The Irish Golf Club Gazette: July 2015

7/30/2015

McIlroy in Major Miss Two

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Rory McIlroy will not be fit for next week's WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in Ohio.

The reigning champion has told organisers he will not be defending his title at the Firestone Country Club as he continues his recovery from a ruptured ankle ligament.

McIlroy's short statement made no mention of when he might return from the injury, suffered during a kickabout with friends earlier this month.

The damage has already prevented him defending his Open Championship title, and the latest withdrawal will raise further question marks about the likelihood of the world No 1 playing the season's final major - the USPGA at Whistling Straits next month.

After Rory McIlroy ruptured his ligaments playing football, we look at others who injured themselves

At the time of his Open withdrawal McIlroy said only that he was taking a "long-term view" and hoped to return "as soon as I can".

In a short statement he said: "Unfortunately I will not be defending my title. Best of luck to the rest of the competitors and I look forward to returning to Firestone in 2016."

And tournament officials have announced that four-time PGA Tour winner Chris Kirk will not compete in Akron after failing to recover from the broken hand he suffered while playing with his children before the Open Championship.

7/24/2015

Hoey on Swiss Roll

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Michael Hoey carded an early hole-in-one as he opened his Omega European Masters campaign with a five-under 65 to lie two shots off first-round leader Gregory Havret at Crans Montana in Switzerland.

In a first-round that was delayed due to fog on the mountain-top Crans-sur-Sierre course, Hoey aced the the 191-yard third hole after opening with two pars.

The 36-year-old from Ballymoney in Antrim dropped a shot at the short par-four fifth but a birdie three on the seventh helped him turn in two-under 33.

A second birdie of the day came on the 10th before back-to-back gains on the 14th and 15th moved him to five under. He dropped a second shot on the 16th but finished on a high with a birdie three on the 18th.

Havret also had a hole in one early in his round as he shot to the top of the leaderboard with a 63. After starting with a bogey on the 10th, the Frenchman holed his tee-shot on the 195-yard 13th and followed it up with back-to-back birdie fours on par-five 14th and 15th holes to move to three under.

Six straight pars followed for the three-time European Tour winner before another scoring burst came with back-to-back birdie threes on the fourth and fifth and a second eagle of the day on the short par-four seventh.

Speaking about his hole-in-one, Havret said: “It’s a little bit strange, for a few seconds you don’t know what to do because you can’t believe it.

“Then when you hear everybody shouting and cheering by the green, you know it’s real and you start to go crazy yourself.

“After that happened, you couldn’t take the smile from off my face, because I knew that whatever happened for the rest of the round, I would have a very nice prize waiting for me. So I was very happy, and I play my best golf when I’m happy.”

Havret’s 63 gave him a one-shot lead over Lasse Jensen, the Dane carding six birdies and no bogeys in a 64, while Hoey is among 12 players that ended the day on five under.

Among the group was Danny Willett, who continued where he left off at the British Open, the 27-year-old English golfer including an eagle and five birdies in his round.

Willett’s fellow English golfers Seve Benson, Richard Bland and Tyrell Hatton are also on five under, along with a trio of Swedes in Pelle Edberg, Rikard Karlberg and amateurMarcus Kinhult.

The tournament, which is co-sanctioned with the Asian Tour, also saw 65s carded by Australian left-hander Richard Green, the South Korean duo of YE Yang and Seukhyun Baek and Thailand’s Jazz Janewattanond.

Welshman Bradley Dredge was one of six players on four under along with defending champion David Lipsky of America.

American Ryder Cup player Patrick Reed opened with a three-under 67 as sis Swiss amateur Marco Iten, who leads the home challenge.

Lee Westwood, whose 42 career wins include a Crans success in 1999, recovered from a poor start to reach two under with three birdies in his closing five holes.

Another to recover from a poor start was world No 10 Sergio Garcia after he opened double-bogey, bogey before four birdies rescued his day as he signed for a one-under 69.

