Irish Golf News

Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club

Padraig Harrington’s rollercoaster 2015 season is coming to a suitably up-and-down finish in his first event of the 2015-16 campaign on the PGA Tour.

Having decided to remain in Asia following his ill-fated attempt to qualify for the European Tour’s Final Series in Hong Kong (he missed his 12th cut from 26 starts this year at the UBS Hong Open), this year’s Honda Classic winner headed for Malaysia and the no-cut, $7m CIMB Classic at Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club,

“It seems a bit of an oxymoron but this week I am finishing my season by starting a new one!” Harrington told his Facebook followers. “When I was coming out to Hong Kong it made sense to play here as well - as it turned out I got in off the reserve list last Friday so it all worked out well…. 

"This week has been much cooler than normal - it’s far from cold but for Malaysia it is very pleasant.  They are saying it is down to the affects of some fires in Indonesia, where the haze from the fire is blocking out the sun.”

Alas for Harrington fans, his game has been freakishly hot and cold.

In three rounds he has made one eagle and 14 birdies but lies 59th in the 78 man field on three under after racking up seven bogeys, one double bogey and a quadruple bogey seven.

Having put off an opertation on a knee injury since August, he's clearly not 100 percent physically must have keyhole surgery almost as soon as he gets home next week so he can recover in time for the start of his 2016 campaign proper.

“This is my last tournament of the year - I’m finishing up earlier than other years so that I can have a knee operation and have the time after it to recuperate,” Harrington wrote.  

Having dropped just one stroke in an opening, four under 68, Harrington added a 72 in round two as a quadruple bogey seven at his second hole left him a lot of work to do.

He began well in Saturday morning’s third round with birdies at the 10th and 12th. But he then had an erratic nine-hole run from the 15th (his sixth) to the fifth (his 14th) where he made one birdie, five bogeys and a double bogey to slip to four over for the day.

Harrington then proceded to finish two-two — birdie-eagle — for a one over 73 and a share of 59th.

At three under par, he’s 17 strokes adrift of co-leaders Justin Thomas (67) and Brendal Steele (66), who lead by one stroke on 20 under par from Kevin Na.

Jaco Van Zyl. Picture: Getty Images

Graeme McDowell shot his best round of the year and Shane Lowry “got away with” one of his worst in the Turkish Airlines Open.

The bad news for both is that Rory McIlroy hasn’t even slipped into second gear yet and still heads both of them at halfway stage in the $7m Final Series opener at a defenceless Montgomerie Maxx Royal Golf Club.

World No 3 McIlroy goes into the third round tied for sixth on 10 under par following a second successive, five under par 67 that featured an impressive par save at the 18th for the second day running.

The four-time major winner and Race to Dubai leader is just four strokes adrift of South African Jaco Van Zyl, who followed his 61 with a 69 to lead by two from Englishmen Richard Bland (65) and Chris Wood (66) on 14 under.

McDowell is just one stroke behind McIlroy and five off the lead after a bogey-free 65 which matched his season’s best in the second round of the Dubai Desert Classic, scene of his only Top 10 finish of a forgettable 2015 season nearly nine months ago.

“I am really trying to look at the big picture at the minute,” McDowell said when asked about his fall from 15th to 80th in the world this year and the battle he faces to qualify for the the WGC-Cadillac Match Play, the WGC Cadillac Championship at Doral, the Masters or even the Ryder Cup team next year.

“I am not out there, as I was for most of the year, feeling like I had a gun pointed to my head and it was me pointing the gun. 

“I put myself under far too much pressure going into the summer because i hadn’t played well and I am not the type of guy who reacts well to that.”

Rather than worrying about extending his run in this year’s Race to Dubai, McDowell is laying the foundations for a successful 2016.

“I am really looking at next year, trying to build my confidence and working on my technique and feeling much better all round,” he said. “I am the kind of guy who needs to be out there very relaxed and very openminded and very big picture orientated, and I think I have got a little too focused on the bad stuff this year and got a little too frustrated playing golf like I needed it too badly, so I am feeling very relaxed on the golf course, enjoying what I am doing and really looking into next season.  

"I am not focusing on this week. I am really looking at next year, trying to build my confidence and working on my technique and feeling much better all round. Whatever happens this week is whatever, really.
 
"The Top 50 will take care of itself as will the Ryder Cup. I am very motivated to be on the Ryder Cup team next year and I always enjoy having that natural finish line if you like in this 12 month period. Regardless of whether I am in the top 50 in the world come Jan 1, I have got plenty of golf to play between now and the Masters, you know. Doral and the Matchplay will be the two question marks, Augusta is not going to affect my world too much.

"I love Augusta and I want to be there but it is really a happy place for me scoring wise. I have got plenty of golf to play, I am trying to stay very patient and to keep building this process and results will come."

If McDowell is trying to take pressure off himself, McIlroy appears to live a pressure free existence when the majors are done and dusted for the year.

Ten strokes behind Van Zyl at one stage, he was asked if he was playing well within himself and said: “Yeah, very. I feel like this is as stress-free a pair of 67s as I've shot this year.”

The bad news for Van Zyl, Bland (who came home in 28), Wood or fourth placed Victor Dubuisson (64) or Fabrizio Zanotti (66) is that McIlroy hasn’t stamped on the accelerator yet.

“I feel like there is [more under the bonnet],” McIlroy said. “I’ve made a couple of good putts to save pars over the past couple of days. But for the most part I'm giving myself chances on most greens.

“I think I have left a few out there. So I definitely feel like there's a lot more to come. I feel like I can hit the ball a little better. I can definitely get my wedges closer, and if I get my wedges closer, I'll give myself putts for birdies.”

Cue a collective gulp from everyone in the field, including Lowry, who was almost doing cartwheels after escaping with a two under 70 that felt like an 80 so much did he struggle alongside McIlroy’s ball-striking brilliance.

Tied for 19th, eight off the lead on six under, Lowry said: “Did I get away with it? Definitely. I didn’t play great.

“That’s golf. It’s a funny game sometimes. It’s felt easy for me the last while and today it felt a little bit harder. I suppose when you play like that and get away with two under, you are doing something right.”

As for McIlroy, he said: “There is no doubt about it, it was getting a bit annoying that he was getting away from me today. I didn’t feel like I was playing well and he was taking the flags out. That’s not easy. 

“But that happens every week. No matter who you are playing with on Thursday or Friday, you don’t want to be beaten by them. 

“I am happy I got out of jail today with two under. And I think I will need to shoot a double figure weekend from here, but it is not like I haven’t done that in the past.”

Rory McIlroy

Rory McIlroy insists he will not be begging big name American stars to tee it up in the Irish Open at The K Club next May.

The Holywood ace promised to return the favour for the likes of Rickie Fowler, Ernie Els and Sergio Garcia after they turned up at Royal County Down in May to help the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open, hosted by the Rory Foundation.

The Ulsterman has committed to doing things for Fowler, Els and Garcia’s charitable events in return but it appears that he is not prepared to continue doing favours going forward.

While there were high hopes that the likes of Tiger Woods or Dustin Johnson would be persuaded by McIlroy to turn up in Kildare from May 19-22 next year, Woods is already out of the equation having undergone back surgery last month

Instead, four-time major winner McIlroy hopes the massive prize fund — up from €2.5m to €4 million next year — will be enough to attract a stellar field.

Asked at the Turkish Airlines Open which American stars he was targeting, McIlroy said: "Really I'm not. I think the prize fund, that speaks for itself. I’m not going to do any IOU's this year like I did last year.

"It's a fantastic tournament in its own right. I mean, it’s a bit of an awkward date on the calendar and obviously Royal County Down attracted a lot of guys because of the golf course that is.

“That’s the sort of thing that I would hope for in the future; that the golf courses and the increased prize fund, obviously attract a few more players."

McIlroy’s dream is to host the Irish Open in a links every year as part of a three-week links swing before the Scottish Open and The Open Championship.

But he admits that the lack of links courses — Portmarnock and Royal Dublin are currently no-go venues for the government backers or the tour’s sponsors because they are men only — makes that dream a challenge.

"I would love to always see it on a links course, McIlroy said. "We're working on it. I'd love to see The Irish Open change date to closer to the Open to have a little bit more of a links swing going into the Open, where maybe it would be The Irish Open, Scottish Open, and The Open, or something like that. That's a long way down the road but I'd like to see it go to that.

