Irish Golf News

Rory McIlroy

The field for the WGC-Dell Match Play is taking shape and while world No.  7 Henrik Stenson and No 15Jim Furyk will be giving it a miss, the field isalready shaping up to be a cracker.

As Furyk recovers from wrist surgery and Stenson skips the event in Austin due to scheduling, Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry and Graeme McDowell will fly the flag for Irish golf.

Players have until 5 p.m. this Friday to commit to the field or be replaced by Nos. 65, 66, etc., in the OWGR until the field of 64 is filled.

In the case of Stenson and Furyk, world Nos 65 and 66, Patton Kizzire and Thornbjorn Olesen, will step into the breach in an event where the favourite will be Texas Longhorn and world No. 1 Jordan Spieth, who will be looking to capture his first World Golf Championship. 

The past two winners of the Dell Match Play trail Spieth at Nos. 2 and 3 in the world. 

McIlroy won the 2015 Dell Match Play in convincing fashion at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco, and Jason Day took home the 2014 title in a dramatic 23-hole finale at Dove Mountain in Tucson, beating McDowell along the way.

With the field of 64 all but finalised with one week remaining, players already qualified and committed as of Friday still have a chance to improve their seeding before groups are selected on Monday of tournament week. 

The top 16 players in the OWGR will each be the top seed in their four-player group, while the remaining three players will be chosen randomly during the Dell Match Play Draw Show, which will be broadcast live on Golf Channel from the Paramount Theatre in Austin on Monday, March 21, from 6-8 p.m. 

The qualified 64 players are listed below:

1 Jordan Spieth 

2 Rory McIlroy

3 Jason Day 

4 Bubba Watson 

5 Rickie Fowler 

6 Adam Scott

7 Henrik Stenson 

8 Justin Rose 

9 Dustin Johnson 

10 Patrick Reed 

11 Danny Willett 

12 Branden Grace 

13 Sergio Garcia 

14 Hideki Matsuyama 

15 Jim Furyk 

16 Louis Oosthuizen 

17 Brandt Snedeker 

18 Phil Mickelson 

19 Brooks Koepka 

20 Zach Johnson 

21 Charl Schwartzel 

22 Kevin Kisner 

23 J.B. Holmes 

24 Jimmy Walker 

25 Shane Lowry 

26 Paul Casey 

27 Kevin Na 

28 Matt Kuchar 

29 Marc Leishman 

30 Byeong Hun An 

31 Bill Haas 

32 Andy Sullivan 

33 Justin Thomas 

34 Russell Knox 

35 Danny Lee 

36 Emiliano Grillo 

37 Bernd Wiesberger 

38 Thongchai Jaidee 

39 David Lingmerth 

40 Victor Dubuisson 

41 Chris Wood 

42 Martin Kaymer 

43 Soren Kjeldsen 

44 Billy Horschel 

45 Ryan Moore 

46 Kiradech Aphibarnrat 

47 Matthew Fitzpatrick

48 Scott Piercy 

49 Robert Streb 

50 Smylie Kaufman 

51 Jaco Van Zyl 

52 Anirban Lahiri 

53 Jamie Donaldson 

54 Daniel Berger 

55 Rafael Cabrera Bello

56 Thomas Pieters 

57 Charley Hoffman

58 Jason Dufner 

59 Fabian Gomez 

60 Chris Kirk

61 Matt Jones 

62 Graeme McDowell 

63 Lee Westwood 

64 Marcus Fraser

The next five players in the OWGR that will act as alternates until the field of 64 is filled:

65 Patton Kizzire 

66 Thornbjorn Olesen 

67 Ian Poulter

68 Gary Woodland

69 Ryan Palmer

 

Nine golfers played the first round in a test event on the Olympic Golf Course in Barra da Tijuca on March 8 (Photo: Rio 2016/Alex Ferro)

St. Patrick's Day celebrations may be upon us with still a couple of weeks to go until Easter, but for Irish golfers it's all about planning  the big opportunities of the year and one of the most important dates for 2016 is the Olympic Games in Brazil.

The event begins on 5 August with golf teeing off on 11 August for men and 12 August for women. Qualification is still possible for those hoping to represent their country and at the moment some big names are looking to the list constantly updated by the IOC to see if they still feature to play at the luxurious venue of Barra da Tijuca.

Olympic golf format

The format is four rounds of strokepla over four days for both men and women. The scores for each round count equally with the overall winning competitor having the lowest aggregate score.

Should there be a tie for any of the medal positions, there will be a play-off or multiple play-offs to determine the podium places. 

Groups of three will play all rounds off the first tee. Groupings will be announced at least 48 hours before the first round. When it's time for the third and fourth rounds, cumulative score will be used to determine the groupings; those in the lead will be the last to tee off.

Qualification system

Athletes are currently jostling for the coveted places in the Games as the IOC has reduced the field to a total of 60 players each for both the men's and women's competition.

The official world rankings will be utilised to create the Olympic rankings as well as eligibility. Those at the time of selection who are the top-15 in the world will automatically qualify but there's still a limitation in that there can only be four players from any one country in these top slots.

Past the top-15, eligibility is based on the number of players a country already has, so the places are going to be hotly sought after and upcoming tournaments around the world during spring and early summer will all count with the cut off coming after the Open Championship at Royal Troon in July.

Rio 2016 President Carlos Nuzman, Sports Minister George Hilton, IGF president Peter Dawson and Brazilian Golf Federation president Paulo Pacheco at the new golf course (Photo: Rio 2016/Alex Ferro)

In the running to represent Ireland

For the men, Rory McIlroy is currently second in the Olympic rankings with only America's Jordan Spieth above him so he is guaranteed to be teeing off in the first round in August.

• Men's ranking
• Women's ranking

Shane Lowry is 15th so whilst he only just takes one of the automatic places, he's the only other Irish player in the top 60 and will be heading to Brazil unless he is overtaken by the likes of Graeme McDowell, Pádraig Harrington or another Irish player over the next few months.

It's the same scenario for the women playing for Ireland. There are two who've made it onto the IOC list with Stephanie Meadow coming in at number 43 and Leona Maguire a few places below her at 46.

Winning a medal will be tough with the formidable Lydia Ko of New Zealand at the top of the table followed by Inbee Park of Korea and Lexi Thompson of the USA.

But there's always the chance of an upset in any golf event so the eyes of Ireland will definitely be watching their representatives and willing them on to reach the finals.

Golf betting online is already seeing the first wagers being made and for those with foresight they will be already be predicting who will make it to the Olympic history books this summer.

Andrew McCormack check his card 

Castletroy’s Andrew McCormack held off a final day, two-eagle charge from Galway’s Joe Lyons to win the 2016 Mid-West Alliance series by three points at Dromoland Castle.

Now the 24 year old, as well as Lyons, Dromoland’s Jason O’Leary and fourth ranked Aaron Moore from Adare Manor are hoping that the winter practice in the series will stand to them in the West of Ireland Championship at Co Sligo later this month.

Category 3-9 winner Alan Neville (Dromoland Castle) with his Set Up Eye voucher. SetupEye is the world’s first handheld alignment system for golfers, with target lock technology and built in viewfinder.

“Coming up to Rosses Point the Mid West Alliance is a great start to the season — card in your pocket against some good players,” Newcastlewest native McCormack said.

“I qualified in the West and the South last year,” added McCormack, who had 35 points for a four-event tally of 109. 

“But I lost to Jonathan Yates in the first round at Rosses Point and never really got going at Lahinch, despite qualifying well. So having gone in to the championships not knowing what I had to do, I came way and realised I needed to hit more solid iron shots and hole more putts to compete. 

“I still have a good bit of work to do with my coach Michael Collins in Cork, but he has transformed my swing.”

Victory for @andrewmac91 in @MWAGolf 35 pts for 109; @ignbjoe (35) 106; Jason O'Leary (31) 104; @Moorsey18 (25) 94 pic.twitter.com/y3867v9VzW

— Brian Keogh (@IrishGolfDesk) March 13, 2016

Some nice stuff from Jason O'Leary @dromolandcastle, displaying #effortlesspower in the @MWAGolf pic.twitter.com/ABvDZfqUej

— Brian Keogh (@IrishGolfDesk) March 14, 2016

Winner of last year’s East of Ireland Foursomes with club-mate and Ireland international Chloe Ryan, plus two handicapper McCormack showed his talent when he closed with a one over 73 in cool, blustery conditions, amassing 35 points gross and playing the last few holes sensibly as Lyons tried to make up lost ground with an attacking display that was derailed by a handful of poor bunker shots earlier in the day.

McCormack led by one point from O’Leary starting the day with Lyons three behind and Moore five back.

But it was O’Leary who kept pace with the eventual champion early on before McCormack brilliantly birdied the eighth from seven feet and then got up and down from short of the lake for birdie at the ninth to turn in one under par — four ahead of O’Leary and six better than Lyons overall.

That left him four ahead of O’Leary and five ahead of Lyons, who drove the ninth green and holed a 10 footer for an eagle two — his  second of the day following a three at the fourth that he handed back at the next two holes.

