The Irish Golf Club Gazette: PortugalMasters

Showing posts with label PortugalMasters. Show all posts

10/16/2015

Lawrie Facing Q School Trip

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Peter Lawrie missed the cut after shooting a second round 72 at the Portugal Masters and now set to lose his European Tour card and his automatic playing rights for next season.

Lawrie now needs a sponsor’s invitation to next week’s Hong Kong Open and needs to win enough money to move himself into the top 110 places in the Race to Dubai to avoid the dreaded trip to Q-School in Spain next month.

Mount Juliet’s Kevin Phelan will need a good weekend performance to avoid the same fate.

Phelan, who came through Q-School to earn his card in 2013, made the cut on the mark (one under par) but will need to go low over the weekend to earn enough prize money to move from 126th into the top 10. Even the weather looks to be against the 24-year-old however – heavy rain forecast over the weekend has put into doubt whether there will even be the full 72 holes played. If the tournament was shortened to, say, 54 holes, then the prize money would be reduced.

Paul Dunne and Padraig Harrington will join Phelan over the weekend with both players sitting 12 shots off the lead on two under par.

It is Dunne’s third and last sponsor’s invite of the season as he looks to add to the €80,000 he’s won already before heading to Spain next month to compete for the 25 tour cards on offer.

Darren Clarke and Michael Hoey both finished a long way off the cut-mark.

Damien McGrane still leads the Irish charge, despite a one over par 73 today. The Meath golfer sits on three under par, 11 shots behind tournament leader Andy Sullivan.

Severe storms with 50mph-plus winds are predicted for late Saturday morning and organisers have taken the rare decision to hold a shotgun start — groups teeing off on all 18 holes from 8am — in an attempt to get day three completed.

Sullivan, who began the day tied with Nicolas Colsaerts on seven under, is currently sitting pretty at the top of the leaderboard after a second successive 64 moved him to 14 under and three shots clear of Belgian Thomas Pieters, who carded a 66 and is also looking for his third win of the season.

However, there is plenty of scope for that to change if the forecast at Oceanico Victoria Golf Club turns out to be accurate.

“Due to the extremely poor weather forecast for the next two days it has been decided that the best chance of completing the third round is to schedule a shotgun start from 8am on Saturday,” said a statement from the European Tour.

“All parties have agreed to this in the best interests of the tournament.”

10/14/2015

Masters Finish Needed by Lawrie

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Peter Lawrie will go into this week’s Portugal Masters knowing that only strong finish - possibly in the top five - will see him avoid another trip to Tour School and secure his playing privileges on the European Tour for next season.

The Dubliner, who is playing on a sponsor’s invite at Vilamoura, currently sits 123rd on the Race to Dubai rankings with only the top 110 earning their cards for the coming year. With €187,296 in the bank, Lawrie is Just over €50,000 behind Chris Paisley in 110th position but would realistically need in the region of €250,000 to be certain of getting his card.

Lawrie, who is not in the field for the final event of the regular season in Hong Kong next week, has only made two cuts in his last six events. And he will need to finish eighth or better in Portugal if he is to move into the top 110.

Lawrie, one of six Irish players in the field with Padraig Harrington, Darren Clarke, Paul Dunne, Michael Hoey and Damien McGrane also taking part, is far from the only player sweating on their cards this week.

Former rookie of the year Ricardo Santos will need to make the most of home advantage this week as he battles to regain his card.

Santos became the first Portuguese player to win on home soil when he triumphed in Madeira in 2012, going on to finish 90th in the Race to Dubai and improving to 65th the following year.

However, the 33-year-old could only finish 116th in 2014 to lose his card and comes into the Portugal Masters a lowly 180th.

Santos, who lives in Vilamoura and is attached to the tournament venue of Oceanico Victoria Golf Course, said: “I’m just worrying about keeping calm and staying focused on my game and we’ll see what happens.

“It could be a good week. I know I have the game to have a good week here. I know the course quite well so who knows? After many years, it’s more comfortable for me to play here in Victoria in the Portugal Masters, with all the Portuguese crowd and family and friends as well. So I think it’s going to be a good week.”

