Lowry Claims Share of Second in Wales

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Shane Lowry was never able to get on level terms with the leaders on the final day of the ISPS Handa Wales Open, carding two bogeys and one birdie in his first five holes to sign for a round of 70 at The Celtic Manor.

So it was Joost Luiten who breathed a sigh of relief after overcoming a poor start and nervous finish to claim his fourth European Tour title in Wales.

The Dutchman, who was fifth in the defence of his KLM Open title on home soil last week, saw his two shot overnight lead disappear when he bogeyed the first two holes of the final round at The Celtic Manor Resort.

But the 28 year old hit back with three birdies and one bogey on the back nine to card a closing 71 and finish 14 under par, one shot ahead of England's Tommy Fleetwood and Ireland's Shane Lowry.

Fleetwood had looked out of contention following a double bogey on the 13th, but then chipped in for a birdie on the 14th, holed from five feet for eagle on the next and also birdied the last three holes for a closing 67.

That left Luiten needing to par the last three holes to win and he looked to have done the hard part with a superb up and down from a greenside bunker on the 17th, only to hit an amazingly wild drive on the last.

It took several minutes for the ball to be found in dense rough but Luiten was able to hack it across the fairway and into more rough, from where he found the green with his approach and two-putted from long range.

"It was tough, it was hard work down the last," Luiten admitted. "I didn't have the start I wanted with two bogeys and I just tried to hang in there and wait for my chances and made some nice birdies at the end and a par down the last was luckily enough.

“There's always a lot of tension on the first hole – you try to settle down, try to make an easy par or birdie and then I left myself quite a tricky first putt and I just didn't read it well. I didn't give the right pace and you leave yourself an eight footer downhill left to right and that's one you can make or miss and I missed it today. 

“You just try to settle down the first couple holes, and after that, I got back into my game. I started to hit greens, and I just didn't really make any putts in the middle part - luckily we made a couple at the back.”

Like Luiten, Fleetwood has also come into form late in the season, finishing fifth in both the D+D REAL Czech Masters and Omega European Masters recently.

The 23 year old, who won his maiden European Tour title at Gleneagles last year, said: "After the double bogey on 13 I definitely wasn't thinking about getting to 13 under, just try your best on the last few and see what you can get. I wanted to get back to level par or under par for the day. I thought that would have been a good effort.

"After a poor summer, I wanted to finish the season well. I've been playing well recently and the more you get up there, the better. This is how you learn. You can't practice this on the range when you're coming down the stretch in the top five and just the more you do it, the better it is."

Five players shared fourth place, Ryder Cup debutant Jamie Donaldson carding a 67 to finish alongside Nicolas Colsaerts, Eddie Pepperell, Marc Warren and Edoardo Molinari.

"I'm very pleased," Donaldson said. "Celtic Manor is a tough golf course which doesn't quite suit my eye. It's been hard for me this week to keep focused and try and see the shots. If you take your foot off the pedal and there's a lot of trouble about.

"I'm happy the way I played over the last four or five weeks, building up to the Ryder Cup. I couldn't have asked for any more, really."

Team-mates Thomas Björn and Lee Westwood carded closing rounds of 74 and 76 respectively, Westwood having to birdie the 16th and 18th to avoid an even worse score.

"I needed to play some competitive golf and I've done that," said the 41 year old ahead of his ninth Ryder Cup. "I hit a few good shots (this week), not so good today, but I probably had one eye on next week. I don't think the concentration and the focus was there.

"The Ryder Cup is very special, I am looking forward to getting there tonight and preparing for Friday when it starts."

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McGinley Honour at Celtic Manor

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Paul McGinley, the 2014 European Ryder Cup captain, will have the honour of striking the opening shot on Thursday morning as the race for Ryder Cup points begins in the ISPS Handa Wales Open.

The Celtic Manor Resort, the scene of the European Team’s dramatic victory in 2010, provides the perfect setting this week as the battle commences to clinch the nine automatic spots in Paul McGinley’s 12-man team for The 2014 Ryder Cup.

