Great weekend for the French,as Cevaer wins in London.

It was a great win for French golfers,as after Francois Calmels won on the Challenge Tour in Belgium,Christian Cevaer won the European Open on the main tour.
39 year old Cevaer made his first win in style by holding off the challenge of Europes top golfers,including Rory McIlroy,Alvaro Quires and Chris Wood.His one and only win was in 2004 when he won the Open de Espana and his win today is his second win after 16 years as a professional.He was lying 196 in the Race to Dubai and 449th in the World.He can now expect to jump up 300 places after a fantastic par at the difficult 18th to dissapoint Gary Orr,Alvaro Quiros and Steve Webster by a single shot.A cheque for 341,220 Euros will be very welcome.
Rory McIlroy failed to shine as he missed easy putts at the start of his round.He finished down in 12th place on his own on -3 after a closing 75.
peter Lawrie who was -6 after 36 holes was in 27th place on +1.Greame McDowell was +3 in 39th and Paul McGinley keeps struggling on.He was +4 in 46th place.

Simon Thornton battles well in Waterloo !

English man Simon Thornton,now living in Newcastle,Co.Down played some great golf in the Telenet Trophy,Belgium,to finish in joint 4th place and pick up his first cheque on the Challenge tour this year.
French man Francois Calmels won after a final round 70 to finish on -12 and a two shot victory. Francois collected a cheque for 24,ooo Euros and allowes him to jump into 4th place in the order of merit,behind Gary Boyd.
Thornton put in a sterling finish.He shot a 5 under par 67 to finish in joint 4th and collect 8,250 Euros.He jumped straight into 34th place.
Colm Moriarty won his first cheque from 5 outings.He hit a brilliant final round 66 to finish on -5 and win 1,674 Euros.
Peter o Keeffe had a poor finish with a 74 and dropped down into 17th place and win 1,170. Gareth Shaw continues to collect cheques with his consistent golf. He finished in 52nd place on level par to win 795 Euros.
Like Moriarty,Noel Fox won his first cheque from 5 outings. He won 472 Euros.

Peter oKeeffe in contention for Challenge Tour event.

Welshman,Stuart Manley holds onto the lead at the halfway stage of the Telenet Trophy in Belgium, when he scored a 69 to go with his opening 66 and now sits on -9.
Irelands Peter oKeeffe can look forward to challenging for the lead as he is on -4,after a brilliant 68.Peter could do with a boost as he is down in 150th place on the money list.
Simon Thornton will pick up his first cheque this year as he is also on -4 after two rounds of 70.
Noel Fox is on level par, Colm Moriarty and Gareth Shaw +1 will all be looking to improve over the weekend after getting through the cut.

The only 2 Irish to miss out were Michael McGeady and Alan Murray.Both were well away on +7, 6 too many.

paul Lawrie still in contension at London Club.

Michael Lorenzo-Vera and Jeev Mikha Singh lead the European Open at the London Club at the halfway stage.Both are sitting on -8.
Peter Lawrie added a 71 to his opening 67 to sit on -6 and only 2 shots behind the leaders.
Rory McIlroy gave himself a scare when he went from -3,back to level par with 3 holes to go.In true champion style he made 2 birdies and is now back in contention on -2 for the weekend.
Greame McDowell added a 73 to his opening 70 and is in joint 32nd,the only other Irish to make the cut was Paul McGinley,on +1 after a 75.Paul looked like missing the cut,but rallied by making birdies on 2 of the last three holes.

McGrane +4,Murphy +4,Maybin +5,Clarke +6, Hoey and Lowry +7 all missed out on a pay day.

Shane Lowry has a weekend off !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Irish Open Champion Shane Lowry is glad his Professional debut is over.Having missed the cut in the European Open at the London Club with rounds of 78 and a very acceptable one over par 73.Lowry missed the cut of score of +1,by 7 shots and was in good company as he finished level with Michael Hoey.
"I'm glad it's over, and now i can look forward to the Welsh Open next week".Said Shane.I hope to get some time on my own to practice,and work on my game.I feel my game is still in good shape,and i have been made to feel comfortable by the rest of the Pro's.