"But The European Tour have been fantastic. They along with myself, have made a huge commitment to The Irish Open for the next three years and hopefully they go well and we can go on from there.”

The European Tour is believed to be struggling to take the Irish Open to Lough Erne in 2017, as announced by Acting First Minister Arlene Foster last year, with Portstewart recently emerging as an alternative venue.

Asked about the Lough Erne problem, McIlroy dodged the question, replying: “Right now we are just concentrating on this year and trying to make The K Club as good as it can be and we’ll go from there.”

Portmarnock Golf Club

The Open Championship isn't the only big name event the R&A is bringing to Irish shores in 2019. According to our sources The Island and Portmarnock golf clubs will host the Amateur Championship in four years' time.

Both course have undergone considerable upgrade work in recent years with Portmarnock currently in the midst of the €2m irrigation improvement project.

The Island has hosted Regional Qualifying for The Open since 2013 while Portmarnock became the only club outside Great Britain to host the Amateur Championship in 1949, when Max McCready beat Willie Turnesa 2 and 1.

The big question in Irish golf remains the status of Portmarnock as a men only club as a barrier to its hosting the Irish Open on the European Tour.

Host Rory McIlroy said at the Turkish Airlines Open this week that his preference is for an all links Irish Open rota with the event fitting into a links swing before the Scottish Open and The Open.

THE BOAT USED TO TAKE GOLFERS FROM MALAHIDE, PICTURED HERE, TO THE ISLAND. PICTURE © THEISLANDGOLFCLUB.COM

In 2009 the Supreme Court ruled that the golf club was not "discriminating" against the Equal Status Act by banning women from joining, which was condemned at the time by The Irish Ladies Golf Union at the time.

Efforts made earlier this year to sound out the membership with a view to changing the men only rule met with staunch opposition from the more senior members, leading many of younger set to surmise that a change may take more than a few years to achieve.

Portmarnock successfully hosted the St Andrews and Jacques Leglise trophies in 2012 but the 2019 Walker Cup, which Portmarnock might have hoped to land, was awarded instead to Royal Liverpool.

When asked at Royal Portrush recently if another venue on the island of Ireland was also in consideration for an Open (or a Walker Cup) the R&A's Chief Executive Martin Slumbers said: "At this point, we are not looking at any other course anywhere for The Open."

The Amateur Championship was last held on Irish shores in 2014 when strokeplay qualifying was held at Portstewart and Royal Portrush with the matchplay at the Dunluce Links at Royal Portrush, where Scotland's Bradley Neil emerged as champion with a 2 and 1 win over South Africa's Zander Lombard.

An Irishman, Gavin Caldwell, is the current captain of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club.

Rory McIlroy during the preview press conference at the Maxx Royal Hotel in Antalya

aking the extraordinary feel routine is a trick only the greats can master and while Rory McIlroy is the favourite win his third Race to Dubai crown in four years, Shane Lowry has a fast-track to the Ryder Cup in mind at this week’s Turkish Airlines Open.

Both men as such good ball strikers and so tidy around the greens that their week to week demeanour can be determined by their success rate on the greens.

Dubbed a streaky putter recently by Paul McGinley, Race to Dubai leader McIlroy will tee it up alongside second ranked Danny Willett and fifth ranked Lowry at the Montgomerie Maxx Royal hoping for an improved performance with the short stick.

On his last start in the Frys.com Open in California, the four-time major winner finished 26th on the leaderboard but just 71st for putting

“I definitely hole out much better than I used to do,” McIlroy claimed during a press conference at the Maxx Royal that came shortly after the announcement that Turkish Airlines will sponsor the $7m Final Series event for another three years at nearby Carya Golf Club. 

Turkish Airlines on board with European Tour until 2018 with the news that the airline has extended its sponsorship of the Turkish Airlines Open for the next three years.

“And when I get my eye in, I'm really good. I do hole a lot of putts. But yeah, I don't get my eye in as much as I'd like to. So streaky, I'll always be somewhat of a streaky putter.”

McIlroy reasoned that he will regularly hit 12 fairways and 14 greens and “if you have a couple of good days as a tournament where a few putts go in, that can suddenly be a couple of seven or eight under rounds, and that's really all you need.”

Still, he wants to be more consistent and rounding off his injury hit “lost” year with a win one of his last three events and a successful defence of the Race to Dubai is clearly his goal.

“I feel like there's a lot's happened and a lot of time has gone by since that last win of mine back in May,” he said. “I want to try and get back into contention and no better place than this week.”

McIlroy does not want to play more than two events in a row to take pressure off his body (and his ankle) but when asked about next year’s schedule, he kicked for touch when asked if he’d defend the Wells Fargo at Quail Hollow and then play The Players, the Irish Open and the BMW PGA at Wentworth in successive weeks.

ANTALYA, TURKEY - OCTOBER 28:  Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland and Charl Schwartzel of South Africa pose after competing in the Turkish Airlines 'Gourmet Golf Challenge' prior to the start of the Turkish Airlines Open at the Montgomerie Maxx Royal Golf Club on October 28, 2015 in Antalya, Turkey.  (Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images for Turkish Airlines)

“There’s ‘potentially’ four in a row,” Mcilroy said, emphasising the word ‘potentially’. 

Pressed for a more specific rely that might ease the worries of the European Tour’s new CEO Keith Pelley with regard to their flagship event at Wentworth, he said curtly, “I will answer that question closer to the time.”

Scheduling is going to be challenging for Lowry in 2016 as he plans to follow the EurAsia Cup in Malaysia under Ryder Cup skipper Darren Clarke by building up to the Masters with six PGA Tour events in a nine-week spell.

But the world No 17 is more concerned about finishing his best ever season on a high and knows that a win in one of his last five start — he’s playing the four Final Series events plus the Nedbank Golf Challenge — he can take a giant step towards the Top 10 in the world and a Ryder Cup debut.

Hoping to challenge McIlroy for the European crown, Lowry said: “If you look at the past few Ryder Cup campaigns, anyone who has won one of these tournaments has made the team.

“There have been a lot of first for me recently but this is the first time I have had a chance to do well in the Race to Dubai. 

Rory McIlroy's Mediterranean chicken beats Charl Schwartzel's fish dish in @T_A_Golf cook off. "First win since May," says scribe.

— Brian Keogh (@IrishGolfDesk) October 28, 2015

“I was tenth last year but I have a real chance of finishing up there this year. A couple of good weeks and I could get into the top 10 in the world.

“I want to in the Top 3 or 4 in the Race to Dubai going into the final event in Dubai with a chance going out on Thursday of winning the overall prize. That’s exactly where I am at. 

"There is no point is saying I want to contend in that event or that event or whatever. This is the first event now and I just have to go out there and try and do it. And if I do well this week, I obviously have a better chance of doing that in Dubai.”

Lowry won’t be teeing it up with McIlroy trying to compare his game to the four time major winner’s.

And McIlroy also knows that he faces a tough competitor in his former Irish amateur team mate.

“It's been great to see,” McIlroy said of Lowry’s progression since winning the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in August. “I think we've all known that Shane's had the talent to do something like that. 

“I watched the final nine holes of Akron when I was at Whistling Straits preparing, and it was quite a display of sort of guts down the stretch with the putt he held on 10 and the shots he hit coming down the stretch.

“It's great to see him sort of push on from there. It's always good to see when the guys from home do well.”

Leona Maguire

Slieve Russell's Leona Maguire and Spain’s María Parra will have the opportunity to play in a Ladies European Tour event in 2016 thanks to an agreement between the LET and the European Golf Association (EGA).

Part of the LET’s strategy is to connect with organisations who share its values to help promote, foster and develop young talent, helping to create a smooth pathway from grassroots to professional golf. 
 
World No.1 amateur Maguire, who finished second in the ISPS HANDA Ladies European Masters in July, capped a tremendous season by winning the 2015 EGA Women’s Amateur Ranking, while Parra also experienced success, with the highlight her win at the International European Ladies' Amateur Championship.
 
Both players have also competed in the PING Junior Solheim Cup, Leona in 2009 and 2011 and María in 2015. The team match play event between Europe and the United States is another key project in the Ladies European Tour’s development programme. 
 