The Irishman will lead from the front at the first tee alongside the 2012 Qualifying School winner John Parry and 2012 Challenge Tour Number One Espen Kofstad.

“I am absolutely thrilled to be striking the first shot in the race for The 2014 Ryder Cup,” said McGinley. “While I have obviously ruled myself out of the running to battle for a place in the team, as the Captain and the leader I am extremely proud to lead the lines for my prospective team members.

“There is going to be fierce competition for those nine spots and I'm sure there are many players at The Celtic Manor Resort this week with their eyes focused firmly on a place in my team. 

“It also gives me great pleasure to hit the first shot of the tournament, as this is always been a special event for me, especially since my victory here at The Celtic Manor Resort in 2001.”

McGinley will be joined by two players who know all about making the grade in high-pressured qualification processes, with Parry having won Qualifying School in December of last year to claim the first card for The 2013 Race to Dubai.

Kofstad, meanwhile, produced a magnificent performance on the final day of the 2012 Challenge Tour Grand Final to claim the title and in the process seal a rookie season on The European Tour.

Thongchai Jaidee will begin the defence of his title at 13:15 playing alongside 2011 Open Champion Darren Clarke and Spain’s Rafa Cabrero-Bello.

Other groups which catch the eye include the 08:05 group of Spaniards Miguel Angel Jiménez and Gonzalo Fernandez-Castaño and Denmark’s Thorbjørn Olesen, who start on the 11th tee.

Last week’s winner on The European Tour at the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles, Tommy Fleetwood, plays in the group immediately afterwards - on the 11th tee at 08:15 - alongside 2010 Ryder Cup European team member Francesco Molinari and Finland’s Mikko Ilonen.

One of the home hopes and the course record-holder at The Celtic Manor Resort, Rhys Davies, will play alongside American Peter Uihlein and Frenchman Raphaël Jacquelin.

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Clarke Decides on Celtic Manor

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Darren Clarke is among the late entries for the ISPS Handa Wales Open at Celtic Manor next week. 

Clarke, who won his first Major Championship at Royal St George’s in 2011, tees up in Wales alongside a host of other Ryder Cup stars including Miguel Angel Jiménez, Francesco Molinari, Ross Fisher and José Maria Olazabal. 

The popular Northern Irishman was a vice-captain to Colin Montgomerie in Europe’s thrilling Ryder Cup victory at Celtic Manor in 2010 after making five appearances in the contest as a player. The first man after Tiger Woods to win two World Golf Championship events, Clarke has claimed 14 European Tour titles in all, and was also a vice-captain to José María Olazábal in The 2012 Ryder Cup.

Other European Tour champions entered for the ISPS Handa Wales Open from August 29-September 1 include Denmark’s Thomas Björn and Thorbjørn Olesen, Spanish quartet Alvaro Quiros, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castaño, Rafa Cabrera-Bello and Pablo Larrazábal, Scotland’s Stephen Gallacher and Englishmen Chris Wood, David Howell and Simon Dyson. 

Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee defends the ISPS Handa Wales Open title he won in testing conditions last year to claim his first victory on European soil. Also part of a truly international field are Finland’s Mikko Ilonen, Australian Brett Rumford, Austrian Bernd Weisberger, Frenchman Raphaël Jacquelin, Dutchman Joost Luiten, American Peter Uihlein and South Africa’s Darren Fichardt. 

The tournament marks the start of the points race for qualification for The 2014 Ryder Cup at The Gleneagles Hotel in Scotland, and European Captain Paul McGinley, himself a former champion at Celtic Manor, will be keeping a close eye on all the hopefuls teeing off their campaigns. 

Celtic Manor Resort Chief Executive Dylan Matthews said: “It’s always a real pleasure to welcome back so many star players of The European Tour. 

“The ISPS Handa Wales Open has grown into one of the premier events on The European Tour International Schedule and is also a highlight of the Welsh sporting summer. 