Peter Lawrie is in a share of 21st position on three under after he carded four birdies and a bogey in his 67.

Damien McGrane finished three over par after a 73 that included six bogeys and a tough task on Friday to secure weekend action.

7/23/2015

Dunne Plans Professional Move

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Irish amateur Paul Dunne will turn professional later this year after hitting the headlines at the 144th Open.

Dunne began the fourth round at St Andrews in the final pairing and was looking to become the first amateur to have his name engraved on the Claret Jug since Bobby Jones in 1930.

But a six-over-par 78 saw him drop down the field into a tie for 30th, nine shots adrift of eventual play-off winner Zach Johnson of the United States.

Now the University of Alabama graduate has announced his intention to join the paid ranks following the conclusion of the Walker Cup at Royal Lytham & St Annes in September.

"Certainly once the Walker Cup is over, whether he's selected or not, he's certainly going to have a go at turning professional," Dunne's father Colum told RTE.

Graeme McDowell, the 2012 US Open winner who, like Dunne is a University of Alabama alumnus, believes the 22-year-old has what it takes to succeed at the top level.

He said: "I played with him early in the week and he hit the ball very well with a technically-correct swing. Listening to a few of his press conferences he seems like a wise-old owl for someone his age.

"He seems like a really cool character. I liked his comments about being surprised to be leading an Open Championship but not surprised about the numbers he shot. He has that Jordan Spieth maturity to him a little bit."

The Ryder Cup star believes had Dunne maintained his progress and finished strongly in the final round he should have turned pro immediately.

"If he had a good finish I don't know what he would have needed to have waited for the Walker Cup for," McDowell added.

"The Walker Cup is one of the fondest memories of my career but it means nothing as soon as you press the professional button.

"He needs starts and has an opportunity between now and the end of the season to perhaps get his European Tour card and those extra five weeks could be beneficial to him. It is a tough call and I'm not the guy to advise him."

Dunne was one of five amateurs to make the cut at St Andrews and there was intense competition for the Silver Medal, won by American Jordan Niebrugge.

"When you see three amateurs within three or four shots of the lead it says how good they are," said McDowell.

"It is a belief and acceptance level of competing at the top level as a youngster - 19, 20, 21 years old. There is a readiness that is there what wasn't there when I was turning pro.

"I am probably a bad example as I had never been to a professional tournament until I played in one (as a professional).

"Tiger Woods and subsequently Rory McIlroy and Jordan have raised the bar to say you don't have to be a late 20s- early 30s mature veteran to be able to compete in the top tournaments - the WGCs (World Golf Championships), majors - you can do it right this second."

St Andrews a Walker Bonus

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Walker Cup captain Nigel Edwards hopes the experiences of amateur golfers in this year's Open at St Andrews will benefit his side.

GB and Ireland take on the USA at Royal Lytham in September, with Welshman Edwards finalising his team next month.

It is likely to feature Ireland's Paul Dunne, who was joint 30th, and England's Ashley Chesters who tied in 12th place at St Andrews.

"They both loved it but I think they were both disappointed," said Edwards.

"They felt that they could have got a little bit more from themselves, probably I guess Paul more so than Ashley simply because of the position Paul was in after three rounds."

Dunne was leading the tournament after three days, but had a tough final round as he slipped down the field.

"I think Ashley would have liked to have got into the top 10 - he played pretty well all week," added Edwards.

"Obviously Paul going into the final round in the last group and teeing off last felt that he could have done a lot better.

"He was disappointed finishing with a [round of] 78 and I guess it shows the standard of amateur golf that these players are thinking like that and performing how they are."

Edwards has captained UK & Ire twice before, winning at Royal Aberdeen in 2011 and losing in Long Island in 2013.

He has had his provisional Walker Cup squad at Royal Lytham this week in preparation for September's competition.

7/19/2015

Dunne Follows Bobby Jones

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Paul Dunne shares the lead with 2010 winner Louis Oosthuizen and Australia’s Jason Day going into the final round of The Open Championship at St Andrews.