Hello. Eagle for @ignbjoe on 4 now just 4 pts behind @andrewmac91 who birdies. 3 putt par for Jaso., 2 back. pic.twitter.com/issuDjwKFW

— Brian Keogh (@IrishGolfDesk) March 13, 2016

A blank for @ignbjoe (3-Putt) but great par save on 7 by @andrewmac91 to lead by 2 from Jason O'Leary @MWAGolf pic.twitter.com/wHt8t6b9r3

— Brian Keogh (@IrishGolfDesk) March 13, 2016

Here's @ignbjoe driving 9. Standings: @AndyMccormack12 leads 93pts; Jason O'Leary 89; @ignbjoe 87; @Moorsey18 82. pic.twitter.com/4FNWidyU3f

— Brian Keogh (@IrishGolfDesk) March 13, 2016

Here's @ignbjoe on 13. Bunker. @andrewmac91 & Jason on the dance floor @dromolandcastle @MWAGolf pic.twitter.com/pzLYUPUbPe

— Brian Keogh (@IrishGolfDesk) March 13, 2016

After dumping a 90-yard wedge shot in the front trap en route to a six at the sixth, he blanked the seventh after a three putt from no more than 10 feet.

Moore’s hopes of closing the gap in the leader were undone by four opening bogeys but while he was 11 points behind at the turn, he made fine birdies at the 11th and 12th and hit some impressive irons over the closing holes on what was an otherwise off key day for the 23-year old music teacher.

Winners Alan Neville and Andrew McCormack

While O’Leary and Lyons birdied the 10th to close the gap with McCormack to three and five points respectively, the next five holes proved crucial.

Three pars and a bogey saw him extend his lead by one to four points from Lyons, who pulled off a great up and down from behind the 14th for par.

However, the driveable, 273-yard 15th proved to be the turning point in the match.

As Lyons and O’Leary found the green with superb fairway woods, McCormack lost his tee shot right, left his second short and knocked his third 15 feet  past the hole.

So @ignbjoe 4 behind @andrewmac91 after 14. Then he drives 15. So does Jason. @MWAGolf pic.twitter.com/7nuRiMGKSZ

— Brian Keogh (@IrishGolfDesk) March 13, 2016

But neither Lyons nor O’Leary could convert for eagle and McCormack drilled home his par putt to take a three-shot lead into the last three holes.

“I holed a nice one there for par there,” McCormack said of his par saver at the 15th. “It gave me a bit of a boost and I made a good up and down on the 16th for a par four and when I hit the four-iron in to the 17th, that was  the shot I needed at the right time.” 

All four players made regulation pars at the 16th but while all hit the par-three 17th with raking iron shots, Lyons lipped out for birdie and knew his chance had gone as they headed into the wind at the par-five 18th.

As Lyons took driver and was unfortunate to kick left behind a tree, McCormack hit an iron for safety, laid up and could even afford to take six and still maintain his three shot advantage.

And for my next trick, which is impossible.... Joe Lyons forced to chip out at 18 @MWAGolf 3 behind ll pic.twitter.com/wdnnWeO23a

— Brian Keogh (@IrishGolfDesk) March 13, 2016

Looks like @andrewmac91 has this wrapped up. @MWAGolf @dromolandcastle pic.twitter.com/9YiehbXx3P

— Brian Keogh (@IrishGolfDesk) March 13, 2016

“The Mid-West Alliance is the only thing we have on this side of the country over the winter and it’s great that Seamus McEnery and the lads put something on for us,” said 43-year old Lyons, a former West of Ireland champion.

“The winter has has been very severe but Dromoland Castle has been good, risk-reward course for us. It’s just a pity we got off to such a bad start. 

“I was happy enough how I played after that but I’ll be back. I haven’t won this yet and I’ve been second a few times now.”

This year’s Mid-West Alliance began with 62 players in two categories — scratch to three and 4-9, and it has worked well for the area with the South of Ireland Championship introducing a 36—hole strokeplay qualifier last year.

Whether a 54-hole qualifier for the top 16 is the next step — a model followed in Australia — remains to be seen but there are certainly some useful young players emerging via the Mid-West Alliance and that can only be a good thing.

Category 0-3 handicap

1. Andrew McCormack (Castletroy) 35 pts and 109 pts overall
2. Joe Lyons (Galway) 35 and 106
3. Jason O’Leary (Dromoland Castle) 31 and 104
4. Aaron Moore (Adare Manor) 25 and 94

Category 4-9

Overall winner: Alan Neville (Dromoland Castle)

Andrew McCormack with his Set up Eye voucher. The first batch of the set up eye gadget is in production and Andrew has his voucher for when it hits the market. 

Charl Schwartzel

PGA Tour — South Africa’s Charl Schwartzel made a par at the first extra hole to deny Bill Haas and claim the Valspar Championship at Innsbrook.

The former Masters champion, who was five off the lead at the start of the day, closed with a four under 67 to set the target at seven under par.

Haas was eight under with three holes to play but he bunkered his approach to the 16th and made bogey, carding a 72 to end up in a playoff with the South African on seven under par.

"It really is a great feeling," Schwartzel said. "You know, winning back in 2011 the biggest tournament in our sport, your expectations go up and I figured that I would win a few times the way I played and it just never came and then I went through a bad thing where my swing was a bit off and I lost a lot of confidence and you start thinking, 'am I actually going to win out here again.'

"You feel good enough because I had a few wins outside of America on the European Tour so I knew it was good enough. I just needed to get over the hurdle of winning out here again and I think the way today played out with it being really difficult, you're grinding just to make pars and keep the ball in play and it was really difficult."

Pádraig Harrington closed with a one under 70 to share 33rd on two over as world No 1 Jordan Spieth posted a two over 73 to share 18th place on level par.

“Really poor from both me and Michael today,” Spieth said of his day with caddie Michael Grellar. "Our decisions cost us a few shots early and all the momentum and, you know, we both get the credit when things are going good and we're going to take the fall today.

"I hit the shots but, you know, we made a couple decisions that make me look back and think wow, we got some stuff to talk about before we get ready to go into a Major. Bit of a bummer. But it's okay. We got plenty of time.

"Ball strike being is getting close. Everything is, I would say, in a good place as far as being ready for the Masters. I'd like to get things sped up and maybe contend before we get to that, to Augusta, but yeah, nice come back this week, all in all. After the first day looked like everything was kind of going the golf course’s way and found a way to fight back."

Amateur Lee McCoy, who is from the area, closed with an impressive 67 alongside Spieth to finish solo fourth before facing a seven and a half hour drive to Athens in Georgia for a college event on Monday.

Asked out losing out on a $200,000 payday, he said: "Jordan, we were sitting in the scoring tent and it was a sheet with the winnings there and he told me not to look. I looked. I shouldn't have looked. Lot of money. Lot of money.

"I think I got like 350 bucks in my bank account right now so it's mostly gas money. It hurt but there's so much going great for me right now. I'm just trying to take it all in, just really grateful to be standing here."

Nordic League — Stephen Grant shot a one over 71 and Mike Kelly a four over 74 in the opening round of the Mediter Real Estate Masters - PGA Catalunya event in Catalonia.Grant is four shots behind leaders Daniel Lokke of Denmark and Sweden’s Bjorn Hellgren, who shot five under 65s on the Tour Course to lead by one from Lasse Jensen and Christian Aronsen.ScoresKelly did well to shoot 74 for a share of 71st after opening his round with a triple bogey seven at the first while Grant was two over after eight and ended the day tied 41st.

Scott Hend. Picture: Getty Images

Asian Tour/European Tour — Scott Hend held off a stunning late charge from home favourite Piya Swangarunporn to win the True Thailand Classic Presented by Chang.

The Australian came into the final round at Black Mountain Golf Club six shots ahead of Swanagarunporn but was a shot behind with five holes to play as the Thai fired a brilliant course record 63 to get to 17 under.

A birdie on the 14th put Hend back into a share of top spot, and when he took advantage of the driveable 17th for the fourth time this week, that was enough to secure a 68 and a second European Tour title by a single shot.

Hend said: “There are so many great players out here on the Asian Tour and obviously the European Tour as well so it was no surprise the guys came after me. But for Piya to shoot 63 today was an amazing round of golf and he must have played extremely well all day. 

"He set the score and the target and then I had to just try and keep making birdies to try and catch him. I learned from last year when I pushed too hard on the 17th here and lost my chance to win. So this year I knew I had to be patient and let the golf course come to me.”

Padraig Harrington at Innisbrook earlier this week

Padraig Harrington needs to win a PGA Tour event to earn his ticket to the Masters but of he fails to make it, he's tipping Bubba Watson to claim his third green jacket in five years. 

Unless he wins the Valspar Championship today — he condeded he can't after a third round 71 left him 11 strokes behind leader Bill Haas at Innisbrook Resort — Harrington needs to win the Shell Houston Open or he will watching it on his sofa

The 44-year old, 130th in the world and off to India next week for the Hero Indian Open in New Delhi, cannot earn enough world ranking points at Delhi Golf Club to qualify for the WGC-Dell Matchplay.

That leaves the Shell Houston Open from March 30 to April 3 as the last chance saloon for the Irish player with the most Masters appearances — 15.

"It's not the Big Three it's probably the Big Six right now," Harrington said of the Masters favourites as he sat in the Sky Sports commentary booth for a two hour sting with Mark Roe.

Asked who he fancied for the green jacket, he ran through the top contenders in his own mind.

"Bubba, to be honest," he said. "Rory. You can't really look past Jordan Spieth. Will Adam putt well enough on the greens? He's won around Augusta. He's obviously in tremendous form. Rickie Fowler to me is a great player going forward. Btu he has to win a major."