Maguire said: “This year has been amazing and it was great to see the hard work I put in, especially in my short game, pay off. It is a huge honour for me to be ranked no.1 in the European Ranking and also the World Ranking, but I know there are so many great players right now and in order to stay up there I will need to continue developing.

"It was a great experience to play in the ISPS HANDA Ladies European Masters and the Evian Championship this year and I am delighted to receive another chance to play a LET event in 2016 to get even more experience playing with the professionals and develop as a golfer.”

As the winner the McCormack Medal as the top female amateur in the world rankings at the end of 2016, Maguire will receive exemptions into next year's US. Women’s Open at CordeValle in Califormia and the Ricoh Women's British Open, provided she remains an amateur.
 
The LET’s Development Director Mike Round commented: “Giving LET invites to Maria and Leona is our way of congratulating them for their impressive achievements. It’s important that the LET works in partnership with the EGA and National Golf Federations to provide opportunities that support the programmes for the development of elite amateurs.

"When Maria and Leona played in the PING Junior Solheim Cup, it was clear that they have the potential to be great role models for women’s golf and we look forward to following their progress in the sport."
 
Maguire and Parra will be invited to play in one of the LET’s premier tournaments next year, which will be named after the publication of the 2016 international schedule.

Graeme McDowell

Graeme McDowell insists a taste of Turkish delight this week could transform the year from hell into the promise of a sweet ’16 to come.

The former US Open champion has slipped from 15th to 80th In the world this season and insists will write off the European Tour season and turn his attention to the last two Fall Series events of the year in the US if he fails to grab a Top-two finish on his debut in this week’s Turkish Airlines Open. 

The 36-year old Portrush man could be facing a difficult 2016 if he remains outside the world’s Top 50 in a Ryder Cup year.

But he honestly believes he’s slowly turning the corner with his game and reckons one good finish somewhere in the world over the course of the next month will put a different complexion on what’s been a 2015 campaign to forget

“I’d take a top five and a top 10 over these next three or four weeks here and sit down over my Christmas dinner and say, alright, not my best year but we are still where we need to be and we are ready to go.” McDowell said as he played the back nine on the Montgomerie Maxx Royal for the first time.

Ranked 64th in the Race to Dubai and needing only a modest finish to make the Top 60 who qualify for the season-ending DP World Tour Championship, McDowell has set his sights far higher.

“Obviously I am not in the DP World Tour Championship right now,” McDowell said. “But if I had a big week this week, it would change things. 

“If I don’t make a serious impact and I can’t get myself into the top-20 in the Race to Dubai from this week, I am not really going to pursue it because the Earth Course in Dubai is not really a good golf course for me anyway.”

Reunited with his old “fundamentals” coach Clive Tucker as well as current swing fixer Pete Cowen, he added: "I am highly motivated and I really felt like I have turned the corner so I am just trying to remain very patient and take each week as it comes and each week is an opportunity.

“I think the US PGA at Whistling Straits was the end of my patience. I played the first 27 holes as good as I can possibly hit the golf ball, and nine holes later I was packing my bags. 

“That was the end of my patience there but after five weeks off, I think I have been a different person on the golf course ever since — very relaxed and starting to enjoy the game.”

Having broken par in 14 of his last 16 rounds, he put down poor finishes in the Alfred Dunhill Links and the British Masters to over-anxiousness to do well.

“I was frustrated very briefly just after those back nines,” he said. “I just got a bit ahead of myself, making old, immature mistakes. I haven’t been there for a while and I was just getting excited, needing it too much, trying too hard. 

“It is hard to relax and let it happen when you haven’t really had it happen much lately. But we’re getting there.”

As for this week, he said: "I'm treating this as part of my general progression back to where I want to be

"This is another week where I want to come and compete and play well. if I don’t get myself into a position where I can chase going to Dubai, then I will go back play those two Fall Series events and get myself off and running on that."

His potential 2016 season is not a concern right now, not because he doesn't have headaches, but because he's living week to week in search of that jackpot performance.

"I will cross that bridge when I come to it," he said of his plans. "I have got this week plus those two Fall Series, which is my most likely route.

"One or two decent finishes and I am back where I want to be and I can salvage something out of the year.

"That’s the way I am looking at it. Come Jan 1, if we are not in the top-50, we will just have to ....it is not going to change our schedule between now and Doral, that will be the first hurdle really.

"I am playing Dubai in the New Year, and it is just a case of whether I play the two In the desert before that or play two in the west coast.

"It really depends how I play this next few weeks, so I have got options. I have got plenty of options, it is not really going to start breaking my heart until the summer."

The WGC Match Play comes first and McDowell is keeping his fingers crossed he'll be back at the top table by then.

 

THE K CLUB.  PICTURE: GETTY IMAGES

Details have yet to be confirmed but we understand that they days when the PGA professionals from the Irish Region got a set number of spots in the Irish Open may be at an end.

According to our sources, next year's Dubai Duty Free irish Open at The K Club will instead feature a Tuesday qualifier on the Smurfit Course for just one place in the 2016 field at the Palmer Ryder Cup Course from May 19-22.

The move is a major shift from tradition but in keeping with the increasingly competitive nature of the European Tour and the demand for places in what will be a €4 million event.

PGA Tour events traditionally host a Monday qualifier for one or two places in that week's tour event.

This year's Championship at Royal County Down awarded starts to the top six PGA professionals from the 2014 PGA Irish Region Order of Merit — Michael McDermott, Brendan McGovern, Damian Mooney, Neil O'Briain, John Kelly and Cian McNamara — none of whom made the cut.

That six-man entry signified a 25 percent reduction in the eight-strong contingent from the Irish Region that that teed it up at Fota Island in 2014, where Kelly was the only Irish club professional to make the cut, finishing tied 58th.

If confirmed, the extra five places could be used to provide more invitations for up and coming Irish players from the Irish Region, the Challenge Tour, the Asian Tour, the Web.com Tour or the satellite tours.

Ireland have been declared the rightful winners of the 2015 Senior Men’s Home Internationals — more than a month after the title was incorrectly awarded to Scotland.

We reported in these pages on September 22 that a mistake had been made and that Ireland could well be awarded the title after an appeal.

And so it proved yesterday with England Golf correcting the results which showed that Ireland won 18 game points to 17 for England and 14 and a half for Scotland. 

The championship was held at Crowborough Beacon Golf Club in Sussex in September and Ireland, England and Scotland finished tied on two match points each.

However, the Scots were declared the winners as the current holders, which clearly contradicted the tournament conditions.

The rules state that“in the event of an overall tie on Match Points, the result will be determined in sequence upon: (i) Overall total points won;  (ii) The individual match result of the tieing Countries. S

“Should there still be a tie on the number of points the higher placed team in the previous year’s meeting shall have preference,” the conditions stated. 

According to England Golf: “The GUI appealed against the original decision and the England Golf Championship Committee concluded that the tie-breaker had been incorrectly applied and that the team from the Golfing Union of Ireland were the rightful winners of the championship and the records should be amended accordingly.”

Ryder Cup Captain Darren Clarke giving a clinic at the Darren Clarke Foundation Champions of Champions Weekend at Portmarnock Golf Club. (25/10/2015). Picture by Pat Cashman

European Ryder Cup captain Darren Clarke is keeping his options open when it comes to his 2016 Ryder Cup team. But one thing is certain, Ian Poulter will need to suffer a serious loss of form not to make the Dungannon man's team for Hazeltine.

Poulter has been a talisman for Europe with his performance alongside Rory McIlroy on Saturday afternoon at Medinah in 2012 one of the great Ryder Cup performances.

And if he fails to qualify next year, it's clear that Clarke will be looking closely at Poulter, so impressed was he by the Englishman's last minute dash to the UBS Hong Kong Open to keep European Tour card for 2016 and his Ryder Cup eligibility.

"First and foremost, I thought it was absolutely brilliant that he did," Clarke said at the Darren Clarke Foundation weekend at Portmarnock before heading off to join Poulter in this week's Turkish Airlines Open. "Secondly, it showed how much he cared. He is a passionate man who loves the Ryder Cup. 

"Thirdly, I am amazed that he dropped down five places in a week (out of the world's Top 50 who make the WGC-HSBC field). A lot of things had to go against him and they all did, which probably never happened before because Poults studies and works the world rankings better than anybody else does. So he must have been totally amazed."

