First win in 6 years for Luke Donald in Madrid.

It was ecstasy for Luke Donald at the Madrid Masters as he bounced back from his Wentworth disappointment in style.

Donald, who missed out on the BMW PGA Championship by a shot after taking a double bogey seven on the penultimate hole, this time grabbed a brilliant eagle to settle his duel with Welshman Rhys Davies.

Level with three to play, the 32 year old hit a 252 yard fairway wood to 12 feet on the long 16th and with his third eagle of the week - "it's because I'm a big-hitter" he joked - struck the decisive blow.

Davies, already a winner in this his first full season on The European Tour, birdied the hole and still had a chance to force sudden death, but his 20 foot effort on the last was never on the right line.

The victory lifts Donald from 13th to ninth in the Official World Golf Rankings - and that makes it an incredible four English players in the world's top ten just nine years after Lee Westwood was the only one in the top 100.

Donald's last victory was the Honda Classic in America in March 2006 and his last in Europe came in Switzerland in September 2004.

Donald won with a closing 67 to Davies' 68 and with a 21 under par total of 267. It earned him €250,000 but he said: "The money is secondary.

Graeme McDowell put up a great challenge to the leaders when he hit a closing round of 65 to finish in 4th spot on 17 under par,only 4 shots behind the winner.This result takes him to 24th in the Race to Dubai table with a nice cheque for €75,000.

Peter Lawrie missed from 2 feet at the last for a round of 67.He finished in 6th place on -13 and won €45,000.
Damien McGrane got his year back on track when he shared 36th place on 7 under and collected €10,350.In joint 41st place was Shane Lowry and Paul McGinley on -6.They picked up cheques of €8,700.

With the cut coming at -1 it was another missed cut for Gary Murphy who shot 73/73 +2 to miss by 3,and Simon Thornton gave himself a mountain to climb after opening with a 77.He improved by 6 shots with a 71 but was still 5 shots too many.

Nerves of STEELE as Robert wins Europro event.

Robert Steele won The Pandora 2010 Open at Burhill Golf Club in Surrey on the first play-off hole against Sean Doherty to win the second event on the 2010 PGA EuroPro Tour.

In 2008 Steele (Kenilworth/Forest of Arden) clinched a top five place and a spot on the Challenge Tour after winning the Tour Championship at Les Bordes in France, but circumstances beyond his control saw him endure a tough 2009 in golf. Much of his frustration came out in an eight under par 64 in the second round to take a two-shot lead into the final round, and while Doherty threw away victory with a bogey-bogey finish, the 26 year-old winner believes the win is a fresh start in his career.

Irelands Paul oHanlon had his second good tournament in a row and in fact after racing to the turn in 3 under par,he was only 1 shot behind the leaders.The best he could do on the back nine was 6 pars and 3 bogies for a level par round 72.His 4 under par total left him in Joint 9th with a cheque for £800.Paul is up to 7th in the order of merit.

Mick Collins took a costly double bogey at the 18th for a 74 that dropped him down into 16th on 2 under par.His effort won him £437 and he is in 9th place on the order of merit.

Michael McGeady took a 75 to finish in 21st place on -1 and collect £350,while Cian McNamara shot a final round of 74 to finish in 37th on +2 and win £260.

The 36 hole cut came at +1 145.Barrie Trainor fired a second round 70 to miss the mark by 1 shot after an opening round of 76.Noel Fox shot 75/71 to also miss by 1.

Irish Results
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9th: Paul oHanlon 69,71,72 -4 £800.
16th:Mick Collins 72,68,74 -2 £437.
21st:Michael McGeady 69,71,75 -1 £350.
37th:Cian McNamara 74,70,74 +4 £260.

Missed +1 cut.

Barrie Trainor 76,70 +2
Noel Fox 75,71 +2
Brendan McCarroll 76,71 +3
Ronan Rafferty 74,74 +4
Brian McElhinney 74,74 +4
Mark Staunton 69/74 +5
Mark Campbell 78,71 +5
Michael Lavelle 77,75 +8
David Rawluk 78,74 +8
Neil oBriain 80,74 +10
Tim Rice 76,79 +11.

Simon Khan's 66 wins PGA Championship at Wentworth.

England's Simon Khan, the World Number 471 and not even in the event until Monday, was in dreamland at Wentworth Club when he came from seven behind to win the BMW PGA Championship.

The 37 year old from Essex, who faced an uncertain future when he had to go back to The European Tour Qualifying School last November, produced the biggest final-day comeback in the history of The European Tour's flagship event.