As he surveyed the odds of the long shots and tried to pick out a value bet for the armchair punters,, Harrington added: "You'd have to go with a long hitter. Brooks Koepka. Obviously Charl Schwartzel has won there before. He's the best striker of an iron in the game, which you need....

"Throw a few quid on Shane Lowry at 125-1 . It's hard to win a major so early on in your career, but he likes the golf course and is leading most of the putting stats over here this year."

Harrington might be mistaken on Lowry's putting statistics but he believes the Co Offaly man is more than good value each way at that huge price.

As for the Valspar Championship — scores — Harrington is tied for 47th on three over and 11 behind Haas, whose 67 leaves him one stroke clear of Canada's Graham DeLaet (68) on eight under par.

World No 1 Jordan Spieth shot a bogey free 68 to be six behind and declared he's aiming for a seven under 64 to finish and a nine under target.

Charley Hoffman (67) and Ryan Moore (69) are three behind Haas on five under with Charles Howell III (70) and Steve Stricker (72) a further shot behind.

Reeve Whitson

EPD Tour — Royal County Down's Reeve Whitson clinched the best finish of his fledgling professional career when he tied for 12th in the Open Casa Green Golf in Morocco.

The 24-year old former Spanish Amateur Open winner closed with a four under 68 to finish on four under par at Casa Green Golf Club in Casablanca, eight strokes behind Johan Lopez Lazaro of France. 

Scores

Lopez Lazaro shot a final round 70 to win the €5,000 top prize by one stroke from compatriot Alexandre Kaleka (67) and Belgium's Christopher Mivis (66) while Whitson got €554 and moved up to 38th in the Order of Merit with €1724 from six starts.

Headfort's Rory McNamara, who won his maiden title in Casablanca last week, remained third in the Order of Merit after he shot 74 to finish 41st behind Lopez Lazaro on one over.

The next EPD event is the Open Madaef at El Jadida in Morocco from April 4.

Grant and Kelly take on PGA CatalunyaNordic League — Mike Kelly and Stephen Grant will be in action at PGA Catalunya today as the Nordic League stages two events in Catalonia.The Norwegian Golf Federation cancelled the previously announced Winter Series at Alcaidesa Links Golf Resort and San Roque Club in Cadiz, Spain, due to lack of signups at close of entries on December 15th.But after two events at Lumine in recent weeks, the 2016 season continues on Sunday with the three-day Mediter Real Estate Masters - PGA Catalunya (tee times), followed by the PGA Catalunya Resort Championship from next Friday.

Pádraig Harrington tickles his birdie putt home at his final hole to make the cut

Pádraig Harrington enjoyed some welcome good luck when he hit an immaculate, 166-yard approach to four feet and made the putt to survive the halfway cut on the limit in the Valspar Championship in Tampa.

At five over par for the tournament with just 10 holes to play, it looked as if the Dubliner could face a long weekend before next week's trip to Delhi for the Hero Indian Open.

Even with amateur Lee McCoy not counting for the top 70 and ties, Harrington needed to get back to at least four over to have any chance of surviving the axe.

But he went one better over the tough front nine at the Innisbrook Resort's Copperhead Course, carding a level par 71 to get to three over and contribute to all the four overs, including Graeme McDowell, missing the cut.

As McDowell set up a series of great birdies chances down the stretch and missed them. Harrington birdied the par-five first from five feet and recovered from a four-foot par miss at the fourth with a birdie from 13 feet at the long fifth to get back to four over.

He looked safe for the weekend on that number and so his super approach to the last and the tricky putt proved to be crucial as exactly 70 professionals and one amateur made the weekend.

Will MacKenzie (70-67) and 49 year old Steve Stricker, who made an eagle two as he followed a 71 with a 67, lead by one stroke on five under par from  Daniel Berger (70-68), Graham DeLaet (72-66) and Bill Haas (71-67).

McDowell followed his opening 74 with a 72 and he will be furious having played the first five holes in two under to get back into the mix at just one over.

A double bogey six from nowhere at the sixth, followed by bogeys at the seventh, eighth and 11th left him struggling.

And while he appeared to be certain to survive as he got back to one over for the round with birdies at the 12th and 14th, he missed a six footer for birdie at the 16th and a nine footer for another at the 17th and ended up missing out by one.

World No 1 Jordan Spieth, the defending champion, had little luck on the greens but he holed out three times from just off the putting surface, just once with the putter, en route to a 68 that leaves him seven shots off the pace on two over.

"Just more greens in regulation," Spieth said when explaining the difference between 76 and 68. "I just hit some poor shots yesterday. I knew I wasn't far off. Played well in the Pro-Am.

"I've been playing well this week since we've been here. Just was a really off day yesterday with everything. Very difficult to make putts on these greens because you have to hit them a lot harder than you're used to. Still didn't get any putts to go today. Lucky I chipped in a couple times to make up for it."

Pádraig Harrington prepares to pull the trigger at the ninth

Tied for 43rd, Spieth knows he will be hard pressed to retain his title but having realised he set his sights too high this season after opening the new year with a 30 under par win in Hawaii, he's hoping to play his way into a rhythm before his defence of the Masters.

"I just wanted to believe it was going to happen all the time and I kind of got humbled and, you know, obviously couple poor first rounds in L.A. and then here," Spieth said of some recent poor rounds.

"Fortunately was able to bring this one back to play the weekend. I'll start getting into a rhythm that will carry into the stretch of the Masters."

Had he succeeded in getting back to level for the tournament, he'd be fancied to challenge the leaders. But even at seven shot behind on a tough course, he can't be discounted.

As for his form and a testy twitter reply to some negative comments about Thursday's round and his up and down season he was candid and informative.

"It's the basics that have been off. My feet and lower body have shifted over to the right. When it's windy I get into this. My lower body shifts to the right and my shoulder stay open. The club just gets up. From there there's nowhere to play. Starts left, goes left or starts right, goes right.

"My 6-iron on No. 3 was a big shot. I stayed very, very committed to my line, very focused on a very specific targeting and a ball flight. I saw it before I hit. I lined up the correct way and put a good swing on it and I was rewarded.

"With all that being said, I needed all that to happen to really get that confidence back in my iron game. I hit some strong iron shots today, a few that I thought were better than they ended up.

"I wasn't really searching for technique. My coach texted me last night, forget about it, just hit one ball flight that you can trust. I kind of went away from that. I still stuck with trying to work with whatever was needed. But I started to lineup a little better."

As for his twitter reactions — even Rory McIlroy felt compelled to support him —  he went into detail:

"I don't look at notifications anymore because there's always positive and negative on there no matter what you're doing."But when it's something that pops up on the feed, I was a little upset at the PGA TOUR's -- it was a good article but it was tweeted the wrong way, the wrong quote was used and made it seem like I was okay with getting hurt and withdraw."I was frustrated at that. So, I just -- yeah, it wasn't -- I feel like us and the PGA TOUR, the players and the Tour are supposed to work for each other and kind of make each other look good."I felt like that was uncalled for when I really composed myself well after the round and I just tweeted, "Really, is that the quote we're going to take out of it considering all my quotes were published" and I got a direct message saying, "We're really sorry. We'll take it down. Trying to see the humour in it but other people weren't.""Then I just took mine away. I don't ever really do that. It was a bit frustrating because it was on my feed and I felt like I was over it and trying to rebound and that made it kind of look bad."Q. Jordan, people say dumb stuff about you all the time. How do you know when to stand up for yourself publicly, like the Instagram kid?JORDAN SPIETH: I don't know. You'll probably never see me do that again because obviously it was seen and known and -- just really frustrating. It's frustrating when -- there's really not a point."I should never respond to any of that, just let it go and by the time the next tournament rolls around no one even remembers it anyways."There's going to be plenty of people to have their own opinion and everyone has their own opinion. There's going to be plenty of people that don't like the way I play the game or handle things. I got to be confident in what I'm doing and know that many more do appreciate it."So, yeah, I was just -- I was a bit bored yesterday afternoon and I was just looking at my feed and after a tough round not good things are popping up so you can imagine if someone was talking, you know, to you like that, be a bit frustrating."So, anyway I got over it quickly.

Darren Clarke, 77-77, missed the cut by nine.

Scott Hend. Picture: Getty Images

European Tour/Asian Tour - Michael Hoey missed the cut as Scott Hend finished birdie-birdie to post a course record-equalling 64 and grab a share of the halfway lead at the True Thailand Classic Presented by Chang.

Pelle Edberg had set the target at 12 under in the morning session and as the shadows began to lengthen at Black Mountain Golf Club, it looked like he would take the solo lead into the weekend.

But Hend had other ideas, and the Australian got up-and-down from a bunker on the 17th and then took advantage of the par five last to join the Swede at the top of the leaderboard.

Hoey shot a second successive, one over par 73 to miss the cut by four shots as Hend, one of the players to make the long trip from Florida after last week’s World Golf Championships - Cadillac Championship, showing no ill effects.

Thailand’s Panuphol Pittayarat carded a bogey-free 65 to move to 11 under and solo third spot, two strokes clear of Welshman Rhys Davies, Americans David Lipsky and Peter Uihlein, South Africa’s Shaun Norris and Scotsman Simon Yates.