Compatriot Ricardo Gouveia has no such worries after sealing his European Tour card for 2016 thanks to his impressive performances on the Challenge Tour.

The 24 year old is second in the Race to Oman after four top threes in five Challenge Tour events and feels he is ready to make the step up.

“I’m not going to change anything and I’m not going to expect too much of me,” he said. “Just going to play, enjoy, and hopefully I can get some good scores out of this week.

“I’m really looking forward to starting the (2016) season off, and just to play at the highest level of golf in Europe, which was my goal for this year to secure that card for next year. It was awesome that I could secure it in the middle of the season with some good results.”

Last year’s event was reduced to 36 holes due to rain, with France’s Alexander Levywinning on 18 under par after rounds of 63 and 61.

“It was a funny week,” Levy said. “I played only four shots at the weekend and I managed to win the tournament like that. I played some of the best golf of my life. It was a very good week for me. I don’t think this week I’m going to make 18 birdies in 36 holes, because I heard there is a little bit more rough than last year.”

Two-time major winner Martin Kaymer is the favourite as he looks to make up for losing out in a play-off in the Italian Open last month, although his preparation has been less than ideal.

“A friend of mine got married in Los Angeles, so I flew there on Friday, arrived Friday afternoon, stayed Saturday for the wedding and flew out again Sunday and arrived here Monday,” the former world number one said.

“It was a tough one. It’s been a long and tiring week but I slept fairly well last night and we have one more night to go until I have to tee it up tomorrow. And it’s a golf course that I enjoy to play, so with some patience I think I can do well.”

10/13/2013

Thornton Slips Out of Race

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Simon Thornton carded a level par round of 71 in the final round of the Portugal Masters and slipped out of contention after holding a share of lead at the start of the day in Vilamoura. A bright start with a birdie on the second, then saw Thornton gave it up at the third, only to repeat the pattern again before making the turn level.

Then birdies on 12 and 15 were given back with consecutive dropped shots on 15 and 16 to leave the former Royal County Down Assistant Professional unable to break away from a cluttered leaderboard - settling for share of eighth place.

It was David Lynn who fired the magic to come from six shots back to snatch victory with an inspired final round 63 at Oceânico Victoria Golf Course.

A week after being laid low by a virus at the Seve Trophy by Golf+, where he was swiftly dispatched 6 and 4 by Miguel Angel Jiménez in the Sunday singles as Continental Europe beat Great Britain & Ireland, Lynn had completely contrasting emotions in the Algarve as his 18 under par total saw him finish a shot clear of Justin Walters.

Lynn’s second European Tour title sees him climb back into the Official World Golf Ranking's top 50 a week before his 40th birthday.

The former US PGA Championship runner-up, whose only previous win in almost 400 events came in the KLM Open in 2004, charged into contention with five birdies in a front nine of 30 and, after a bogey at the tenth, picked up further shots at the 11th, 14th, 15th and 17th to set a clubhouse target that was never matched.

An emotional Walters, who began the week 126th in the Race to Dubai, holed a 40 foot par putt on the 18th to claim outright second on 17 under and secure his card for next season, the South African breaking down in tears following the death of his mother two weeks ago.

Lynn, who struggled to a 73 on Saturday, said: "I was really disappointed when I walked off the course yesterday, I just didn't hole any putts and made seven at 17 and thought maybe I had played myself out of it.

"Today was just a case of I've got to go out there and make as many birdies as I can. I must admit I was thinking of Scott Jamieson's 60 (in the third round). If I could do something like that, who knows? The wind was up quite a bit today so eight under is a really good score.

"I really caught fire on the front nine, I was making everything I looked at, although I hit it to one foot at the first which got me off to a really good start. After that I made a couple of great putts for par to keep the momentum going and then I was making the birdie putts."

Lynn - who began the week 52nd in the Official World Golf Ranking - held a two shot lead playing the last but admitted his heart was in his mouth as his approach looked set to find the water short of the green. It ended up clearing the hazard by a matter of feet and two putts later he had completed what proved to be the winning round.

