GMAC Seeking Season Kick Start

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Graeme McDowell and Martin Kaymer are both looking to kick-start their seasons when they tee it up at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open Hosted by the Rory Foundation this week.

The Northern Irishman won in November on the US PGA Tour but has struggled for form since the turn of the year, while Kaymer claimed his first top ten of the campaign at the Real Club Valderrama Open de España, Hosted by the Sergio Garcia Foundation a month ago.

Both men have represented Europe in the last three Ryder Cups, with McDowell the only man to have qualified for the last four, but with the next contest coming up at Hazeltine in the autumn, they are currently on the outside looking in.

McDowell has slipped to 68th in the Official World Golf Ranking but feels his game is not too far off and is now aiming for a big summer.

"I've generally been feeling very good about my game this year," he said. "Started off kind of strong early in the Florida Swing. Lost my way a little bit sort of into the Match Play and Augusta.

"Sort of hit the reset button after Hilton Head and came back last week, starting to get those good feelings back again, a little bit of confidence seeing the ball do what I wanted to do, staying patient, and a little bit of belief coming back again.

"The weekend at The Players was nice on a lot of levels, gave me that little bit of confidence coming here, and into next week, as well, and looking forward to the summer with three Majors to play here in the next few months, a lot of big events. Looking to the French Open with double Ryder Cup points.

There's lots and lots of jockeying for position to come up here in the next few months and I feel like I'm well positioned mentally and physically to do that - Graeme McDowell

"Of course I'd love to be part of the team."

Kaymer is four spots ahead of McDowell in the World Rankings and although he has not won since claiming his second Major Championship at the 2014 US Open, he came close when losing out in a play-off to Rikard Karlberg at last season's 72° OPEN D'ITALIA presented by DAMIANI, and is eager to contend again.

"I haven't really competed in a tournament properly," he said. "Preparation has been good for the summer, so now I look forward to hopefully all the work and the practice paying off, because I really need to work my way into the Ryder Cup.

"In terms of the tournaments coming up now, they are obviously big ones that you want to win, and a few I've won in the past. I've got experience with it and a lot of positive memories. I'm really excited to play all the tournaments now until the Olympic Games."

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Cadillac Ranch for Rory McIlroy

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Rory McIlroy came into the WGC-Cadillac Championship insisting that everything about his game is solid right now, and that his ability to contend rested solely on his mental game.

His mind must be right, because he played a mistake-free third round at Doral on Saturday.

McIlroy made four birdies and no bogeys in the third round on the Blue Monster, his 4-under 68 getting him to 12 under for the week and three shots ahead of Adam Scott and defending champion Dustin Johnson with 18 holes left in the first World Golf Championships event of the season.

"I just played a really solid round of golf," McIlroy said.

A victory would move McIlroy to 13th in the FedExCup standings, up 109 spots from 122nd.

"I think it's Rory's to lose, really," said Danny Willett, who shot 72 and is in a group five shots off the pace. "We're going to have to go out there and play clever and play aggressive when we can, and hopefully we can knock a few birdies off and post a good number."

McIlroy has made nine birdies and nine bogeys or worse in two rounds last week at The Honda Classic, which is why his preparation for Doral could start two days early with a missed cut there.

At Doral, he hasn't been flawless, but close enough. McIlroy's last bogey was on the second hole in his second round.

In 34 holes since, it's been 11 birdies and 23 pars, fueling his climb atop the leaderboard. He took the lead with a birdie at the par-4 fifth, one of only eight made on that hole Saturday. And he escaped brushes with the sand on each of his last two holes, keeping his mistake-free streak intact.

"I've seen Rory play some great golf," Scott said. "I think he's going to be very satisfied with that round. Looked like he was under total control."

McIlroy's tee ball at the par-4 17th found a bunker -- with the wind picking up a bit -- so he simply knocked his second onto the green and two-putted from 45 feet. And his approach from the middle of the fairway on 18 landed in a greenside bunker, but he knocked in a testy 6-footer for par to cap the round.

"My first bogey-free round of the year," McIlroy said. "To do it in a round like this is very pleasing."

Johnson gave himself a chance to end his day with a great par, then missed a 4-footer. After spraying his tee shot way right, Johnson punched out and then knocked a wedge close. But he missed the par try and fell to 9 under for the tournament, 1 under for the round.