Round two scores:

132 S Hend (Aus) 68 64, P Edberg (Swe) 65 67,

133 P Pittayarat (Tha) 68 65,

135 D Lipsky (USA) 67 68, S Norris  (RSA) 67 68, P Uihlein  (USA) 64 71, R Davies (Wal) 67 68, S Yates (Sco) 67 68,

136 P Swangarunporn (Tha) 68 68, R Khan  (Ind) 70 66, J Colomo  (Esp) 66 70, B Hebert  (Fra) 72 64, M Warren (Sco) 68 68, C Kumar (Ind) 68 68,

137 C Pigem (Esp) 69 68,

CUT 146  M Hoey (Nir) 73 73

Sharvin cut in New ZealandPGA Tour of Australasia — Cormac Sharvin missed the cut by sevens shots as Australian Matt Griffin, Japan’s Hideto Tanihara land rookie Deyen Lawson took the halfway lead in the BMW ISPS HANDA New Zealand Open.Playing at The Hills today, Griffin reeled off two eagles, four birdies and just one bogey to post 7-under 65 in the morning to be 8-under the card.ScoresMeanwhile over at Millbrook Resort, also in the morning, Tanihara, an 11 time winner on the Japan Golf Tour, fired 5-under the card to join Griffin on top of the leaderboard.With the afternoon field failing to ignite and no challengers moving into contention it looked like it would be Griffin and Tanihara leading into the weekend.But Victorian Lawson had other ideas, charging home with three birdies on his closing three holes to fire 7-under 65 and join the top of the table.Sharvin had two birdies  in a two over 74 at The Hills that also featured two bogeys and a double bogey seven.McNamara and Whitson make cut in Morocco

EPD Tour - Rory McNamara and Reeve Whitson made the weekend in the Open Casa Green Golf in Morocco.

Winner of his maiden title earlier this week, Headfort’s McNamara added a two under 70 to his opening 73 to make the final round with two shots to spare on one under par.

Whitson, who is 42nd in the Order of Merit with three cheques from five starts, double bogeyed the 18th for a one under 71 that left him tied 30th on level par. 

The cut for the top 40 and ties fell at one over 145 which meant that Richard Bridges (79-73) and Richard O'Donovan (78-74) missed the out by seven strokes.

Outscoring Jordan Spieth is normally a positive but there was little for Padraig Harrington or Graeme McDowell to smile about after opening with three over 74s in the Valspar Championship in Tampa,

Struggling to find any rhythm of competition, world No 1 Spieth found the breezy conditions and slow greens a challenge and fired a five over 76 to lie three shots outside the projected cut mark at Innisbrook Resort’s testing Copperhead Course. Scores

European Ryder Cup captain Darren Clarke had 30 putts in a six over 77 with his lone birdie coming at the par-three fourth, where he fired a 190-yard approach to four feet.

But while Spieth used the blade just 25 times and single putted six times in his first seven holes (and 11 in all), he still made five bogeys against one birdie before covering Copperhead’s front nine in one over with eight pars and a bogey.

“One of the those days” was how Spieth described a poor day from tee to green that he said he normally resolves in level par.

“It was tough. Wasn't a very good round. I got off to a poor start and I was behind the 8 ball with gusty winds, you know, on a tough golf course."

Spieth added; "I just didn't hit enough greens. I had the opportunities on a few holes today and actually there was a lot of holes where I thought if I hit great shots posing and it's 10, 15 yards off on the distance based on the gust of the wind.

"It was a very tough day."

Spieth is likeable and when asked if he'd accepted that bad days were part of the game, he wondered if there was any other way to take them,

"What good is kicking the door other than hurting my foot and (having to) withdraw?," Spieth said good-naturedly. "I'm kidding. No, I'll be fine."

Keegan Bradley and Ken Duke chiseled out four under par 67s to lead in the clubhouse before they were joined by Charles Howell III, who presented an immaculate card.

That trio led by one strokes at the end of the day from Chesson Hadley but it was a tough day at the office for the three Irishmen in action.

Harrington made three birdies but his errors cost him four bogeys and a double bogey, leaving him just outside the projected cut mark on three over alongside McDowell, who birdied two of his first five holes before the bogeys came along.

Harrington started with a bogey at the 600 yard fifth when a poor tee shot left him facing a 239 yard third shot. 

But while he hit almost holed his 148-yard approach to the seventh, tapping in from a few inches to get back to level, he had missed a 12 footer for birdie at the sixth and then missed a six footer for par at the ninth after flying the green.

Out in one over, his day took a turn for the worse when he drove left into deep trouble at the 10th and then went out of bounds with his second, running up a double bogey six to go three over.

A missed four footer for par at the 13th left him on four over but while he birdied the par-five 14th out of sand and the 16th courtesy of a 25 footer, he bogeyed the par-three 13th and 15th, missing a four footer for par at the former before leaving a long range bunker shot in the sand at the latter.

McDowell spoke positively about his game before the event but confessed that Innisbrook was another tough track in a four week run that takes the tour from the Honda and Doral through to Bay Hill next week.

“There’s nothing easy about these golf courses here in Florida,” McDowell said. “I think looking at the par-3s in particular, I look at Honda and Doral and Bay Hill next week, having never played here before and I add this one to the mix as well, there’s golf courses with as tough a set of par-3s as we see throughout the year."

The 2010 US Open winner played the par-threes in one over, dropping a shot at the 215-yard 15th, his sixth, when he left himself a 25 yard bunker shot and came out 11 yards too strong.

Those back to back bogeys were a disappointment as McDowell was two under par after five having begun his round with birdie at the 10th, where he chipped in, and the 14th, where he hit s superb, 30-yard bunker shot to less than two feet.

He missed a six footer for a birdie two at the 215 yard 17th to turn in level par but came home in three over 39, dropping three shots in his last five holes with some average play around the greens.

Peter Uihlein

European Tour — Michael Hoey came back from three bogeys in his first five holes to card a one over 73 in the opening round of the True Thailand Classic presented by Chang.

Easy peasy .... Jason Schrivener scores first ace on No. 3 #ThailandClassichttps://t.co/PNqHhv8XUX

— Asian Tour (@asiantourgolf) March 10, 2016

The Shandon Park man is nine strokes adrift of clubhouse leader Peter Uihlein of the United States who shot an eight under 64 to lead by two shots from Javier Colomo of Spain and Scotland's Scott Jamieson.

Scores

Spain's Miguel Angel Jiménez shot a two over 74.

Embed from Getty Images

Sharvin opens with 76 in New Zealand

BMW ISPS HANDA New Zealand Open — Ardglass rookie Cormac Sharvin has work to do to make the cut after an opening, five over par 76 in Queenstown.

Scores

The 2015 Walker Cup winner, now a professional,  had two birdies, three bogeys and two double bogeys at Millbrook Resort to share 119th place on day one.

#NEWS: Jones leads #NZOpen following tough year https://t.co/GxMh3kEBsA @Stevejones_54 @NZ_BMW @ISPSGolf @NZOpenGolf pic.twitter.com/vuZitF7JkZ

— PGA of Australia (@PGAofAustralia) March 10, 2016

Australia's Steven Jones shot a six under 66 at The Hills Golf Club to lead by one stroke from compatriot Callan O'Reilly, who shot a five under 67 at the same venue.

In the team competition, Sharvin and his amateur playing partner are tied 15th on six under.

Graeme McDowell

Graeme McDowell is “a player” in the sense that he doesn’t just rely on power or a magical putter or stellar irons to get the ball in the hole. He has that rare knack of simply knowing how to score. And win.

At 36 could go on for another decade or more at the top level but just in case his fuse burns quickly, he’s looking at the next few years as the time when he must try and win that second (or even third) major title to go with his 2010 US Open.

Whether he truly believes that’s going to happen, only he knows for sure. But if he does, the Portrush man plans to start his quest at the tournament that refuses to love him back. The Masters.

Winning the OHL Classic at Mayakoba in Mexico last year gave the pride of Rathmore the lifeline that would enable him to scramble his way back onto the deck of the lifeboat after a near two-year period spent drifting on the pleasure craft that comes with success, the joys of marriage and the arrival of a first child.

He was having the time of his life but without even realising it, he was hitting fewer balls, spending less time on the practice putting green. Working less. Whether or not he was sated by success is debatable but there was something missing.

They say you don’t miss something until it’s gone but McDowell has woken up in the nick of time. And as he makes his debut in the Valspar Championship in his adopted Florida this week — the third leg of a probable five in a row stretch before the Masters (or eight in nine if he plays Hilton Head and San Antonio) — he sounds like a man in love with the game again.

For now, this man with a plan is all about getting ready to take another crack at the mountin he loves but cannot climb — Augusta National.

“I’m playing a lot of golf right now,” McDowell told a press conference at TPC Copperheard in Tampa on Wednesday. "Looking forward to it. I'm enjoying my golf. I ready a quote from Phil, he's loving the game. I'm kind of there as well. I'm enjoying playing the game.

“Last year I think I was feeling tough and frustrated and panicking a little bit and this year I’m actually enjoying it and enjoying being on the golf course again, which is nice."

Augusta National’s tee to green test is a tough one for an average hitter like McDowell who naturally draws the ball but fears the hook.

If it’s firm there, he can compete but he knows he’s got to excel around the greens and see the possibilities rather than the potential disasters.

Even though he’s a good putter, he’s had problems getting himself into the right frame of mind around the greens and become over-defensive in what usually ended up being a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Winning in Mexico was a godsend with the exemption giving him the preciious commodity of time and a Masters invitation.