Austria's Bernd Wiesberger had been just one behind with two to play but found the water with his second shot to the 17th, where playing partner Walters made his fourth birdie in a row to move to 17 under.

Walters looked certain to drop a shot on the last after finding a fairway bunker with his tee shot, but holed a massive par putt and punched the air in delight before the tears began to flow.

"I don't know if I can talk much right now," the 32 year old from Johannesburg said. "Coming into the week I really didn't have any goals or ambitions, I just wanted to play and honour my mum and make her proud.

"The putts kept dropping and I kept hitting some decent shots and the last one at the end, she made it for sure. It was probably the best moment of my career. It was so cool because I had a lot on the line.

"I hadn't looked at a leaderboard all day so didn't know where I stood in terms of keeping my card and for it to go in on the last, all the emotions hit me.

"I don't think I have the words for it just yet. Maybe after a drink with my dad who is here with me we can fully take it all in, but at first glance I don't know how I did it. I am super proud and so happy I could honour my mum. That feels the best for me right now."

England's Paul Waring held a two shot lead going into the final round but saw his hopes disappear with a double-bogey five on the 16th, although birdies on the last two holes gave him a share of third with Scot Stephen Gallacher (66) and Wiesberger (67).

Scott Jamieson, who came agonisingly close to the first ever 59 on The European Tour on Saturday, led by one when he birdied the second and fifth, but dropped three shots in four holes from the 14th to card a closing 72 and finish joint 13th.

Paul McGinley finished in share of 51st after a final round of 71.

David Higgins was 57th.

10/12/2013

Thornton Second in Portugal

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Simon Thornton dropped just one shot on his way to a six under par third round 65 at the Portugal Masters on Saturday, to retain a two share of second place with South African Otto Hennie at the Oceanico Victoria Golf Club in Vilamoura.

Paul Waring will take a two shot lead into the final round, as Scotland's Scott Jamieson coming agonisingly close to recording the first 59 on The European Tour.

Jamieson charged into contention with 11 birdies in the first 17 holes of his third round at Oceânico Victoria Golf Course, and needed another on the last of the par 71 layout to break the magical 60 barrier.

However, his approach ran just over the green and his chip from around 15 feet grazed the edge of the hole, the 29 year old sinking to his knees before tapping in for par.

Jamieson had to settle for the 18th round of 60 in European Tour history and the second this season after American Peter Uihlein's 12 under round at Kingsbarns during the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.

Having only made the halfway cut by one shot, Jamieson found himself in the clubhouse lead on 14 under just as overnight leaders Waring, David Lynn and Hennie Otto were heading to the first tee at 12 under.

And only Waring was able to overhaul Jamieson's total, the Englishman recovering from a shaky start to card a 67 and claim a two shot lead as he seeks his first European Tour title.

Jamieson actually shot a round of 57 before winning his first European Tour title in a play-off for the Nelson Mandela Championship in South Africa last December, but that was in a tournament cut to 36 holes and on a Royal Durban course reduced to a par 65 because of saturated fairways.

He said: "I said to Richard (his caddie) playing 17 I really want to make a birdie here so we have a chance of it going down the last and I could not have asked to hit a better shot in. It pitched just short of the hole...what a chip as well!

"When I birdied the 13th I said to Richard, 'a few more and we could be part of history'. I was definitely nervous but thinking about it from the tournament point of view the leaders are going to be a minimum of 16, 17 maybe 18 under going into tomorrow so that kept me going from a pushing point of view."

Jamieson, who carded an opening 66 but struggled to a 73 on Friday, added: "I played really well the first day and got nothing out of it. I was five under par but the longest putt I holed was maybe eight feet for par on one hole.

"I felt like I have been playing well for a while - there have been a few good rounds in there. Yesterday I didn't necessarily play poorly, I just didn't score well so it was nice today."

Waring, who is playing on a medical extension this season after an operation on a serious wrist injury, looked to be drifting out of contention when he bogeyed the par five fifth and then fired his approach to the ninth over the green.

