The Irish Golf Club Gazette

2/13/2015

Tiger Just Needs More Time - Clarke

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Darren Clarke has insisted he has "no doubt" that Tiger Woods will again be among the top players in the world once he has had time to adapt his swing.

Woods is currently taking time away from tournament golf as he continues to develop a new swing with biomechanics coach Chris Como following his injury-ravaged 2014 campaign.

The former world No 1 linked up with Como while he recovered from back surgery during the second half of last year, but his two starts on the PGA Tour this term have been blighted by poor form and further fitness problems.

Woods carded the worst round of his professional career at the Phoenix Open, hacking his way around TPC Scottsdale in 82 in the second round to finish joint last after 36 holes.

He showed signs of improvement with his short game at last week's Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines, but he managed to complete only 11 holes on the first day before he was forced to withdraw due to pain in his lower back.

Darren Clarke believes Tiger Woods just need’s a bit of time off to recover from his injuries but he will be back

Woods insisted the problem was caused by a lengthy delay due to fog and not related to his surgery, but his wayward long-game was more of a concern and prompted him to announce he would not return to competitive action until he feels he is "tournament ready".

Clarke, widely expected to be announced as Europe's 2016 Ryder Cup captain next week, has much sympathy for his close friend and believes he needs time to find a swing he is comfortable with.

"Tiger’s been the best player in the world for a long, long time and he’s trying to change his swing again through injuries and he’s having to adapt," Clarke told Sky Sports News HQ.

"Those injuries can take a little bit of time to go away and working on his swing is the same sort of thing, so he just needs a little bit of time, that’s all.

"You can get down, it’s quite easy to do, as it’s a pretty tough job out there at times. Whenever you’re trying to perform and you don’t do it, it’s particularly frustrating. But his talent is beyond question so I have no doubt he’ll be back again."

Harrington Kick Starts New Season

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Padraig Harrington fired a first round 68, for four under par score at the AT&T Pebble Bach National Pro-Am in California on Thursday.

Currently ranked 289th in the world the Dubliner arrived on the Monterey peninsula following missed cuts in the Phoenix Open and last week’s Farmers Insurance Open in Torrey Pines.

Having grabbed three birdies on the front nine – at the fourth, sixth and eighth holes – to turn in 33, Harrington suffered his first bogey on the 13th but bounced back with birdies on the 14th, from 16 feet, and the 15th, a tap-in from 18 inches, to move to four under.

But he failed to take advantage of birdie opportunities on his closing holes which led to a degree of frustration.

“I’d three good chances on the last three holes,” said Harrington, adding: “It looked as if I made all three but none went in. That can happen. It is one of those days if I finished five-under, I would have been very happy. And I am very disappointed with four-under. But surely a shot can’t make that much difference over 72 holes.”

Harrington’s round left him four shots adrift of clubhouse leader JB Holmes, who shot an opening round 64, eight under, at Pebble Beach. It was the lowest opening round of his professional career, as the American continued his good form from Torrey Pines where he lost out in a playoff to Jason Day.

Shane Lowry opened his inaugural visit to the event with a three-under par 69.

The Offalyman – ranked 40th in the world - card birdies on the second (from five feet), eighth (from 15 feet), 13th (from 16 feet) and 18th (from three feet) to go with his lone bogey, on the 16th where he was in rough off the tee.

Paul McGinley's difficult week continued signing for a round of 73 with a set of new clubs,

McGinley attended San Diego University on a golfing scholarship before pursuing a professional career.

“I was on Trackman for quite a while getting the yardages right and then the adjustment for the heavy sea air, which makes things complicated,” explained McGinley of having to switch to clubs of a more recent design to the ones which were stolen.

Holmes assumed the clubhouse lead in the pro-am, a shot ahead of surprise packets John Daly (65), ranked 839rd in the world, and Dudley Hart.

2/12/2015

Michael Hoey - Interview 1st Round

Photo - Asian Tour Golf

Q: What do you think of a round of 64 to start?

A: I’ll take it. I know the course is scoreable because there’s not a lot of rough, but the wind picks up and the last few holes were tricky today. We probably had ten or 11 holes with no much wind, which was the advantage of teeing off early. But the last few holes were tricky. I putted well and it suits me that if you have a bit of length off the tee, you can cut a few corners and reach the par fives in two. So the course suits me, and I saw that in the pro-am yesterday.