Now his task is to play himself in the right state of mind to put his excellent putting skills to good use down Magnolia Lane and become the latest medium hitter to conquer the Cathedral of Pines through great short game skills and putting.

“You know, I’m not really sure,” he said when asked about his unrequited love for Augusta National. "I feel like I go to Augusta and I spend my time obsessing about the tee to green element and then I feel like when I talk to you guys on a Friday afternoon after a missed cut it's not been the tee to green element that's hurt me, it's been around the greens and on the greens that's hurt me."So I think probably knowing I'm a great putter and not putting well at Augusta frustrates me. I think I'm going in there this year kind of with a little bit more of an open mind from the point of view of spending more time on the greens and really starting to learn those and embrace those and I think you have to embrace putting those greens.“If you get scared of them and get defensive with them they’ll really find you out."A return to his old, “more organised” putting set-up appears to be working for McDowell, who was fifth in the Honda Classic and looked set for a top 20 at Doral until he took eight at the 18th on Sunday.“I feel like I’ve, you know, mentally and physically in a much better place than I was this time last year and looking forward to a big year,” he said. “This is, like I say, great to be here in Florida and in my car driving to tournaments and being close to the family and feeling like I’m playing well and looking forward to a big year."

As for Augusta, he’s reneged on his promise not to bother going up there to prepare the week before the Masters because the call of the pines is too strong, the feeling too special. 

“I’ll probably rock up there with someone like Poults,” he said, adding that he’d been doing some homework and picked some brains about what he needs to do there this year.

His coach, Pete Cowen, believes he’s a far more accomplished chipper, bunker player and pitcher of the ball than he was even three years ago and that’s a plus as the Masters beckons.

McDowell explained: ”The tee to green element I think I’ve obsessed over the years and I kind of got the hang of that as I’ve gone back there and realise that really is around and on the greens where it’s won and lost there.

"So, you know, obviously it's a long golf course as it's transitioned over the years. When it's soft there's no doubt it is long for me.

"I've picked up a few mile an hour ball speed and clubhead speed this year. I'm driving it better. I think that's going to put me in good stead in Augusta.

"I'm going to obsess about the greens more. Putt it good and drive it more. I love Augusta. It just doesn’t like me yet but there is time."

As he said when explaining why he played Fall Series events last year rather than a European Tour Final Series event, it was time to make sure he had a job in the US, where he lives.“There’s no doubt, I had gone through a little bit of soul-searching process as to what it was I wanted to get out of this game, you know, and I rededicated myself from a motivational point of view and I stripped it all back to what my goals needed to be,” McDowell explained."It was kind of like I had to focus on one time in Mexico or another the way I was playing. If I continue to not play consistently I was going to struggle to have a card on both sides of the Atlantic."I had to make a choice. The choice was the PGA TOUR at that point. So I feel like going back to basics and just re-focusing on one thing."You know, it's amazing kind of four days later -- it ended end up being Monday finish so, four and a half days later I'm in the press conference with a trophy and kind of my world changed a lot, you know, but I think it just kind of showed me that get a little bit more basic and little bit more directed with my thinking helped me focus on what it was I was trying to achieve, you know, and there's no doubt the win has taken the pressure off from cards and all that."When you're not playing well, you're slipping down the World Rankings, you're outside of the Top 50 and all these kind of automatic monies and more ranking points and all the things you get from being in Majors, and WGCs and playing well in those, you kind of have to get raw with it and think this is my job, this is my living, what am I going to do about it to make sure I've got a job to go to in a couple years' time."It was kind of why I ended up in Mayakoba and why I was being honest in the press conference. That was kind of process I had been through in my mind."As I sit here today I'm starting to think more like I was thinking more four, five years ago thinking about the Majors, thinking about trying to be the best player I can be again rather than the complacent, maybe Top 25 player in the world like I was for a few years and got married and had a baby and just kind of became a little bit complacent about what I was doing.“I’m more motivated to get back to the top of the game and get back to where I want to be and show my kids what I've got."Asked how he’d changed as a person and how his attitude to the majors had shifted, he added: “Yeah, I certainly feel like life has changed a lot on the course since I won at Pebble.“Off the course, you go through various kind of little life experiences, obviously dealing with the extra commitment level inside of the ropes and sponsors and just kind of as a Major Champion people want a little piece of you and they’re paying you the money to do it.“"So, you travel around the world and your schedule is tough. And there's no doubt, so I went through that whole phase of my kind of a climatisation as the new player I had become."Obviously you get married and you have kids and go through that whole experience, kind of working on your time management and your commitment levels and traveling and leaving the kids."And the sacrifices become more real, I suppose, the game we do make a lot of sacrifices traveling, leaving our family behind. Of course, we get very well rewarded for it if we play well. They are sacrifices all the same. Dealing with that a little bit as well."So, there's no doubt, I feel like I learn something new every year in this game. Thankfully I've got a good team around me to help me see, kind of give me the neutral opinion and show me what's really happening."Sometimes, I think you get lost out there sometimes and you really can't see the wood for the trees for what's going on and so I feel like I've been smart enough in my career to move on from my mistakes and make good decisions and come out the other end a better player."I feel like I've emerged -- I probably look back to mid 2014 where the process started. I made the Ryder Cup team at Gleneagles. I really wasn't on top of my game, you know. I had a good Ryder Cup, beat Jordan in singles and placed 3rd in Shanghai."I really put a Band-Aid over something. I knew my game wasn't in good shape. '15 didn't play well. By the end of '15 I was really panicking."It's been a two and a half process and I've come out the other end and I really believe I'm playing as well as I have in a very long time right now and I feel like I'm mentally in as good a place as I've been."Kind of reassessing my goals and refocusing on the Major chances. I want to win another Major before I'm all done, at least one more. That's the goal. We’re going to work hard to get there.”

European Tour professional Damien McGrane

Who doesn’t need a mentor? Luke Skywalker had Obi-Wan Kenobi, Plato had Socrates and Tom Watson had Byron Nelson. Even Young Tom Morris had Old Tom to rely on for encouragement and advice. 

Given the wealth of talent that has flown the flag for Ireland on the European Tour for decades, the time has come for the established tour gunslingers and the ambitious young guns to come together on the regular basis for the benefit of Irish professional golf.

And with little top class winter golf available to our touring pros these days, a new alliance is taking shape with the first shootout set for the Montgomerie Course at Carton House from 11 am next Tuesday,

Numbers have yet to be finalised but the plan is to have the best 12 top available tour professionals — made up from the irish in the European Tour, Challenge Tour and mini tour ranks — to put up €100 each for a winner-takes-all shootout over 18 holes.

European Tour winner Damien McGrane is fielding applications for places in next Tuesday’s field via email with a new venue selected each week.

Damien McGrane keeps the audience entertained with his stories from the tour at the 2015 Irish Golf Writers' Association awards dinner, held at Castleknock Golf Club in January. Also pictured, interviewer Denis Kirwan (left) and Peter Lawrie.

So if you are a mini tour professional with €100 to spare and you’re looking for a game, the chance to win some cash and improve as a player, drop the 2008 Volvo China Open winner an email at mcgranedamien@yahoo.ie

What could the likes of a Paul Dunne, a Reeve Whitson, a Simon Ward, a Richard Bridges or a Rory McNamara not learn from taking on an experienced campaigner like McGrane or another tour player during the occasional week off in winter?

“We are all golf pros and we all love the game of golf but I don’t know them and they don’t know me,” Damien explains. “So let’s get together, let’s play golf, have dinner afterwards and have a chat and maybe we can make something happen.

“The players of the future need to be helped and clapped on the back. They need to see they are possibly better players than some of us that are out there at the moment. It will give them a bit of encouragement and incentive to improve, take advice and possibly get on the tour a little bit quicker.

“If there are just 12 places available any given week, and no offence to anybody, I want the best 12 players possible taking part that week but it won’t be 12 mini tour players or 12 tour pros or 12 PGA pros. It will be the best cross-section. 

“I just want to the guys to get in touch by email and if we have space, we will get them all out. I don’t need 12 tour players, or 12 mini tour players or 12 PGA pros. I need the best cross-section of people that can learn from each other every week.”

Rory McNamara with The Tony Jacklin trophy

Headfort's Rory McNamara will have to have a nightmare season not to get a Team Ireland Golf Trust grant next year after he carded a spectacular 63 — the lowest round of his fledgling career — to win his maiden professional title in Morocco.

The 26-year old took the €5,000 top prize and moved up to third in the satellite EPD Tour’s money list when he made seven birdies and an eagle in an immaculate, nine under par final round to win the Open The Tony Jacklin in Casablanca by a single stroke.

Based at La Cala, the former North and West of Ireland Amateur champion did not qualify for a Team Ireland grant this season because he finished 39th in the EPD Tour’s money list in 2015 - €1,800 outside the Top 30 requirement. 

Rules are rules and while McNamara did not need any extra motivation this season, he certainly proved he is a deserving candidate for a helping hand after he came from four strokes behind leader Julian Kunzenbacher to win by one stroke from Germany’s Maximilian Walz and Austria's Bernard Neumayer on 16 under par.

Rory McNamara, flanked by Brian Casey lookalike Maximilian Walz of Germany (left) and Austria's Bernard Neumayer

“My putting was the key to success”, McNamara said after rounds of 68, 69 and 63 at The Tony Jacklin Golf Club in Casablanca.