Johnson rallied from five shots back in the final round to win last year at Doral. This time, his deficit is only three.

"Anything's possible," Johnson said. "With this golf course, there's trouble on just about every hole, so I just need to go out and keep playing like I'm playing. I feel like I'm playing really well. Today I missed a couple short putts and didn't really hole any putts and still shot 1 under on a tough day. So I'm pleased with that."

Willett, Bubba Watson (71) and Phil Mickelson (70) are tied for fourth, five shots off the lead. World No. 1 Jordan Spieth struggled again, his round of 73 leaving him at 2 under for the week and tied for 17th place.

Spieth played with Justin Thomas, who followed up a 66 on Friday with a 78 on Saturday.

"A rough day for us both," Thomas said.

Sergio Garcia and Rafa Cabrera Bello, had the low rounds Saturday, each shooting 67. They're both at 5 under for the week, tied for seventh place and seven shots back of McIlroy.

Anirban Lahiri, who has never finished better than 28th in four previous WGC stroke-play events, is tied for seventh at 5 under. He shot 71 on Saturday. "This is the third day in a row that we've had a different wind. So honestly, I have no idea what to expect tomorrow," Lahiri said

Five players shot 80, including first-round co-leader Marcus Fraser who is now 20 shots off the lead.

Graeme McDowell carded a third round 70

Shane Lowry finished Saturday in 75 strokes. 

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McIlroy and Harrington in Northern Trust

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Rory McIlroy carded a round of 67 in his opening round of the US PGA Tour 2016 at the Northern Trust Open and remains four shots behind the clubhouse leader Camilo Villegas - after play was suspended due to bad light.

McIlroy had arrived on the west coast after working on his game at his Florida base during a week off and he enjoyed a good on the chilly Riviera Country Club in Pacfic Pallisades.

An opening tee shot at the 315-yard short par-four 10th left McIlroy with a tricky pitch from 30 yards, but he would turn it into the first birdie of the day by holing the putt from seven feet.

McIlroy admitted to working on his putting after his spell in the United Arab Emirates and he soon got the measure of the small and tricky Riviera surfaces, almost making an outrageous 73-foot eagle putt on the second before tapping in for a second birdie.

McIlroy was very close to making it three on the the spin at the 12th, made a good par save on the 13th and saw his ball horseshoe out from 25 feet for birdie on the 14th.

Riviera’s fairway bunkers usually exact a toll and McIlroy would drop his only shot of the round after finding the steep face of one on the right of the 15th, forcing him to come up short of the green in three as he carded a bogey five.

Two pars followed before a brilliant wedge to nine feet on the par-five 17th set up a third birdie of the round as he turned in two-under 34.

McIlroy made it a clean sweep of the par fives with a birdie on the first before a run of five pars. Another stunning approach, this time to inside three feet on the par-four seventh, brought a fifth birdie.

Unlucky to just miss out on another gain on the eighth, McIlroy holed a tricky short putt for par on the 18th to compete a fine opening round in the event.

Chez Reavie and Luke List both recorded bogey-free five-under 66s to share the lead with Bubba Watson, who carded seven birdies and two bogeys in his round. McIlroy had company on four under from American Ricky Barnes, Charles Howell III and amateur Charlie Danielson.

Pádraig Harrington was also among the early starters at Riviera, the three-time Major champion trading off two birdies against two bogeys in a level-par 71.

Charl Schwartzel showed no signs of any jetlag or effects of last week’s victory at the Tshwane Open in his native South Africa as he opened with a three-under 68. He was joined on that mark by the Americans Billy Horschel, Jason Kokrak and Harris English, Argentine veteran Angel Cabrera, South Africa’s Retief Goosen and American-based Scot Martin Laird .

England’s Justin Rose was a shot further back on two under, a mark also shared by McIlroy’s playing partners Matsuyama and Kuchar.

McIlroy was delighted to play well in his first competitive round at Riviera, which is consistently ranked by players as one of the top courses on the PGA Tour.

“Put myself out of position a couple of times but the way the conditions of the golf course were, it didn’t punish you as bad as if it would have been as firm as it was the last couple of days,” he said.

“I felt like my pace on the greens was good . . . and I lag-putted well. All of the things that you need to do around this golf course, I did pretty well today.”

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