However, just one shot behind the leading trio, Jordan Spieth's bid for the third leg of an unprecedented calendar grand slam remained firmly on track after a breathless third round.

Masters Tournament and US Open champion Spieth could be denied a place in the record books by an equally remarkable performance after Dunne claimed a share of the lead.

Days after being mistaken for Spieth by fans seeking autographs due to their identical clothing, Dunne carded a flawless 66 on the Old Course to finish 12 under par alongside playing partner Oosthuizen - whose win in 2010 came last time The Open was staged at St Andrews - and perennial Major contender Day.

Spieth also shot 66, with 2007 and 2008 champion Padraig Harrington a shot further back on ten under after a superb 65.

Nine players were tied for sixth on nine under, including another amateur in American Jordan Niebrugge, Justin Rose, Sergio Garcia and Adam Scott, along with England's Danny Willett, who led outright after ten holes but drove out of bounds on the 14th.

Dunne is the first amateur since the legendary Bobby Jones to lead The Open after 54 holes, the American going on to lift the Claret Jug at St Andrews in 1927.

Three years later, Jones became the last amateur winner of The Open to date at Royal Liverpool and went on to complete the "Impregnable Quadrilateral" of Amateur Championship, Open Championship, US Open and US Amateur titles.

Paul Dunne Factoids

Started golf when he was 10 and began playing "properly" from age of 12.

Now 22, he booked his place at the Open through final qualifying at Woburn, finishing ahead of the likes of Retief Goosen and Colin Montgomerie, having done exactly the same 12 months earlier to secure his debut in the event at Royal Liverpool. However, he almost missed his tee time for qualifying this year after not allowing enough time for the shuttle bus to get him to the 10th tee.

Won the 2010 Irish Youths Amateur Championship title, following in the footsteps of Open champions Padraig Harrington and Louis Oosthuizen, who won his Claret Jug at St Andrews.

Aiming to become the first amateur to win the Open since Bobby Jones in 1930. He is also in line to become the first Irishman to win the silver medal, awarded to the leading amateur making the cut, since a certain Rory McIlroy at Carnoustie in 2007.

Graduated from the University of Alabama in business finance in April. Fellow Irishman Alan Murray coached him at university and is caddying for him this week.

Plans to turn professional later in the year after the Walker Cup, which he is trying to qualify for having been included in a provisional 20-man squad.

Wears same apparel as two-time major winner Jordan Spieth, whom he leads by one stroke, and has been mistaken for the calendar year Grand Slam-chasing American more than once this week.

St Andrew's Needs Work - GMAC

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Graeme McDowell has suggested the Old Course at St Andrews may need some work to ensure it remains Open Championship standard.

There has been some discussion throughout the week as to whether the 'home of golf', as playing and equipment standards continue to improve, could become too easy for the game's elite

The reputation of the Old Course was defended by Peter Dawson, chief executive of the R&A, the organisers, but with the championship returning to St Andrews every five years, the debate is likely to continue.

"When you see the type of power that these guys are using and putting on the golf ball, you start wondering what they can do with it to keep it up to modern times," said McDowell after completing his third round.

"The bunkers are just not really in play enough."

Due to the course's proximity to St Andrews town centre and the North Sea, there is little room to expand but McDowell does not think making holes longer is necessarily the answer.

He said: "I don't think you've got to go put a ton of yardage on this golf course.

"I think if this golf course just had a tiny bit more rough and the bunkers were slightly up to modern yardages, I think this golf course is still all there in front of you.

"Unfortunately driving the ball is just too easy this week.

"This is a fantastic golf course and it doesn't need a complete rejig, it just needs a little bit of reshaping here and there."

McDowell, the 2010 US Open champion, was among the early starters as the third round got under way a day late after interruptions for bad weather on Friday and Saturday.

He made a blistering start with four birdies in five holes, and four more followed, but two double bogeys, among six dropped shots, left him off the pace on two under and signing for 70.

