Clarke Three Off Pace Down Under

Australia's Steven Bowditch matched Choi Joon-woo's six under par 66 to share the lead with the South Korean after the opening round of the Australian PGA Championship at Coolum.

On a day when a host of players, including Jason Day, threatened record scores and fellow Australian Adam Scott staged a remarkable recovery to stay in the hunt, it was firstly Choi and then Bowditch who capitalised most on the favourable conditions.

One shot adrift are Australians Aaron Baddeley, Andre Stolz and Aaron Townsend, as well as American Bubba Watson, while Steve Conran and Marcus Fraser are among those tied for seventh two shots back.

Open Champion Darren Clarke, Day, Robert Allenby, American Rickie Fowler and South Korean Y E Yang all lie at three under par, while Scott, Stuart Appleby and defending champion Peter Senior all finished with 70s.

Day began in blistering fashion with birdies at five of his first seven holes and after grabbing a sixth at the ninth, was still at five under at the turn having also bogeyed the eighth.

However, he lost momentum over the second half of his round to finish three under par.

After a terrible back nine that featured a triple bogey, a double bogey and a pair of bogeys that left him five over, Scott blitzed the front nine in 30 shots with six birdies to lie two under.

Scott's woes stemmed largely from three visits to the water in four holes from the 11th.

Clarke reached four under at one point only to make back-to-back bogeys at the fourth and fifth, but a birdie at the sixth left him in touch with the leaders.

GMAC and Rory Face World Cup Test

Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell will see their partnership put to the test once again this week at the OMEGA Mission Hills World Cup in China.

Two years ago the pair were denied glory by the Italian brothers Francesco and Edoardo Molinari.

This time around, the Irish duo have been installed as favourites to go one better and win the title.

McIlroy, who at number two in the world is the highest ranked player in the field said: “Graeme and I really enjoyed the experience at Mission Hills two years ago, when we came close to winning the title.

“We only missed out by a shot, and are looking forward to forming the Irish team again and trying to go one better this time.”

The 22-year-old reigning US Open champion hasn’t played competitively since finishing fourth at the WGC-HSBC Champions event in Shanghai two weeks ago.

In contrast, McDowell will be making his fifth competitive start in a row at the high class Mission Hills Resort, Hainan Island.

McDowell added: “I was delighted when Rory selected me to be his partner again.

“There is nothing quite like representing Europe in The Ryder Cup or Ireland in the World Cup – It’s a real buzz.

“We worked well as a partnership two years ago, and we can’t wait to try to claim the title.”

The 32-year-old finished a lowly 38th in his latest outing at the Dunlop Phoenix Tournament in Japan on Sunday, an event reduced to 54-holes by heavy rain.

“Disappointing week on the greens this week,” McDowell tweeted.

“Struggled with my speed. Ball striking and short game are right there.

“Bring on the World Cup.”

Rory and Graeme are close friends off the course and following McIlroy’s much publicised switch from ISM, they are now part of the same management team at Horizon.

On-course the two Ulster golfers have developed into a highly effective partnership.

In 2009 they played together at the Seve Trophy winning three points out of four as GB&I crushed Europe.

And then last year they came together again in the cauldron of the Ryder Cup to win one and half points out of three.

They are a proven combination but they will have to see off some other high quality pairings if they are to become the first Irish team to win since Padraig Harrington and Paul McGinley in 1997.

The Molinari brothers are back to defend their title and they will be joined in the 28 team field by Masters champion Charl Schwartzel and 2010 Open Champion Louis Oosthuizen.

The United States will be represented by Matt Kuchar and his partner Gary Woodland.

Both men recognise the honour and privilege of representing the Stars and Stripes.

Kuchar, who was part of the Presidents Cup side that beat the International team in Australia on Sunday said:. “It’s exciting to think about the World Cup and representing the United States.

Woodland said: “Matt is a very consistent player, always in play.

“Hopefully it pans out pretty well.

“I have a little length to add to it, so hopefully I can drive it out there.

“He can knock it close and we both get our putters going and we can make a lot of birdies.”

“That is what we are looking for and hopefully we can play well and get the job done.

“Our form at the minute is quite good and hopefullyb that will continue in this event.”

England’s Ian Poulter has named his close friend Justin Rose to fly the flag for England.

This comes four years after they finished fourth on their only appearance as a double act at the original Mission Hills Resort in Shenzen.

Harrington Shares Third in Malaysia

Dutchman Joost Luiten claimed a maiden European Tour title with a one shot victory from Daniel Chopra at the Iskandar Johor Open.

Trailing overnight leader Chopra by four shots at the start of the day, Luiten compiled a six under par 65 to fend off the Swede with a winning score of 15 under par.

After the tournament had been reduced to 54 holes due to three days of storm interruptions at Horizon Hills Golf and Country Club, Chopra could only produce a final round of 70 and needed a birdie at the last to ensure he finished alone in second on 14 under.

Padraig Harrington, James Morrison and Rhys Davies ended in a tie for third on 13 under. Harrington and Morrison both signed for closing 69s while Davies carded an impressive 65 to climb the leaderboard.

