Broadhurst Feels the Celadna Heat

Englishman Paul Broadhurst had more reasons than most to celebrate making the cut at the Czech Open, having come close to withdrawing from the €1.5million event after collapsing on the street on Wednesday night. 

The six-time European Tour winner completed a remarkable turnaround in his fortunes on Saturday morning by birdieing the final hole of his second round at Prosper Golf Resort in Čeladná, the Czech Republic, to squeeze under the cut line on two over par.

That scenario had looked unlikely when Broadhurst collapsed with a suspected case of heatstroke in the nearby town of Ostrava on the eve of the tournament, and had to be rushed to hospital. 

Once there, he was placed on a drip for three hours and assessed by medical staff, before being released and given clearance to tee up in the tournament. 

He said: “It was just a run-of-the-mill evening really. I’d only had a small glass of beer and was just waiting for my food to arrive, when all of a sudden I started feeling really unwell. I went outside to get some fresh air and ended up passing out for about 20 minutes, then when I came round I was in an ambulance on the way to hospital. So it wasn’t exactly ideal preparation for the tournament!

“I had a lot of tests done on my heart rate and blood pressure, and everything came back normal. So they thought it was probably sunstroke, because I’d be out in the blazing heat for around four hours on Wednesday afternoon. Obviously I was taking fluids on board, but I didn’t take enough on and got a bit dehydrated as well. 

“I didn’t get too much sleep on Wednesday night, but when I arrived at the course on Thursday morning I figured I might as well give it a go. I got off to a reasonable start and managed to keep it going, and although I threw a few bogeys and doubles in here and there – mainly due to a loss of concentration and feeling a bit tired – I managed to make the weekend, so it’s all been worthwhile. Now I’ve just got to start climbing up the leaderboard.”

McGinley Prospers Once Again

Ryder Cup Vice Captain Paul McGinley returned to form in spectacular style to set the clubhouse target midway through the second round of the Czech Open at Prosper Golf Resort.

On a leaderboard overwhelmed by Irish green – they occupied four of the top five positions – it was McGinley who held the clubhouse lead following a one under par 71.

The 44 year old – whose last win came six years ago – registered three birdies in windy conditions but two bogeys in his last three holes prevented a more significant lead.

“Anything under par today is a pretty good score,” said McGinley, who shot to fame when he holed the winning put in The 2002 Ryder Cup.

“Some golf courses lend themselves to playing in the wind, but this one probably doesn’t. There’s lot of elevation changes and a lot of water, plus we didn’t really get any help from the wind, because it seemed to be blowing across us most of the time. 

“So it was a tough day, and to break par was good going. I’m disappointed with the two bogeys towards the end, especially on the eighth hole, because I hit a poor drive, made a good recovery, but then failed to get up and down from a relatively easy position.” 

Of those to have completed their rounds, Scotland’s David Drysdale and England’s Sam Walker were the nearest challengers – they both shot rounds of 72 to remain on three and two under par respectively.

Drysdale said: “It was a bit of a mixed bag, really. I played the front nine really well, but then made a daft three-putt on the ninth. Then on the back nine, I was a wee bit all over the place, to be honest. There are a few fairly demanding tee shots on that nine, and with the cross-winds it made life even tougher. It was obviously a disappointing finish, although I actually made a decent connection out of the rough with my approach, but it caught a branch and ran into the water.

“The back nine should be a bit easier, because it’s slightly shorter and you’re a bit more sheltered from the wind. But the tee shot on the 15th is terrifying. I thought the wind was coming in off the right, but it seemed to switch after I hit it, and the ball started drifting to the right. Luckily enough it pitched just on the front edge, but it messed with my head a bit.”

McGinley’s compatriot Peter Lawrie, who led overnight after a flawless six under par 66, bogeyed two of his first four to drop back to four under.

They were joined by Damien McGrane, who was one over after five, while Shane Lowry birdied the second to claim the outright lead on five under.

Lowry bogeyed the fourth to join the group on four under, with McGrane and Italy’s Lorenzo Gagli moving to the head of affairs on five under after seven and five holes respectively.

Play was suspended at 1434 local time due to a thunderstorm, with almost an hour and a half lost before play resumed.

McGrane moved to six under with birdies at the long tenth and par four 12th, and he was joined by Mikael Lundberg when the Swede birdied the 13th and 15th.

England’s Oliver Fisher, who only made one cut in his first 21 starts before finishing 35th in Sweden and 45th in Ireland last month, moved into a share of third with Lawrie, Lowry and Gagli.

Lawrie Prospers in Round One

There was no shortage of green splashed across the top of the leaderboard at the Czech Open today, as a trio of Irishmen staked an early claim for the title. Peter Lawrie holds the outright lead on six-under-par and is closely followed by Damien McGrane, Shane Lowry and Paul McGinley at the Prosper Golf Resort.

Lawrie, who did not drop a shot, credited a new putting technique with helping him to the fore in Celadna. Last year’s runner-up is now on course to go one better following a change to his putting style he first attempted in the Irish Open at the end of last month when he finished eighth.

“I played lovely golf,” said the 37-year-old from Dublin, whose only European Tour win was in the Open de Espana just over three years ago. “No bogeys, which always helps. A couple of nice up-and-downs when I really needed them — on two and three — my 11th and 12th.

“Every chance I gave myself from short range, I holed it, though I missed about a 10-footer at the last. But everything went according to plan. I’ve been playing quite steady all year, holing a few nice putts in Ireland. I did one or two things different in Ireland with my putting which seemed to work, and it’s working well out here as well.”

Starting at the 10th hole, Lawrie conjured birdies in three of the last five — the fifth, sixth and eighth on the course — to propel him into the lead.