7 Irish in Challenge Tour event in Belgium....

Playing in a Challenge tour event in Belgium,Scotlands Stuart Manley and Hollands Robin Swane lead the way,after both shot 6 under par 66s in round one.
There was mixed fortunes for the 7 Irish men in action.Lurgan man Gareth Shaw and Royal County Downs, Simon Thornton lead the way on -2,70.
Peter oKeeffe is on level par 72 and on the cut mark. Noel Fox,Michael McGeady and Colm moriarty will need to improve as they are all on one over par,73.
Greystones,Alan Murray is well away at the minute on +3,75.

Lawrie best of the Irish at the London Club......

After the first round of the European Open at the London Club in Kent the leading Irishman was Lawrie,no not Shane who was making his professional debut,but Peter.
Peter produced a great round of -5 67 to sit only 2 shots behind the leader Denmarks Anders Hanson after the first round.Lawrie lost a shot at the 2nd hole.Ho got it back at the 4th and went on to make 5 more birdies for a great 67.
Rory McIlroy was near his best,hitting the ball very well.He lost a shot at the par3 17th,but is still in great shape on -3 69.
The only other Irish under par are Greame McDowell and Paul McGinley on -2,70.It was a great comeback for McGinley as he was +2 after 4 holes.
Michael Hoey is on +1,73, while Darren Clarke,Gareth Maybin and Damien McGrane will have a lot of work to do tomorrow after firing +2 74 each.
Gary Murphy lost his way on the back nine with 3 bogies in a row for a 75,and Shane Lowry will want to forget his debut after a +6,78 to sit in Joint 148th place.

Shane Lowry doesn't enjoy Professional debut.....

12 days after winning the Irish Open in spectectular fashion,as an amateur,Shane Lowry teed up at The London club in Kent as a Professional.
It would have been crazy for anyone to expect he could repeat last weeks heights,as he has played little and practised less,as he has been so busy sorting out his future.
A new management team,new sponsers,lots of press attention,it doesn't mix well.

Shane got the same start as he did in Baltray,bogey,par,par,bogey but thats where the similarities ended.In Baltray he birdied the next 3 holes and finished 5 under par. At the London Club he ran up a double bogey,another 4 bogies and only 2 birdies to find himself away down in 148th place after a 6 over par 78.He will need to repeat lasts weeks 62 to be still around for the weekend.

Things will get better for Shane once he finds" his feet".After this week,things will settle down,and he will get back to his normal routine of practice,practice,practice.

Casey moves to 3rd in the world !

It is a long time ago since Paul casey said he was going to beat Tiger and move to World No1.We all had a good laugh,but after yesterdays win at Wentworth,Casey has now jumped into 3rd spot and with Phil Mickleson out of action for some time,due to his wife's Breast cancer scare,Casey can take 2nd place very shortly.
He has become a powerful competitor with a wonderful game, as proved in his last 11 tournaments when he won 3 times.
He won in Adu Dhabi,in Houston and now Wentworth. Would you bet against him ?
Current World Rankings: 1 Tiger Woods
2 Phil Mickleson
3 Paul Casey
4 Sergio Garcia
5 Henrik Stenson
6 Geoff Ogilvy
7 Kenny Perry
8 Padraig Harrington
9 Vijay Singh
10 Camillo Villegas
11 Robert Karlsson
12 Sean o Hair
13 Steve Stricker
14 Jim Furyk
15 Anthony Kim
16 Rory McIlroy
17 Lee Westwood
18 Ernie Els
19 Ian Poulter
20 Zach Johnston

Casey wins at Wentworth,McIlroy 5th....