For McNamara, who turned pro in October 2014, the win gives him a fighting chance of winning one of five Challenge Tour cards on offer to the top money winners at the end of the season.

“The golf course was in pretty good shape,” said McNamara, who had made three of four cuts this season before his victory . “The greens were nice and I was able to attack the flag.”

Royal County Down’s Reeve Whitson is now 42nd in the Order of Merit after picking up €457 for his share of 16th.

The former Spanish Amateur Open winner made eight birdies in a closing 66 to finish on nine under par.

Richard Bridges (67 74 70) tied for 37th on five under and is 50th in the money list from five starts with €989.

The EPD Tour (calendar) remains in Casablanca for the Open Casa Green Golf, which begins on Thursday.

Irish positions at The Tony Jacklin, Casablanca (Par 72)

Detailed scores

1 MCNAMARA, Rory 68 69 63 200

T16 WHITSON, Reeve 68 73 66 207

T37 BRIDGES, Richard 67 74 70 211 

MC O’DONOVAN, Richard 81 75 156

David Carey in action in Egypt earlier this year

 

David Carey gave his confidence another small boost when he outscored star European Tour rookie Paul Dunne by one to win the gross in the final Tuesday Winter Series outing of the season at Portmarnock Hotel and Golf Links.

The 19-year old rom Castleknock, who is third in the Alps Tour money list, posted a three under 68 to take the top prize with Dunne, who didn't make the field for this week's True Thailand Classic, carding a 69 and Courtown amateur Ross Steedman a 70.

Craddockstown's Lee McMillan, playing off  one, took the nett by one from Kinsale's Cathal Butler following a fine 68 with Dun Laoghaire's Ted Collins third on 70.

Tuesday Winter Series – 8th March 2016Nett

1. Lee McMillan (1) Craddockstown  68
2. Cathal Butler (scr) Kinsale 69
3. Ted Collins (scr) Dun Laoghaire 70

Gross

1. David Carey (Unattached) 68
2. Paul Dunne (Greystones) 69
3. Ross Steedman (Courtown)  70

Next Winter Series outing at Portmarnock Hotel & Golf Links:  18 October 2016.

 

Rory McIlroy

Rory McIlroy’s frustration at letting the WGC-Cadillac Championship slip away was a timely reminder of how difficult it will be to complete the career Grand Slam at the Masters.

Armchair critics will say that the new world No 2 — the silver lining is that he leapfrogged Jason Day in the latest world rankings — was too defensive and allowed his rivals to streak past him on the final day.

But winner Adam Scott, who echoed Padraig Harrington’s belief that there is probably a Big Six or Seven and not a Big Three, was the first to defend the Holywood star.

“It’s hard work to become relevant with you guys,” the Aussie joked after his news conference. “Guys are playing so consistently. I have to win back to back to become relevant with you guys. That’s what it takes. 

"If it is not me, it’s Bubba getting his second win in a row. And today Rory is leading a tournament again, and you have Rickie Fowler and Jordan Spieth and the list goes on and on.” 

Like McIlroy, Scott knows what it’s like to turn what’s billed as a triumphal procession in a major into a shattering loss. The 2012 Open championship, presented on a plate to Ernie Els, ranks up there with McIlroy’s 2011 Masters loss as one of the most painful Sunday afternoon unravellings you are likely to see.

The WGC-Cadillac Championship at Donald Trump’s Blue Monster is not a major but given the field and the golf course, it’s only one step removed.

Sunday’s win by Scott is a reminder, not just that the Australian can win a second green jacket with a conventional putter following two hugely impressive wins in a row, but that Bubba Watson is probably the man to beat at Augusta. And don’t forget about Phil Mickelson and Danny Willett and the rest.

Co-leaders at @CadillacChamp. pic.twitter.com/CoH94unnWu

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 6, 2016

“Even if I won every tournament I play before the Masters, if Bubba keeps finishing second, I’d still think he's favourite,” Scott said of Watson. “You know, I'm happy if my name is in the mix. I wouldn't shy away from it. I’m not just trying to put the pressure on Bubba, but he's obviously playing fantastic. 

"He won L.A. and second here, and Augusta around the corner, he's got to be thinking this is looking really good for him.”

McIlroy didn’t hang around for Watson to finish speaking on a dais near the scorer’s hut so that he could be interrogated about losing what was at one stage a four-shot lead.

He spoke on the march about not making enough birdies and how frustrating it has been not to convert final day leads in Los Angeles and Miami into wins.

Add to that his missed cut in the Honda and it would be tempting to think McIlroy has a real problem. He doesn’t.

His new putting grip has had the hoped for effect and given him confidence on the greens but his long game was slightly off on Sunday and that led to pressure.

Without having seen any of the play, Scott wasn’t surprised McIlroy didn’t shoot another 68 to win by four.

“I will say it in the right way  - I am not surprised,” he said. “It is so hard out there. I don’t know how he played.” 

Told McIlroy didn’t have a birdie putt inside 30 feet until the 12th, he added: “Yes, it is very hard to force it in there close because the penalty is water. I made two doubles and as the leader, that’s certainly not what you want to do. 

“He probably didn’t make the putts he would have liked today and did’t quite have it. It is hard going out there with the lead, it really is. It’s harder than ever. 

“A three-shot lead on a tough course like this is not a lot. It’s a birdie to a double. It’s one good shot to a bad shot. That’s literally how fine a line it is. If I hit a good shot and he hits a bad shot on that hole there’s three shots gone.”

At the age of 35, it would be tempting to say that Scott’s experience was key against a four-time major winner. 

But he admitted that he has only learned in recent years how to read a major event, how to be patient and how to attack, even if his final round was an anomaly for the brace of early double bogeys and the rash of birdies in that homeward nine of 32.

“I think one thing I have going for me over the young stars of the game is some experience, and maybe that played a little part in my thinking today,” he said. 

“But you know, again, yeah, to have that kind of thought like it's still tough and I didn't need to birdie five in a row to get it straight back. 

“That comes from understanding how World Golf Championships, majors, Players Championships work, and even Honda Classics on tough golf courses. It's hard to just run away with it.

“If Rory went out and shot 67 or 68 today, that's phenomenal. You can't compete against that. But it wasn't easy for him to do that, even playing as good as he is.”

“Not to say that I have more experience than Rory, because he's won four majors and played in this position a lot in his 26 years already.

“And when I was that age, or ten years ago, I had not, and I didn't know how to think or to think it's a hard course, everyone's going to have their struggles today. 

“I probably thought, oh, it had to be so perfect and if it wasn't, you didn't have a chance and I didn't manage my mind or my game well at that point.

“You know, I kind of went against my own theory this week because I try and avoid doubles, and worse, because they are very costly. And somehow, I think because I was playing so well, I got away with it… I guess I just know how to play tougher golf courses in the bigger tournaments better than ten years ago.”

As McIlroy was hitting the ball to 30 feet, Scott hit four shots inside four feet on the back nine.

"By the time I had made the turn, I had made a couple birdies, and Rory had dropped a shot and I thought with a great back nine I was in with a chance, and what's that I tried to do.

"And then all of a sudden, I just started getting nice numbers into the greens, and I kind of hit my way to win this tournament. I hit it close three times on the back nine and four times, I hit a three-wood on the green and 2-putted on 10 and then hit it to four feet or less, three other times, and that's kind of how it all happened. Took a lot of pressure off on some hard holes."

Adam Scott. Picture: Getty Images

Just when Rory McIlroy felt he’d found the secret, golf jumped up and punched him in the face in the final round of the WGC-Cadillac Championship last night.

A new putting method appeared to offer ultimate solution to his biggest weakness but at the precise moment he needed his majestic long game to work flawlessly, it quickly evaporated on a warm northeast Florida wind.

From three strokes ahead overnight, the world No 3 slumped to a two over 74, hitting just six fairways and nine greens as he finished tied for fourth with Danny Willett, two shots behind an extraordinarily resilient Adam Scott on 10 under par.

That McIlroy came to the last needing a birdie to force a possible playoff said more about the Blue Monster than his game. 

But as he drove into the palm trees, it was Scott, playing in the group in front, who got up and down from the hazard, holing a seven footer for par and a 69 to win his second WGC by a stroke from Bubba Watson on 12 under par.

"I didn’t make enough birdies,” a downcast McIlroy said. "I felt like my game was okay for the most part. I didn't take advantage of the holes I should have. I couldn’t birdie any of the par 5s and that's really what killed me today."

"It's frustrating because it's two out of the last three weeks. I was leading the golf tournament with 16 holes to play in Riviera. I was leading the golf tournament here  going into the back nine, and to not get the job done in either two of those instances is very frustrating.

"I wish I could have just done more on the front nine, but as I said, there’s plenty of positives to take from this week, and I'll get back at it next week in practice and hopefully get myself back into contention and do a better job of trying to finish the tournament off in Orlando.

“I’ve got two events left (Bay Hill and the WGC-Dell Match Play) to try to get that win before going to Augusta and I’m hopefully going to get it.”

How much of McIlroy's final round 74 was due to mental and how much was physical only he knows but Scott was understanding when he heard that McIlroy had struggled to get the ball close.

"I don't know how Rory played today, at all, but it is very hard to hit it in there close because the penalty is water," he said. "I found that trying too much and made two doubles. As the leader that's certainly not what you want. Maybe he didn't hole the putts he wanted to today and just didn't quite have it. It's hard going out there with the lead. It really is. It's harder than ever. A three-shot lead on a golf course like this is not a lot. It's a birdie to a double. It's one good shot to one bad shot. That's literally how fine a line it is."