Lawrie is followed on five under by McGrane, Frenchman Victor Dubuisson, in only his second year as a pro on the European tour, and Spain’s Pedro Oriol.

McGrane, who dropped only one shot in his round, said: “The scoring conditions are perfect so it’s possible to create a lot of chances.

“But creating them is one thing, converting them quite another. So to make six birdies and just the one bogey was very pleasing. It’s probably going to be a low-scoring week because the greens are in fantastic condition, so I’ll have to keep making those birdies.”

Lowry stands at four under, with the highlight of his round being an eagle at the 576-yard, par-five fifth.

Lowry said: “Since I had a good finish at Wentworth I haven't really done too much, and that's purely down to my putting, because I've been playing quite nicely from tee to green. When you're not putting well, it tends to affect the rest of your game, because you tend to try to force the issue and attack the pins too much.

“So it was pleasing to roll a few putts in today, and I just hope it continues for the rest of the week now.

"I saw that Peter and Damien were right up there coming down the last, so it was a very nice surprise. Let's hope we're battling it out on the final day, although there's a long way to go.”

He was joined by Sweden’s Mikael Lundberg, who chalked up four birdies on the back nine to help make amends for a double-bogey six at the third.

At one stage another Swede in Fredrik Ohlsson was poised to be amongst the leaders when he made six birdies in seven holes, only to drop four shots in two holes late on and finish on one under.

Scottish trio Gary Orr, Richie Ramsay and David Drysdale, along with McGinley, are amongst a host of players on three under.

The leading player in the field and course co-designer, Spain’s Miguel Angel Jimenez, was facing a fight to make the cut after a four-over-par round of 76.

Leaderboard

Walton and Dignam Share Tullamore

Philip Walton and John Dignam finished in semi-darkness at the Tullamore Dew PGA pro-am tournament last night to both post a three-under-par 67 and push long-time leader Ger Hall off the top of the leaderboard.

Former Ryder and Walker Cup player Walton covered holes four to 14 in a superb five-under-par to be four-under, having dropped a shot at the par four first hole.

He then bogeyed 15 and 16 but steadied the ship with birdie three at the last for his 67.

Despite the horrid conditions, Dignam was steady as a rock with birdies at 10, 12 and 13 and 15 pars on his card.

Hall carded an early day two-under-par 68 with the work done over the opening five holes which he covered in four-under to lay the basis of his winning round.

He didn't keep up the birdie blitz, however, and blew the chance of winning as he double-bogeyed the last hole to be one-over on the way back.

European Tour player Shane Lowry took time out to play at Tullamore and grabbed a share of second place, one stroke behind the winners.

The former Irish Open champion, from nearby Esker Hills, had trouble with the short holes on the way out and dropped strokes at the second and fourth before his first birdie, a three at the eighth.

He gave that shot back to the course at the par four 10th hole but finished strongly with birdie three at 13, a four at the long 14th and a finishing birdie three at the last green.

Lowry shared his one-under-70 with Darren McWilliams, John Dwyer, David Ryan and Mark Staunton while Lexus Race to Mount Juliet in association with PING leader David Higgins carded a 73.

David Keating's Tip Win's US PGA

Keegan Bradley said it felt like "a dream" after beating fellow American Jason Dufner in a play-off at the US PGA to win his first major. The 25-year-old triumphed by one shot in a three-hole shoot-out after the pair tied at eight under in Atlanta.

It was only six months ago that Killarney Golf & Fishing Club professional, David Keating, tipped the young American to be en route to PGA Tour victories this season. Although a Major win would have seemed a far fetched dream. 

 

Bradley had triple-bogeyed the 15th to hand Dufner a five-shot lead but kept his nerve as his rival faltered.

"It feels unbelievable, I can't believe this trophy is sitting next to me," said Bradley.

"It seems like a dream and I'm afraid I'm going to wake up here in the next five minutes and it's not going to be real."

In a tournament filled with unfamiliar names at the top of the leaderboard, Bradley delivered an unforgettable finish.

The rookie was five shots behind with only three holes to play after his chip raced across the 15th green and into the water, leading to a triple bogey, but he refused to let it throw him off his game.

"I just kept telling myself, 'Don't let that hole define this whole tournament,"' said Bradley.

He proceeded to make back-to-back birdies, including a 35-footer that rattled into the cup on the 17th, while leader Dufner saw his game fall apart.

Unflappable all afternoon, he hit his tee shot into the water on the 15th for the first of three straight bogeys that led to the three-hole play-off.

Bradley birdied the 16th hole in the play-off to take the outright lead and went on to win by one shot.

He is only the third player to win a major on his first try and his victory breaks the United States' longest drought at major championships, which had reached six since Phil Mickelson's win at the 2010 Masters.

"I don't want to be one of the guys that kind of disappears," said Bradley.

"I would love to be up in a category with the best players and be mentioned with Phil Mickelson, one of my idols. I hope I don't disappear. I don't plan to."

Bradley, nephew of LPGA great Pat Bradley, went into the tournament ranked 108th in the world but his win lifts him to 29th in the rankings.

KEEGAN BRADLEY FACTFILE

1986: Born 7 June, in Vermont, in same year that aunt Pat Bradley wins three of her six majors

2008: Turns pro, wins Southern Dunes title on Hooters Tour

2009: Wins Texas Honing Open on Hooters Tour, fails to win PGA Tour card

2010: Finishes 14th on Nationwide Tour, ends year 329th on world rankings

2011: Wins Byron Nelson in play-off; Wins US PGA - his first major - in play-off with Jason Dufner; Climbs to 29th in the world rankings