Paul Casey biried the last from the front bunker to hold of a strong challenge from local Ross Fisher and win the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth on 17 under par.Casey was in great form all week and showed his class when Fisher came at him right from the start. Ross Fisher completed a best of the week 64 and came so close to forcing a play off,when his eagle putt lipped out on the 18th.
Casey birdied the last two to win with a final round 68 and collect the trophy and a cheque for 750,000 Euros. He now moves to No1 in the race to Dubai with 1,948,431 points or Euros. He also jumped to World No3,behind Tiger and Phil Mickelson.

Rory McIlroy birdied the final 2 holes for the 3rd time in 4 days for an up and down round of 71.His 10 under par finish gave him a cheque for 190,800 Euros and lifted him into 3rd place in the race to Dubai.Only turned 20,Rory has passed the million mark this year. He has won 1,141,334 Euros,and jumped into 16th in the world rankings.
greame McDowell finised tied 13th on -5 and won 69,150 and Darren Clarke had another dissapointing week finishing joint 52nd on +2 for 18,000 Euros.

McIlroy ready to take on Casey at Wentworth.

Rory McIlroy showed his class during the 3rd round of the BMW PGA Championship when he produced the lowest round of the tournament, a 7 under par 65 to move into 3rd place only 4 shots behind Paul Casey.
20 year old Rory produced his best golf since the Masters tournament.He admitted,it was hard to get excited about golf after all the hype of Augusta.
Now 20th in the World,he can move into the top 10 with a win.He could also move into the top 3 in the Race to Dubai.
It might be a big ask,as Paul Casey is a proven winner on this course and should probably be futher ahead after 3 putting the final 2 greens.
Casey is having a great year,and his incentive is a jump into the World's top 3 and No1 spot in the race to Dubai.

Gareth Shaw jumpes 3 places on Challenge Tour.

Lurgan man Gareth Shaw finished well behind local favorite Edoardo Molinari in the Piemonte Open played in his back yard in Italy. Molinari completed his 3rd Challenge tour win and jumped into 2nd place on the order of merit after collecting a cheque for 24,000 Euros. His total this year is 44390Euros,only 1862 Euros behind Englands Gary Boyd who finished second on -14 after a final 69.

Gareth Shaw completed another steady tournament when he finished 2 under par and picked up 1,275 Euros.It helped him jump up 3 places to 41st. He needs to keep moving up to make the top 20 before the end of the season.

Mixed results for Irish in Senior PGA Championship.

Ross Drummond is leading the way at the half way stage of the Senior PGA Championship,played over the Canterbury golf club in Ohio.Drummond is on 4 under par after rounds of 70,66.He is 2 shots clear of a group of 5 golfers that includes Bernard Langer. 68,70.
The only Irish man to make the cut was our adopted son Mark McNulty.He scored 72,69 and is only 5 shots of the pace.
Jimmy Heggarty had a poor 77 in round one.He made a great effort in the second round,missing the cut by only one shot after a 71.
Denis oSullivan was well away from the mark after rounds of 81,76.

McIlroy in good position in Wentworth..........

World Matchplay champion Paul Casey has a two shot lead at the halfway stage of the BMW PGA Championship in Wentworth after rounds of 69/67 -8.
Rory McIlroy is in good shape after steady rounds of 72,70 -2.Rory birdied the last two holes for the second day in a row and can now look forward to the weekend.
Darren Clarke improved from a 74 to a 71 +1 and is safely through, as should be Gareth Maybin who is 2 under after 9.That takes him back to +1.
Greame McDowell added a 71 to his opening 75 to make it through on the cut mark of +2.
Peter Lawrie bogied the last for a 77,to add to his 70 which was one shot too many.Paul McGinley added a miserable 80 to his opening 73,Gary Murphy 82,76 and Irish PGA Order of Merit winner John Kelly will be glad to get back to his shop after finishing 149th and last after scores of 86,82 +24.

Gareth Shaw flying Irish flag in Challange tour event.