A 20 foot birdie putt on the last, which curled round the back of the cup before toppling in, gave Khan the first prize of €750,000 by a stroke from Ryder Cup star Luke Donald and Swede Fredrik Andersson Hed.

His stunning five under par 66, the round of his life, also brings him a five-year European Tour exemption and a place in July's Open Championship at St Andrews.

"This is what I've always dreamed of doing," said Khan, whose career had fallen away since he won the 2004 Celtic Manor Wales Open and then two years later was a distant runner-up in this tournament behind David Howell.

Padraig Harrington had to use his magic short game in all 4 rounds to keep in touch with the leaders.His final round of 72 won him a share of 6th place on 2 under par and a cheque for €126,450.

Damien McGrane hit a final round of 70 to share 17th on +1 and collect €51,423
.
Graeme McDowell 74 and Paul McGinley 70 finished on +2 and in 28th place.They won €39,375 each.Gareth Maybin returned a brilliant final round of 69 that lifted him into 34th place on +3 and recieved a cheque for €31,950.

It was a disappointing tournament for World No9 Rory McIlroy.He made too many mistakes over the 4 days and he had to settle for a share of 48th place on +5.His cheque was for €18,900.

Peter Lawrie finished in 56th place and won €13,590 on +6,while Shane Lowry who started brightly finished well down in 65th on +8 to collect €9,450.

Darren Clarke took 75/77 +9 to miss the +3 cut by 6 shots,while Michael Hoey retired after a first round of 75.

Hanson wins in Mallorca in Play Off with Canizares.

Swede Peter Hanson overcame a one shot penalty for a double hit to beat Spain's Alejandro Cañizares in a play-off for his third European Tour title in Mallorca.

Only a slow motion television camera caught the fact that Hanson clipped his chip on the 12th a second time.

He fell two behind with four to play after being told of the incident, but made birdie putts from 12 and 30 feet at the 15th and 17th and won the Iberdrola Open Cala Millor Mallorca when Cañizares bogeyed the first extra hole.

They had both shot 66 to finish on six under par, four clear of South African James Kingston.

Colm Moriarty came off the challange tour to play and finished the top Irish in a share of 32nd after a great closing round of 69.It left him on +7 and won him €5,620.

Damien McGrane also closed with a 69 for a share of 44th on +8 earning him €4,240.

Paul McGinley found the conditions difficult and finished well down in 63rd place on +15.It earned him €2,000.

Gary Murphy was 8 over par for the last 9 holes to miss the cut by 1 shot,and Simon Thornton retired after the first round.

Gary Murphys season gets worse in Spain.

Gary Murphy who had to go to tour school at the end of last year after a miserable year will find himself back again this year if his form and confidence doesn't improve quickly.He has only earned €7,277 from 11 starts.

He must have thought he had turned the corner when he found himself on 3 under par and within 2 shots of the leader after 7 holes of the 2nd round.He pressed the self destruct button and doubled bogied the 8th,the 11th,triple bogied the 12th,added another double at the 17th and a single bogey at the last for a 79.

To make things worse his 7 over par was only 1 shot too many to make the 36 hole cut.

Garys year so far.
---------------
Alfred Dunhill +5 Missed cut by 5 shots.
S.African Open 43rd...-1. €5,800
African Open +2 Missed cut by 7 shots.
Joburg Open -2 Missed cut by 1 shot.
Avantha Masters RETIRED.
Maylaysian Open +13 Missed cut by 12 shots.
Andalucia Open 81st +6 €1,477.
Maderia Open +1 Missed cut by 1 shot.
Spanish Open +10 Missed cut by 10 shots.
Italian Open +9 Missed cut by 8 shots.
Mallorca Open +7 Missed cut by 1 shot.

After 14 visits to tour school Andersson-Hed wins in Italy.

Sweden's Fredrik Andersson Hed withstood a charge from England’s David Horsey on a tense final day in Turin to win the BMW Italian Open and claim his first European Tour title at this 245th attempt.

Andersson Hed took a commanding six stroke advantage into the final round in Turin after a brilliant third round nine under par 63, but found himself pegged back by Horsey.

Horsey moved into a share of the lead with his sixth birdie of the day on the 13th, but promptly dropped a shot at the next and also bogeyed the 18th after a ten minute wait on the tee.