Clarke had no problem with the European Tour phoning Rich Beem and asking him to give up his Kong Kong Open invitation so that Poulter would be able to play instead and get to the 13-event minimum and remain eligible for the Ryder Cup next year. 

Clarke also thought the Tour was right to bend its rules for Rory McIlroy, who is being allowed to play the final event despite playing just 11 events in the run up to Dubai.

Whatever the PGA Tour might have done in a similar situation, Clarke doesn't care. The Ryder Cup comes first.

"I am European Ryder Cup captain," he said. "The Ryder Cup is part and parcel of the European Tour. It’s a wonderful thing to have and the guys have to play where they want to play and Rory would have made his numbers up easy if he hadn’t got injured. 

"They examined all the medical evidence and it was fine. It was one of those exceptional circumstances and if it happened again the Tour would look at their medical circumstances as well and if it is merited, take he same decision. If not, they will say no. 

"The tour didn’t take Rory’s decision lightly. They spoke to all the doctors and everybody and he just couldn’t physically do it."

Watching out for Ireland's up and coming amateurs is one thing, but Clarke also has his eye on the young guns showing form in Europe.

He named Matt Fitzpatrick, Andy Sullivan, Thomas Pieters and Eddie Pepperell — |He’s a proper player" — as four to watch. 

"The are a lot of very talented youngers who will be pushing hard and I am on it and will be watching every week," he said. "I am getting their stats every week."

He believes that it's more likely that he will have three rookies than four under the current qualifying system and is also watching Shane Lowry's progress with interest. 

"Shane? Shane is kicking on. He is playing great. Shane will be right there. He has tuned into a very very solid player. He is going in the right direction and he's playing the Eurasia Cup, which is great. 

"I’ve chatted to him a little bit bit i am trying to keep in the background.  I am getting my reports and stats on everything that is going on. 

"Look, as Ryder Cup captain, I am going to make mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes. But I am doing everything in my power to minimise them. 

"I am watching a lot of TV and getting a lot of stats. But there is a long way to go between now and the qualification really becoming important and there is no point in my jumping the gun and getting involved in stuff. There is plenty of time. 

"I am making sure all the stuff behind the scenes is done to make sure everything is as easy as possible for the players. That’s all that matters at the moment."

He has yet to speak to his predecessor Paul McGinley for a sit down chat.

"He wants to do it away from a tournament and right now, he is dong thing and I am doing mine."

As it turned out, McGinley was at Portmarnock earlier in the week, where he was bestowed with Honorary Life Membership,

Clarke was there all weekend, watching 17 of Ireland's top boys and girls.

And while the Foundation also carries out many important charitable functions by raising much needed funds for a host of causes related to cancer, its primary goal is to help Ireland produce more top players.

Clarke is at the top of the tree alongside the likes of Rory McIlroy, Padraig Harrington, Graeme McDowell and Shane Lowry, few young Irish players are making the breakthrough and Clarke is keen to make sure they have all the information they need so that the standards required come as no surprise when they eventually turn pro.

“Irish golf has been at a pretty high level for some time,” Clarke says reeling of the names from McIlroy to Lowry and recalling the five Walker Cup representatives who teed it up at Royal Lytham and St Annes. “The perception is that we are on a huge run but you are right, there are very few kids coming through getting their card these days. 

“They are all fantastic players but it is not a n easy job and combined with the standard on tour is going up and up. 

“Whenever the kids do ask me, I tell them first and foremost that it is hard. I am not all sweetness and light. Unless you have the dedication for it, I tell them you are going to struggle and you will be beating your head against a brick wall. 

“That’s what they don’t realise. What they don’t get is the dedication you need. And that’s what I will tell them tonight when we sit down for dinner. 

“When it is winter, I will be out in 40 mph winds and pissing down rain in Portrush hitting balls. Even at his stage, I am still doing it — I don’t know why, but I am.  

“Some of them can’t grasp how much work they need to do to get where they want to go to.”

Left to right: Liam Murphy (European) & Dermot Ryan (Powerscourt) winners 2015 Irish Fourball Matchplay at The European Club

The competitive golf season is not over for golfers in Ireland in 2015 as entries are now being accepted for the eighth playing of the Irish Fourball Matchplay Championship at The European Club in Co Wicklow.

one of the biggest matchplay events in Ireland, it is open to both amateurs and professionals and depending on the number of entries can take up to a year to find a winner, with all matches played over the stunning Pat Ruddy designed links course.

The 2015 title was recently claimed by Liam Murphy (The European Club) and Dermot Ryan (Powerscourt) who beat Martin Maher (Blessington Lakes) and Colm Mooney (Blainroe) by on-hole in a close fought final.

The Championship’s first round is now up and running until December 23rd, competitors can enter as pairs or play against their own friends in the first round and then all first round winners will go into a draw for round two.

Entry to the championship is only €100 for a pair with current GUI or ILGU handicaps and can be made by calling the European Club at 0404-47415.

Leona Maguire tied for fourth to help the Duke women’s golf team win the 2015 Landfall Tradition team title.

The Blue Devils won by 11 strokes  from Notre Dame (866) with Oklahoma State (867), Michigan State (872), Alabama (882), NC State (885), Wake Forest (886), Purdue (887), South Carolina (888) and UNC Wilmington (889) rounding out the top 10.

The World amteur No 1 closed with a bogey-free, two-under 70 to finish on three-under 213 alongside senior Celine Boutier (69), two strokes behind Michigan State’s Sarah Burnham.

The Slieve Russell star has now posted nine straight rounds of even or under par to open the season.

After making her season debut as an individual this weekend, sophomore Lisa Maguire closed strong with a season-best round of 74 as she went on to finish tied 74th.  

Penn State’s Ariana Coyle Diez tied for 24th in four over after a 70 with Mary Doyle 93rd after an 81

Team

1 Duke 287 284 284 855 -9
2 Notre Dame 291 294 281 866 +2
3 Oklahoma State 289 292 286 867 +3
4 Michigan State 291 306 275 872 +8
5 Alabama 299 286 297 882 +18
6 North Carolina State 295 311 279 885 +21
7 Wake Forest 303 294 289 886 +22
8 Purdue 296 300 291 887 +23
9 South Carolina 301 304 283 888 +24
T10 UNC Wilmington 290 297 302 889 +25
T10 Clemson 298 306 285 889 +25
12 Virginia 301 303 286 890 +26
13 Penn State 305 302 285 892 +28
14 North Carolina 308 303 290 901 +37
15 Ohio State 303 303 297 903 +39
16 UCF 308 307 295 910 +46
17 Kentucky 307 323 292 922 +58
18 Elon 303 316 308 927 +63

Individual

1 Sarah Burnham Michigan State 71 74 66 211 -5
T2 Ashley Holder UCF 72 69 71 212 -4
T2 Katelyn Dambaugh South Carolina 72 72 68 212 -4
T4 Celine Boutier Duke 75 69 69 213 -3
T4 Maddie McCrary Oklahoma State 70 71 72 213 -3
T4 Leona Maguire Duke 71 72 70 213 -3
T4 Jennifer Kupcho Wake Forest 74 71 68 213 -3

Other Irish

T24 Ariana Coyle Diez Penn State 74 76 70 220 +4
74 Lisa Maguire * Duke 79 79 74 232 +16
93 Mary Doyle Elon 85 83 81 249 +33

Justin Rose wins the UBS Hong Kong Open. Picture: Getty Images

Graeme McDowell finished tied 24th behind Justin Rose in the UBS Hong Kong Open but it was disappointing European Tour campaign for the Irish as the regular season ended in Asia.

Just four of the 13 players who played European Tour events this year—Paul McGinley played just seven times and didn’t count—did enough to finish in the Top 110 who retain their cards.

They were Race toi Dubai leader Rory McIlroy, fifth ranked Shane Lowry, 65th ranked Graeme McDowell and 86th ranked Michael Hoey.

Exempt major winners such as Padraig Harrington and Darren Clarke were 120th and 141st respectively, Gareth Maybin play just eight times before being struck down by injury while Peter Lawrie (125th), Kevin Phelan (126th) and Damien McGrane (159th) must go to Q-School if they want to win full playing rights for 2016.

