11/11/2013

McGee Leads Irish Hopes


Ruaidhri McGee signed for a four under par second round at the European Tour Final Qualifying on Monday singing for a 66 at the PGA Catalunya Tour Course to move into the to hold a share of eighth place.

The Rosapenna golfer made the turn in 32 strokes and picked up another birdie on the run for home, with a card that also showed three dropped shots. 

McGee is four shots off the lead of American John Hahn, who carded a six-under 66 on the Stadium Course to go two shots clear of the field on 10 under.

Kevin Phelan finished his second round three-under-par on the Tour Course which in some ways eased the setback of his opening 73 on Sunday but leaves him Tied 55th  

David Higgins is placed the same after his second one over par on the Stadium Course dropped him down the field after the first round 67.

Amateur Dermot McElroy suffered a triple-bogey seven on the 14th, his fifth hole, on the Stadium Course on his way to a two-over 74.

The 20-year-old lies in a tie for 81st position on level par and will need to make a move over the next two days to avoid the cut after the fourth of six rounds.


The field of 156 competitors will play 2 rounds on both the Stadium and Tour Courses at the PGA Catalunya Resort. After 72 holes the field will be cut to the leading 70 players and ties who will play two further rounds over the Stadium Course. 
At the conclusion of 108 holes, the leading 25 players (and those players tied on the final qualifying place score) will be ranked according  to score. 
Players who tie for 25th place or better shall be eligible for Category 15 membership of the European Tour (and Category 5 membership of the Challenge Tour) for the 2014 season and will be subject to the  2014 re-rank policy adopted by the Tournament Committee. 

The remainder of those making the cut will be eligible for Category 20 membership of the European Tour (and Category 9 membership of the Challenge Tour) for the 2014 season. Players failing to make the  cut will be eligible for Category 15 membership of the Challenge Tour for the 2014 season. 
Players who fail to make the cut will also be ranked.

Since 1976, The European Tour Qualifying School has been held at the end of each season to establish which players, not otherwise exempt, will gain their playing privileges on the Tour for the following season through a qualifying competition.

It is a tough school for one of golf’s most coveted prizes, namely Membership of The European Tour and a place among the golfing elite. 

Along the way, dreams are made and hopes dashed in equal measure. The Qualifying School is held in three stages - dependent on the individual's status - at a series of venues in the UK and Continental Europe. In the region of 1,000 competitors enter the Qualifying School each year, all aiming for a European Tour card, awarded to the top 25 and ties following the Final Stage. A player progressing through all three stages will have to play 252 holes under the most intense pressure.

The leading 25 players (plus those tied for 25th place) will earn Category 15 Membership of The European Tour for the following season.


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11/09/2013

Harry Needs a Break

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Padraig Harrington insists he will not be upset if he fails to qualify for next week's DP World Tour Championship as he needs a break.

The Irishman began this week's Turkish Airlines Open 67th on the Race to Dubai, and probably needing a top-10 finish to climb into the top 60 to qualify for the European Tour's season-ending showpiece.

A third-round 71, however, left him languishing in a tie for 40th at seven under par and in need of something special from his final round at the Montgomerie Maxx Royal.

Asked how big a blow it would be were he to not qualify on Sunday, given his status as a former European No 1 and three-time major winner, Harrington responded: "Sorry to say not at all. I need the week and I need a break.

"I'm trying to make it and I'd love to be there, but bear in mind anybody who just scrambles in gets an early tee time the first day and it's nearly impossible to come out of the early tee times next week.

"Every hole will play about 30 yards longer than it will in the afternoon - it's a tough task to win from the early tee times next week."

Harrington revealed a loss of patience early on had been responsible for his mediocre third round which he started with a bogey at the opening hole.

"It's a tough day," he said. "On the greens I didn't hole anything and got off to a bad start.

"If I could get a good start it would be fine, but I'm sure everyone who's not scoring on this course is saying the same thing.

"I definitely lost my patience early on today so that's maybe something - when you're not making birdies out there you feel like you're going backwards.

"I think I need to get to 16 [under par, to qualify for Dubai], but if you offered me 15 now I'd sit in the clubhouse and hope to get lucky."


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11/08/2013

Clarke Trails Leading Duo

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Darren Clarke carded a one under par first round 69 at the McGladrey Classic in Georgia on Thursday, to remain six strokes off the leaders Briny Baird and Brian.

The duo both fired opening-round 63's to sit seven under after fog had delayed play by almost two hours in the morning.

Former US Open champion Webb Simpson was one of three players two shots back alongside fellow American Kevin Kisner and South Korean Seung-yul Noh.

Baird has not recorded a win in his previous 364 appearances on Tour but could break that duck this week after a stunning start at Sea Island.

The 41-year-old recorded a flawless round as he birdied the second, third and fourth holes before hitting another hot streak at the end of his day with further birdies at 14, 15, 16 and 17.

Gay did have a blemish on his card as he dropped a shot on the 12th but he countered that with eight birdies in calm conditions.

Simpson, Noh and Kisner were two behind after firing rounds of 65 and there was a large group behind them on four under including Jonathan Byrd andCamilo Villegas.

Will MacKenzie was the best of the afternoon starters as he sat four under after six holes with former Masters champion Trevor Immelman a further shot back through eight.

Major champions YE Yang, Retief Goosen and Ben Curtis were all on two under having completed their rounds while defending champion Tommy Gainey was level par through four holes.


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11/06/2013

McElroy Earns Final Place

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Dermot McElroy finished his weather delayed final round of the European Tour Qualifying  School on Wednesday at Lumine Golf and Beach Club with a level par 71. A result  that secured the Irish amateur eighteenth place outright in Tarragona and the last spot for the Final Stage next week.

