The Rory McIlroy Guessing Game

Editor’s note: Brian Keogh is a golf correspondent for The Irish Sun and a contributor to The Irish Times, Golf Digest Ireland and other golf publications. The following excerpt from Brian’s Irish Golf Desk is used with permission.

By Brian Keogh
Special to ARMCHAIR GOLF

THERE’S A NEW GUESSING GAME in golf—what’s Rory McIlroy going to do next. In June he surprised nearly everyone when he followed his implosion at the Masters with an eight-shot US Open win. Fast forward six weeks and he’s overshadowed the return to Tiger Woods to PGA Tour action this week by announcing that he’s seriously considering rejoining the PGA Tour next season.

Nearly nine months ago, McIlroy gave up his card and said:

“I found myself in America last year, especially in the FedEx Cup play-off series, just not wanting to be there…. If you’re not playing well in the States it can be a lonely place. But if you’re not playing well on the European Tour you still have plenty of mates to hang out with. Holly also has another two years at university and we have two dogs, a nice house and I love my life back in Ireland. I don’t ever want to give that up.”

Fast forward to the eve of the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in Akron and the story is very different. Holly is history, he’s playing well and life in Ireland has become more of grind since his went from golf star to public megastar in the space of a few weeks.

“I spoke to a couple of the guys from the PGA Tour today about it, and I’m leaning towards taking my card up again definitely,” said McIlroy, who is involved a burgeoning romance with the Danish world tennis number one Caroline Wozniacki.

“I feel as if I play my best golf over here. I’m very comfortable in this country. I’m going to look at a few houses down in Florida after the (US) PGA.

“I might go and stay with G-Mac (Graeme McDowell) for a night at Lake Nona and see what that’s like and then down in West Palm Beach and Jupiter, around there. I’m definitely looking towards coming back and playing a full schedule over here.”

McIlroy fired a 68 in the first round of the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and trails leader Adam Scott by six shots. Scott blistered Firestone Country Club with an eight-birdie, no-bogey 62.

Brian Keogh covers golf for The Irish Sun and contributes to a variety of golf publications. Pay him a visit at Irish Golf Desk.

Ireland: The Spiritual Home of Golf (Conclusion)

Editor’s note: This is the second of a two-part series on golf in Ireland by guest contributor Barry Ward.

By Barry Ward
Special to ARMCHAIR GOLF

Copyright © Barry Ward. All rights reserved. Used with permission.

(CONTINUED FROM PART 1.) If you’ve the time, you should wander up the west coast where the counties of Galway, Mayo and Sligo have links that impoverish adjectives. En route, though, you must pop into Lahinch, in County Clare, where Old Tom Morris laid out “the St Andrews of Ireland.” I could tell a tale or two about this grand old links but I doubt you’d believe me…. OK. How about a blind par three and goats that forecast the weather? Told you.

The west coast is one of Ireland’s premier golfing destinations and its list of courses will tell why: Connemara, Enniscrone, Donegal, Carne, Ballyliffin and Rosses Point, where dinner at Aunties is a traditional imperative if you effect an escape from the club bar.

Another word of caution, though: allow plenty of time for navigation. You’ll frequently find yourself in the middle of nowhere, where the only sign of life is a solitary sheep which appears equally lost. Whatever you do don’t make eye contact or she’ll never leave you.

Great golf aside, there’s not a lot of activity hereabouts where the next stop west is Boston, USA. So golf tourism is a vitally important facet of the economy and the appreciative locals do a grand job in making you feel welcome. It’s a glorious bonus to outstanding golf. I once went to Connemara for two days and was trapped there for two weeks. I blamed the sheep. My expense claim took a bit of explaining but fortunately my then editor was Irish and most sympathetic.

That’s a quick Cook’s tour of golf holidays in the republic and we haven’t mentioned the K Club, venue for the 2006 Ryder Cup matches, or Mullingar, the Midland’s gem by James Braid, or Tullamore, where they lock the clubhouse doors when you go in for a post-round Guinness, or Woodenbridge, now 18 holes but a delicious nine holer when the timber clubhouse floated away after a storm prompted the river to break its banks: they say no one noticed until the Guinness ran out.

Then there’s the Mackenzie-designed Cork that’s a combination of parkland, heathland and links; and nearby Fota Island, and Rathsallagh, with its exquisite hotel, and Adare Manor, one of Ireland’s premier golf resorts with a course by Robert Trent Jones Sr. I really have had a misspent life….

Ulster’s Links and Parkland Beauties

And then there’s Ulster, up north. An indication of the quality that awaits here is that the Irish Golf Union, which commendably governs national golf without recognition of borders, has little difficulty in identifying Ireland’s number one links: they simply alternate each year between Portmarnock Old, Ballybunion, Royal County Down and Royal Portrush. Easy peasy, although the European Club is coming up fast on the rails.

That said, you’ll realise that County Down and Portrush, where Darren Clarke, Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy are members, are both in Ulster which has only 100 or so clubs. Most are parkland, and some beauties they have, too: Belvoir Park, Malone and Royal Belfast to scratch the surface. But I have fond memories of playing Royal Portrush, neighbouring Portstewart and nearby Castlerock over one glorious summer week on the Antrim coast. It’s an incomparable combination of links.

Those who prefer tournament golf on holidays would enjoy the Bushmill’s Blackbush tournament, played each June over the links of Portrush, Portstewart, Castlerock and nearby Ballycastle. It’s a 72 hole teams’ event with individual prizes too and huge fun if you like cutthroat golf. But go with a thirst you could hang your hat on and be prepared for 12-hour debates and lots of singing.

There are numerous such tournaments each year all over Ireland, staged by the regional tourist boards in conjunction with the local golf associations. They cater for all combinations of teams, male and female, pairs and fours and they don’t cut corners on the social side, either.

Or you could take the Royal Tour, playing the Royal courses of Belfast, Portrush, County Down and Dublin, where you could meet with Himself, Christy O’Connor Sr. Now there’s a blue-blooded itinerary for you.

And if none of that grabs you I’m afraid it’s back to the dart throwing.