In short, it was a year to forget and while McIlroy and Lowry are still vying for the Race to Dubai title, Ireland will have a reduced presence on tour next year unless there is a major influx on new blood via the Q-School.

Eleven players came through the First Stage of Tour School and will be joined at Second Stage next month by the likes of Gareth Shaw and Chris Selfridge, who slipped to a 74 in the final round of the Foshan Open in China and failed to move into the top 45 in the Road to Oman rankings who make the Grand Final in a fortnight.

Thanks for all the support this week. Just wasnt meant to be today. Been a great year on the @Challenge_Tour #OnwardsAndUpwards

— Chris Selfridge (@selfridgec595) October 25, 2015

Rose won the Hong Kong Open, closing with a 68 to finish a stroke ahead of Denmark’s Lucas Bjerregaard on 17 under as McDowell signed for a 68 to finish 11 strokes further back on six under.

As a result he leapfrogged Lowry to go fourth in the Race to Dubai standings and gave himself a chance of winning the Harry Vardon Trophy for the second time since 2007.

Borja Virto Astudillo. Picture: Richard Castka

As for the Foshan Open, Spain’s Borja Virto Astudillo sealed a wire-to-wire victory to book his place on the European Tour for the 2016 season.

The 24 year old moved from 15th to third in the Road to Oman courtesy of his two-shot triumph at the lucrative $500,000 event, the penultimate tournament of the 2015 European Challenge Tour campaign.

Portugal’s Ricardo Gouveia leap-frogged Frenchman Sebastien Gros at the summit with just one event to play courtesy of a tied third place finish.

America John Hahn, who finished alongside Gouveia and Joachim B Hansen on 12 under par, moved to just inside the cut-off for European Tour graduation in 15th position, from 30th.

It was a huge week too for Englishman Chris Hanson, whose tied 12th finish moved him from 48th to 44th, securing a place in the season-ending NBO Golf Classic Grand Final, while Belgian Hugues Joannes’ tied eighth place finish also earned him a ticket to Muscat after moving from 54th to 44th.

Scot Peter Whiteford, who entered the week just outside the bubble, did enough with a tied 24th finish to snatch the 45th and final spot in the Grand Final.

Selfridge's 74 saw him fall from fifth overnight to tied 17th in China and end up 52nd in the Road to Oman Rankings, just under €6,000 of a place in Oman despite making 12 cheques from 12 starts in his rookie season.

Race to Dubai

1. 1 MCILROY Rory NIR 9 3,012,0005 
2. 5 LOWRY Shane IRL 14 2,455,749
3. 65 MCDOWELL Graeme NIR 17 466,587
4. 86 HOEY Michael NIR 28 326,675
5. 120 HARRINGTON Padraig 13 216,766 
6. 125 LAWRIE Peter 28 187,296 
7. 126 PHELAN Kevin 21 187,214 
8. 141 CLARKE Darren NIR 19 147,388
9. 159 MCGRANE Damien 30 107,605 
10. 170 DUNNE Paul 3 91,023 
11. 211 THORNTON Simon 8 31,074 
12. 234 MAYBIN Gareth NIR 8 15,286
13. 282 MCGEE Ruaidhri 1 2,880
14. -- MCGINLEY Paul 7 7,928

Road to Oman Rankings

1. 27 Ruaidhri MCGEE 20 €53,427    
   
2. 52 Chris SELFRIDGE 12 €30,589
   
3. 73 Gareth SHAW 13 €19,079
   
4. 129 Michael McGEADY 10 €8,358
   
5. 136 Simon THORNTON 9 €7,167
   
6. 167 Alan DUNBAR 5 €2,690
   
7. 175 Richard KILPATRICK NIR 4 €2,238
   
8. 203 Stephen GRANT 7 €586

Big congrats @JamesSugrue2 individual champ @watervillelinks 74,72,73(+3) & @eugenesmith71 2nd (+8) #MU1-2#MU_Golf pic.twitter.com/AAursytcKI

— Harrington Scholars (@MU_Golf) October 24, 2015

Maynooth University captured the inaugural Jerry Murray/Notre Dame Invitational at Waterville Golf Links with James Sugrue the individual winner.

The reigning Irish Senior Cup champions finished 12 strokes ahead of Texas A&M at the famous County Kerry Links with UNC Wilmington a further 16 strokes behind in third.

Sugrue shot a final 73 to capture the individual title by three strokes from team mate Eugene Smith, who closed with a 72, on three over par 219.

Connor Black (78-78-72) was the best of the visitors alongside his Texas A&M’s team mate Ben Crancer (72-81-75) in third and fourth respectively on 12 over par 228 with Notre Dame’s Miguel Delgado (75-79-76) fifth on 230.

#Champs MU take Inaugural Jerry Murray Notre Dame INV @watervillelinks by 12 shots from Texas A&M #GRIT #MU_Golf pic.twitter.com/uZuf47SZgr

— Harrington Scholars (@MU_Golf) October 24, 2015 Inaugural Jerry Murray Notre Dame Invitational, Waterville LinksFinal

Individual

1. James Sugrue (Maynooth University) 74 72 73 219 (+3)

Team

1. Maynooth University - 904
2. Texas A&M - 916

Low - Final Round

1. Eugene Smith 72 (Maynooth University) (B9)
2. Connor Black (Texas A&M)

Closing Ceremony time in @minthishills, Cyprus at the European Club Trophy. Well done Lads!

Justin Rose. Picture: Getty Images

That he made an eagle two and four birdies and still shot over par says it all about Graeme McDowell’s performance on moving day in the UBS Hong Kong Open.

A one over 71 sent the Rathmore man tumbling 13 places down the leaderboard to tied 23rd on four under — 11 strokes behind duelling co—leaders Lucas Bjerregaard and Justin Rose.

McDowell birdied the second and third but then bogeyed the fifth, sixth and ninth to turn in one over before coming home in level with an eagle two at the 10th followed by a triple bogey seven at the 11th, back-to-back birdies at the 13th and 14th and a bogey at the 16th.

It was a true rollercoaster effort from a player who is slowly inching his way back into the elite but he has a long way still to go to match the consistency shown by Rose and Bjerregaard at Hong Kong Golf Club.

Rose had held a one shot lead over the Dane coming into the weekend and the world No 7 had two eagles and two birdies in an immaculate, six under 64 that saw him move to 15 under. 

But Bjerregaard withstood everything his playing partner could throw at him and signed for a 63 with a bogey on the last the only blemish as he goes in search of a first European Tour title.

Anirban Lahiri was at 11 under after a 65 with countryman Jeev Milkha Singh and recently crowned British Masters champion Matthew Fitzpatrick a further shot back, but the story of the day was the toe-to-toe battle between the leaders.

"Lucas played unbelievable golf today," said Rose. "I actually didn't know much about his game – first of all he's a lovely guy and second, he can really play. “I hung with him and what impressed me today was the couple of par saves that I had to make, which I managed to do.

"The first hole, I didn't play the hole particularly well but made a nice 15-foot putt for par there and then eagling the third kind of got me up and running. It was just a really fun day playing with Lucas and flip-flopping birdies and eagles and really stretching away from the field. It was a lot of fun.”

Bjerregaard said: “It was great. I really enjoyed it out there with Justin. He's a really good guy and we kept making birdies, especially around the turn.

“I played some good golf today and it was nice to get off to a good start, as well, to take some of the pressure off. So I'm really looking forward to tomorrow. Obviously it's not fun to finish off any round with a bogey and especially not today. I hit a bad tee shot on 18 there, pretty much my only bad shot of the day. It wasn’t the way I wanted to finish, but still, I'm very happy with the round today."

Ian Poulter’s bid to complete what would have been an incredible victory following his late entry to the tournament seems to be over after the Englishman dropped down the field with a three over par 73 to join his Ryder Cup team mate McDowell on four under.

American Ryder Cup star Patrick Reed, meanwhile, posted a fine 65 to move to eight under going into the final round.