A pair of birdies and bogeys either side of the turn were the result of his work on the final day and a five under par aggregate score. Enough to separate the Ballymena golfer by a stroke from the larger chasing groups.

McElroy has shown promise from an early age and a  couple of years ago - then aged 17 - he was one step away from winning the North of Ireland, losing out in the final at Royal Portrush to Alan Dunbar. Who ironically failed to get through Stage Two this week.

Five years ago McElroy won the Connacht under-15, the Leinster under-15s, the Ulster under-15s and the Irish under-15 titles in the same season. Last year he was named in a 12-man preliminary Great Britain and Ireland squad for the St Andrews Trophy match against Continental Europe to be played at Portmarnock in August.

This season at the Northern Ireland Challenge presented by Clannah and XJet McElroy finished T9.

England’s Chris Hanson finished the protracted Qualifying School Second Stage at Lumine after closing with a round of 68 in Tarragona.

Hanson led 18 qualifiers from the northern Spain venue on 15 under par, five strokes clear of his nearest challengers, Scotland’s Raymond Russell and English amateur Callum Shinkwin, who signed off with respective rounds of 69 and 70. 

The 18 qualifiers from Lumine Golf will join the 35 players who progressed from Las Colinas Golf and Country Club and Campo de Golf El Saler at next week’s Final Stage, which will again be held at PGA Catalunya Resort, in Girona.

Gareth Shaw will not be part of that group next week however, having finished his similalry  weather delayed final round at Valle Romano in a 2 over par 73.

Two double bogeys on his front nine pushed the Upper Ballinderry man in the wrong direction on the leaderboard from the outset, needing a minimum four under par to have a chance, and reaching the halfway in 40 strokes left him struggling. 

A fightback of sorts on the home stretch gave some hope, but there was too much ground to recover, and unable to repeat the one sub 70 round which he carded on day two. 

A former Amateur 2006 Eisenhower Trophy 2007, 08 winner), a Palmer Cup 2002 winner, 2003 winner of the Jacques Leglise Trophy - as well as a representative record from 2002-07 of Boys, Youths, Seniors honours.

This is Shaw's sixth visit to Q School and it will be a disappointing result for the Team Ireland golfer who had started this season very determined to make the breakthrough onto the main Tour.

Despite enduring a difficult final day at Las Colinas Golf & Country Club, James Heath still led 17 qualifiers home as the European Tour Qualifying School Second Stage came to a close at the Alicante venue. 

The Englishman, who held a substantial lead overnight, signed off with a round of 75, but that closing effort was still good enough to finish top of the pile on 15 under par. 

Heath was followed home by rising South African star Brandon Stone, who closed with a 69 for a 14 under par aggregate total. 

Welshman Liam Bond (13 under), England’s James Robinson (12 under) and American John Hahn (11 under) rounded out the top five.

The qualifying mark fell on two under par, with six players contesting a play-off for the last four places in the Final Stage. 

The Swedish duo of Oscar Floren and Joakim Rask emerged triumphant alongside German amateur Christopher Dammert and Spaniard Alfredo Garcia-Heredia, with France’s Michael Lorenzo-Vera and Germany’s Max Glauert the men to miss out – although they could still make the Final Stage as Alternates, in the event of injuries or withdrawals.

At Campo de Golf El Saler, home favourite Carlos del Moral romped to victory by five shots after signing off with a round of 71 for an eight under par aggregate total. 

England’s Jason Barnes finished second on three under par, one shot ahead of Frenchman Thomas Linard and Italian Niccolo Quintarelli. 

With 18 players progressing from El Saler, there was a five-way play-off for the final two spots after Jerome Casanova, Christophe Brazillier, Matthias Grönberg, Chris Lloyd and Andrey Pavlov all finished on three over par. 

The two who prevailed were Casanova, courtesy of birdie at the first extra hole, and Grönberg, who eventually saw off Lloyd on the sixth extra hole. 

Meanwhile, over at Valle Romano Golf in Estepona, the third round was finally completed with Frenchman Edouard Espana leading the way on 12 under par. 

High winds had forced officials to suspend play on Monday, but Espana made the most of the calmer conditions on Tuesday to lead by two strokes from Australian Scott Arnold and Sweden’s Alexander Björk, who posted respective rounds of 69 and 68. 

The fourth round was completed on Wednesday, as it was at Lumine Golf & Beach Club, where high winds forced a suspension at 12.55pm on Tuesday. Play resumed at 4.15pm but was again halted 25 minutes later.



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Gonzo Joins Euro Exodus

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GonzaloFernández-Castaño is not just bringing his game to the United States. Like other Europeans who are taking up PGA TOUR membership, he's bringing the whole family. He is moving in December from Madrid to Miami with his wife and three young children.

The 33-year-old Spaniard chose Miami mainly because his swing coach, Mariano Bartolome, lives there and works out of Doral. 

But what makes Fernández-Castaño stand out from other Europeans moving to Florida is that golf was not at the top of his priority list.

"It's a very Spanish place and a city I like a lot," Fernández-Castaño said. "There's a lot of Spanish people. It's a city I've always enjoyed, and also you've got a lot of direct flights to Madrid. So it will easy for my family, my in-laws, anyone who wants to come visit."

He has found a school near their new home in Key Biscayne. Still to be determined is a golf course to practice. He has heard about Crandon Park, not far from where he will live, though he has yet to see it.

"I have to say, when I chose Miami, I wasn't thinking so much about the golf itself. I was thinking more about the family," he said. "In Florida, there are golf courses everywhere. There are a lot of choices. But I wasn't thinking about the golf."

His family - children 4, 3 and 1 - are excited about the move.

"The only time they have been to the U.S. was last year after Bay Hill," he said. "They came and we went to Disney World. They believe they're going to be living with Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck and Pluto."


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