The Australian (35) had started in calamitous fashion with two early double bogeys leaving him six strokes behind the Co Down man.

McIlroy had promised to give a display of controlled aggression, saying on the eve of battle, "defensive isn't my style."

A change of wind direction didn't help but he misfired so badly that any mental errors he made were exacerbated and he was left standing by several players including  a hugely impressive and clinical Scott, who won in back to back weeks for the first time since he captured the Australian PGA and Australian Masters in 2013.

The question before the final round was whether or not McIlroy’s putting would hold up under pressure as he led by three from Scott and playing partner Dustin Johnson, who crashed to a 79 that left him tied 14th.

Instead, his putting became nothing more than an afterthought as he went to the turn in two over par and dropped another shot at the 13th to fall two shots off the pace.

The fact that McIlroy did not hit an approach shot inside 30 feet until the 12th, where he hit a 40 yard pitch to nine feet and missed the birdie putt, said it all about his long game on a day of testing, 20 mph gusts.

Having played the 12 par-fives in nine under par heading into the final round, McIlroy couldn’t buy a birdie four last night and he had to hole a seven footer just to save par at the downwind eighth after his approach ended up in the lake left of the green.

The Holywood star’s first mistake came at the seventh, where he overshot the green and left himself an impossible chip, ending a run of 40 consecutive holes without a bogey.

When Watson dropped a 20 yard putt for eagle at the eighth, the Ulsterman’s lead was down to one on 11 under and he was the only player at the top of the leaderboard without a birdie on his card.

A bunkered tee shot at the par-three ninth led to a bogey, leaving him in a four way tie for the lead with Willett, Mickelson and Watson.

While Watson soon took control, drilling hime a 25 footer at the 12th for birdie to lead by one from McIlroy, Scott scorched up the leaderboard with birdies at the 10th, 11th, 12th and 14th.


McIlroy made his first birdie of the day at the drivable 16th, smashing out to seven feet and holing the putt to get to within two of Scott on 10 under.

He had a chance to birdie the 17th and get within one but missed as Scott put himself behind a palm off the tee at the 18th and almost cut his approach into the lake, staying up miraculously.

US presidential hopeful Donald Trump is confident the European Tour will take the Irish Open to his Doonbeg links.

The American also insists golf’s governing bodies are keen to do business with him because he is now “the front runner” for the Republican nomination despite his recent controversial comments on everything from Mexicans, women and the war on terror.

“My relationship is very good (with golf governing bodies) and I’m also the front runner,” Trump said. "You know being the front runner, people like you more than they would if I was number twelve.  I don’t know if that’s changed it but I am the number one contender and I’m not only the number one, I’m number one by a lot.  

“A poll just came out today, CNN just did that big poll, I’m at 49 percent and number two is at 15 percent and number three is at 14 percent, so when you have that kind of a lead obviously I’m speaking for a lot of people.  

"But my relationship with the different bodies, I think it has been terrific.”

As for Doonbeg, which is now called Trump International Golf Links, Trump sounded delighted with the progress that’s been made with renovations to the course as well as the changes that are being carried out to Open venue Turnberry.

“Turnberry is coming along fine and will be open again for play in June while Doonbeg is doing very well, so much so they want to bring the Irish Open there.”

Asked what he’d do for golf if he became President of the United States, he said: "Well, it will kill my game but it’ll be good for golf. It won’t help my game because I’ll be working but I’ll get to play.  

"I love golf, I love playing it, it’s a very important game, it’s a great game.  You can learn so much, you make so many great friends by playing golf but I will say this; it won’t be good for my game but it’ll be great for golf because I have a lot of feeling for golf.”

As for the future of the WGC at Doral, the challenge of finding a sponsor if Cadillac decides not to renew its contract and the political incorrectness of Trump, the Republican front-runner was bullish on the resort's future as a tour stop.

"The players love it here,” Trump said.

The PGA Tour has a contract to hold the event at Doral through 2023, but there is believed to be a provision in that contract that a new title sponsor could take the tournament elsewhere.

“I have a great relationship with the Tour and I have a great relationship with Cadillac, in fact we just extended our relationship for another three years [to provide cars for Trump’s various properties],” Trump said on Sunday where he landed on another part of the resort in his helicopter away from the usual helipad near the ninth tee.

“I don’t know how Cadillac is doing with the Tour. I let them use my venue, but I don’t know if there’s going to be an extension or not, but I would imagine you could get another sponsor pretty easily in South Florida.”

PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem met Trump on Sunday but before sitting down for that chat he explained that while the tour would rather remain in the South Florida market, they were keeping their options open. 

“If you look back on the last, say, 30 years, we have moved out of markets before, but not very often. And usually, we look at the situation as to how can we improve it. We're not looking to leave,” Finchem said.

“Having said that, we have to have sponsorship to conduct a tournament. So it's never in our business to make all the decisions. We have partners and stakeholders, and they have a lot to say about these things.”

Trump also explained that the success of Doral, and his other golf properties, isn’t dependent on hosting professional events.

“I would make much more money at Doral if I didn’t have a tournament,” Trump said. “This is the prime month in Florida, you can’t get a room and I have the best rooms in Miami. I love the tournament, it’s been here 50 years. With all of that said, I would make much more money.”

Shane Lowry might have gone four gruelling rounds with the Blue Monster but he was a cogent in defeat as MMA star Conor McGregor and crystal clear about the big bouts that lie ahead.

A closing 73 in the WGC-Cadillac Championship at Trump National Doral left the pride of Clara in the middle of the pack on four over par, a little bruised around the temples but still standing after a week of near misses with the putter.

And while it’s still six months away he confessed that he will have to wield the wand a little better and win a big event if he is to make Darren Clarke’s Ryder Cup team.

The good news is that Lowry is in good spirits, not just about the state of his game but about the steep learning curve he has set for himself.

By trying to make the Ryder Cup team via a mainly PGA Tour based schedule, he is vying with the likes of Rory McIlroy, Henrik Stenson, Justin Rose, Danny Willett and Sergio Garcia for five Ryder Cup places via the world rankings.

He’s embracing the challenge, confident that it will make him a better player in the long run. But he’s also aware that it’s not going to be easy.

“I don’t know if you learn more from the defeats and Conor McGregor definitely wasn’t feeling as good this morning as would have felt if he had won,” Lowry said with a grin. 

“Sport is like that, isn’t it. You have your ups and your downs and I think in golf you have more downs. You have more bad days that good ones.”

Having finished tied 53rd in the Honda Classic and tied 35th last night, Lowry knows that things could have been a lot different had a few putts fallen.

And yet far from pushing any panic buttons, he believes he’s close to pulling off another big win with the WGC-Dell Match Play, the Shell Houston Open and the Masters next on his schedule.

“I was looking for a lot more out of these two weeks but to be honest, but I feel like I am playing well and that’s a good thing,” said Lowry who was 49th in the 65-strong field for putting.  

“I feel like I am very close but I didn’t putt well at all, which is strange because I haven’t felt as comfortable on the greens in a while. I am standing over them feeling good and I feel like I am putting a good stroke on her but they didn’t drop.”

“All I can say is that my game is very close and if I can hole a few putts, I can do anything. I just have to try and find something in my putting over the next few weeks before the Match Play.”

When it comes to the Ryder Cup, Lowry is ambitious and realistic in equal measure.

“Listen, I really want to play the Ryder Cup but I am over here to get better as a player and (my caddie) Dermot reminded me of that out there today,” he said. “Playing courses of this level week after week makes you a better player without even realising it. 

“Obviously I want to make the Ryder Cup but I am going to have to win a big tournament to make the Ryder Cup team. That’s the way it is. If I do, great. If I don’t, I’ll be very disappointed but that’s the way golf is. 

“Hopefully can do something good enough that if I din’t make the team, it will give Darren something to think about. I am playing over here and the fact that the Ryder Cup is over here can only be a good thing. 

“Every tournament I am playing is big and tough so if I am to perform on this schedule, I am going to have to putt better.” 

Lowry landed a PGA Tour fine for bad language on live TV during the Honda Classic. He certainly e had to count to three a few times at Trump National Doral, where birdie putts burned the edge and Blue Monster punished every mistake

Forced to hole a five footer for par at the first, he missed a good chance at the second but made a sensational birdie at the third — a hole where he’d been force to take his shoes and socks off to play his third shot on Saturday — with a 165-yard approach to just three feet.

He appeared destined for a quiet day with Kevin Na, their fourth in a row. But his second to the seventh ballooned up in the wind and came up short in the lake, forcing him to get up and down from 115 yards courtesy of a 15 foot putt for bogey.

Out in level, Lowry’s hopes of a making a back nine charge for a big cheque ended at 10th, where Na barely made the fairway with a 240 yard shot into the teeth of the wind

Lowry found water and while he muffled an angry curse, there were no TV cameras in sight as he ran up a double bogey seven.

The rest of the round yielded some excellent golf such as the birdie from 150 yards at the 12th, the sand save for par at the 14th and the two-putt birdie from 52 feet after a 313-yard drive to the heart of  the 16th.

A three putt bogey from 65 feet at the 15th was his only error on a day when a north wind gusting over 20 mph made life tough for the afternoon starters.