Barry Ward is a veteran golf writer and the publisher/editor of www.posh-golf-travel.com, a guide to luxurious, family friendly golf resorts and destinations. He lives in golf-gorgeous Rutland, England.

(Photo: Courtesy of ctoverdrive, Flickr, Creative Commons license)

Ireland: The Spiritual Home of Golf

Editor’s note: This is the first of a two-part series on golf in Ireland by guest contributor Barry Ward.

By Barry Ward
Special to ARMCHAIR GOLF

Copyright © Barry Ward. All rights reserved. Used with permission.

IF YOU HAVE THE HAND-EYE coordination to hit a barn door with a bucket of water, then I know how you can find the perfect golfing holiday destination with all the extras a chap needs: good food, friendly natives, oodles of après golf distractions and courses to make your eyes stick out like chapel hat pegs.

Here’s how. Pin a map of Ireland to the wall and throw a dart at it, then make tracks for where ever it sticks. You’re almost guaranteed to find a cluster of first-class courses with agreeable accommodation nearby, plus all the other things required to soothe the inner man.

Scotland may be the historical home of golf but Ireland is the spiritual home. The Emerald Isle has more first-rate courses, pro rata, than just about anywhere on the planet, most of them oozing history. For many years the number was static at around 230: now the figure is 440-plus and rising.

Land of McDowell, McIlroy and Clarke

Thanks to the exploits of the Irish contingent in the Ryder Cup of late, plus the success of Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell in the US Open and Darren Clarke’s epic victory in the recent Open Championship, the grand old game has long since overtaken horse racing, football and that other pastime enjoyed by two members of the opposite sex as the main topic of conversation in bars and clubs up and down the land. It’s become the in-game. Everyone wants to play. The architects are beside themselves.

Much of the nation’s coastline is now protected so few links are being built these days, but parkland courses continue to spring up in all corners of this green and pleasant land, much to the delight of the tourist boards, regional and national, whose work in keeping them busy with overseas visitors has become a central plank of the economy.

You’ll doubtless know of the golfing attractions of Dublin. Suffice to say that the there are 50 or so courses within easy reach of the city centre, and another 30 only half an hour further away. This may be the world’s dominant golfing city.

Numerically, only Myrtle Beach and Sydney are superior but neither has courses of comparable quality to Dublin’s. Just think of Portmarnock (Old and New), Baltray, The Island, Malahide, Royal Dublin, The Hermitage, Powerscourt, City West, Palmerston, Druids Glen, and Druids Heath, its new neighbour, another gem designed by the ubiquitous Pat Ruddy, whose links at the European Club is winning rave reviews world-wide. But that’s another story…

If your dart hits the south east corner of the country a quite different treat awaits. Bed down in the charming city of Waterford on the banks of the River Suir (you’ll be pampered to distraction at the Tower Hotel and the nearby après golf attractions would exhaust a hedonist in full fig) where a lustrous collection of parkland courses awaits your pleasure.

The region boasts of 30 courses and not for nothing is it known as the Sunshine Coast. I was there with the usual suspects in mid-October and on a couple of days we might well have been in Spain, although the club’s house wine at Waterford Castle was superior.

The Tower Hotel is convenient for Waterford Castle, Faithlegg, Tramore and Mount Juliet, and if you know of a finer collection of parkland courses you should drop me a line, post haste. There’s a good value green fee passport available, too. (see: www.irishgolftours.com)

The south west is your target?

Then your golfing holiday will become a pilgrimage as you drool over a collection of historic links in what’s known as the Ring of Kerry. Ballybunion, Tralee, Dooks and Waterville are the main attractions but there are scads of others, not least the two glorious parkland courses of the Killarney. Golf and Fishing Club, which gives a clue what awaits out there.

It’s a bit of a hike but you could fly into Shannon and the Great Southern Hotel at Killarney takes some topping, particularly since it was up-graded. And there are 20 or so cracking pubs within strolling distance on the main street. A word of caution: identifying the best pint of Guinness on offer is a local challenge not to be taken lightly.

TO BE CONCLUDED TOMORROW.

Barry Ward is a veteran golf writer and the publisher/editor of www.posh-golf-travel.com, a guide to luxurious, family friendly golf resorts and destinations. He lives in golf-gorgeous Rutland, England.

(Photo: Courtesy of ctoverdrive, Flickr, Creative Commons license)

DarrenClarke.com Wanders Offline to Celebrate Open Triumph

NORTHERN IRISHMAN DARREN CLARKE IS a self-described regular guy who likes to puff on a cigarette and have a drink or two or three. Now he’s the highly improbable and popular Open champion whose head hasn’t hit the pillow since Saturday night.

“I have not been to bed yet,” Clark said at a Monday morning press conference at Royal St. George’s. “I probably won’t get any sleep until tomorrow at some stage. You have to enjoy it while you can. It’s been a very good night.”

And, like its namesake, DarrenClarke.com is a regular sort of website that enjoys its time away from the 24/7 pressures of the Internet. The site was in a celebratory mood after the final putt dropped and employer-hero Darren Clarke hoisted the cherished Claret Jug.

“Website will be back online soon,” announced DarrenClarke.com shortly after publishing the above photo of Clarke kissing the silver trophy. “Just doing some maintenance.”

Maintenance? Ha!

Sources have told ARMCHAIR GOLF that DarrenClarke.com was seen carrying on in the wee hours of Monday morning with RoryMcIlroy.com and GraemeMcDowell.com. RoryMcIlroy.com was described as the lightweight of the group. After a few drinks it slurs its links.

As far as the statement about being back online soon, don’t bet a Guinness on it. DarrenClarke.com might just party on for a month or longer.

It really wouldn’t matter much when you think about it. That homepage photo of Clarke kissing the Claret Jug pretty much says it all, don’t you agree?

−The Armchair Golfer

(This is an ARMCHAIR GOLF spoof.)

(Photo: Courtesy of DarrenClarke.com)

Champions Predict Greatness for Rory McIlroy

Editor’s note: Brian Keogh is a golf correspondent for The Irish Sun and a contributor to The Irish Times, Golf Digest Ireland and other golf publications. The following piece from Brian’s Irish Golf Desk is used with permission.