Complete third round scores:

195 J Rose (Eng) 65 66 64, L Bjerregaard (Den) 66 66 63,

199 A Lahiri (Ind) 67 67 65,

200 M Fitzpatrick (Eng) 67 67 66, J Singh (Ind) 65 70 65,

201 J Scrivener (Aus) 68 68 65, Y Yang (Kor) 68 66 67, M Ford (Eng) 69 65 67,

202 G Bhullar (Ind) 69 66 67, P Reed (USA) 68 69 65, T Jaidee (Tha) 71 67 64, N Holman (Aus) 68 66 68,

203 L Wen-Tang (Tpe) 67 68 68, O Fisher (Eng) 66 69 68,

204 R Gangjee (Ind) 66 70 68, L Wei-Chih (Tpe) 64 69 71, S Rahman (Ban) 67 71 66, S Brazel (Aus) 69 67 68,

205 J Knutzon (USA) 68 68 69, S Lee (Kor) 70 69 66, S Yates (Sco) 69 68 68, C Pan (Tpe) 65 73 67,

206 G McDowell (Nir) 66 69 71, C Shih-Chang (Tpe) 71 69 66, C Pigem (Esp) 69 71 66, I Poulter (Eng) 67 66 73, P Hanson (Swe) 69 70 67, E Goya (Arg) 73 66 67, B Evans (Eng) 69 71 66, C Nirat (Tha) 67 72 67, M Fraser (Aus) 72 66 68, P Uihlein (USA) 70 70 66, A Que (Phi) 72 67 67, M Kawamura (Jpn) 68 69 69,

207 D Drysdale (Sco) 68 71 68, M Foster (Eng) 69 69 69, A Dodt (Aus) 71 68 68, P Maddy (Eng) 70 70 67, J Janewattananond (Tha) 69 68 70, P Marksaeng (Tha) 70 67 70, J Kruger (RSA) 71 68 68, D Chia (Mas) 71 66 70, S Chawrasia (Ind) 66 70 71,

208 J Walters (RSA) 71 68 69, A Da Silva (Bra) 71 68 69, R Dinwiddie (Eng) 69 68 71, J Randhawa (Ind) 70 70 68, R McEvoy (Eng) 67 68 73, C Lee (Sco) 71 67 70, M Nixon (Eng) 70 67 71, V Dubuisson (Fra) 68 70 70,

209 U Park (Aus) 68 70 71, W Ormsby (Aus) 71 69 69, D Gaunt (Aus) 68 71 70, P Meesawat (Tha) 67 69 73, A Pavan (Ita) 64 71 74, L Jensen (Den) 70 68 71, M Perera (Sri) 71 69 69, J Wang (Kor) 71 69 69, S Jamieson (Sco) 71 67 71, G Havret (Fra) 72 68 69,

210 R Kakko (Fin) 67 73 70, R Wannasrichan (Tha) 69 67 74, C Paisley (Eng) 70 70 70, T Pilkadaris (Aus) 69 71 70, S Supupramai (Tha) 68 69 73, L Weber (Fra) 73 66 71, M Lundberg (Swe) 71 68 71,

211 N Fung (Mas) 71 67 73, A Groom (Aus) 68 70 73, R Karlberg (Swe) 69 69 73, R Gonzalez (Arg) 69 68 74, D Lipsky (USA) 68 70 73,

212 P Pittayarat (Tha) 70 70 72,

215 P Tangkamolprasert (Tha) 71 69 75,

219 D Van Tonder (RSA) 73 67 79

Moyola Park's Chris Selfridge. Picture: Pat Cashman

Chris Selfridge headed to China hoping to battle his way into the season-ending Grand Final but finds himself with an opportunity to take giant step towards the European Tour.

The 23-year old from Castledawson was the second last man into the Foshan Open field, the penultimate event of the Challenge Tour season, where he needs a Top 12 finish to make the 45-man field for the season-ending NBO Golf Classic Grand Final.

But after carding a four under 68 in round three, Selfridge is solo fifth and in with a chance of a win or a runner up finish that would catapult him from 56th into the Top 15 in the Road to Oman rankings who earn full Euorpean Tour cards after the final event from November 4-7.

The Univeristy of Toledo graduate’s performance is all the more remarkable considering he has made 12 successive cuts on the Challenge Tour having only started his maiden professional campaign in May.

He’s on nine under par on China, four strokes behind Spain’s Borja Virto Astudillo, who in turn is just 18 holes away from guaranteed European Tour graduation.

The 24 year old, who is currently in 15th place in the Road to Oman Rankings, carded a level par 72 and extended his lead by a further stroke to three over South Africa’s Haydn Porteous (73), Dane Joachim Hansen (71) and Swede Björn Åkesson (68).

Porteous is 12th in the rankings and with Hansen 33rd and Akesson 21st, all three can take a massive step towards securing European Tour cards on Sunday.

Borja Virto Astudillo. Picture © Richard Castka

The Foshan Open, Shishan Town (Par 72)

203 B Virto Astudillo (Esp) 64 67 72, 

206 J Hansen  (Den) 70 65 71, H Porteous (RSA) 65 68 73, B Åkesson (Swe) 67 71 68, 

207 Chris Selfridge  (Nir) 69 70 68, 

208 R Gouveia (Por) 70 66 72, L Jun-Seok (Aus) 69 72 67, S Gros (Fra) 72 67 69, E Dubois (Fra) 67 68 73, J Hahn (USA) 71 69 68, 

209 M Søgaard  (Den) 72 69 68, C Hanson (Eng) 69 69 71, C Ding-Gen (Chn) 70 68 71, G Boyd  (Eng) 72 72 65, M Orrin (Eng) 67 75 67, S Tiley (Eng) 71 68 70, A McArthur  (Sco) 74 67 68, 

210 M Delpodio  (Ita) 69 72 69, J Makitalo  (Fin) 73 70 67, Z Xin-Jun (Chn) 69 69 72, H Joannes  (Bel) 72 71 67, J Winther (Den) 72 67 71, M Wiegele  (Aut) 70 71 69, 

211 G Charoenkul (Tha) 70 70 71, T Murray (Eng) 71 69 71, A Björk (Swe) 69 72 70, C Zi-Hao (Chn) 66 74 71, J McLeary  (Sco) 73 68 70, T Remkes (Ned) 71 68 72, S Walker (Eng) 71 70 70, 

212 C Shinkwin (Eng) 71 71 70, P Whiteford (Sco) 73 71 68, H Shao-Cai (Chn) 71 73 68, S Soderberg (Swe) 70 73 69, T Linard (Fra) 72 67 73, 

213 C Sordet  (Fra) 75 69 69, L Gagli  (Ita) 71 69 73, S Jeppesen  (Swe) 72 72 69, D Foos (Ger) 73 71 69, R Evans  (Eng) 75 69 69, 

214 S Kim (USA) 74 71 69, Z Hui-Lin (Chn) 72 71 71, R Davies (Wal) 71 73 70, R Fox (Nzl) 72 69 73, C Hai-Meng (Chn) 72 70 72, W Harrold (Eng) 70 72 72, 

215 M Yiyuan (Chn) 72 71 72, Z Guo-Wu (Chn) 70 72 73, J Sjöholm (Swe) 73 71 71, J Dantorp (Swe) 68 72 75, Y Guang-Ming (Chn) 73 72 70, J Fahrbring (Swe) 72 69 74, E Cuartero Blanco  (Esp) 69 74 72, 

216 P Widegren  (Swe) 72 71 73, G Sapp (USA) 73 71 72, J Lima  (Por) 73 71 72, 

217 M Schneider (Ger) 71 74 72, 

218 R Coles (Eng) 72 72 74, D Lee (Kor) 73 67 78, D Im (USA) 74 71 73, 

225 S Yi-Cheng (Chn) 75 70 80.

Leona Maguire

Leona Maguire opened with a one under 71 as Duke grabbed the first round lead in the Landfall Tradition at the Country Club of Landfall in North. Carolina

Junior Sandy Choii fired a four-under par 68, and trails Notre Dame’s Isabella DiLisio (67) by one stroke on the individual leaderboard with Leona tied for eighth  place and Lisa Maguire joint 70th after a 79.  

It was Leona's seventh straight round of par or better to start the 2015-16 season as she hit a team-high 16 greens, 12 fairways and took 33 putts.  

She opened with a bogey but came back to card the first of three birdies on the day at the second hole.

Maguire suffered her second bogey on the 490-yard, par five 12th but came back with birdies at the 15th and 16th for her 71. 

Both senior Celine Boutier and sophomore Gurbani Singh turned in three-over-par rounds of 75 and are tied 36th overall.  

