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.