By Brian Keogh
Special to ARMCHAIR GOLF

“CELTIC TIGER” RORY MCILROY roared to an incredible eight-shot US Open victory last night to give American golf the hero it badly needs. The 22-year old Holywood idol brushed aside all doubts about his ability to close when he fired a two under 69 to decimate the field with an amazing 16 under par total and smash the US Open scoring record of 272 held by the likes of Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus.

It was a cool, calculated performance by the greatest talent to emerge in the game since Woods, and McIlroy, who broke multiple scoring records in Bethesda and jumped from eighth to world No 4, immediately set his sights on becoming a multiple major champion.

“Just to sit here, knowing that I’ve just won that trophy and following in the footsteps of one of my best friends, Graeme McDowell, last year at Pebble, you know, it’s a great feeling,” McIlroy said. “And I got my first Major Championship out of the way quite early on in my career, especially after what’s happened the last couple of months.

“It feels great. And just looking forward to putting myself in the picture for hopefully many more.”

Nicklaus Love

The hype surrounding McIlroy will increase to unprecedented levels over the coming months as the game looks to him to fill the void left by Woods over the past 18 months. And instead of Woods, Padraig Harrington reckons McIlroy has the talent and enough time to go on and beat Nicklaus’ record of 18 major wins.

The Golden Bear himself confessed last night that he is a huge fan of McIlroy’s, explaining: “I love his golf swing and I love his moxie and the way he walks like he is a little cocksure about himself. I think this kid is going to have a great career. I don’t think there is any question about it.

“He’s got all the components and a lot of people rooting for him. He’s a nice kid, he’s humble when he needs to be humble and he’s confident when he needs to be confident.”

Told that McIlroy was four months younger than he was when he won his first major, Nicklaus laughed and said: “Well, he’s ahead of my major pace.”

McIlroy’s win gave Northern Ireland back to back US Open wins, with the defending champion Graeme McDowell confessing: “The probability of two players from Northern Ireland winning back to back US Opens is lottery numbers or bigger than that. It’s just incredible.

“He’s an awesome player. He’s the best player I have ever seen. I didn’t have a chance to play with Tiger in his pomp but he’s the best I’ve ever seen, simple as that.”

It was a triumphal march from the moment he shook off his first tee jitters with a perfect three-wood down the middle, beamed a huge smile at manager Chubby Chandler and took his first steps towards a place in the history books with an opening birdie that ended the championship as a contest.

After flicking a wedge to just seven feet, the Irish prodigy stroked home the putt to go nine shots clear and set up Ireland’s fifth major win from the last 16 big ones. He got a massive roar from US fans as the putt dropped and is clearly what world and American golf has been crying out for since Woods, out injured, fell from grace and lost his game.

What Golf Needs

Even McIlroy’s new putting coach, two time major winner Dave Stockton, believes that the Ulsterman is now an all-American hero.

Stockton said: “He is what golf totally needs. He will be the sixth non-US winner in the last eight years and I’ve got to tell you that the American people love him so much that they are not going to care.”

McIlroy is also only the seventh wire-to-wire US Open winner in history and the first since Woods did it for the second time at Bethpage in New York in 2002. And with Woods out injured with knee and Achilles’ problems, McIlroy looks set to fill the power vacuum and hoover up the majors.

Harrington certainly believes that McIlroy could turn out to be the man who eventually breaks the Golden Bear’s major records.

Harrington said: “If you are going to talk about someone challenging Jack’s record, there’s your man.”

McDowell hit a 69 to finish on two under par and conclude a stout title defence and hand the title to his best pal.

Before his final round, McDowell said: “He’s potentially the next Tiger Woods. He’s that good. It’s great to see him out there fulfilling his potential.

“Will he achieve what Tiger was doing around 2000, 15 major championships to date or whatever he’s got? Can he be that good? Yeah, potentially. He’s got that potential. He’s got the full package as far as his golf game is concerned—if his putter behaves itself.

“Tiger was something very special. He had it all, the mental capacity, the short game, the putter. If Rory can add a couple of weapons to his arsenal, yeah, he can be as good.”

Brian Keogh covers golf for The Irish Sun and contributes to a variety of golf publications. Pay him a visit at Irish Golf Desk.

(Photo: Courtesy of Titleist.com)

2011 U.S. Open: USGA Can’t Stop Low Scores

Editor’s note: I’m at Congressional Country Club this week covering the 2011 U.S. Open. Share your U.S. Open thoughts: Comment below or email me at armchairgolfer@gmail.com.

PLAYERS WHINING ABOUT THE U.S. Open setup is nothing new. It’s been going on for more than a half century. Horace Rawlins, winner of the inaugural U.S. Open in 1895, probably would have griped about the Newport Country Club had he not won. But the complaints at the 111th edition of the national championship are strangely different.

Congressional Country Club is way too easy. This is not a U.S. Open test, an unfair fight to the finish. Rather, it’s a different kind of bloodbath, a sea of red on the scoreboard resulting from an onslaught of birdies. As one person in the media center put it, the Blue Course is handing out birdies like they’re Halloween candy.

Defending champion Graeme McDowell admitted as much after his 69 on Saturday.

“I’ve been a little disappointed with the golf course the last couple of days,” McDowell said. “It wasn’t as firm and fast as I would like to have seen it. The storms on Thursday night really softened the place. So it’s not a true U.S. Open test out there, to be honest. There were some tough pins out there, no doubt. I’d like to see it tougher than it was.”

World No. 1 Luke Donald, who at 7 over for the championship is not exactly lighting it up, said the rough is not as difficult as at past U.S. Opens.

“It has that different feel,” Donald said of the course. “It almost feels like the Firestone or something.”

Firestone, as in the home of the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.

Due to the rain and cooler temperatures this week, Congressional is playing much softer than expected. The greens are receptive to approach shots, and are not the rock-hard, dry, brownish putting surfaces seen at past U.S. Opens. Rory McIlroy and others are, in effect, playing darts.

The USGA said it can’t be helped.

“I think it’s the oppressive heat we had last week that started us off on this dynamic of weather that we’ve experienced,” said the USGA’s Tom O'Toole, “and then of course making sure that we maintain the health of those greens by hydrating them and raising the cut of our mowing, not rolling, and the number of times we’ve mowed and rolled. So we’ve done all those things to maintain the health of Congressional’s greens.”