Duke Results
- 2 Sandy Choi Duke 68 -4
- T8 Leona Maguire Duke 71 -1
- T21 Virginia Elena Carta Duke 73 +1
- T36 Gurbani Singh Duke 75 +3
- T36 Celine Boutier Duke 75 +3
- T70 Lisa Maguire * Duke 79 +7

1 Team Scores
1 Duke 287 -1
2 Oklahoma State 289 +1
3 UNC Wilmington 290 +2
T4 Notre Dame 291 +3
T4 Michigan State 291 +3
6 North Carolina State 295 +7
7 Purdue 296 +8
8 Clemson 298 +10
9 Alabama 299 +11
T10 Virginia 301 +13
T10 South Carolina 301 +13
T12 Wake Forest 303 +15
T12 Ohio State 303 +15
T12 Elon 303 +15
15 Penn State 305 +17
16 Kentucky 307 +19
T17 UCF 308 +20
T17 North Carolina 308 +20

Relaxing in Waterville

Maynooth University cruised into the lead in the Jerry Murray Notre Dame Invitational Tournament at windy Waterville. 

A level par 72 from James Sugrue proved to be the best score of the day by five strokes and enough to give him a five-stroke lead over UCD's Jonathan Yates in the individual standings and put Maynooth 13 stokes clear of Texas A&M in the team competition.

Individual - Team

It was tougher going for the reigning Irish Senior Cup holders in the European Men's Club Trophy at Minthis Hills Golf Club in Cyprus.

The students fell from joint third overnight to 11th on six over, 11 strokes adrift of leaders Racing Club de France, who have a three shot lead over Spain's Real Club de Golf de Castiello. 

Ronan Mullarney (74) is the best of the bunch in the individual standings on two over 144, nine strokes behind Finland's Imari Saulo.

Alan Lowry (81) is tied 40th on 10 over 152 with Jack Walsh (75) on 154.

European Club Cup Individual - Team

Justin Rose. Picture: Getty Images

Peter Lawrie and Kevin Phelan must go to Q-School if they want to win full playing privileges for 2016 after the missed the cut in the UBS Hong Kong Open.

As for Pádraig Harrington (70-72), who needed a Top-2 finish to keep his season going, the world No 124 also failed to make the weekend and so failed to qualify for the European Tour’s Final Series for the second year running.

The 2015 season will still go down as a winning one for Harrington following his victory in the Honda Classic in March. But for Lawrie and Phelan, only a succcessful trip to PGA Catalunya can make up for their disappointments.

The good news for Irish fans is that Graeme McDowell is teid 10th, just four shots behind Justin Rose, after a 69.

As for Lawrie, 41, he had one foot on the plane home after an opening 78 and a four over 74 saw him miss his 15th cut from 29 starts this year and his 37th from the last 57 events (64.9%).

Phelan will be even more disappointed to miss the cut in an event where he needed a Top-6 finish at worst to win back his card.

He was tied sixth after an opening 66 but shot 76 on Firday to miss out by two strokes.

At the top of the leaderboard, Rose opened up a one shot lead on nine under after rounds of 65 and 66 and admitted he had one eye on Ryder Cup team-mate Ian Poulter, who is hot on his heels just two strokes back.

“Poulter is a past champion is and he’s on the leaderboard,” he said. “He’s always good when he’s got something to prove, and he’s probably a dangerous guy now that he’s outside the top 50 in the world, and I know that he’ll be desperate to get back in it. He always plays well when he has motivation, so he’s obviously going to be tough to beat too.”

McDowell moved to five under after a 69 which featured five birdies and four bogeys, while American Ryder Cup star Patrick Reed fired a 69 to sit at three under. There was no such luck for hios fellow countryman Dustin Johnson, however, as the World Number Eight missed the cut at one over after a 72.

UBS Hong Kong Open, Hong Kong GC (Par 70)

131 J Rose (Eng) 65 66, 

132 L Bjerregaard (Den) 66 66, 

133 L Wei-Chih (Tpe) 64 69, I Poulter (Eng) 67 66, 

134 Y Yang (Kor) 68 66, A Lahiri (Ind) 67 67, M Ford (Eng) 69 65, N Holman (Aus) 68 66, M Fitzpatrick (Eng) 67 67, 

135 J Singh (Ind) 65 70, G Bhullar (Ind) 69 66, Graeme McDowell (Nir) 66 69, O Fisher (Eng) 66 69, L Wen-Tang (Tpe) 67 68, A Pavan (Ita) 64 71, R McEvoy (Eng) 67 68, 

136 P Meesawat (Tha) 67 69, S Chawrasia (Ind) 66 70, J Scrivener (Aus) 68 68, J Knutzon (USA) 68 68, S Brazel (Aus) 69 67, R Gangjee (Ind) 66 70, R Wannasrichan (Tha) 69 67, 

137 J Janewattananond (Tha) 69 68, S Yates (Sco) 69 68, P Reed (USA) 68 69, D Chia (Mas) 71 66, S Supupramai (Tha) 68 69, M Kawamura (Jpn) 68 69, R Gonzalez (Arg) 69 68, R Dinwiddie (Eng) 69 68, M Nixon (Eng) 70 67, P Marksaeng (Tha) 70 67, 

138 M Fraser (Aus) 72 66, U Park (Aus) 68 70, A Groom (Aus) 68 70, S Rahman (Ban) 67 71, V Dubuisson (Fra) 68 70, N Fung (Mas) 71 67, C Lee (Sco) 71 67, D Lipsky (USA) 68 70, M Foster (Eng) 69 69, S Jamieson (Sco) 71 67, C Pan (Tpe) 65 73, L Jensen (Den) 70 68, T Jaidee (Tha) 71 67, R Karlberg (Swe) 69 69, 

139 D Gaunt (Aus) 68 71, A Dodt (Aus) 71 68, S Lee (Kor) 70 69, A Que (Phi) 72 67, A Da Silva (Bra) 71 68, C Nirat (Tha) 67 72, P Hanson (Swe) 69 70, E Goya (Arg) 73 66, J Kruger (RSA) 71 68, D Drysdale (Sco) 68 71, L Weber (Fra) 73 66, M Lundberg (Swe) 71 68, J Walters (RSA) 71 68, 

140 D Van Tonder (RSA) 73 67, W Ormsby (Aus) 71 69, P Pittayarat (Tha) 70 70, P Maddy (Eng) 70 70, J Wang (Kor) 71 69, B Evans (Eng) 69 71, C Paisley (Eng) 70 70, R Kakko (Fin) 67 73, T Pilkadaris (Aus) 69 71, P Tangkamolprasert (Tha) 71 69, C Pigem (Esp) 69 71, G Havret (Fra) 72 68, P Uihlein (USA) 70 70, M Perera (Sri) 71 69, C Shih-Chang (Tpe) 71 69, J Randhawa (Ind) 70 70, 

CUT LINE

141 J Colomo (Esp) 72 69, E Espana (Fra) 71 70, R Khan (Ind) 70 71, K Horne (RSA) 75 66, J Barnes (Eng) 71 70, D Johnson (USA) 69 72, M Korhonen (Fin) 74 67, 

142 J Lando Casanova (Fra) 73 69, M Ilonen (Fin) 70 72, D Horsey (Eng) 70 72, C Phadungsil (Tha) 70 72, B Easton (RSA) 69 73, V Riu (Fra) 76 66, R Lee (Can) 71 71, Padraig Harrington (Irl) 70 72, Kevin Phelan (Irl) 66 76, P Junhasavasdikul (Tha) 72 70, C Kim (USA) 68 74, S Kapur (Ind) 70 72, D Brooks (Eng) 71 71, 

143 T Lewis (Eng) 70 73, A Vongvanij (Tha) 68 75, M Crespi (Ita) 72 71, M Mamat (Sin) 70 73, P Peterson (USA) 74 69, L Wen-Chong (Chn) 70 73, C Doak (Sco) 71 72, J Lara (Esp) 71 72, J Lagergren (Swe) 70 73, S Hend (Aus) 69 74, C Plaphol (Tha) 71 72, M Jiménez (Esp) 70 73, 

144 A Kang (USA) 72 72, J Carlsson (Swe) 71 73, J Stewart (Hkg) 74 70, T Tang (Hkg) 74 70, J Higginbottom (Aus) 74 70, J Roos (RSA) 73 71, T Wiratchant (Tha) 72 72, A Atwal (Ind) 73 71, 