The Northern Irishman said: "I played lovely, I really did, but I drove the ball disgusting.

"I'm not really quite sure what's wrong with my driving, everything else is pretty good.

"That's got to go down as an extremely frustrating and disappointing round, because it was there or thereabouts."

McDowell, 35, feels he is not far off rediscovering his best.

He said: "It's tough at times but there are signs of life. I've just got to wait, be patient. My time will come."

Harrington Makes Sunday Move

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Padraig Harrington's lowest round in a Major shot him into contention for another Claret Jug, and he believes his experience could be a significant factor on the final day at St Andrews.

The Irishman carded a seven under par 65 to leap to ten under and create a realistic chance of capturing his fourth Major as the tournament heads for Monday finish.

His previous best single-round score was back-to-back 66s on the weekend to win the 2008 US PGA, having also made that score at The Open way back in 2001 at Lytham.

Harrington's first win on a major Tour in seven years came at March's Honda Classic, which also needed an extra day, but it is his memories of getting the job done on the final day of a Major that he will be looking to use on Monday.

"I always wanted to shoot 65 on the Sunday of an Open - obviously there's another round to go tomorrow," he joked.

"I'll be certainly telling myself that I know what I'm doing and I've done it before and I'll be using it to help myself for sure, having done it twice before.

"Clearly things were going well for me today but I didn't want to look up (to the scoreboard) and see somebody getting away and be disappointed.

"When things are going well you might as well just keep your head down and keep going.

"There's no point in looking around and getting distracted. I didn't look until I finished off on 18."

The 144th Open Championship over the Old Course is shaping up to be one of the closest in a long time with the top of the leaderboard tightly packed.

In a week that produces mixed feelings for Harrington - a decade ago his father died and he pulled out of the event at St Andrews, while last year his coach Bob Torrance passed away – the 44 year old insists he will not be wearing his emotions on his sleeve.

"I'm not going to try to get emotionally involved in any shape or form," he added.

7/18/2015

Paul Not Dunne Yet

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Paul Dunne says he hopes to take the increasing attention in his stride after making the cut at the Open Championship for the first time with another excellent 69 at St Andrews.

The 22-year-old amateur from Greystones ensured involvement over the weekend at St Andrews by matching his first-round 69 on the second day to move to six under par for the tournament.

Dunne, who came through final qualifying at Woburn for a second year in succession, said: "It'll be a new experience, I'm not 100% sure how I'll handle it.

"Hopefully I'll just take it like second nature - but you never know. Obviously the forecast is for high winds tomorrow, so the course is going to play really tough."

Dunne's only blemish came when he missed a short par putt on the 16th but he made amends by making a birdie on the last.

He will now go into the final two days' play with a strong chance of winning the Silver Medal for the leading amateur.

Dunne said: "Obviously that would be brilliant. It would be nice to get the Silver Medal in my last year as an amateur. It would be something I would remember forever.

"But there's a lot of golf and a lot of bad weather to play in before that. I'm not going to think about it, I'm just going to see what the weather is like when I arrive here, put a new number in my head and go about business tomorrow."

Asked what numbers he had targeted from the first two days, Dunne said he had been hoping for a 68 and then, after seeing Friday's forecast, a 72.

"I thought if I could just get anything in under par it would be a really good score, so I was delighted to shoot 69."

Weather Helps Harrington

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Padraig Harrington felt he got lucky with Friday's downpour at The Open Championship, as he gave himself the chance of a third Claret Jug and grabbed some extra sleep.

The two-time Open Champion was due to tee off at 7.38am in his second round at St Andrews but high winds and a heavy deluge led to a suspension of more than three hours.

When play did resume, Harrington took advantage of the improved conditions to shoot four birdies in a round of 69 that lifted him to three under par overall.

He was still some way off the lead, but Harrington felt he gave himself a chance he might not have had had he played in the worst of the weather. And after getting up at 5am to prepare, the break in play also gave him the chance to go back to bed.