In its previous three majors (two U.S. Opens and a PGA Championship), Congressional has yielded scores of 276, 278 and 281. The winning scores ranged from 4 under at the 1997 U.S. Open won by Ernie Els to 1 over at the 1976 PGA Championship won by Dave Stockton.

This week the winning 72-hole total will likely be much lower and could break the U.S. Open record of 272 set by Jack Nicklaus and tied by Lee Janzen, Tiger Woods and Jim Furyk. Rory McIlroy needs a 72 in the final round to eclipse the U.S. Open standard of Nicklaus and Woods, golf’s two greatest champions. But what McIlroy wants more than anything is his name on the large silver trophy.

−The Armchair Golfer

Related:
Rory McIlroy Extends U.S. Open Lead to 8 Shots
Comeback Award Goes to Marcel Siem
2011 U.S. Open TV Schedule and Tournament Notes

Y.E. Yang Takes Early Lead at Congressional

Editor’s note: I’m springing out of my armchair to spend the week at Congressional Country Club covering the 2011 U.S. Open. Share your U.S. Open thoughts: Comment below or email me at armchairgolfer@gmail.com.

THE 10TH IS A FRIGHTENING hole on Congressional’s Blue Course, a 218-yard par 3 that crosses a small lake. Few would choose to start their U.S. Open here, but many have no choice. For Y.E. Yang, the clubhouse leader after a 3-under 68, it was the perfect start. While others have nervously dunked their golf balls in the water (Phil Mickelson, for one), Yang smacked a 5-iron hybrid and watched it fly toward the green.

“It was a very straight, honest hit, and it landed quite well,” Yang said. The 2009 PGA Championship winner sank the putt for a birdie and was off to a round during which he birdied all four par 3s, a first in his career.

Carding five birdies and two bogeys, Yang put together nines of 3-under 33 and even-par 35 for his 68. The softer conditions resulting from overcast skies and cooler-than-normal temperatures helped the cause. It won’t get any easier, he said.

Yang believes his experience as a major winner can help him the rest of the way. “I know the feeling, and I know that it’s a little more of everything in a major than it is in other tournaments, so it’s easier for me to cope with that kind of pressure or expectations. It definitely has some kind of psychological advantage.”

Louis Oosthuizen and Ryan Palmer finished with 2-under 69s. A half-dozen players have completed play at 1-under 70, including defending champion Graeme McDowell, Stewart Cink and Davis Love III.

−The Armchair Golfer

Related:
2011 U.S. Open: ‘Big Blue’ Ready to Challenge Field of 156
2011 U.S. Open TV Schedule and Tournament Notes
2011 U.S. Open: Play the Groupings Name Game
2011 U.S. Open: A 16-Year-Old Player and Other Notes

2011 U.S. Open TV Schedule and Tournament Notes

Editor’s note: I’m springing out of my armchair to spend the week at the 2011 U.S. Open. Beginning on Wednesday I’ll be at Congressional Country Club covering the year’s second major. Share your U.S. Open thoughts: Comment below or email me at armchairgolfer@gmail.com.

THE 2011 U.S. OPEN tees off on Thursday at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland. Ernie Els took home the trophy on the national championship’s most recent visit to Congressional in 1997. In 1964 Ken Venturi survived triple-digit heat to win at Congressional, the last U.S. Open to include two rounds (36 holes) on the final day.

Purse: $7.5 million
Winner’s share: $1.35 million
Defending champion: Graeme McDowell

2011 U.S. Open Leaderboard

Field
Course overview
Course tour
Tee times
U.S. Open history
U.S. Open news
Official U.S. Open website
2011 U.S. Open Spectator Guide (PDF)


TV SCHEDULE

TV coverage of the 2011 U.S. Open is on ESPN and NBC.

Thu, 6/16
10 AM-3 PM ET (ESPN)
3-5 PM ET (NBC)
5-7 PM ET (ESPN)

Fri, 6/17
10 AM-3 PM ET (ESPN)
3-5 PM ET (NBC)
5-7 PM ET (ESPN)

Sat, 6/18
2-8 PM ET (NBC)

Sun, 6/19
1:30-7:30 PM ET

−The Armchair Golfer

Related:
2011 U.S. Open: Play the Groupings Name Game

8,300 Golfers from 67 Countries Enter 2011 U.S. Open

THE USGA REPORTED TODAY that 8,300 golfers have submitted entries for the 2011 U.S. Open Championship, which is returning to Congressional Country Club near Washington, D.C., where Ernie Els won the second of his two U.S. Open titles in 1997. The year’s second major will be played June 16-19.

All entrants are professionals or amateurs with a USGA Handicap Index no higher than 1.4. Sixty-five are fully exempt, including nine past champions: Graeme McDowell (2010), Angel Cabrera (2007), Michael Campbell (2005), Ernie Els (1994, 1997), Jim Furyk (2003), Lucas Glover (2009), Retief Goosen (2001, 2004), Geoff Ogilvy (2006) and Tiger Woods (2000, 2002, 2008).

Entries poured in from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and 66 other countries. More than 700 applicants listed foreign addresses. The USGA accepted online entries for the first time. Amateur Herbie Aikens submitted the first entry on March 2. Hawaiian Kevin Hayashi barely beat the 5 p.m. EDT deadline, transmitting his entry with only 15 seconds to spare.

An 18-hole local qualifier will take place at 111 sites on May 6-19. A 36-hole sectional qualifier will follow at two international sites (May 23 in Japan and May 30 in England) and 11 U.S. sites on June 6.

The number of exemptions has increased. It includes the top 50 players from the Official World Golf Ranking, the top 10 money leaders on the 2011 PGA Tour and the top five money leaders on the 2011 European PGA Tour. (The cutoff date is May 23.) Other exemptions include the winner of the 2011 Players Championship and any multiple winner of official PGA Tour co-sponsored events between June 20, 2010, and June 12, 2011.

There will only be one winner. Any early predictions?

