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Do you beleive in Omens? Well if you do, consider this;

In 2007, Padraig Harrington decided to give the Barclays British Open at Loch Lomand a miss, instead preferring to play in the Irish PGA Championship on a links course to prepare for the British Open. He went on to win the Irish PGA in a play-off before going to the British Open and doing the same thing, winning his first major….in a play-off against Garcia.

2008 and Harrington again wins the Irish PGA Championship but this time by 4 shots. Guess what, he heads across the water a week later and wins his second British Open. The winning margin…yep, 4 shots!

So what of 2009? Well, the good news for us Harrington fanatics is that he has just won the Irish PGA Championship for a third straight year by a whopping 7 shots! Is this a sign of things to come perhaps. Picture this: it’s Sunday afternoon with Woods and Harrington tied for the lead. In a blistering final round, Harrington shoots 66 to Woods lacklustre 73 to win by 7 shots and delight the omen obsessed Harrington fans. Ooooh I say, pinch me quickly….I think I’m dreaming.

Oh by the way, one other omen that could scupper Harringtons plans. The three Opens contested at Tunrberry over the years have been won by the then current #1 in the World……now I don’t need to tell you who’s #1 in the World today do I?

Tags: Blog - Topical, Padraig Harrington, Tournament Previews/Odds/Reviews by admin
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Haven’t posted here in a few days because I was looking after my own golf game. Yesterday I played in a 36 hole Junior Scratch Cup in Carton House and was really intent on doing well. With the Junior Scratch Cup, anyone from 5-10 handicap is entitled to enter but it is based on your gross score so obviously, anyone off 5 handicap holds an advantage. I am off 7 so I knew I would need to play well to feature.

As things happened, I started great with 4 opening pars followed by a disappointing double bogey on the Index 1, 5th hole that threw me off track somewhat. However, standing on the Par 5, 15th hole, I was still only +2 and when I put my second shot to within 20y yards of the green in 2, I had a chance for birdie. A duffed chip meant I did well to settle for Par though.

Worse followed when I three putted the 16th for bogey and took a double bogey from the edge of the 17th green, again three putting. Unfortunately at this stage, the rain was beating down and the 18th cost me another bogey. +4 for my final 3 holes meant I finished my round on +6 (78), a good round but it could have been oh so much better!

So, heading into the afternoon, I reckoned I needed a 76 to have any chance of contending. A solid drive and 6 iron to the first ensured a par but bogeys on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th set me back. A good 4 iron into the 5th saw me par the index 1 and a wedge to 4ft gave me a great chance that I squandered on the 6th. A lipped putt on the 7th from 20ft for birdie and a failure to get up and down from the edge of the par 5, 8th hole, for birdie were annoying but I nevertheless made the turn in +3, which wasn’t too bad.

Coming home, it was a mix of 3 bogeys on the 11th, 12th and 14th, and 6 pars for a secondsuccessive +6 (78). I was pleased with my overall score but realise it will probably be a coulple shots too many to win the event. Nevertheless, it may be enough to sneak me a top 3 position. What’s better is that my nett scores of 71 for both rounds will be enough to get me cut back down to 6 handicap, with the course standard scratch expected to be 73 or 74.

Extremely pleased with the way I am striking the ball, I look forward next week to the pro-am event in Kilarney Golf Club, Kerry before heading to the International Father and Son in Waterville. My short game definitely needs some attention before then however so it’s hopefully back to the range this weekend.

Hope you all had a great golfing weekend

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Slightly late but here is a preview of the John Deere Classic, brought to you by Win McMurry.

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No Tiger Woods or Phil Mickelson but it is nevertheless a very strong field at the Par 71 Loch Lomand venue for this weeks European Tour event, The Barclay’s Scottish Open. The Loch Lomand course is poles apart from what the pros will play next week at the British Open in Turnberry, yet it is very well supported. My personal view is that the Irish Open, played on a good traditional links course, would be the ideal tournament the week before the Open but clearly there are political decisions being made. 

My case in point is strengthened by the performances of Padraig Harrington over the past few years in the Open. Harrington has chosen to play in the PGA Irish Championship, instead of Loch Lomand, the past two years as the event is played on tough links courses. It certainly prepared him well in 2007 and 2008 as he went on to win the Open. True to form, he maintained this schedule and at the half way stage, leads by a shot from Leslie Walker this year.

I am sure the rest of the pro’s would like to have this option; to play on a tournament links course like Harrington has, so come on, get the Irish Open moved to the week before the British Open and move the Barclays Scottish to the week after. It makes sense and I think a certain Tiger Woods, Sergio Garcia and Paul Casey would certainly be present in addition to the rest of those serious about trying to win the Open!

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I am switching my attention to the European Tour this week but just to give you a taster, here are a few moments to savor from the John Deere Classic down through the years.

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A brief recap of the AT&T National, won by Tiger Woods. Enjoy.

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Well, far be it for me to wallow in my own success but, give me a hell ya!!!! For the second time this season, I had a first-second combination with my tips. I could not see Tiger Woods getting defeated this week and true to form, he delivered as expected. It was a great performance from Woods and surely now it is simply inevitable that he will win at least one of the remaining majors of the season. While I would not initially have been backing him for the British Open, I may now need to reconsider considering Tiger claims he has a new shot in the bag, a grip down, three quarter swing drive which is made for blustery conditions. Hmmm, that should come in handy in Turnberry shouldn’t it? Tiger usually visits our Irish shores prior to the British Open and I’m hoping to convince him to apply for a visa here so we can claim him as one of our own. Heck, with the way our economy is, I can’t see too much opposition to him being voted in as our President or Taoiseach….fancy owning your own island Mr Woods? Okay I’m rambling now (South African red wine going to my head!).