Gareth Shaw is the only Irish golfer left in the PIEMONTE OPEN in TORINO,ITALY and he sits 14 behind local favorite Edoardo Molinari going into the final round.
Molinari is well ahead of the field after rounds of 67,67,66 -16.
Shaw is playing steady and has hit 73,70,71 -2 for joint 28th spot. He needs a good round tomorrow as he has only made 3175 Euros from 3 events and is sitting in 44th place,well outside the top 20 that will get Full cards for the European tour next year.
The other Irish players missed the half way cut.Noel Fox improved with a 71 after a poor 75 in round one,and Colm Moriarty who looked like making his first cut this year after a 2 under par 70,followed up with a miserable 77.

Lisa Maguire wins Ladies Irish Close Championship.

14 year old Lisa Maguire who was beaten by her twin sister Leona in the final of the Irish Ladies Close Championship last year has added her name to the trophy this year,by beating Mary Dowling in a one sided final that was full of birdies,mostly by Lisa.
After the shock defeat of Leona by Bangors Victoria Bradshaw at the 2nd tie hole,Lisa was determined to keep the trophy at the Slieve Russell golf club in Cavan.
Lisa was taking no chances in the final as she birdied the 2nd,3rd,4th,6th,7th and 8th and even though Mary biried the 8th and 9th she still turned 4 down.
Lisa kept the pressure on Mary with steady golf on the next few holes and it was on the 14th green that Lisa finished of the game.
Leona was the youngest ever winner last year at 13,and now Lisa this year at 14.
The future is bright for the Maguire twins.

Shane Lowry turns Pro after Irish win.

22 year old Shane Lowry has announced he is turning Professional and take up a 2 1/2 year exemption on the European Tour after his fantastic win last Sunday in the 3 Irish Open.
Playing in his first Professional event, he was hoping to make the cut and gain some experience, for when he turned Pro after the Walker Cup in September.
Instead he walked of as the winner after a 3 hole play off against Robert Rock.
Shane spent the last few days talking to family,friends and his coach before he made it official that he will take up membership of the tour and make his first Professional appearance next week in the European Open at the London Club next week.

He is being supported by "Team Golf Ireland" and managed by Conor Ridge from Horizion Sports,who also look after Greame McDowell and Michael Hoey.

Bad day for Irish in Challange tour event.

Lee.S.James won his first tournament for 7 years,when he won the Allianz Open d'armor challange tour event in France,after a one hole play off against German Florian Fritsch.
They had both finished on 6 under par 274 with James collecting 24,000 Euros.

The Irish had a bad day.Richard Kilpatrick went from a top 10 position overnight to joint 49th after an 80. Alan Murray finished 47th after a 77.
Colm Moriarty failed to make the cut on +6.

Shane Lowry wins Irish Open.

Esker Hills amateur golfer,22 year old Shane Lowry broke all sorts of records in the 3 irish Open at Baltray yesterday.
The records: 1st Professional event.Shot lowest ever round in a European event.62 -10 in round two as an amateur.Only the third amateur to win a European tour event.
It was a fairytail for Shane as he matched Robert Rock, shot for shot and even held his nerve to go 3 tie holes before a 2 foot putt for par gave him the title.

He has a big decision to make this week. Will he wait for the Walker Cup or turn Professional and take advantage of a 21/2 year exemption.

Open champion Paul lawrie collected the keys to a Audi A5 Cabriolet worth 40,000 Euros for a hole in one at the 17th hole during the second round.
It was Lawrie's 5th hole in one,but the first won that earned him a prize.

Jack Doherty wins Europro event in Ireland.

While the top European stars were in action in the Irish Open at Baltray,there were 35 Irish Professionals taking part in the GREEN 17,sponsered Europro event at Faithlegg golf club in Waterford.
The winner was Jack Doherty from North Gailes golf club.Jack walked off with the £10,000 first prize after finishing on 9 under par.
The top Irishman was Paul oHanlon from the Curragh.Paul was 9th with rounds of 73,69,69,to finish 5 under par and win £800.