145 S Barr (Aus) 71 74, J Edfors (Swe) 73 72, G Mulroy (RSA) 74 71, H Chien-Yao (Tpe) 74 71, S Benson (Eng) 72 73, C Lloyd (Eng) 75 70, M Tabuena (Phi) 73 72, K Pratt (Aus) 74 71, 

146 A Otaegui (Esp) 75 71, M Lampert (Ger) 76 70, 

147 K Richardson (Aus) 68 79, L Hao-Tong (Chn) 72 75, 

148 W Choy (Hkg) 74 74, A Lascuna (Phi) 76 72, O Farr (Wal) 70 78, M Wong (am) (Hkg) 72 76, 

149 B Ritthammer (Ger) 73 76, 

150 S Lewton (Eng) 76 74, B Henson (USA) 72 78, 

151 C Del Moral (Esp) 72 79, L Chi-Bing (Sin) 78 73, W Woon-Man (Hkg) 78 73, M Both (Aus) 76 75, 

152 Peter Lawrie (Irl) 78 74, 

154 T Ng (am) (Hkg) 78 76, 

155 H Shun-Yat (Hkg) 81 74, 

156 S Norris (RSA) 79 77, 

 ** R Paratore (Ita) 71 DQ.

Borja Virto Astudillo. Picture: Richard Castka

Chris Selfridge remained on course to make the top 45 in the money who will list contest the season-ending NBO Golf Classic Grand Final in Oman next month.

But as the Moyola Park man hit a two under 70 in the second round of the Foshan Open to share 10th spot in an event where he needs a Top-12 at worst to progress, Ruaidhri McGee missed the cut.

The touring pro for Rosapenna shot a nighmare 81 featuring an 11 on the par-five 18th, his ninth hole.

McGee is 20th in the Road to Oman standings and just €12,417 outside the top 15 who earn European Tour cards after the Grand Final.

He’ll have two weeks to prepare for Oman as Selfridge tries to make sure he’s also in the field.

The Challenge Tour rookie is on five under par and eight strokes behind Spain’s Borja Virto Astudillo, who shot a 67 to lead by two shots from South Africa’s Hayden Porteous on 13 under.

The 24 year old opened with a 64 in the penultimate event of the European Challenge Tour season to hold a one shot lead, and he continued his flawless form with a second consecutive bogey-free round.

“Obviously it’s exciting,” said the Pamplona-born player, who currently sits right on the brink of European Tour graduation at 15th position in the Road to Oman Rankings. 

“At the same time it’s easy to get nervous about it so I’m just going to focus on the excitement part and just try to do my best and fight for every shot out there.”

Frenchman Edouard Dubois (68) and Joachim B Hansen (65) of Denmark shared third place on nine under par, while Portugal’s Ricardo Gouveia continues his determined chase to leapfrog France’s Sebastien Gros at the top of the Road to Oman Rankings, after a six under 66 moved him to outright fifth.

Scores:

131 B Virto Astudillo (Esp) 64 67, 

133 H Porteous (RSA) 65 68, 

135 E Dubois (Fra) 67 68, J Hansen (Den) 70 65, 

136 R Gouveia (Por) 70 66, 

138 C Ding-Gen (Chn) 70 68, C Hanson (Eng) 69 69, B Åkesson (Swe) 67 71, Z Xin-Jun (Chn) 69 69, 

139 Chris Selfridge (Nir) 69 70, T Remkes (Ned) 71 68, S Gros (Fra) 72 67, S Tiley (Eng) 71 68, T Linard (Fra) 72 67, J Winther (Den) 72 67, 

140 L Gagli (Ita) 71 69, T Murray (Eng) 71 69, C Zi-Hao (Chn) 66 74, G Charoenkul (Tha) 70 70, J Dantorp (Swe) 68 72, J Hahn (USA) 71 69, D Lee (Kor) 73 67, 

141 R Fox (Nzl) 72 69, L Jun-Seok (Aus) 69 72, J Fahrbring (Swe) 72 69, S Walker (Eng) 71 70, M Delpodio (Ita) 69 72, J McLeary (Sco) 73 68, A Björk (Swe) 69 72, A McArthur (Sco) 74 67, M Søgaard (Den) 72 69, M Wiegele (Aut) 70 71, 

142 M Orrin (Eng) 67 75, Z Guo-Wu (Chn) 70 72, C Hai-Meng (Chn) 72 70, W Harrold (Eng) 70 72, C Shinkwin (Eng) 71 71, 

143 E Cuartero Blanco (Esp) 69 74, M Yiyuan (Chn) 72 71, P Widegren (Swe) 72 71, H Joannes (Bel) 72 71, Z Hui-Lin (Chn) 72 71, J Makitalo (Fin) 73 70, S Soderberg (Swe) 70 73, 

144 G Boyd (Eng) 72 72, H Shao-Cai (Chn) 71 73, S Jeppesen (Swe) 72 72, J Sjöholm (Swe) 73 71, R Davies (Wal) 71 73, R Coles (Eng) 72 72, R Evans (Eng) 75 69, J Lima (Por) 73 71, P Whiteford (Sco) 73 71, C Sordet (Fra) 75 69, D Foos (Ger) 73 71, G Sapp (USA) 73 71, 

145 M Schneider (Ger) 71 74, Y Guang-Ming (Chn) 73 72, S Kim (USA) 74 71, D Im (USA) 74 71, S Yi-Cheng (Chn) 75 70, 

CUT

146 J Robinson (Eng) 71 75, W Tu-Xuan (Chn) 69 77, J Heath (Eng) 71 75, D Huizing (Ned) 75 71, W Wei-Huang (Chn) 72 74, Y Bin (Chn) 73 73, J Doherty (Sco) 75 71, X Zhi (Chn) 73 73, S Arnold (Aus) 69 77, G Porteous (Eng) 72 74, 

147 O Bekker (RSA) 73 74, B Stone (RSA) 76 71, Q Da (Chn) 76 71, S Henry (Sco) 75 72, L Ding-Feng (Chn) 74 73, W Xu (Chn) 72 75, G Murray (Sco) 72 75, 

148 R McGowan (Eng) 76 72, L Hao-Yuan (Chn) 75 73, L Gui-Ming (Chn) 75 73, Z Xiongyi (Chn) 78 70, S Zihan (Chn) 76 72, Y Yi-Nong (Chn) 74 74, 

149 Z Jia (Chn) 75 74, N Bertasio (Ita) 72 77, Y Tian (Chn) 73 76, Z Jin (Chn) 73 76, H Ren (Chn) 77 72, J Senior (Eng) 75 74, H Yu-Ting (Chn) 75 74, L Xue-Wen (Chn) 75 74, 

150 S Dong (Chn) 75 75, S Manley (Wal) 75 75, C Xiao-Ma (Chn) 72 78, S Nan-Nan (Chn) 74 76, X Bowen (Chn) 75 75, H Mu (Chn) 76 74, D Ze-Cheng (Chn) 76 74, X Qin (Chn) 78 72, 

151 L Xiaofei (Chn) 74 77, S Yan (Chn) 75 76, H Jian (Chn) 76 75, H Zeming (Chn) 77 74, L En Qi (Chn) 77 74, 

152 Ruaidhri McGee (Irl) 71 81, L Chun (Chn) 74 78, X Cheng (Chn) 77 75, S Hodgson (Eng) 76 76, Z Zi-Hong (Chn) 79 73, 

153 W Zi-Ting (Chn) 76 77, H Wen-Cheng (Chn) 76 77, W Chang-Wei (Chn) 76 77, G Tian Lang (Chn) 75 78, 

155 D Chen Xiao (Chn) 82 73, Y Hao (Chn) 79 76, Z Wei-Yu (Chn) 74 81, 

156 W Ming-Hao (Chn) 78 78, 

157 L Fangyi (Chn) 78 79, 

158 L Jun-Feng (Chn) 82 76, 

160 W Tianyi (Chn) 82 78, S Qiang (Chn) 78 82, 

164 W Weijun (Chn) 83 81, 

165 X Guo-Zhen (Chn) 80 85, Q Hong-Xin (Chn) 89 76, 

167 H Yong-Le (Chn) 85 82.