McIlroy finds out you DRIVE for show..........

Rory McIlroy is back in his home town of Holywood after a great spell in the USA.
He admitted to having not enjoyed his final tournament,which saw him outside the top 20 for the first time in 6 US tournaments
The old saying "You drive for show,and putt for dough" was very evident this week,as Rory led the driving distance table,averaging 298 yards off the Tee,yet he finished in 58th place on +2 after rounds of 72,71,72,71.
The winner Brian Fay won the tournament with a 20 under par total. He was 22 shots ahead of Rory,but his average drive was only 260 yards.38 yards short of Rory.
Luke Donald had his best finish for some time and finished joint 2nd with Binny Baird
on 10 under par. Donald's average drive was 273 yards.25 yards less than Rory.

McGinley recovers for top 10 finish in China.

Paul McGinley recovered well in the final round of the China Open in Beijing, when he shot a 4 under par 68.His finish of joint 8th was his only top 10 this year and earned him 37,180 euros.
Gareth Maybin,who started with a poor 76,followed up with 70,70,72 to tie 20th spot and earn himself 18,733 euros and defending champion Damien McGrane finally got his act together with a sparkling 68 to pick up 9929 euros.
Austrailian Scott Strange was the popular winner on 8 under par 280 and picked up a nice cheque of 275,813 euros.


In the Tusker Kenya Open Englands Gary Boyd was the run away winner with a 13 under par total.
The top Irish man was Gareth Shaw who finished +2 with a final round 70.Alan Murray who started brightly finished 57th on +8 and peter oKeeffe was 64th and last of the qualifiers on +18.

Bad day for the Irish in Kenya...

The 3 Irish guys who made the cuy in the Tusker Kenya Open all had a bad day and lost ground with the rest of the field.
Lurgan man Gareth Shaw was the best with a 72 and sits on +3 and in 43rd place.
Alan Murray who started the day in 25th position dropped down to 61st after a 79 and +8 in total.
Big hitter Peter o Keeffe had a nightmare.He started in 40th place and is now last in 64th spot after an 83. After 2 double bogeys,he finished with a 9 at the par 5,18th.

McIlroy makes the cut in S.Carolina..

Teenage sensation Rory McIlroy kept up his brilliant record in the USA,when he made the half wat cut on 1 over par 143.Rory added a level par 71 to go with his first round 72.He is in joint 48th place,10 shots behind the leader Brian Gay in the Verizon Heritage classic in Hilton Head,South Carolina.
Rory is number 1 in the driving distance. He has an average drive of 299 yards.


Defending champion Damien McGrane will not take home the trophy this year from the Vovlo China Open. He had a miserable 3rd round with only 1 birdie and 7 bogeys for a 78.
Paul McGinley slipped back from the leaderboard with a 75 and join's fellow countryman Gareth Maybin who had his second 70 in a row.

Three Irish make the cut in Kenya.

6 Irish guys made the long trip to Kenya for the Tusker Kenya Open,part of the Challange tour.
3 of them safely made the cut,but well behind the leader Gary Boyd who played great golf to sit on 11 under par after rounds of 67,63.
Greystones Professional is in 25th position on level par after 69,73.Peter oKeeffe who finished up with the leaders in the Europro Qualifing last week is safely there after scores of 70,74 and Lurgans Gareth Shaw 71,73 are all in line for a pay day.

On the way home is Michael McGeady 76,71.Two shots too many,NoelFox and Simon Thornton both finished well down the field on 149.

McGinley sorted out his putting in Beijing.

Paul McGinley, who has been having a miserable time this year with his putter,finally sorted out his problems and hit a best of the day 67 to sit only 3 shots behind the leader,Korean golfer Choi Ho-sung who had a run of 4 birdies in 5 holes on the back nine.McGinley jumped from 51st to a tie for 4th at the half way stage, thanks to a back nine that included 5 birdies and 4 pars.
Defending champion Damien McGrane is safely through the cut on 146.He sits in joint 28th with Ballyclare golfer Gareth Maybin.
Peter Lawrie missed the cut by 1 shot on 5 over par 149,and Gary Murphy had a miserable time returning 76,78.

Not a great start for McIlroy in S.Carolina

Rory McIlroy didn't get a great start to the Verizon Heritage tournament in Harbour town links when he signed for a one over par 72 and sits 8 shots behind early clubhouse leader Germany's Alex Cejka who is on 64.
Rory lost shots at his opening hole,the 10th.He hit back straight away with a birdie at 11.The most difficult hole, the 18th cost him another shot and when he was hoping to pick up a shot at the par 5,2nd hole,he suffered a bogey 6.
He managed to get back to level par with back to back birdies at the 4th and 5th,but finished 1 over par with a bogey at the 17th.
He will be looking to improve tomorrow,if he is to make the cut in this low scoring tournament.

Damien McGrane loses 4 shots at one hole.....

Irishman Damien McGrane who is the defending champion in the Volvo China Open in Beijing was chasing the leader Austrian Markus Brier after 13 holes when he was 4 under par.The 14th proved to be a nightmare as he drove into water,hacked his 3rd into a bunker.It took another 3 shots to get him out and after a brilliant up and down from 100 yards he signed off with an ugly 8.It came as no surprise when he dropped a shot at the 15th to go to plus 1.
Damien proved his quality with a birdie 2 at the 16th and went on to finish level par.
Peter Lawrie also finished on level par 72 with 3 birdies and 3 bogeys.
Paul McGinley putted badly for a 74 and Ballyclare's Gareth Maybin couldn't find a birdie for a 76 as did Gary Murphy.
The leader is Marcus Brier on 5 under 67.Marcus was the winner of this tournament played in Shanghai in 2007.