That gave Andersson Hed some much-needed breathing room and he was able to par the last two holes to complete a round of 73 for and winning total of 16 under par.It proves in golf that you should never give up.Fedrik has been to tour school 14 times.After today he can relax with a 2 year exemption and a cheque for €216,660.

Horsey, winner of The European Challenge Tour in 2008, was second on 14 under after a closing 68, with Belgium's Nicolas Colsaerts, Sweden's Peter Gustafsson and England's Chris Wood sharing third two shots further back.

The only Irishman to make the cut this week was Gareth Maybin.He had a good tournament finishing 2 under and a cheque for €7,800 for a share of 42nd place.

The 36 hole cut came at +1 145.Darren Clarke hit 73/74 to finish +3,Simon Thornton after an opening 72 took 78 in the second round,Gary Murphy is struggling this year.He shot 77/76 for +9 and Michael Hoey retired.

The secret to Rory McIlroy's swing for £19.99

McIlroy shot a course record 62 at Quail Hollow to capture his first PGA title, and become the youngest winner on the Tour since Tiger Woods in 1996. The Northern Irishman, who turned 21 on (May 4th) carded an eagle at 15 and eight birdies in a 10-under-par final round to win by four shots from Masters' champion Phil Mickelson.

"I'm delighted - I don't think I've ever played a better round in my life," McIlroy said afterwards. "I'm just so excited. I got off to a pretty slow start this week and had to fight to make the cut and the weekend was just very, very special."

He added: "I suppose I just got in the zone. I didn't realise I was going eight, nine, 10 under par. I just knew I'd got my nose in front, I was just trying to stay there. Ever since I was 10 or 11, I wanted to be a professional golfer and you know it's been a crazy ride to this point. "

Mickelson described McIlroy as an "amazing talent"
and added: "To win [on the tour] at 20 is incredible. He's some kind of player."

If you would like to learn from Rorys coach (Michael Bannon)send for the 6stepgolflesson double DVD by logging onto www.the19thlounge.com

Rory McIlroy wins first PGATour event in N.Carolina.

Rory McIlroy 2 days short of his 21st birthday took the PGA Tour by storm with his first victory on American soil when he won the QUAIL HOLLOW CHAMPIONSHIP with a final round of 10 under par 62 for a 4 shot win from Masters Champion Phil Mickleson.

After missing the last 2 cuts,Rory was struggling 2 shots outside the cut mark with 3 holes to play in the 2nd round when he hit his 2nd shot to the 7th(His 16th)to set up a 4 foot putt for an eagle which was going to change his golf season.

He made the cut on the +1 mark and it was as if he had got his lost confidence back.He hit 9 birdies in a 3rd round of 66 to put himself back in contention.He saved the best to last as he set off in company with Anthony Kim.He made 8 birdies and an eagle for a record breaking 62 that not only lined his bank account with $1,170,000 it lifts him to 9th in the World rankings and he also jumped from 166th to 25th in the FEDEX CUP standings.

Happy Birthday...........Rory.

Quiros wins Spanish Open in Play Off with rookie Morrison.

Alvaro Quiros has joined Seve Ballesteros and Sergio Garcia as the only home winners of the Open de España since 1972.

At 35th in the world, Quiros was the highest-ranked player in the field at the Real Club de Golf in Seville, and Europe's biggest hitter grabbed his fourth European Tour title with a par on the first hole of a play-off with English rookie James Morrison.

In his first start since winning in Madeira three weeks ago, 25 year old Morrison threatened to make it back-to-back victories in only the sixth and seventh European Tour events of his career.

But after firing a five under par 67 to force sudden death the former England youth cricketer - he shared a room with Alastair Cook - pulled his approach into the lake when the pair returned to the 432 yard 18th.

Morrison double-bogeyed to hand the title and winner's cheque of €333,330 to Quiros on a plate after they had tied on 11 under par.

The victory lifts the Malaga golfer from 17th to seventh in The Ryder Cup points standings.

It was a good tournament for Shane Lowry.He was up with the leaders on 7 under after 3 rounds.He couldn't get going in the last round,but shot a level par 72 for a share of 12th place and a cheque for €33,300.

Damien McGrane fell back from 7 under to 5 under after a last round 74 for a share of 17th and win €23,180.

Darren Clarke back after a couple of weeks rest finished in 30th place on 3 under par and won €16,900.

The 36 hole cut came at level par 144. Peter Lawrie had 72/77 for a +5 total.Simon Thornton 77/74 +7,Michael Hoey 76/77 +9 and Gary Murphy 79/75 +10 all had the weekend off.