Q: So with the wind up it must be even more satisfying to have a flawless card?

A: Yes it has been a long time since I had a bogey-free card. I was talking to my coaches recently about throwing in double bogeys too often, so to be bogey-free and have no fives on the card and a course record is a nice start. I’m swinging the club well so hopefully I can put three more good rounds together and see what happens.

Q: What was the approach to get rid of the double bogeys?

A: I sent a video of my swing from the range to the guys yesterday and I was hitting it well. I was hitting a little draw shot and they said to go with that rather than trying to play perfect golf. It’s just about keeping your rhythm, simple stuff. It’s not as demanding as the Middle East courses or last week. There’s less water in play but the greens are tough, and I managed to leave myself on the right side of the pin a lot. It was sensible golf.

Q: You’ve been out here long enough to know not to chase for perfection, don’t you?

A: Yes. I left myself some easier uphill putts today and converted them. Whereas if you’re past the pin it’s about 15 on the stimp and you could easily three-putt, so you’ve got to concentrate on what you’re doing. Even though the course is fairly straightforward, the greens aren’t. With the wind coming up, it’s not as easy as you think.

Q: Has it been frustrating, the run you’ve been on?

A: Yes. I started to hit the ball well in the Middle East but I was coming 50th or thereabouts each week. At least I was making cuts and making money, but throwing in a few double bogeys was ruining my scorecards. Hopefully this is the start of some more bogey-free stuff.

Q: But you’re not going to get carried away?

A: Oh no. This is a marathon. I’m just pleased to get something out of it, because I’ve been working hard for a long time and not getting the scores. This is really satisfying to get a good score. Hopefully I can follow it up tomorrow, Friday 13th is going to be lucky for me.

True Thailand Record for Hoey

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Michael Hoey needed a course record 64 to claim the outright lead on a low scoring opening day at the True Thailand Classic presented by Black Mountain.

The Northern Irishman fired eight birdies at Black Mountain Golf Club to lead Spain’s Carlos Pigem and Taiwan’s Chien-yao Hung by a single shot, and now hopes to avoid the curse of Friday 13th in his second round.

The five-time European Tour winner, who was part of Great Britain & Ireland’s 2001 winning Walker Cup side, did not drop a shot as he moved into a commanding position - holing from 12 feet at the fifth and nearly managing an eagle at the next before settling for a last gain of the day.

“We had ten or 11 holes with not much wind, which was an advantage teeing off early,” said Hoey.

“I hit the ball well, and it suits me that there’s a bit of length off the tee; you can carry a few corners and reach the par fives in two.

“It has been a long time since I had a bogey-free card. To be bogey-free and have no fives on the card - and a course record - is a nice start. I’m swinging the club well so hopefully I can put three more good rounds together and see what happens.

“I started to hit the ball well in the Middle East, but I was coming 50th or thereabouts each week. At least I was making cuts and making money, but throwing in a few double bogeys was ruining my scorecards. Hopefully this is the start of some more bogey-free stuff.

“This is a marathon. I’m just pleased to get something out of it, because I’ve been working hard for a long time and not getting the scores. This is really satisfying to get a good score and hopefully I can follow it up tomorrow - Friday 13th is going to be lucky for me!”

Lipsky, who enjoyed a breakthrough win in Switzerland last year, finished with back-to-back gains to join co-sanctioning Asian Tour regulars Hung and Pigem on seven under, one ahead of India’s Shiv Kapur.

Kiradech Aphibarnrat led a strong home challenge on five under, but it would have been even better had the big hitter not found water and a bunker down the 18th in running up a double bogey seven.

Italian teenager Renato Paratore briefly caught Hoey with five birdies in six holes after the turn propelling him to eight under.

But the Qualifying School graduate bogeyed the seventh and dropped two shots at the next – his penultimate hole – to slip back into the group on five under, which also contained Miguel Angel Jiménez.

The Spaniard produced the day’s champagne moment when he holed his approach to the ninth for eagle and celebrated with a jig on the fairway.

Tournament ambassador Thongchai Jaidee and Ryder Cup star Thomas Bjørn both made solid starts with rounds of 69.