Jt 19th Mark Campbell -3 Michael McDermott -3
Jt 24th Tim Rice -2 Mark Staunton -2
Jt 30th Patrick Geragthy -1
Jt 40th Cian McNamara Level Jerry Scullion Level.
Jt 46 Brendan McCarroll +2 Justin Kehoe +2
MISSED CUT>
Stephen Grant +1
Brian McElhinney,Peter oKeeffe,Michael Collins +2
Padraig oRourke +3
Eoin oConnor,Daniel Sugrue,Ger Hall +4
Brendan McDermott,Mervyn Owens +5
Greg Bowden,Paul McDonald +6
Eoin Gibbons,Peter Williamson,Ted Higgins,Robert Brady +7
Lee Owens,Michael Lavelle,Shane Franklin +8
Mark oSullivan +9
David Mortimer +10
Ian.St John +11
David Lovett +13
James Fay +14

McDowell rips Baltray apart.....

Greame McDowell made mince meat of the Baltray links in calm conditions to qualify for the final 2 rounds after taking a 77 in round one."I knew i was hitting the ball well in the first round and probably got annoyed with myself in front of home supporters"said Greame.
Greame wanted to gain some pride in the second round,and he did that in style with an 11 under par 61,to record the lowest round in Irish Open history.
Greame card read 1:Birdie. 2:birdie. 3:eagle. 4:birdie. 5:birdie: 6:birdie. 7:PAR.8:birdie. 9:PAR. 29 shots -8
10:PAR. 11:PAR. 12:BOGEY 13:PAR. 14:birdie. 15:birdie. 16:PAR. 17:birdie. 18:birdie.32shots -3 TOTAL 61.-11.

Amateur Lowry leads Irish Open.

Plus 4 amateur Shane Lowry leads the Irish Open at Baltray golf club in Co.Louth after 36 wonderful holes of golf.
I had the pleasure of watching Shane for the two rounds in the company of Professionals Seve Benson and Barrie Trainor.
He got the worst possible start with a 3 putt bogey at the 10th, his first,and another 3 putt at the 13th to go 2 over par.
Shane then went on a run with birdies at the 14th,15th and 16th to move under par,starting the front nine.
He sent his supporters wild when he birdied the 2nd and 3rd to reach 3 under and there was more to come with birdies at the long 6th and after a massive drive at the 9th(His Last)he wedged to 2 feet for a brilliant 67 -5.
With a late start in round 2 and with great support from Tullamore he got off to the best possible start with a chip in birdie from the back of the first green.Two more birdiies followed at the 3rd and 4th,before another chip in at the long 6th for an eagle to join the leaders on 10 under par.
Not content,Lowry went on to birdie the 9th and 10th,before his only bogey coming at the 11th when he missed from 3 feet.
If there was any fear that he would slide under the pressure was soon put to bed as he hit back with a birdie at the next to join the leaders once again on 12 under.
Shane's supporters went wild as he proceeded to make further birdies at the 14th,15th and a final birdie at the long 18th gave him a round of 10 under par 62.
He sits proudly on top of the Irish Open leaderboard on 15 under par,and can look down on people like Rory McIlroy,Lee Westwood,Colin Montgomery and many more.
BEST WISHES TO SHANE FROM THE GOLF BOARD.

Montgomery gets one extra pick for Ryder Cup..

After discussion with Europe’s 2010 Captain, Colin Montgomerie, it was decided that the leading four players from The Ryder Cup World Points List would be joined by the leading five players, not otherwise qualified (having selected the four players from The Ryder Cup World Points List) from The Ryder Cup European Points List in automatically qualifying for Europe’s 2010 Ryder Cup Team at the end of the qualification period.
Colin was happy to get the extra pick. 4 players from the World rankings,5 players from the Race to Dubai and Montys 3 selections will make up the Ryder Cup team.

In comparing the comeback of Tiger Woods and the first comeback of Michael Jordan, I see a lot of similarities and feel things will play out the same way.