Asked about the torrential rain that flooded parts of the course, the Irishman said: "I was standing in it when it was happening - we were on the range warming up when the storm came in.

"At no stage did I not think I was going to tee off - this is The Open Championship.

"Considering the weather we played in in 2002 at Muirfield, we were going to go play, but unfortunately the town of St Andrews drains on to the first fairway, so we really couldn't go.

"We were happy about that. I snuck into one of the tour vans and slept for an hour and a half or so.

"It was a nice break on our behalf, and then when we got playing, our front nine played straight downwind. It was a good break for us."

Harrington won The Open at Carnoustie in 2007 and at Birkdale the following year but, after also claiming the US PGA Championship in 2008, did not taste victory on a major world Tour again until claiming the Honda Classic in March.

That relatively recent success gives Harrington hope that he can put himself into the picture this weekend, although he accepts he may need another helping hand from the weather.

The 43 year old said: "I've won two of them already, so it's not going to be life-changing or anything like that, but it would be nice to get into contention coming down the stretch and perform.

"We'll see what happens but, no matter what, I'm going to need a big weekend. I'm way behind. If I was leading the tournament I'd want beautiful conditions but I want everything thrown at us to give me a chance to catch up."

7/13/2015

Spieth Eases Towards Number 1

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Jordan Spieth will replace Rory McIlroy as world number one if he wins the 144th Open Championship and completes the third leg of an unprecedented calendar grand slam.

Spieth’s play-off victory in the John Deere Classic on Sunday means he can overtake McIlroy, who has been ruled out of his title defence with an ankle injury, in the rankings by lifting the Claret Jug at St Andrews.

The 21-year-old’s decision to compete in Illinois, where he won his first PGA Tour title in 2013, rather than contest the Scottish Open at Gullane or practise on links courses in Britain has been questioned by the likes of former Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley.

But the Masters and US Open champion had no doubts it was the right decision after defeating veteran Tom Gillis on the second extra hole.

“I really didn’t care anyway,” Spieth said. “I came here for a reason, and we accomplished that reason, and certainly have some momentum going into next week. This tournament means a lot to me. This is a tournament I truly love.

“I’ve got plenty in the tank. Leading into the Masters, those couple of weeks right before could have taken a lot out of me with a runner-up finish and then a play-off loss. And we rebounded nicely.”

Spieth is a strong favourite for the Open despite only having played one round at the Old Course before the 2011 Walker Cup at Royal Aberdeen, with US Open runner-up Dustin Johnson and Rickie Fowler next in the betting.

Fowler’s win at Gullane has lifted him to a career-high fifth in the world rankings and the 26-year-old is now hoping to emulate Phil Mickelson in 2013 by winning the Scottish Open and Open Championship in consecutive weeks.

Former world number one Tiger Woods, who won the Open at St Andrews in 2000 and 2005 and spent the weekend practising at the Old Course, fell from 226th in the rankings to 241st.

7/12/2015

McIlroy Seeks Tiger Pointers

Rory McIlroy has "picked the brains" of Tiger Woods over the ankle injury which has prevented him defending his Open title.

McIlroy suffered a ruptured ankle ligament while playing football with friends last Saturday and told Woods about it the same day, although the world No 1 waited until Monday to release the news on Instagram.

"He sent me a photo the day he did it," Woods told ESPN.com after practising at the Old Course on Saturday. "We talked about it for a little bit.

"He said, 'You've been through a lot of injuries over the years.' So he picked my brain a little bit. We had a good talk. He's doing the right thing, taking care of his body first before he gets back out here.

"No doubt he's frustrated that he's not going to be able to play in the Open Championship, especially here at St Andrews, and how well he's been playing of late, and this golf course really does set up well for him.

"That's the way it goes. We all get injured at one point in time. Sometimes it's through the sport or sometimes it's through fun activities. You just never know."