McIlroy determined to win in USA.

After a brilliant finish in the Masters,Rory McIlroy is confident he can win in America.He has decided to stay on this week to compete in the Verizon Heritage tournament played at Harbour Town Links in Hilton Head,South Carolina.
He is sure to attract large crowds as he plays the first two days with Tommy Armour III and little known James Nitties.

To record his first US win he has to see off the challange of players like,Boo Weekley,Jim Furyk,Camilo Villegas,Zack Johnston and fellow Europeans Ernie Els,Paul Casey,Luke Donald and Jose Maria Olazabal.

Rorys coach Michael Bannon who was at the Masters says"Rory's game is in good shape and it would come as no surprise to me if he produces a win this week.He is getting more confident in himself"

Storming finish by McIlroy....

While Angel Cabrera was winning his second major in a 3 man play off,19 year old Rory McIlroy was surrounded by press men from all over the World.They all want to know what makes him such a special talent.
On his first visit to Augusta he played like a true veteran,finishing in a tie for 20th on 3 under par.He had a bad start to his last round,being 4 over par after 7 holes.A birdie at the 9th,kickstarted his round and for the last 10 holes he was 6 under par.
His fellow countryman Greame McDowell finished the top European in 17th place on 4 under par.
Padraig Harrington couldn't manage to make it 3 majors in a row,but put up a solid performance to finish on level par.
Angel Cabrera added the Masters to his 2007 US Open title by beating 48 year old Kenny Perry and Chad Campbell in a play off.

All 3 Irish make cut at Augusta.

Chad Campbell and Kenny Perry lead the Masters after 36 holes on 9 under par 135.Campbell looked like making it a one horse race when he got to 11 under par half way around,before coming back to the pack with 3 late bogies and a final hole birdie to add 70 to his first round 65.
48 year old Kenny Perry is looking to become the oldest winner since Juluis Boros in 1958.He proved he has the game when he produced a flawless 68/67.
Tiger is waiting to pounce in 19th place after steady rounds of 70/72,with no putts held.
Also in joint 19th is two Irish players.Padraig Harrington looking to win his 3rd major in a row is having an up and down tournament.He made 4 bogies to go with only 1 birdie at the 3rd and a fantastic 30foot putt for eagle at the 13th.
Greame McDowell was 5 under after 11,but had a bad finish with 3 late bogies that earns him a dream draw with the TIGER.
McIlroy will learn from his teenage "kick in the sand" that could have cost him big time,and hopefully he will show us his fantastic talent over the weekend.

McIlroy 4 hour wait for officials decision at Augusta.

19 year old Rory McIlroy playing in his first Augusta,had a long 5 hours to the end of his second round.The first hour saw him 4 putt the 16th for double bogey and then after 2 bunker shots at the last, he 3 putted for a triple bogey and just managed to make the 36 hole cut on 1 over par.
For the next 4 hours he had to wait for officials to decide if he would be disqualified after reviewing footage of him kicking the sand between his 2 bunker shots.
If he had of incurred any penalty his score would have increased and he would have missed the cut.
Rory was very relieved the officials agreed he was through to the 3rd round,and can now enjoy the company of Masters champion Trevor Immelman.

Another great performance from Mcilroy.

Playing in the Houston Shell Open,Rory McIlroy put up another great performance when he finished joint 19th on 5 under par.
Rory slipped up in the 2nd and 3rd rounds with a 73 and 74,after having started with a 5 under par 67.He has now set himself up nicely for the Masters when he finished with a 3 under par 69.
Padraig Harrington had a bad finish when he stumbled to a 5 over par 77.This left him one shot behind Rory.
They have both made their way to Augusta for this weeks Masters.
Paul Casey will be on a high this week as he claimed his 1st US title when he beat JB Holmes on the 3rdplay off hole.

Big win for Michael Hoey....

Northern Irelands Michael Hoey made a fantastic comeback to win the Portugese Open at Oitavos Dunes after he finished as he had started with a 5 under par 66.Hoey's 7 under par total put him in a play off with Gonzolo Fdez Castano.
Hoey was a 3 time winner on the Challange tour and came through the Qualifing school at the end of last year.
Now he can enjoy the 208330Euros he won,plus a 2 year exemption and no doubt a lot more in sponsership.
Paul McGinley finished well down the field in 54th on 3 over par.

McIlroy well placed in Houston.

It will take most of today to get the 2nd round of the Shell Houston Open played after wind delays.
Englands Paul Casey is clubhouse leader after finishing his 2 rounds on 8 under par.
Teenage sensation Rory McIlroy is sitting pretty on 5 under par with 7 holes to play.
Darren Clarke who needs to win to secure a Masters place is well down the field on 1 under and Padraig Harrington is still level par as he has yet to start his 2nd round.

In Portugal there was dissapointment for the Irish when Michael Hoey took 76 to go with his first round 66.It dropped him into 21st position on level par,5 shots behind Ross McGowan.
Paul McGinley made the cut on the mark of 144.Johnny Caldwell made a good fight back with a 70 to go with his 75 but missed out by 1 shot on 155.Damien McGrane missed his second cut in a row also on 145,alongside Gareth Maybin.
Peter Lawrie and Gary Murphy both finished on 147.

McIlroy happy with first Augusta visit.

Teenage sensation Rory McIlroy was happy with his first visit to Augusta last Sunday in the company of his coach Michael Bannon and two Augusta members.
Speaking to the Golfboard, Michael Bannon said "Rory hit the ball great and even though he was 2 over par,it was mostly the greens that caught him out.He learned a lot from that first visit and after playing in Houston this week,he will get 3 more rounds in before the Master's start.
I would be confident that he will score well around the Augusta course,as it suits his game"