When Jordan returned to basketball after his 1st retirement he was rusty but showed flashes of brilliance. In his second game back, he scored 55 points against the Knicks at Madison Square Garden. He wasn't the same MJ as before the retirement, and he only played about 20 regular season games before making a costly mistake against the Orlando Magic as his team lost in the playoffs.

However, the following year, he lead the Bulls to an all time record 72 wins during the 95-96 season and they went on to win three straight Championships. He also won the scoring title and the finals MVP for those three seasons.

As we have been watching Tiger's return to competition, he has definitely struggled but shown flashes of brilliance just like Jordan did. He did come from behind to win at Bay Hill on the final hole but he still didn't have his complete "A" game for the tournament. He also shot a flawless 65 during the first round at Quail Hollow before ending up in 4th place.

I think most people would have to agree that it will be just a matter of time before Tiger puts it all together. He has said he doesn't expect his knee to be 100% until year 2. He will be working with Haney to fix the current flaw in his swing and his putting will only be down for so long.

It is really funny how many articles have been written about Tiger's latest struggles. It is true he is not on the top of his game, but he has finished in the top ten at the Masters, Quail Hollow, and the Players.

As Michael Jordan took a little while to regain form and completely dominate, Tiger Woods will be doing the same thing soon.

Irish in position to improve their rankings in Irish Open.

There is a total of 23 Irish golfers playing in the Irish Open this week at Baltray in Co.Louth.It is a good chance for them to improve their rankings in "The race to Dubai"
The leader is Geoff Ogilvy who sits on top with Euro 1,464,867.The leading home player is 20 year old Rory McIlroy in 4th place with Euro 938,234 from 4 starts.
4th Rory McIlroy 4 starts Euro 938,234.
37th Gareth Maybin 11 starts Euro 277,710.
38th Michael Hoey 8 starts Euro 275,226.
39th Peter Lawrie 11 starts Euro 269,286.
41st Greame McDowell 7 starts Euro 255,514.
43rd Padraig Harrington 5 starts Euro 247,508.
47th Damien McGrane 14 starts Euro 234,343.
123rd Gary Murphy 13 starts Euro 75,917.
126th Paul McGinley. 9 starts Euro 75,436.
140th Darren Clarke 6 starts Euro 62,549.
208th Michael McGeady 3 starts Euro 23,475.
278th Johnny Caldwell 8 starts Euro 5,830.

Maybin finishes 8th in Italy...

Daniel Vancsik (Argentina)won the BMW Italian Open in style with a final round 65 to finish on 17 under par.It is the second win for Daniel as he won his maiden victory in the Madeira Open in 2007.
Gareth Maybin put in another fine performance when he finished in joint 8th place and picked up a useful cheque for 25,805Euros,after a final 72 left him 8 under par.
Michael McGeady picked up his biggest cheque of the year 16,510Euros when he shot a final round 71,to finish -6.
Gary Murphy was joint 34th after a good 69 earned him 9376Euros and Johnny Caldwell was down the field in 67th and won 2730Euros.

Maybin in good shape for maiden win in Italy....

Gareth Maybin is in a great position to claim his first European win as he sits in joint 3rd place in the BMW Italian Open.
Daniel Vancsik(Argentina)is the leader on 11 under par after breaking 70 for the 3rd day in a row.Finlands,Roope Kakko scored 71,64,68 is second on -10.
Maybin who is making great strides in his rookie year is sitting pretty on 9 under par.He got a brilliant start with a course record 64.He has followed up with two 70s.
The most impressive part of his score is that he has only had 2 bogies and one double bogey in 54 holes.
Gareth has a great chance to improve his World rankings from 104th.
Derry's Michael McGeady is in line for his best ever finish on the European tour as he is in joint 11th place after impressive golf.He scored 71,68,68 to sit on -6.
Gary Murphy is -3 and in joint 38th.Johnny Caldwell fell back to +1 after a poor 75.

McIlroy's early exit from Players Championship.