“This tournament is a fantastic opportunity for golf fans to see some of the world’s best players up close and enjoy a great value family day out.” 

With a prize fund of £1.8m, the ISPS Handa Wales Open is now in its 14th consecutive year at Celtic Manor.

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McGrane and Thornton Best in Wales

Damien McGrane and Simon Thornton led the Irish challenge at the ISPS Handa Wales Open at the end of Friday in tough conditions on the Ryder Cup Course at The Celtic Manor.

McGrane carved out level par round of 71 to move up the field with Thornton dropping two shots on the second day to moved the other way, signing for a 73. Not bad given that more than 20 players failed to break 80 in the opening round of the Wales Open and the scoring was such on Friday that the cut matched the US Masters at Augusta in April.

Despite that there two Irish casualties, Gareth Maybin with a score of  76, and Michael Hoey also carding a 76 after a double bogey added to his woes on the 14th.

However Peter Lawrie and Paul McGinley fared better finishing+ 3 on Friday and inside the cut.

Englishman Ross Fisher though was inspired by his previous Ryder Cup success at The Celtic Manor Resort and opened up a two shot lead on day two.

Fisher, who started the tournament with a solid 70 yesterday, recovered from a bogey on his opening hole - the par five 11th - by firing six birdies in a welcome return to form.

Since helping Europe to Ryder Cup glory at this venue in 2010, the Englishman has slipped out of the world’s top 150, but is now well placed to push for a fifth European Tour victory.

After completing a sizzling 66 that put him two clear of overnight leader Lee Slattery, Fisher said: “It's always nice to come back to good hunting ground, familiar turf. The Ryder Cup was a great experience, I played really well that week and enjoyed it.

“There are certain spots that you think, yeah, the pin was there in The Ryder Cup, or I hit it here and holed this putt, or hit that shot from here. You do try and remember those memories, and feed them into a positive outcome for this week.

“I have some fond memories and I've had some decent results here, but it's a course that I feel should suit me.”

Fisher revealed his Ryder Cup experience had helped him to birdie the par three third today.

He explained: “I hit a nice six iron below the hole to about 12 feet, 15 feet and made that. I actually felt like I was going to hole that because I think either I had that putt or Poults had that in The Ryder Cup, so I knew exactly where I was going to hit it. There was no way I was missing that one.”

Having failed to find his best form in recent times, Fisher is hoping he can build on an impressive performance so far this week.

“Unfortunately last year was disappointing and so far this year, nothing has really happened,” he acknowledged.

“So I need to try and turn that around and hopefully this will be the start of a big summer for me.”

Slattery endured a difficult start after resuming on four under, with bogeys at the third, sixth and eighth threatening to undermine his good work on day one.

An eagle at the 11th, together with birdies on the ninth and 13th, helped him to recover, however, and he picked up another shot at the last to post 71.

“I think the eagle on 11 was the turning point in the round,” Slattery admitted.

“The swing certainly didn't feel as good as yesterday. I hit a lot of shots left but just managed to bounce back well.”

Paraguay’s Fabrizio Zanotti initially joined Slattery on four under following a sensational run of five birdies in six holes from the 18th.

He bogeyed his final hole, the tenth, but still signed for a 69 to share third with Chris Wood, who picked up four shots on the front nine en route to 67, and Thongchai Jaidee.

Dutchman Tim Sluiter was a shot further back and remained upbeat despite bogeying three of his last five holes.

“On this course, anything around par is a good score,” said Sluiter. “I’m very pleased where I am, and I kept myself in it.”

Scoring was much improved in the calmer and warmer conditions and the round of the day belonged to France’s Raphaël Jacquelin, who improved on his opening 76 by 11 shots to climb into a tie for eighth on one under.

Matteo Manassero, who matched Jacquelin’s day one score, also bounced back well with a 68, but the most remarkable fightback came from Graeme Storm.

Having gone round in 80 yesterday, which included a ten at the 18th, Storm put together a bogey free 67 to get just inside the cut mark at five over.