Those later starters included Graeme McDowell, who he was heading for a top 15 finish at one under for the day and two under for the tournament until he ran up a quadruple bogey eight at the treacherous 18th, closing with a 75 to share 28th on two over.

The 35-year old is gaining confidence all the time as he explained on Saturday and he's feeling very good about the state of his game and an exciting schedule that will see him play the Valspar Championship, the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill and, providing he remains in the world's top 64, the World Golf Championships-Dell Match Play in San Antonio.

"This is only week two of five," said McDowell after round three. "I will just be resting up between now and Thursday in Tampa. It's a busy schedule but a good schedule."

Rory McIlroy. Picture: Getty Images

The Rory bounce is back — and with good reason.

After firing a bogey free 68 — the second best score of the day — to take a three stroke lead into the final round of the WGC-Cadillac Championship at Trump National Doral, 26 year old McIlroy can take a big step forward on the road to Masters glory.

He can’t get back to world No 1 with a win on Sunday but if he triumphs and becomes just third player post World War II after Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods to win 12 PGA Tour titles, the Co Down man may well will feel bulletproof as Augusta looms.

The change to the left-hand under putting grip is not yet second nature to McIlroy, which is perhaps not a bad thing as it may give him more pause for thought on the greens.

But if the effect lasts until early April, it may prove to be a masterful decision to make such a radical change. Whether he can ingrain it in time remains to be seen.

“I feel like the putting is becoming instinctive,” McIlroy said after a 28 putt round that was as impressive for his birdie successes as it was for the back nine par saves that kept his rivals at bay. 

"I definitely think the first day, I was focusing more on the technical side rather than the feel side. But I think that just comes over time, playing more rounds, hitting more putts and getting a little bit more comfortable. 

"It's felt pretty good the last couple of days. It's felt for the most part instinctive and I haven't really thought about the comfort of my hands on the grip. It feels like it’s going on there very naturally, and I’ve been putting a good stroke on it obviously and hopefully that continues."

Two behind Adam Scott starting the day, McIlroy outscored the Australian by five strokes, 68-73. 

It wasn’t just that he played great, controlled golf for most of the day but that Scott was denied on the greens and didn’t have what he described as his “best stuff.”

How much playing with McIlroy was a factor in not having his "best stuff" remains to be seen but it may have been significant. McIlroy is intimidating when he's on and he's clearly on in every way so far.

Not even the thought of a Sunday bombs away final round pairing with Dustin Johnson carried a certain element of risk of the Alpha Male type, (ie a big hitting contest), he smiled and conceded it was a vague possibility,

“Sometimes it has been," he said. before adding. "But most of the time I’ve come out on top of that."

Take that DJ.

McIlro gave the impression that he’d like to have put the title beyond doubt in round three but didn’t quite reach his target.

As things stand another 68 on Sunday would leave the likes of Scott and Johnson requiring 65s for a playoff. And given how well McIlroy is playing, the best they can hope for is a 12 under target.

“I feel like the practice that I’ve put in over the last few weeks is really starting to pay off,” said McIlroy, who revealed that he sought approval from Dave Stockton Jnr and his pal Harry Diamond by sending them videos of his new putting grip last weekend. 

"Just look at some of the saves I had out there today and some of the big par putts; those were the things that were missing over the past three or four tournaments. And to be able to correct that and go out and play in a final group on a Saturday in a golf tournament like this on a golf course like this, and play bogey-free, it gives me a lot of confidence going toward.”

McIlroy birdied the first (4ft), fifth (7ft), 8th (21/2 ft) and 10th (16ft) before parring his way home.

And it was the par saves down the stretch that were as significant as the birdies — perhaps more.

The first of them came at the 12th, where he pulled a three wood second and left himself no third shot. After chipping into the trap, he splashed out to nine feet and rolled in the par putt.

Scott was level for the day at that point and two behind and he soon fell three back when he bunkered his tee shot at the 13th.

That he birdied the 14th despite finding sand off the tee was a true feat but just when it appeared that McIlroy might three-putt the 15th, the Ulster star calmly rolled in a five footer for par to remain two in front.

Scott them lipped out for birdie at the 16th and bogeyed the 17th after a poor drive and another good putt that didn’t drop.

Johnson had closed to within two of McIlroy on 10 under but then bogeyed the 18th to fall back to nine under. 

While Scott had a 20 footer for birdie at the last, he missed and McIlroy got up and down from the right trap, holing another clutch six footer for par.

“Rory played the round everyone was looking for out there pretty much,” Scott said. "Pretty stress-free, 4-under, he made a few nice putts, and you know, three back is a probably the disappointing thing. But yeah, in with a chance tomorrow, with a good start…"I've seen Rory play some great golf. I think he's going to be very satisfied with that round. Looked like he was under total control. Of course, there are a couple shots here or there that he could nitpick but it was really all under control."He scrambled when he had to. He executed a lot of great shots. He drove the ball great. And that’s what I’m talking about; if you drive the ball great, you're going to create more opportunities our here, and that's what he did well and I didn't do well today."

If his rivals needed reminding, McIlroy’s 324 yard drive up the 18th was a thing of beauty. But it’s likely he will need the putter to complete the job.

While Scott and Johnson just three behind, the next nearest bunch are five behind — Bubba Watson, Phil Mickelson and Danny Willett.

As an early curtain-raiser for the Masters, this is just what McIlroy needs and it’s important he completes the job.

In the 14 events, he’s led or co-led after 54 holes, he’s won nine. Making it 10 out of 15 would be a huge plus considering the change in his putting set up.

Failure, especially if it comes on the greens, may unravel much of the good work he’s done so far.

"Yeah, it is, it's important. I always say I want to go into Augusta with at least one win under my belt each years. I've got a great opportunity to do that this week. It's always nice to be in contention.

"I feel like the best way to prepare for golf tournaments is to get yourself into contention and feel -- because that what shows up weaknesses in your game is being under pressure at the critical moments and seeing how it holds up. And for three days, my game’s held up very well, and we'll go out tomorrow and try to play another solid round and hopefully that's good enough.

"I think I just have to set myself a target and try and go for that. It is a challenging golf course and I have to play smart, of course. But I need to set myself a target and I need to take advantage of the holes that I have been taking advantage of the whole week, the par 5s and some of the shorter par 4s; and playing smart on some of the holes where you can get yourself into trouble.

"I guess try and set myself a number that I think if I get to that, it's going to be very hard for the other guys to get there. That’s what I’ll try and concentrate on."

Asked if the possibility of joining Nicklaus and Woods in the record books meant anything, he said: “Of course it means something. You're being mentioned with two of the best players to ever play the game. It's flattering and it's special. It's up to me to go out and do it, so -- I haven't done it quite yet. There's still a long way to go. There's 18 holes to negotiate out there tomorrow, and hopefully I will join that illustrious company tomorrow night. But I need to concentrate and play a good round of golf.”

Since he blew the 2011 Masters trying to defend a lead, McIlroy has had the lead or a share in 10 events worldwide and won eight of them.

The exceptions were the Honda Classic and the Tour Championship in 2014 and he’s not going to change his game-plan at Doral.

"Again, it goes back to what I just said earlier, to setting yourself a target and setting yourself a number and trying to get to that. Because when you have a lead that's, say, a three-shot lead, for example, you set yourself a number that you think is going to be achievable, but you know that it's going to be very difficult for the guys behind to get to that number."And that's very much -- that's been my approach to having 54-hole leads, basically, since Augusta in 2011. That's what I learned, that you can't protect a lead. You can't defend. You have to just keep going and set yourself a target. Basically, I can't play defensive. Defensive isn't my style."So I need to go out there and be aggressive and be assertive. Obviously pick and choose your moments, but for the most part, set yourself a number, get out there, do it. And that takes everything else away, as well. It takes the thought of winning a tournament, the thought of -- all the other stuff. Because if you’re just going out there trying to shoot a number, at the end of the day if you shoot that number and achieve your goal, you're going to walk home with the trophy anyway."Rory McIlroy career 54-hole leads

1. 2008 Omega European Masters – 2nd
2. 2009 Dubai Desert Classic – WIN
3. 2011 Omega Dubai Desert Classic – T-10
4. 2011 Masters – T-15
5. 2011 U.S. Open – WIN
6. 2012 Honda Classic – WIN
7. 2012 PGA Championship – WIN
8. 2012 DP World Tour Championship – WIN
9. 2014 Honda Classic (2 shot lead) - Lost in playoff (+4 74)
10. 2014 Open (6-shot lead) - WIN by 2
11. 2014 US PGA (1 shot lead) WIN by 1
12. 2014 Tour Championship (T1) T2
13. 2015 Omega Dubai Desert Classic (4 shot lead) WIN by 3
14. 2015 Wells Fargo Championship WIN 

John-Ross Galbraith. Picture courtesy Adolfo Luna

John-Ross Galbraith beat Stuart Grehan at the 20th but then fell in the semi-finals of the Spanish Amateur Open in Seville.

The 2015 North of Ireland winner was three down to East and South of Ireland champ Grehan at the turn in their quarter-final match before rallying to win in extra holes.

In the semis he faced England’s Scott Gregory but lost by 2 and 1 as British Amateur champion Romain Langasque of France beat James Walker on the 19th in the other semifinal.

Langasque had been two down with two to go and now faces Gregory in Sunday’s 36-hole final.

Matchplay draw and results