But the 28 year old promptly chipped in for an unlikely birdie and collected four more on the back nine to move two shots clear of Jamieson, playing partner Hennie Otto, Ireland's Simon Thornton and Welshman Jamie Donaldson.

"It was very good towards the end of the round," said Waring, who enjoyed the first top five finish of his European Tour career at the Open de España in April and has had three more top tens since.

"I started a bit poorly and didn't quite hit it close enough but holed some nice putts towards the end of the day. I feel pretty good, two ahead, so we will see what happens tomorrow."

Asked if he was ready to claim a maiden victory on Sunday, Waring added: "I can't really say. You don't know what's going to happen with the other lads, what anyone else is going to score. You can't control those sorts of things.

"All I can do is control what I can control and add them up at the end of the day and see what happens."

On a crowded leaderboard, Scotland's Chris Doak was three off the lead after dropping his first shot of the week on the 18th, the 35 year old looking to climb from 112th on The Race to Dubai into the top 110 to keep his card for next season.

10/11/2013

Five Cut in Vilamoura

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Peter Lawrie signed off on a second round 71 at the Portugal Masters and then packed his bags for in Vilamoura ahead of a long trip to Perth, in Western Australia, in a last chance to retain his automatic playing rights for next year.

An opening round of 77 on Thursday ended any hopes of much needed prize money this week in the quest to improve his current 111th place in the Race to Dubai, which leaves him one spot outside the line. And perhaps needing to return to Qualifying School next month. A contrast to last season when he finished in 48th with earnings of over €600K

Shane Lowry also missed the cut and failed to defend his title after a bogey at the par-five 17th ended his hopes on Friday. It was the English duo of Paul Waring and David Lynn and South African Hennie Otto set the pace on 12 under at the Oceanico Victoria Golf Course.

Lowry won his first European Tour event as a professional last year and started with back-to-back birdies before he dropped further shots at the sixth and seventh to slip out to three over for the tournament.

He then hit a hot streak of five birdies in his next seven holes to move one shot inside the cut on two under before the six on the penultimate hole left him requiring a birdie on the last. Lowry had an opportunity but left his attempt short to end his stay on the Algarve.

Playing in the same group, Waring and Otto recorded 14 birdies and one eagle between them – Waring returning a flawless 63 and Otto a 64.

In the mix also is overnight leader Simon Thornton, but was unable to match his opening day 65 and so dropped four strokes back after carding a second round 69.

Lynn, still struggling with the virus which affected him during last week’s Seve Trophy, had shared the overnight lead on six under and late in the day carded his second consecutive 65 with four birdies and an eagle from just six feet on the par-five 12th.

Waring, who enjoyed the first top-five finish of his European Tour career in the Spanish Open in April and has had three more top-10s since, said: “I think the lovely weather’s had a bit of a hand in it. I played nice, kept control of my golf ball well, hit it close a few times and holed a few putts.

“I’ve been playing better for the last few months; I lost by one in Valencia, two in Gleneagles, been knocking on the door a few times so it’s nice to keep myself in contention week on week.”

Waring, playing on a medical exemption after an operation on a serious wrist injury, is currently 86th on the Race to Dubai and added: “If I can get into one of these big four events (the inaugural Final Series) at the end of the season that would be great.

“I am not going to put too much pressure on myself, I’ve had a medical (exemption) all year so it’s nice to get back into a proper category for next year.”

Austria’s Bernd Wiesberger completed a 65 to lie one shot off the lead on 11 under alongside Scotland’s Chris Doak, who had five birdies and an eagle in his flawless 64 and is yet to drop a shot this week.

Paul McGinley fired a 66 to stay on for the weekend on 3 under with David Higgins one stroke further adrift.

However Michael Hoey, Damien McGrane and Gareth Maybin missed the cut.

10/10/2013

Simon Thornton Fires 66

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Simon Thornton dropped just the one shot on his way to a 6 under par first round of 66 at the Portugal Masters in Vilamoura to finish morning with in a share of the clubhouse lead with David Lynn, Jamie Donaldson and Alvaro Quiros.