Edoardo Molinari and former US Open Champion Michael Campbell were a shot worse off and therefore missed the weekend.

Leaderboard

Fernández-Castaño Recaptures Form

Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño is finally recapturing the form that saw him almost topple Tiger Woods three months ago.

The Spaniard, who took Woods to the final green at the WGC-Accenture Match Play in Tucson, resumes the ISPS Handa Wales Open on Friday two shots behind leader Lee Slattery at Celtic Manor.

And having come so close to a shock win the Madrid golfer admits it has taken him time to regain his confidence.

"I had a great opportunity to beat him, which would have been great," he said. "But I hit some awkward shots and I think my confidence went down a little bit.

"Since then I've kind of lost my swing, but hopefully this will be the turning point of the season."

Dizzy

Fernández-Castaño has played only four times since that Woods duel and has not had a top-50 finish in any of them.

But on a tough opening day at the 2010 Ryder Cup venue his two under par 69 yesterday was good enough for a share of fourth place.

Slattery, whose week began with him qualifying for a US Open debut, had German Marcel Siel and Dutchman Tim Sluiter right on his heels overnight.

Conditions were tough. Over 20 players did not break 80 and one, Singapore's Zhiqun Lam shot 92.

England's Gary Boyd had two sextuple bogey 10s in an 88, then quit, complaining of feeling "sick and dizzy".

Defending champion Alex Noren and Welsh hope Jamie Donaldson withdrew as well with back trouble after scoring 81s.

At the 2010 3 Irish Open Fernández-Castaño finished in third place, played at the Killarney Golf and Fishing Club, behind winner Ross Fisher and second placed, Padraig Harrington.. 

But last year the Madrid born golfer missed the cut on the same course after an opening round of 78.

Thornton Gets Going at Celtic Manor

Simon Thornton has passed through the eleventh green in three under par at the ISPS Handa Wales Open, despite dropping a shot at the first, as he recovered to make the turn in 33 strokes and set the pace in the afternoon pairings - just one shot off the clubhouse leader.

England's Lee Slattery established his one shot clubhouse lead during the morning  round at a windy Celtic Manor Resort.

The 33 year old, who qualified for the US Open Championship at Walton Heath on Monday, shot a four under par 67.

That gave Slattery, who won his maiden European Tour title in Madrid last October, an early one stroke clubhouse lead over German Marcel Siem.

“It was very difficult out there," said Slattery. "The wind was strong, I think stronger than anticipated. Just getting off to a good start today, two birdies in the first two holes, made all the difference. It just meant I had something to go for afterwards.”

On his forthcoming trip to America for the US Open, he added: "I'm really looking forward to San Francisco. It'll be my first tournament in America and I'm fixing up trips to the baseball and Alcatraz."

Slattery reached five under before running up a bogey six at the long ninth - his 17th - and at that point was one behind Siem.

However, the in-form Siem then took six on the same hole, pitching into a greenside bunker, and on the 210-yard tenth he came up short which led to another bogey for the man who two years ago led by three going into the final round only for his title challenge to falter.

Siem, with five top-12 finishes under his belt already this season, said: “I’ve been pretty consistent and I played well last week. 

“My coach came after Walton Heath yesterday and did a little bit of work, and I took a lot of confidence from that. It's very, very steady at the moment.”

As the afternoon wave of players got underway New Zealand’s Michael Campbell made a good start to move into a share of third place.

The former US Open Champion, plagued by injuries in recent years and having made only one cut in eight starts this season, raced to two under par with birdies at the 11th and 15th.

He was alongside Spain’s Gonzalo Fernandez-Castaño and Sweden’s Joel Sjöholm, who both signed for 69.

The later starters included four players from the 2010 European Ryder Cup side who won at this venue - England's Ross Fisher, Spaniard Miguel Angel Jiménez and Italian brothers Francesco and Edoardo Molinari.

Live Scoring - ISPS Handa Wales Open