“I don’t believe it yet,” said Luiten. “I think when you’re in position to win you always have some nerves, but I think that’s normal. 

“My caddie [Martin Gray] said to me when we had four holes left to play, ‘the only guy you’re going to lose to is yourself’, and I think he was right. I just had to play my game and let the other guys chase me. If they do chase me, well done, we come back. But it was good enough so I’m really happy.”

After a stunning 63 gave him the first round lead, the 25 year old had slipped down the leaderboard with a second round 70.

But it could have been worse – and three closing birdies at least gave him a platform to launch a challenge.And he took full advantage with a brilliant bogey-free effort, with five of his birdies on the front nine.

“I played really well in the first round, and then I started off pretty well and was one up after six holes. But then the delay came in, and I had a really, really terrible start on the third day,” added Luiten. “I started off with a bogey, and then a double, and I was suddenly three over for the round. 

“But I tried to fight back on the back nine with five birdies, and got myself right in there. And today I think I had a dream start. I made some really nice par putts, I had the pace with the greens and just left a few birdie putts short, but I managed to roll in the par putts when I had to, which was really important for my momentum. “

Luiten’s first victory comes on the back of some impressive form – he had been in the top 15 in eight of his last 14 European Tour events.It also puts to bed the wrist injury which plagued him throughout the start of his career, and takes him to just outside the top 15 that will split the $7,500,000 bonus pool in The Race to Dubai.

“I have been close a few times this year, and to finally win one and get close to the top 15 is unbelievable. And hopefully I can play well in Dubai and push along a little bit,” he added.

The 37 year old Chopra saw his hopes fade with a double bogey at the seventh, but the Swede was still pleased with his week’s work.

“I’m learning to stay patient, which is good,” said Chopra, whose wait for a maiden European Tour title goes on.

“My putting was fantastic. I’m happy with being able to manage my game, even though I didn’t have much control in my long game. I was able to play and work around that with my experience. 

“It is a great way to finish the year. It has been a long hard working year, and it is nice to have this good finish at the end of the year. It gives you some encouragement for the next year.”

Davies collected six birdies in his strong closing effort to join Harrington and Morrison on 13 under par.

"I played well. I was really happy with that. I hadn't had a great deal of form of late, but felt my game was coming along all the time," he said.

"I actually hit the ball really well today, hit just about every shot where I was looking, and that's super encouraging. I holed some good putts as well. I feel like I'm rolling the putter a lot better, and my ball-striking was really on, so that's nice."

Harrington, winner last year when the event was on the Asian Tour, reached the turn two under after birdies on the eighth and ninth.

However, consecutive bogeys at the 11th and 12th halted his progress and, although he picked up two more shots at the next two holes, he ultimately fell short.

Morrison built on his eighth place at the Barclays Singapore Open with another strong finish as three birdies and a bogey secured a tie for third, and cements his place in the top 60 ahead of the Dubai World Championship.

Frenchman Gregory Bourdy was sixth on 12 under following a 70 and Dane Søren Kjeldsen ended a shot further back in seventh after a 67.

Harrington was content with his week's work, if not the final result.

"I was happy with a lot of things this week," said the Irishman.

"I'm happy with my form, I'm happy with the way I'm playing, and most of all I'm happy with where my head was at. I'm just a little disappointed with the finished result, but you can't win them all.

"When you get that close, put yourself in contention, you want to pull it off.

"But it's not always possible, and Joost obviously played very well today. At least it gives me a lot of confidence for the last couple of events."

Harrington Cuts Chopra Johor Lead

Padraig Harrington battled to a four-under-par 67 despite struggling with a stomach discomfort to trail second round leader Daniel Chopra of Sweden by two shots on Saturday.

Harrington returned Saturday morning to complete nine holes for an 11-under-par 131 total that was matched by James Morrison of England and Gregory Bourdy of France at the US$2 million event sanctioned by the Asian Tour and European Tour.

A total of 70 players returned Saturday morning to complete the second round of the Iskandar Johor Open after play was suspended at 6.40pm on Friday.

Chopra, who finished the second round on Friday, aims to recapture the title he won way back in 1993 but will have to fend off the strong challenge from three-time Major champion Harrington at the Horizon Hills Golf and Country Club.

“I’ve actually been feeling a bit under the weather for the last 48 hours, so that break yesterday actually did me the world of good, because I was able to sleep for three hours. I’m not sure if it was something I ate, but I’ve been really struggling to sleep and I lost my appetite,” said Harrington.

“But I felt better after my sleep yesterday afternoon, and I felt better again this morning. I’ve been surviving on toast for the last two days, but hopefully I can get something down me now and maybe go for a little nap before the third round starts,” he added.

Harrington played nine holes on Friday before play was suspended due to darkness. He returned this morning with a pair of birdies from 11 and added two more birdies on holes 16 and 18 to stay within touching distance of Chopra.

