to get into the Masters. But the first tournament of the year is always a great tournament. You never know what you're going to get. It's always nice your first week out."

Harrington acknowledged that he has struggled to adapt to rules on club face grooves that came into effect in 2010, which made it harder for him to put spin on the ball.

He is hoping a new, softer Titleist ball will help him with that issue this season.

"I'd be happy if I hit the golf ball like I did last year and putting it and chipping it a little better," he said. "And I seem to be doing that. I'm in a good place, no doubt about it -- but I do need results."

1/29/2014

McIlroy Dreams of $2.5M Hole-in-One

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Rory McIlroy will happily chance his arm to bag a $2.5 million prize pot with one swing of his club at this weekend's Dubai Desert Classic, as the twice major winner aims to continue his encouraging form in the Middle East.

Organisers in the Arab city-state are offering the sum for a hole-in-one at the Emirates Golf Club's 17th.

Given hole-in-one opportunities are normally reserved for par-3s, trying to land one on a par-4 is not without risks. But, with such a tempting prize on offer, the Northern Irishman is unlikely to be the only one willing to take a chance.

"There are not many chances you have to win $2.5 million in one shot, so I'll give it a go," McIlroy told a news conference ahead of the event in Dubai, which starts tomorrow.

Asked if he would risk such an attempt if he was three shots clear in the final round, McIlroy replied: "I mean, if you're confident enough with your driver, yeah, why not.

"It mightn't even be a driver, that's the thing. If they move the tee up, it's only going to play 295 or 300 yards. It's a 3-wood. Yeah, why not?"

Whether the 24-year-old would actually take such a gamble remains open to debate but McIlroy's confidence will have been boosted by his recent showings.

Having endured a pretty torrid 2013, the former world number one has begun to find his form in recent weeks, securing the Australian Open title in December before finishing joint-second at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship earlier this month.

McIlroy has also achieved plenty of success in the past in Dubai - his first ever pro tournament win was the 2009 Desert Classic, while his last victory on the European Tour came in November 2012 at the DP World Tour Championships in the emirate.

"Yeah, I'm playing well. I played well in Abu Dhabi and feel like my game has came on a little bit since then as well," he said when asked about his chances this weekend.

"It's always good to get a win early on in the season, and it would be nice to be up there at least and challenging for the trophy on Sunday."

1/28/2014

Tale of Two Cup Captains

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Tom Watson may appear avuncular but he's still as sharp as a cut-throat razor, as he proved by getting within one stroke of the greatest Major championship victory of all time at the 2009 British Open in Turnberry.

European captain Paul McGinley has no hesitation in admitting that Watson, his opposite number at September's Ryder Cup at Gleneagles, has been his golfing hero since boyhood.

Given the opportunity to shake Watson's hand and look him squarely in the eye as an adversary, the Dubliner was delighted to note the hard glint of the warrior he always knew lay within this eight-time Major winner.

Asked to put what he perceived into words, McGinley said: "A competitor, the most ferocious competitor. There's an edge. He's got an edge. He won't give an inch and I know that. I don't have a problem with that; in fact, I'm kind of relishing it."

It's a special intensity. One which McGinley compares favourably to that of a renowned former Nottingham Forest, Manchester United and Republic of Ireland footballer.

"Tom Watson and Roy Keane would have a great conversation, wouldn't they?"

However, McGinley, already making an impression as a thorough, businesslike, clued-in yet still passionate Ryder Cup captain, no longer indulges in hero worship.

And he certainly has no desire to engage in deeper analysis of the American captain or his team.

"I know Tom Watson is perceived one way and I'm perceived another," he explained. "I'm not going to be able to change that.

"I'm not going to try and compete with Tom Watson and what he's achieved or his status in the game. I'm not going to go there.

"Put my playing record up against Tom Watson's and it pales into complete insignificance. Yet this is not Tom Watson playing golf against Paul McGinley. This is a battle of leadership and captaincy against Tom Watson. It is not played with golf clubs.

"Ultimately, it's not really about the captains. We make the decisions but he or I could play a blinder as a captain at Gleneagles and our team still could lose. It's all about the 24 that are playing.

"You talk about the American team," McGinley went on: "I promise you this, my sole concern is with what we do. I'll observe what the Americans do but I won't be obsessed by it."

As for the deeper nuances of America's decision to ask Watson to lead their team at Gleneagles, the Irishman insists: "I honestly do not consider it to be any of my business. I'll say no more than that."

Obscured by the excitement of McGinley's appointment as Ireland's long-awaited first Ryder Cup captain is the calculated gamble the PGA of America have taken with Watson, who led the US to their last win on European soil at The Belfry in 1993.

He is more general than captain, a figure of authority at a slightly further remove from the current generation of Ryder Cup players and less likely to engage in captaincy by consensus, a feature of recent regimes.

Davis Love, though universally acknowledged as capable but unlucky at Medinah in 2012, stirred a strong reaction in US corridors of power when he revealed that his singles line-up that fated Sunday "was a reflection of what I've been telling the players. It's their team. Basically, I let them pick it".

Even assuming Watson and Tiger Woods set aside the veteran's stinging criticism three years ago of the World No 1's on-course behaviour, the most intriguing question hanging over the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles is if a team of gifted individuals will rally to or rail against their captain's authoritative call.

Watson is a great man but his appointment certainly represents much more of a gamble than that of 'rookie' skipper McGinley

1/26/2014

Irish Open Champion Wins Qatar

Former Irish Open winner, Sergio Garcia, is hoping the Qatar Masters victory is an encouraging sign of good things to come this season.

The Ryder Cup stalwart picked up the 11th European Tour win of his career, and his 26th worldwide, by beating Finland's Mikko Ilonen at the third hole of a sudden-death playoff in Doha on Saturday.

Garcia is one of the finest golfers never to have won a major championship and his eye-catching performance in the Middle East will tempt a lot of punters to back him for the U.S. Masters at Augusta in April.

"I hope this is the start of an amazing year," he told the tournament's official website (www.qatar-masters.com) after lifting the grand Mother of Pearl Trophy.

"Last year I had a lot of close calls, starting here, so I'm very excited to be able to get my hands on this trophy - this beautiful and heavy trophy.

"It's great to set up my year a little bit, to win again on the European Tour," said Garcia who last triumphed on the circuit when he captured the Andalucia Masters title in October 2011.

It was the eighth straight year the 34-year-old had competed in Qatar and victory over Ilonen made amends for his near-miss 12 months earlier when he was edged out by Briton Chris Wood's last-hole eagle.

"I'm thrilled to finally be able to win here," said Garcia who ended the regulation 72 holes alongside the Finn on 16-under-par 272.

"I've been close several times so it feels great to finally get over the finish line and go home with the trophy.

"I've been coming here for eight straight years so the crowd are used to seeing me which is nice. That always makes you feel comfortable," added world number 11 Garcia who has racked up a total of seven top-10 finishes in Doha.

"The crowd really made me feel that and hopefully they felt the same way. It was an exciting finish and you could see the crowd also got excited," he said after edging past Ilonen at the 18th with his third birdie four at the playoff hole.

Ilonen, who was aiming for his fourth tour win, said he lost to the better man.

"I played good golf this week so I can't be too disappointed," said the 34-year-old Finn.

"I gave it my best shot but Sergio was a bit better this time. There's no shame in losing to a great player like him."

The final leg of the tour's three-week Desert Swing, which kicked off with Spaniard Pablo Larrazabal's victory in Abu Dhabi, will be at the Dubai Desert Classic that starts on Thursday.

Sergio Garcia won the Murphy's Irish Open at Druids Glen in 1999

1/31/2014

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