More info about the 2011 U.S. Open

−The Armchair Golfer

Good Old Days: Tiger and Phil’s Duel at Doral

REMEMBER THE GOOD OLD DAYS when Tiger Woods was the No. 1 golfer in the world and always seemed to win at the Blue Monster? (Doral, that is. White-sand bunkers, lots of water.) Tiger collected hardware on three consecutive visits, from 2005 through 2007.

The above highlight package from the 2005 tournament is a case in point. Tiger chased down Phil Mickelson in a thrilling final-round duel that wasn’t decided until Lefty rimmed out his birdie chip on the 72nd green.

Times have changed. Boy, have they changed. The automobile sponsor has gone from Ford to Cadillac. Tiger’s game has gone from Cadillac to Ford.

Tiger, now world No. 5, and Phil, now world No. 6, will be grouped in the first two rounds of this week’s Cadillac Championship, a World Golf Championship event featuring 69 of the best players from around the globe. The top 21 players will be grouped according to world rankings, which means Tiger and Phil will be joined by world No. 4 and reigning U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell. The top three of Martin Kaymer, Lee Westwood and Luke Donald will also tour the Blue Monster together on Thursday and Friday.

Can Tiger or Phil reprise their mid 00’s dominance and swagger? The question hangs in the air like a weak approach shot in a stiff Florida breeze.

−The Armchair Golfer

Tucson or Gone for Graeme McDowell?

Editor’s note: Brian Keogh, a golf correspondent for The Irish Sun, is in Tucson, Arizona, this week for the Accenture World Match Play. Brian filed this report at his Irish Golf Desk. Used with permission.

By Brian Keogh
Special to ARMCHAIR GOLF

GRAEME MCDOWELL IS DETERMINED to improve his disastrous Accenture World Match Play record in Tucson. The US Open champion and Ryder Cup hero has made it to the second round just once in four appearances in the World Golf Championship event. But he believes he can feed off his sensational 2010 form and make a run at the title if he sees off debutant Heath Slocum tomorrow.

At world No 4, a spot ahead of Phil Mickelson, McDowell said: “I look back at the last two years and I’ve had my clubs in their flight bag at 12.30 on day one. You start to think that this is the worst event in the world but I have actually played pretty well the last couple of years and shot the equivalent of 67s and just gone home.

“If you can get a couple of matches under your belt, all of a sudden you gain a bit of confidence and a bit of momentum and suddenly you are in the weekend with a great chance to win a big event.”

McDowell beat Darren Clarke in the first round in 2005 but then lost to Robert Allenby and hasn’t won a match since.

Beaten by Vijay Singh, Zach Johnson and Luke Donald in his last three starts, McDowell said: “That’s the nature of the beast. You run into a guy who plays great and you have got to try and play better than him.

“If you look at this event on its own and you’d say I am not a good match player but I have got a good match play record in general. I look at my Ryder Cup record, my wins in the Seve Trophy and even looking back to my old amateur days. I still maintain that I am a good match player.”

McDowell finished third in the PGA Tour’s season-opener in Hawaii and at the Abu Dhabi Championship before deciding to take a month off.

“I am back here this week feeling refreshed and recharged and ready to go.”

If he beats Slocum, McDowell could face stablemate Ross Fisher in the second round. The English star takes on Australia’s Robert Allenby.

Brian Keogh covers golf for The Irish Sun and contributes to a variety of golf publications. Pay him a visit at Irish Golf Desk.

It’s Martian Kaymer−McIlroy

Editor’s note: Brian Keogh is a golf correspondent for The Irish Sun and a contributor to The Irish Times, Golf Digest Ireland and other golf publications. The following piece from Brian’s Irish Golf Desk is used with permission.

By Brian Keogh
Special to ARMCHAIR GOLF

RORY MCILOY HAILED MARTIN KAYMER as an extraterrestrial after he was left powerless to prevent his German rival from romping to an eight-stroke victory in the Abu Dhabi Championship. The Ulster ace, 21, was Kaymer’s nearest challenger entering the final round but instead of mounting a challenge to the 26-year old from Dusseldorf, McIlroy finished up even further behind as he carded a 69 to a 66 by the reigning US PGA champion who leapfrogs Tiger Woods to become the new world No 2.

Putting Kaymer’s brilliant performance in perspective, McIlroy told his Twitter followers: “Martin was on a different planet all week!”

Both men birdied the second but the contest ended quickly when McIlroy took four to find the third green and did well to make a bogey five as Kaymer birdied to extend his lead to seven strokes. Another McIlroy bogey at the fifth allowed Kaymer to move eight strokes in front and cruise to his third victory in Abu Dhabi in the last four years.

“Martin’s just incredible, up to world number two and deservedly so,” McIlroy said. “He’s playing some great golf and he was in total control of his golf ball out there today. Didn’t make a bogey and he’s only made one bogey all week. It was very impressive. He’s a class act, he really is.”

Out in 34 thanks to those birdies at the second and third, the German star picked up further shots at the 10th, 13th, 16th and 18th to set a tournament scoring record of 24 under par.

“I am very happy especially the way I played golf today, and actually the last four days as I made only one bogey the entire week,” Kaymer said.

“The most important thing for me today was that I have fun, and if I have fun, then I play good golf. I played with Rory today and we definitely had a lot of fun on the golf course.”

Graeme McDowell finished a distant joint third with Retief Goosen (64), ten strokes adrift of Kaymer on 14-under par, to secure solo fourth place in the world rankings behind Lee Westwood, Kaymer and Woods.

Brian Keogh covers golf for The Irish Sun and contributes to a variety of golf publications. Pay him a visit at Irish Golf Desk.

The Byrd Man of Kapalua

ALTHOUGH I CONFESS I was mostly watching the NFL playoffs, I’m inclined to say it was a solid start to the PGA Tour season. The Hyundai Tournament of Champions at the Plantation Course at Kapalua Resort had an exciting finish and its share of side drama. Jonathan Byrd outlasted Robert Garrigus in a sudden-death playoff to take the season opener. It was Byrd’s fifth and most prestigious win, coming in a winners-only field.