McIlroy Nominated for Laureus Award

Rory McIlroy has been nominated for the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Award.

He will be against world No1 tennis player Novak Djokovic, Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, world MotoGP champion Mark Marquez and Renaud Lavillenie, the man who broke Sergey Bubka’s 21-year-old pole vault world record.

Also Lewis Hamilton, who won his second world title last year, said: “Knowing how prestigious the Laureus Award is I feel very, very grateful and proud to be amongst the great athletes that have been nominated.

“It’s great when you have these awards, which recognise the excellence and the commitment from lots of different individuals. I’m proud to be amongst them. It’s quite a line-up. Rory’s done an amazing job. Ronaldo, what a great player he is, Djokovic, I mean he’s won everything. I could only have ever dreamed really, at this period of time in my life, to be up amongst them.”

Also nominated with Hamilton are his Mercedes AMG Petronas Team, which won the F1 Constructors’ world championship. They are up for the team award along with the European Ryder Cup Team, Germany’s World Cup winners and Real Madrid.

Tennis stars Serena Williams and Li Na are up for the women’s award, along with New Zealand’s Valerie Adams, who is unbeaten in the shot put in four years, and Ethiopian athlete Genzebe Dibaba, who broke three world records in two weeks. Skiing stars Tina Maze and Marit Bjørgen are also nominated.

Britain’s European Championship hero Jo Pavey, who won her first major gold medal at the age of 40, and Oliver Wilson, who, at 34 and lying 792 in the world rankings, won his first significant golf event in 228 starts on the European Tour, are both nominated for the Laureus World Comeback of the Year Award.

The UK has a candidate for the Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability Award with Dame Sarah Storey being nominated after winning four world cycling titles in her first year back in action after giving birth to her daughter.

And Scottish trials cyclist Danny MacAskill is on the shortlist for Laureus World Action Sportsperson of the Year after his latest venture, cycling the Cuillin Ridge on the Isle of Skye. In the first five days the video of the ride was watched by ten million on YouTube.

The winners will be revealed at the Awards Ceremony in Shanghai on April 15.

The full list of Nominees for the 2015 Laureus World Sports Awards is:

Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Award:

Novak Djokovic - won Wimbledon for second time; replaced Rafael Nadal as world No.1

Lewis Hamilton - won second Formula One World Championship, with 11 victories

Renaud Lavillenie - broke Sergey Bubka’s 21-year-old pole vault world record

Rory McIlroy – No.1 golfer in the world, won The Open and USPGA Major Championships

Marc Márquez - won his second straight World MotoGP title at the age of 21

Cristiano Ronaldo - winner of the Ballon d’Or/World Player of the Year award

Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year Award:

Valerie Adams – The Kiwi undefeated in shot put for four years; was IAAF Women’s Athlete of Year

Marit Bjørgen – in Sochi the Nordic skier became most decorated female Winter Olympian

Genzebe Dibaba – athlete broke three world records in three different events in two weeks

Tina Maze – won two gold medals in the Winter Olympics, Slovenia’s first ever

Li Na – won second Grand Slam, reached world No.2 ranking, then had to retire

Serena Williams – won 18th career Grand Slam, level with Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova

Laureus World Team of the Year Award:

European Ryder Cup Team – beat US 16½-11½, for third straight win and sixth in the last seven

Germany Men’s Football Team - became first European team to win the FIFA World Cup in South America

Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team – won Constructors’ World Championship

Real Madrid – won a record tenth Champions League/European Cup victory

San Antonio Spurs - won NBA Championship for fifth time, beating Miami Heat 4-1

Switzerland Davis Cup Team – inspired by Roger Federer, won Davis Cup for the first time

Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year Award:

Marin Cilic – won first ever Grand Slam at the US Open, beating Kei Nishikori in final

Mario Götze - scored the winning goal for Germany in the FIFA World Cup Final

Daniel Ricciardo – won three Grand Prix for Red Bull in his rookie year

James Rodriguez – won Golden Boot in FIFA World Cup as leading scorer

Mikaela Shiffrin – at 18 years 345 days became youngest Olympic Slalom champion

Switzerland Davis Cup Team – inspired by Roger Federer, won Davis Cup for the first time

2/13/2015

Tiger Just Needs More Time - Clarke

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Michael Hoey - Interview 1st Round

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