No longer a teenager,Rory McIlroy in the week of his 20th birthday,left the USA for a rare weekend off after missing the cut in The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass,Florida.
2 under par after the first 16 holes,he fell into the water at the famous 17th island green to take a 6 and following a bogey at the last signed for a 2 over par 74.It was always going to be a battle to make the cut of level par,and unfortunately Rory just couldn't get going. He only made 2 birdies all day,as well as 5 bogies and a double bogey at the 9th for a 77.
His 7 over par 151 was 7 too many,and left Padraig Harrington as the sole Irish man in the field.Padraig played steady for his second round of 72.
Alex Cejha is the surprise leader on -11.(66,67)Ian Poulter is lying 2nd on 9 under after rounds of 67,68.Tiger still has them in view after a 69 leaves him on -4.

Steve Surry wins first Europro event.

Englands,Steve Surry was as surprised as anyone to win the Michard Ward UK Open at Collingtree Park in Northamption.
He started the day on 1 under par and 8 shots behind the leader Christopher Hanson.
Steve played steady in difficult conditions to shoot a level par round.To his surprise he found himself the only player under par at the end of the day,and collected his cheque for £10,000.
The leader needed a couple of pars to win by 2 shots.After a bogey at the 17th,he watched as his ball went out of bounds at the par 5,18th.His 5th shot finished in the water and eventually signed for a 9.He went from winning to tied 8th and only won £875,instead of the £10,000 first prize.
The leading Irishman was Dubliner Michael McDermott.He shot a 75 to finish on 3 over par. He won £650.Justen Kehoe was tied 30th on 6over.J41 was Cian McNamara on plus 9.
Daniel Sugrue was 47th on +11.Brian McElhinney was 48th on +12 and Warrenpoints Barrie Trainor was 53rd on +14.Barrie finished with a double bogey at the 17th and had a 10 at the par 5,18th in his first Europro event.

Cian McNamara only Irish player under par on Europro event,

Limericks Cian McNamara is in good shape at the half way stage of the Europro tour in Northamption.He is one of only 9 players under par.
The run away leader is Christopher Hanson from England. He sits on 7 under par,5 shots clear of the field.
McNamara is on 1 under par after rounds of 69,74.Michael McDermott had birdied 5 out of his first 7 holes to lead on 6 under par.He gave them all back to finish on level par alongside Birr's Justin Kehoe.
Daniel Sugrue +3,Brian McElhinney +4,Paul oHanlon and Barrie trainor +5 all made it through to the final round.

Maybin sets course record in Italy.

Ballyclare man Gareth Maybin,playing in his rookie season on the European tour is making quite a name for himself.
Having lost to Richard Sterne in a play off for the South African Open last December in only his 7th outing,he now finds himself the leader of the BMW Italian Open,at Royal Park near Turin.
Gareth got a steady start with 2 birdies over the front nine to turn in 34 shots. A birdie at the 10th and 12th was followed by an eagle 2 at the 13th from 116 yards.
Another birdie at the 15th was followed by his only bogey.He didn't get upset and finished in style with a birdie at the difficult 507 yard 18th.Maybins back nine of 30,gives him the course record 64.
Gary Murphy finised on 70,one under par after two birdies over the last 4 holes.
Johnny Caldwell and Michael McGeady both finished on level par,while Darren Clarke,playing in his first European event this year,bogied the first 4 holes,but rallied well for a three over par 74.

Lawrie falls 4 short in defence of Spanish title.....

Peter Lawrie put up a great defence of his Open de Espana title when he shot a final round 69 to finish on 14 under par and only 4 shots behind French winner Thomas Levet.
Lawrie started the day 3 shots behind Levet but got it back to two heading into the back nine,thanks to a 3 wood shot to 6 feet for an eagle at the 7th. Peter birdied the 14th and 15th and with any luck could easily have birdied the last three to put some pressure on Levet,but it wasn't to be.
Levet was kept going by the great golf of Paraquay's Fabrizio Zanotti who fired a 65 to claim 2nd on his own.
Lawrie collected 112,600.00 Euros and is looking forward to the Irish Open in Baltray in a fortnight's time.
Paul McGinley fell back with a 75 for 31st place and 14,709 Euros and Gary Murphy was well down the field in 65th position on +4 for 4600 Euros.