After being in jeopardy of losing his PGA Tour card late in the 2010 season, Byrd has won two consecutive starts, both of them in playoffs. Talk about breathing new life into your game and career. Byrd has banked some serious coin and jumped 63 places in the world ranking to No. 58. I don’t think he’ll be sweating his card this year.

“I’m pretty overwhelmed,” the 32-year-old former Clemson University golfer said.

Garrigus blew a long putt by the cup on the second playoff hole and rimmed out the come-backer, which was definitely in the “throw-up” range. Nonetheless the gregarious Garrigus is not down on himself. He likes his start to the 2011 campaign.

“It’s not that big a deal,” said the man who last season shook off a collapse in Memphis and won the Children’s Miracle Network Classic. “I get a nice check [$635,000] and I get to go next week and relax and have some fun.”

Makes sense to me.

I still can’t get over Robert’s putter. It’s 28.5 inches. It looks like he stole it from a kid’s starter set. But, hey, whatever gets the ball in the cup. He made 26 birdies and two eagles, and ranked 11th on the greens. Not a bad week at all.

The opener also had enough subplots to keep it from being a tropical yawner with Tiger and Phil absent. Defending champion Geoff Ogilvy had a freak injury to his right-index finger that forced him to withdraw. Camilo Villegas had a rules infraction that got him DQ’d the day after it went down. Graeme McDowell tore it up on the final 18 and nearly caught Byrd and Garrigus at the finish, signing for a 62.

And Dustin Johnson and Natalie Gulbis are sweet on each other, I read.

A new tour season is underway, golf fans. As they say in those Bud Light spots, “Here we go.”

−The Armchair Golfer

Tiger’s Bad Luck With the Irish

MUCH WAS MADE OF Tiger Woods’ final-round stumble in the Chevron World Challenge. Graeme McDowell made up four shots on Tiger and went on to beat the tournament host on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff. Surrendering leads has rarely happened during Tiger’s long golf reign. As media reported, it was the first time the former World No. 1 lost a tournament after leading by three strokes or more heading into the final round.

(Photo: The man in the middle caught Tiger and won in a playoff four years ago.)

That sounded right to me. Then I got an email from a reader. Tom thought he remembered Tiger losing a three-shot lead in the final round of a November event in Asia a few years back. Yesterday he confirmed it.

The tournament was the 2006 Dunlop Phoenix on the Japan Golf Tour. Tied for the 54-hole lead, Tiger had a three-stroke lead with six holes to play. Tiger shot a 34 on the incoming nine, but was caught by his playing partner, who carded a 31. The opponent birdied three of those final six holes and two of the last three, including the 18th. Then he beat Tiger in the playoff.

The man who caught and beat Tiger? Padraig Harrington.

So, it’s true, no one has chased down Tiger from three or more shots back with 18 to play. But another feisty competitor did make up a three-shot deficit on Tiger in a six-hole stretch—and he also happens to be Irish.

Hmmm.

“The moral of the story: Tiger better be careful playing Irishmen in offbeat tournaments,” Tom wrote.

−The Armchair Golfer

(Image: proforged/Flickr)

McDowell Refuses to Rub Salt in Tiger’s Wounds

Brian Keogh is a golf correspondent for The Irish Sun and a contributor to The Irish Times, Golf Digest Ireland and other golf publications. The following piece from Brian’s Irish Golf Desk is used with permission.

By Brian Keogh
Special to ARMCHAIR GOLF

GRAEME MCDOWELL DENTED TIGER WOODS’S battered reputation a little more with his play-off win over golf’s fallen idol in the Chevron World Challenge. But the Portrush star still ensured himself a place on the 14-time major winner’s Christmas card list when he insisted that it isn’t the end of an aura for the former world No 1. Only time will tell if he was being kind or prescient.

Woods had never before failed to win a professional tournament when leading by three shots or more entering the final round. But while McDowell came from four back to tie thanks to a dramatic 20 footer at the last and then claimed the title in sudden death by draining an almost identical 20 footer for another birdie, he reckons it won’t be long before Woods regains his mojo and the air of invincibility that made him golf’s ultimate predator.

Still pinching himself after a dream year that brought him his first major win at the US Open and a jump to a career high seventh in the world, McDowell said:

“I’m definitely a guy who says that golf needs Tiger Woods and we need him back winning tournaments. I think he can play his way back into having that mystique again. He used to appear invincible. Of course he’s made himself appear more human in the last 12 months. At the end of the day, we’re all humans and we all make mistakes and we all hit bad golf shots. But there’s something a bit special about his golf game, and I fully expect that mystique to return as the golf clubs start doing the talking again.”

McDowell’s win at the Chevron World Challenge was his fourth individual victory of the season following triumphs at Celtic Manor, Pebble Beach and Valderrama. He was also Europe’s solid gold hero in the Ryder Cup, where he secured the winning point with a gutsy victory over Hunter Mahan in the anchor singles.

Few expected McDowell to come from behind and deny Woods the victory he needed in Los Angeles to avoid the first winless season of his professional career. Tiger’s caddie Steve Williams certainly didn’t appear to think so as he cheekily took off his caddie’s bib as McDowell sized up the 20 foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole. As Williams shamelessly showed off his sponsor’s logo for the cameras once more, McDowell showed why he is a highly paid sportsman for something other than carrying a golf bag and reading double breaking putts. His 2010 season surpassed his wildest dreams, even if he did always believe that he was capable of doing something big in the game.

Reflecting on his two Tiger-killing birdies on the 18th, McDowell said: “They’re the kind of putts that you make them and you can’t really believe it afterwards. They were the stuff of dreams and 2010 has been the stuff of dreams. It’s been that kind of year. Not quite sure why.”

If McDowell was too modest to say why, we’ll do it for him. Hard work, self-belief, talent and sheer, blood-minded determination. That’s why.

Brian Keogh covers golf for The Irish Sun and contributes to a variety of golf publications. Pay him a visit at Irish Golf Desk.

(Image: Keith Allison/Flickr)

‘The Three Tenors’ of Graeme McDowell

THOSE THREE PUTTS THAT Graeme McDowell dropped at 17, 18 and 18 to beat Tiger Woods yesterday at the Chevron World Challenge were virtuosity, sort of like (sorry in advance) The Three Tenors.