Tiger didn’t have it all his own way this week however. Anthony Kim was his main challenger for most of the week but a rather ordinary final round from Kim, despite a birdie at the first, meant it never really looked like Kim was going to win with 6 holes to go. Step up Hunter Mahan. 6 birdies in his last 8 holes put him in the clubhouse at -12 and in with a real chance. It wasn’t to be though as he came up a shot short of Woods but that is Mahan’s third straight top-6 finish in an impressive season thus far.

Now, the focus switches from the US to the glorious Europe. You Americans have 3 majors on your shores every year which is plain wrong and this year, we have one South American and one Amercian major win. It’s the turn of the Europeans again in 2 weeks time. Our man Padraig Harrington has owned the claret jug the past two years and I am literally praying he puts up a good display in what has otherwise been a terrible season. Don’t write him off just yet though!

For those crossing the pond, why not pay a flying visit to Ireland where I can show you what real winds are. You guys have it easy out there with your beautiful sunshine (well, most of the time), your gentle breezes and soft greens. Now it’s time for the way golf was meant to be played. Rock hard fairway and greens, huge bunkers, no grass and the putter being used from 50 yards off the greens…..roll on the British Open!

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It was an exciting final day at the Open de France ALSTOM in which German Martin Kaymer overcame Lee Westwood in the first hole of a sudden death playoff. Westwood had forced the playoff after a fantastic final round of 65 left him on -13.

Both men had to play the difficult 18th again and it really proved that golf is a game of inches. With both players in the rough, Kaymer’s approach barely carried the water. Westwood however was not as fortunate as his ball came up just shy and along with his ball, he saw his hopes of a first title in almost two years sink, “Martin’s ball has carried the water by a foot and mine must have went in by a foot. That’s the chance you take in play-offs” commented Westwood. “You can’t judge the week by that and I certainly can’t be disappointed by anything after the way I played today. I was delighted with my putting today. I had 31 putts for the first three rounds here and that’s just not good enough, but I putted a lot better today and that’s just what I need to do because if I can carry that on then I will be winning events by a couple of shots and not going to play-offs.”

For the 24 year old Kaymer, this win returns him to the top 20 in the world and continues his progression in the golf world. He is a player of immense talent and the hope now is that he can find a level of consistency that so often eludes the young rising stars of the golfing world today. Describing the playoff hole, Kaymer remarked, “I hit the same iron as I had done 20 minutes before but it was just a weak shot….“It was an okay lie and I thought that I could easily get it over the water. I had 170 metres with a six iron, but I pulled it a little bit which probably turned out to be a good thing.”

“I carried the water by about a metre or so. With the chip over the bunker down to the flag I just wanted to make sure that I kept the ball short of the flag because there was a danger of losing it off the back of the green into the water. After his fourth shot I knew that I had at least one putt for the tournament and I managed to sneak that one in the left side.”

Elsewhere, Ian Poulter, who is threatening to win tournaments again, finished 3rd with a final round of 67. He looked to be right in contention until he put a ball in the water on the 15th. Poulter was less than happy, blaming a trigger happy photographer for his error. It wasn’t the first time this week that Poulter has been less than pleased with the “novice” photographers at the event claiming “I wont be back next year. Its a shame because it’s a fabulous tournament, but thats what happens when you let novices come in and ruin our livelihoods”.

Personally, I find Poulter dramatic to say the least. Everything about him is attention seeking and to be frank, a bit over the top. He is a fantastic player who should be challenging in the upper echelons of the game. He has grit, determination and wears his heart on his sleeve but I just always feel there is something he wants to say. Somebody is always in the firing line with him and I just hope he can get rid of this negative trait of his, for his own sake. I think he can be Europe’s best golfer, win majors and become a talisman for the European Ryder Cup team but he will need to learn to have that killer winning instinct first and forget whats happening outside the ropes. It is something that plagued Montgomerie for years and many say it may have cost him a major so far in his career.

On a separate issue, Poulter’s Twitter page is excellent and I recommend it highly. I just hope he doesn’t berate me for my comments above (Have mercy Ian!). Of course, if he would like to tell me where to stick my two cents worth of advice, we always welcome an interview from such personalities as Ian.

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Amazingly, I have had correspondence with the beautiful Win McMurry’s representative and am working on getting an interview. This would be a great interview to get from one of golf’s top broadcasters so here’s hoping I can bring this to you all in the not too distant future.

One of my favorite golfers is Padraig Harrington and this is another player I am trying to get an interview with. Might not be easy considering his schedule but I guess nothing ventured, nothing gained. Regardless, I will continue to try and bring you new and interesting topics, interviews etc.

If there is anything in particular you would like to see in the blog, please let me know and I will do my best to please.

Tags: Blog - Topical by admin
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Here is the PGA Tour preview of the AT&T National this week. Interesting to note that their man Brian fancies the chances of Sean O’Hair and Steve Marino. We shall see but at these early stages, defending champion Anthony Kim has stormed into the lead with a superb 62.

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