Peter Lawrie in great position to retain Spanish title.

Peter Lawrie is still in a great position to defend his Open de Espana title in Girona with a third round 71. It could have been soo much better, as he had to wait until the 14th hole, before he made his first birdie after 13 pars.Another birdie two followed at the short 16th before he made his first bogey at the final hole.
Lawrie sits on 11 under par,3 shots behind Thomas Levet who also fired a 71.
Englands Stuart Davis moved into second spot after a brilliant 67.

Paul McGinley was 9 under after 9 holes,but faded on the back nine with 3 bogies to fall back to 6 under and joint 14th.
Gary Murphy fell completely out of the picture with a 77 and is now 5 over par.

Jarmo Sandelin rescues lady from fire !

Swedish Ryder cup player Jarmo Sandelin was still in tears on Friday as he re-lived the most terrifying moment of his life a few days earlier when he rescued an elderly neighbour from a burning apartment,right below his own family apartment in the middle of Stockholm.
He saw the smoke and heard the old Ladys screaming for help.By pure instinct he grabbed a fire extinguisher and broke the door down.Not being able to see in the thick smoke he entered the building and luckely found the Lady and led her to safety.
Unfortunately her Husband died in the fire,before the fire service could rescue him.

McGeady only Irish to survive cut in Moroccan classic.

Out of 5 Irish competing in the Moroccan Classic Challange tour event,Derry man Michael McGeady was the only survivor,and he only managed to make it on the cut mark of 4 over par,12 shots behind English man Robert Coles.
McGeady fought hard after an opening 75,and got rewarded when he returned a second round 73 that will give him another 36 holes to improve his position.
Three Irish men missed the cut by 2 shots. Banbridge lad Richard Kilpatrick had a frustration day.He had 13pars and 5 bogies for a 77 to add to his opening 73.
Lurgan's Gareth Shaw had a pair of 75s and Colm Moriarty recovered with a 72 after an opening 78.
Dubliner Noel Fox added a 79 to his first round 74 to miss the cut by 5 shots.

Harrington misses cut in N.Carolina.

Triple major winner Padraig Harrington miserable season continues after he packed his bags early and made his way to Sawgrass for some early practice for next weeks tournament.
In the Quail Hollow Championship in North Carolina, Padraig was cruising in round one,sitting on 4 under par after 16 holes and chasing Tigers 65. He found water on the 217 yard 17th to run up a triple bogey 6,and after finding water down the left of the 478 yard,18th he made a double bogey 6 to sign for a one over par 73.
"I hit the Self Destruct button" admitted Padraig. He followed up with a bogey,double bogey start to round two and could only manage a 75 to miss the cut bt 4 shots.It was Harringtons 3rd missed cut from 8 starts this year and no top 10s.
Left hander Bubba Watson and Retief Goosen lead the way on 8 under par,one clear of Tiger.

Peter Lawrie in position to defend Spanish title.

Dubliner Peter Lawrie is putting up a strong defence of his Open de Espana title at the PGA Golf Catalunya course in Spain.He fired a second round 66 to go with his opening 68 for a 10 under par total of 134.He sits 3 shots behind Frenchman Thomas Levet who opened with a brilliant 64 and followed up with a 67.
Lawrie opened his second round with 6 birdies in the first eight holes.Over the last 10 he made 2 birdies and 2 bogies to set himself up nicely for the weekend.
Paul McGinley is starting to show good form after some poor putting rounds.He jumped from 45th to joint 6th after a 67 to leave him 7 under par.
Gary Murphy just made the cut on level par,despite a poor 74.
Damien McGrane bogied the last to miss the cut by one with scores of 70,75.
Johnny Caldwell despite a first round 70 missed out by 3 after a dissapointing 77.
Recent winner Michael Hoey return was not what he had planned with scores of 77,76.