By some odd coincidence, I tuned in to the final round of the Chevron World Challenge as Woods and McDowell reached the 14th hole. I wasn’t planning on watching golf, but my daughters had relinquished the TV in the living room and I took control of the remote.

Tiger had coughed up his four-shot lead and the pesky Irishman was not backing off an inch. This was kind of interesting, even if it was a silly season event. The more I watched, the more I realized there was nothing silly about the late-afternoon drama at Sherwood Country Club. Progress is progress, but, let’s face it, Tiger needed this win. He had a four-stroke lead heading into the final round. Four strokes. He’s Tiger Woods. It’s part of the brand. No choking on Sunday. I don’t care if it’s an 18-player event in December, it’s on NBC. People are watching. He needed to get it done. Instead, Tiger looked like he had been through the pressure cooker—and was cooked.

McDowell yanked his 8-iron on the par-3 17th and had such awful options that he deliberated forever. I grew impatient. C’mon, Graeme, make up your mind. I couldn’t believe he was considering dropping his ball on the 18th tee for a blind 40-yard pitch. Then he knocked the darn thing on 10 feet away. Tiger missed his birdie, and McDowell grinded over his bogey putt and sank it. I’ll call that one the “Jose Carreras.”

Tied, Tiger stuffed his approach shot on the 18th while McDowell pulled his iron and rolled to a stop 20 feet away. It’s over. Everybody knows it. We’ve seen this before. Stevie removed his caddie bib. But McDowell stalked the putt like his life depended on it. Then the ol’ boy rolled it in the heart, a “Placido Domingo.”

Hello! What’s this? Wow!

Tiger nudged in his three-footer and they headed back to the 18th tee. Up to this point, I could accept what happened. McDowell is tough. The man can make an important putt. As impressive as it was, it’s not inconceivable that he could hole a clutch putt on the final green, even against Tiger Woods.

But McDowell’s third putt, the “Luciano Pavarotti,” about put me over the edge. Three holes, three putts of 10, 20 and 25 feet to beat Tiger in a playoff. I admit it wasn’t the U.S. Open, nor was it the Ryder Cup, but those were still three of the best putts I’ve seen anyone drop in a long, long while. The look on Tiger’s face said it all.

−The Armchair Golfer

Ian Poulter Visits ‘Fat Booth’

IAN POULTER HAD SOME FUN yesterday with the Fat Booth application and posted links to the photos on Twitter. It got a little crazy. Fat pics of Lee Westwood, Graeme McDowell, Bubba Watson, Tiger Woods, Colin Montgomerie, Camilo Villegas, Rory McIlroy, LeBron James, Justin Rose and Phil Mickelson turned up. Poults couldn’t stop himself. He was laughing his fat head off.

−The Armchair Golfer

(Visor tip to Golf.com.)

Poulter Blunder Overshadows Karlsson Win

Editor’s note: Brian Keogh is a golf correspondent for The Irish Sun and a regular contributor to The Irish Times, Golf Digest Ireland and other golf publications. The following piece is excerpted from his blog, Irish Golf Desk. 

By Brian Keogh
Special to ARMCHAIR GOLF

IT WASN’T QUITE DECIDED by the flip of a coin, but it will feel that way to Ian Poulter after he bizarrely lost the Dubai World Championship to Robert Karlsson on the second play-off hole. The flamboyant Englishman potentially lost more than €416,000—€303,452 in event prize money plus another €113,000 from the Race to Dubai Bonus Pool—when he marked his ball and then dropped it onto his “lucky” marker.

The “coin”—a custom-made platinum token inscribed with the names of his children—flipped over. And as a result, Poulter was penalised a vital stroke under one of golf’s most arcane rules, effectively turning a thrilling finish to the European Tour season into a crushing anti-climax. Instead of sizing up a birdie putt of over 30 feet that would have force the Swede to hole his four footer for the win, Poulter was left putting for a par five. Understandably, he left it short, and with the pressure off Karlsson needed only one putt to claim the €910,349 top prize and his 11th European Tour title.

Germany’s Martin Kaymer claimed the Race to Dubai from Graeme McDowell and a bonus of $1.5m as he finished tied for 13th with the Ulsterman on six under par.

But the story of the week was completely overshadowed by Poulter’s mishap, which cost him the chance to continue his fight for back-to-back wins following his Hong Kong Open success. Had he beaten Karlsson he would have overtaken Lee Westwood and finished third in the final Race to Dubai standings.

“It’s a shame it’s just ended the way it has and it’s not a consolation for me that Robert holed the putt in any case,” Poulter said after a play-off that saw them brilliantly card matching birdie fours on the first extra hole. “It’s a strange rule because if I had dropped the ball on the middle of the marker and it had not moved there’s no penalty.

“But I should not drop my ball on it. It’s been my lucky marker since the start of the year and has got my kids’ names on. There are always positives, but right now I’m not seeing them.”

Poulter feared the worst after his faux pas and heard the bad news almost straight away when he called over Chief Referee Andy McFee and was informed that he was being penalised under Decision 20-1/15. Asked how frustrating it felt, he did little to hide his disgust as he lost 23 world ranking points and the chance to go to seventh in the world, instead of just eighth

“About 20 world ranking points, a lovely trophy and about $400,000—that much frustrating,” Poulter said.

At first, Rory McIlroy was sympathetic to Poulter’s plight as he informed the world on Twitter: “So gutted for @ianJamesPoulter !! What a crap rule! Still great playing for the last few weeks!” Minutes later, McIlroy tweeted again: “Poults may not have won the Dubai World Championship, but he could be in with a shout for tiddlywinks world championship!”

Ouch.

Karlsson was a worthy winner after a final round that saw him birdie the first two holes and then hole an eight iron from 172 yards for an eagle two at the third.

“These things happen in golf. It’s not the way you want to win,” Karlsson said. “The rules are there for a reason but some of them can be tough.”

Despite his failure to secure the top-three finish he needed to overhaul Kaymer in the Race to Dubai, McDowell was upbeat after closing with rounds of 69 and 68 to share 13th with his rival.