Peter Lawrie on the otherhand faces a bleaker outlook on Friday having carded 77 strokes on the opening day, with a triple bogey on the par four 14th hole, adding to three other bogeys, to leave him in 124th position at midday.

Michael Hoey signed for a 68 to end two strokes ahead of Damien McGrane and defending champion Shane Lowry.

Donaldson and Lynn overcame the disappointment of being part of Great Britain & Ireland’s losing side last week as they grabbed a share of the clubhouse lead at the Portugal Masters.

Welshman Donaldson and Englishman Lynn were part of Sam Torrance’s side which was beaten 15-13 by Continental Europe, but carded opening rounds of 66 to join Ireland's Simon Thornton and Spaniard Alvaro Quiros, a former winner here, on six under.

Donaldson reached seven under before three-putting the eighth, his penultimate hole, for his only bogey of the day, while Lynn picked up three shots in his last five holes.

A relaxed approach to the pressure of trying to keep his card paid off for Scotland's Chris Doak in Vilamoura.

Doak is 112th on The Race to Dubai with only the top 110 after next week's Perth International keeping their full playing privileges for 2014.

The 35 year old has not managed a top-ten finish all season but carded a flawless opening 67, four under par, at Oceânico Victoria Golf Club to lie two shots off the clubhouse lead.

"It's a great start," Doak said. "I said to myself if I can shoot three under each day I'll be round about there, so it's a good start.

"It's the total opposite this week to the rest of the season. I'm just trying to relax a bit more. I felt over the season I have been trying too hard when I have been up there. I came here on Sunday and had a few days to get used to the course and conditions.

"If anybody says they don't know what number they are (on The Race to Dubai) they might be lying. You've got to know. For me I like to know what I have to do, but it's a different attitude this week which has been working so far."

Robert Coles is also struggling to keep his card and matched Doak's 67, but the Englishman will have had mixed emotions after leading by three shots after playing his first 12 holes in seven under par.

Coles, currently 164th on The Race to Dubai, then bogeyed the 13th and found water off the tee on the next to run up a double-bogey six before closing with four pars.

The 41 year old has managed just one top-20 finish all season - in the first event in South Africa which was reduced to 36 holes due to bad weather - and is still looking for his first European Tour victory in more than 360 events.

Another player battling to retain his status is Denmark’s former Ryder Cup star Søren Hansen, who aided his cause with a five under par 67.

Defending champion Shane Lowry, third in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at the end of September, had to settle for a one under par 70.

As the afternoon session developed, Austrian Bernd Wiesberger posed the biggest threat to the leaders as he birdied four of his first eight holes.

Paul McGinley and Gareth Maybin are still out on the course as they teed off in the afternoon session.

Lawrie Leaves it Late

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Peter Lawrie this week stares at the prospect of losing his European Tour card, a thought will haunt him when he tees up in the Portugal Masters at Vilamoura on Thuirsday. It is the first time since joining the Tour full-time in 2003 that Lawrie has been in such a precarious position.

Currently 111th on the money list and Race to Dubai and need this week’s event and next week’s in Australia, the Perth International, to break back inside the top-110 - and reach safety.

In the 10 years Lawrie has been on Tour he captured the 2008 Spanish Open, has recorded four second place results, three thirds , 23 other top-10s and has amassed over €5.3m in prize money.

“After missing the last five cuts, I’ve spent the last eight weeks looking over my shoulder, if you know what I mean.

“I’ve been looking for the key for a while and just haven’t found it.”

"For sure it keeps you awake at night," he said. "All I've needed to do is make a cut and have a decent week, yet I've been just missing by one, as was the case at the KLM Open and Italian Open. It's all my own fault and it's up to myself to get out of it."

Peter sets off in Vilamoura at 08:10hrs alongside Chris Paisley and Lorenzo Gagli.

Shane Lowry, Simon Thornton, David Higgins, Damien McGrane, Gareth Maybin, Michael Hoey and Paul McGinley completed the Irish entries

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