“It was important to get as close to Daniel (Chopra) as I could, because we don’t know if there are 18 or 36 holes left to play. I was very aware of that coming down the last nine holes, and even on the last hole. The pin is very tight to the water but I decided to attack the flag with my pitch anyway, which maybe I wouldn’t have done if I knew for definite there was still 36 holes left to play,” he said.

Sddikur of Bangladesh, winner of the 2010 Brunei Open, is the highest ranked Asian in tied sixth place after posting a 67 on Friday for a 134 total to lie five shots off the lead.

The halfway cut was set at two-under-par 140 with a total of 72 players making the cut. Round three will start no later than 12.45pm local time.

Scores after round 2 

129 - Daniel CHOPRA (SWE) 64-65.

131 - Padraig HARRINGTON (IRL) 64-67, James MORRISON (ENG) 66-65, Gregory BOURDY (FRA) 64-67.

133 - Joost LUITEN (NED) 63-70.

134 - SIDDIKUR (BAN) 67-67, Christian NILSSON (SWE) 67-67, Michael JONZON (SWE) 69-65, Jose Manuel LARA (ESP) 67-67, Marcus FRASER (AUS) 64-70.

135 - Soren HANSEN (DEN) 68-67, Rhys DAVIES (WAL) 70-65, Soren KJELDSEN (DEN) 71-64, Darren BECK (AUS) 70-65, Brett RUMFORD (AUS) 71-64, Manny VILLEGAS (COL) 72-63, Fredrik ANDERSSON HED (SWE) 68-67.

136 - Rikard KARLBERG (SWE) 70-66, Chapchai NIRAT (THA) 65-71, Peter KARMIS (RSA) 70-66, Jamie MCLEARY (SCO) 66-70, Marcel SIEM (GER) 69-67, Louis OOSTHUIZEN (RSA) 69-67, Michael HOEY (NIR) 69-67.

137 - Mardan MAMAT (SIN) 69-68, Steve WEBSTER (ENG) 69-68, Sam WALKER (ENG) 70-67, Anthony KIM (USA) 68-69, Guido VAN DER VALK (NED) 69-68, Danny WILLETT (ENG) 69-68, Richie RAMSAY (SCO) 68-69.

Harrington Defends Johor Open Title

Padraig Harrington feels he will have to produce some of his very best golf to defend his Iskandar Johor Open title in Malaysia this week.

Harrington ended a two-year wait for a title 12 months ago with a three-shot victory at Horizon Hills Golf and Country Club in Johor Bahru when the tournament was part of the Asian Tour. Now co-sanctioned for the first time with the European Tour, Harrington will have to fend off competition from Henrik Stenson, Camilo Villegas, Anthony Kim and Louis Oosthuizen among others.

"There are 156 guys here this week, and most - if not all - of them are very good players. So you're going to have to play very well and hole a lot of putts to win the tournament," the three-time major winner told the European Tour website.

"It's very hard to predict who's going to win a golf tournament these days because pretty much every player in the field is quite capable on their day.

"So it's always better to focus on your own game rather than on anyone else. All you can do is just give it your best shot and see where it takes you."

Harrington, though, expects to take on a much different Horizon Hills course from a year ago, where he triumphed with a winning score of 20-under-par.

"It's always nice to come back to a golf course where you've won before. It obviously comes with certain expectations, and hopefully I can live up to them this week," he added.

"The course is very different to the one we played last year. A few of the holes have been lengthened, the rough's much heavier and the fairways are very soft, whereas they were pretty firm last year.

"So whilst we were getting 30 to 40 yards of run here last year, you probably won't be getting any this year. So it'll be interesting to see how it affects the scoring - I certainly don't think the winning score will be as low as last year's."

The Iskandar Johor Open is one of the fastest growing tournaments on the Asian Tour and has attracted some of the best golfers in the world. The event was successfully staged at the Royal Johor Country Club for the first three years and at Horizon Hills Golf and Country Club in 2010. 

It returns to Johor for the fifth time where once again at Horizon Hills, golf fans will be able to witness yet another exciting golf tournament which is staking its claim as one of the top events on the Asian Tour calendar. It reaches a new level on the international golf schedule with its elevation to a jointly sanctioned tournament with the Asian and European Tours starting 2011. 

Since the inaugural event in 2007, the prize money for the tournament has increased by more than four-fold from US$300,000 in 2007 to US$1.25 million in 2010. In 2011, the prize money will grow to a minimum of US$2 million. 

Past winners include Artemio Murakami of Philippines who won the inaugural event in 2007 and South African Retief Goosen who took home the prestigious prize in 2008. Korean superstar KJ Choi lifted the coveted trophy in 2009 and Ireland’s Padraig Harrington ended a two-year winless run in 2010 with a very popular win. 

2010 also saw the best field in Johor yet, with the finest players on the Asian Tour and 2010 European Ryder Cup Winning Team Captain Colin Montgomerie. 

2011 looks set to be the championship’s most exciting edition yet, with a field of the European Tours’ finest players facing off against the best that Asian golf has to offer. 

A total of 156 international golfers are expected to compete in this prestigious global event this year.