“Friday was the disappointing day for me because I lost my head, got impatient and got frustrated with myself,” he said. “To shoot seven under par and play as well as I have this weekend makes me very proud of what I’ve achieved this season. It was a nice way to finish.”

With Westwood finishing the year as world No. 1, McDowell now believes that he too has a chance to go on and become the best player in the world some day.

He said: “Of course, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think I could be world No. 1. I think a few years ago, Tiger Woods looked pretty untouchable, pretty invincible, and we were all playing for second really.

“Nowadays is a little different. When I look at one of my good friends and colleagues as the world’s No. 1 player, do I believe I can be world No. 1? Of course I do.”

Brian Keogh covers golf for The Irish Sun and contributes to a variety of golf publications. Pay him a visit at Irish Golf Desk.

(Image: Harry Lime/Flickr)

Graeme McDowell in Four-Way Dubai Dogfight

Editor’s note: Brian Keogh is a golf correspondent for The Irish Sun and a regular contributor to The Irish Times, Golf Digest Ireland and other golf publications. The following piece is excerpted from his blog, Irish Golf Desk. 

By Brian Keogh
Special to ARMCHAIR GOLF

GRAEME MCDOWELL RECKONS THE Race to Dubai has become a four-way dogfight following Francesco Molinari’s wire-to-wire win in Shanghai. The Ulsterman goes into this week’s megabucks Barclays Singapore Open €531,806 adrift of German ace Martin Kaymer in the battle to become Europe’s No. 1.

But with Molinari seeing off Lee Westwood in the WGC-HSBC Champions to go fourth behind in the world No. 1 in the money list, McDowell knows he’s got a battle on his hands. Disappointed to finish in the pack in the WGC event in China, he’s hoping for better against Kaymer and the in-form Italian in this week’s $6m (€4.3m) battle at Serapong Golf Club.

A poor 34th last week, McDowell groaned: “World Golf Championships are massive events and unfortunately I didn’t take advantage of that with a good week in Shanghai. I hoped to catch Martin a bit more but it wasn’t to be. And with the excellent performances from Francesco and Lee we have a real race on our hands.”

The top four in the Race to Dubai are separated by just €1m with an incredible €11.5m in prize money up for grabs at the last three events in Singapore, Hong Kong and Dubai. The winner of the season-ending Dubai World Championship will take home more than €800,000. But with the runner up set to pocket over €550,000, McDowell knows he will have to cut Kaymer’s half a million euro lead in half over the next two weeks.

GMac said: “There is still a lot of money to play for so anything can happen. All I can do is try and play my best and if that means I still have a shot at winning the Order of Merit, great. I want to get to the Dubai World Championship knowing that if I were to win that tournament I can also win the Race—that’s the chance I want to give myself.”

While Westwood is resting this week, McDowell will be keeping a close eye on playing partner and world No. 14 Molinari. But there are other big fish looking to gobble up the €713,165 top prize with Masters winner Phil Mickelson and defending champion Ian Poulter also teeing it up.

Ireland has 10 men in action with Padraig Harrington gunning for his second win in the space of a month after ending his two-year drought in Malaysia just three weeks ago.

Harrington said: “The form is good. I’m looking to win. If I hole the putts, I’ll be competing on Sunday.”

The Race to Dubai - Top 4

1. Martin Kaymer €3,207,229

2. Graeme McDowell €2,675,423

3. Lee Westwood €2,362,143

4. Francesco Molinari €2,201,614

Brian Keogh covers golf for The Irish Sun and contributes to a variety of golf publications. Pay him a visit at Irish Golf Desk.

‘Doc’ McDowell Eyes Kaymer in Race to Dubai

Editor’s note: Brian Keogh is a golf correspondent for The Irish Sun and a regular contributor to The Irish Times, Golf Digest Ireland and other golf publications. The following piece is excerpted from his blog, Irish Golf Desk. 

By Brian Keogh
Special to ARMCHAIR GOLF

GRAEME MCDOWELL WANTS TO become Dr. No for Martin Kaymer and deny the German in the race to become European No 1. The US Open champion and Ryder Cup hero will be rewarded with honorary doctorates by both Queen’s and the University of Ulster for becoming the first Ulsterman to win a major title since Fred Daly in 1947.

But Dr. GMac is not ready to rest on his laurels just yet and he’s gunning to crown a career year by snatching Race to Dubai glory from under Kaymer’s nose. Determined to slash the Dusseldorf hotshot’s massive €1 million euro lead at the top of the European money list in this week’s Andalucia Valderrama Masters, McDowell said: “It’s been an amazing year but it is important to finish it off on a strong note.

“I am playing the next seven weeks with the first five of them counting towards the Race to Dubai. Valderrama is a great place to get the ball rolling but it’s going to be tough to make up a million euro deficit on Martin. He has a chance to go to No. 1 in the world this week and he is always a tough guy to beat. But I will be giving it a run and getting the head down and trying to finish the season really strong from here.”

All eyes will be on Kaymer at Valderrama, where a top-two finish would see him replace Tiger Woods at the top of the world rankings and become the first German world No. 1 since Bernhard Langer. He’s bidding for his fourth tournament win on the spin after sandwiching victory in the US PGA between triumphs in the KLM Open and the Dunhill Links at St Andrews.

But while his win at the Home of Golf helped him move close to one million clear of McDowell at the top of the Race to Dubai standings, the Irish star refuses to give up the chase.

McDowell said: “It’s been a very special, special year but I will enjoy my Christmas dinner more if I can give these seven weeks everything, especially the first five leading up to the Dubai World Championship.”

He’s fully aware that catching Kaymer will be no easy matter with both men set to continue their head to head in next week’s HSBC Champions, the Singapore Open and the Hong Kong Open before the climaxing Dubai World Championship.

As for his honorary degrees, McDowell said: “It will make my Mum proud. She never got a chance to see me graduate from college, because I never did. It was always a dream of hers to go to a graduation ceremony so this is the next best thing.

“When honours like that come your way it’s a surreal feeling and you feel a bit humbled by them. It puts what you have achieved in perspective.”

Brian Keogh covers golf for The Irish Sun and contributes to a variety of golf publications. Pay him a visit at Irish Golf Desk.