Woods arrived in Scotland on Saturday morning and admitted he was surprised by the condition of the course where he won the 2000 Open by eight shots and the 2005 Open by five.

"I was shocked," Woods added. "I had seen photos of it a month ago. It was bone dry. It looked like it was going to be one of those dust bowls again; hard, fast, like the years I've played St Andrews. It's changed. They got big rain and a lot of sun.

Former world No 1 Woods is currently ranked 226th after a nightmare season which has featured career-worst scores on the PGA Tour and in the US Open and a best finish of tied 17th in the Masters.

However, the 14-time major winner did card three sub-par rounds to finish joint 32nd in the Greenbrier Classic in his last start, including a bogey-free closing 67.

"I feel good," the 39-year-old added: "Sunday at Greenbrier is probably the best I hit it in two years. That was fun. It sounds crazy when I told everyone at Greenbrier that I felt close, after the scores I shot at the Memorial (85) and the US Open (80).

"I put it together at Greenbrier and hit it really good. [Instructor] Chris [Como] told me it was the first time I led the field in proximity to the hole with my iron game."

7/10/2015

Lowry and McDowell in Chase

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Shane Lowry was one of five players to set the early clubhouse target in the second round of the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open on Friday, with defending champion Justin Rose and Graeme McDowell as in the group. All three strokes of leader Daniel Brooks.

Lowry followed up on Thursday’s 66 replicating his impressive first round to leave him at eight under par overall. He is joined by Rose, Johan Carlsson, Grégory Havret and McDowell.

Lowry was quick out of the blocks with two birdies from his opening five holes, before three further birdies on the back nine were marred by a bogey on the 15th.

Carlsson was in the first group out at 6:30am and carded four birdies and one bogey to add a 67 to his opening 65 in damp conditions to finish eight under par.

However, Rose had also improved to eight under with nine holes to play thanks to a front nine of 31, the former US Open champion looking to become the first player to successfully defend the Scottish Open following his win at Royal Aberdeen 12 months ago.

Rose bogeyed the opening hole but two-putted the par-five second for birdie and then carded four more in the space of five holes from the fourth.

Playing partner Phil Mickelson, who won the 2013 Open a mile down the road at Muirfield, could only manage one birdie on the front nine to lie two under, one shot inside the projected cut after 77 players broke par on Thursday.

The best scoring of the day so far was coming from Chile’s Felipe Aguilar, who began the day in 140th place after struggling to an opening 73, but jumped up the leaderboard in style with birdies at the first and second before firing a hole-in-one on the third, holing from 170 yards with an eight iron.

The 40-year-old has a habit of brilliant bursts of scoring, winning his second European Tour title in Singapore last year with a final round of 62 at Laguna National, holing his second shot to the 18th to complete the back nine in just 28 shots.

And after carding what would prove to be his only par on the front nine today on the fourth, Aguilar followed it with three birdies and two bogeys for an eventful front nine of 30.

Aguilar could not repeat such fireworks on the back nine but did birdie the 14th to move to six under for the day and three under overall.

Rose found trouble off the tee on the 10th but produced a superb pitch from 55 yards to within inches of the hole to save par and remain tied for the lead, along with fellow English man Brooks, who had eagled the second.

In contrast, Mickelson bogeyed the 11th and 12th after finding sand off the tee on both occasions and, at level par, was facing an uphill battle to make the halfway cut.

Lowry had no such worries, the links specialist going to the turn in 33 and picking up another shot on the 11th to get within a shot of the lead on seven under.

Mickelson produced the ideal response with birdies on the 14th, 15th and 16th, the latter coming thanks a typically deft chip from the side of the green.

That took the five-time major winner to three under par and safely inside the cut line, while playing partner Rose remained eight under and appeared shaken by hitting an elderly spectator on the head with a wayward drive on the 16th.

MIchael Hoey fired a second round 65 to share 24th place ahead of the weekend.

Padraig Harrington was 34th after second round 68.

Damien McGrane and Paul McGinley missed the cut

7/30/2015

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