David Higgins Earns Place at BMW Championship

Another week of travel chaos is predicted, as a result of the Icelandic volcanic ash cloud, and so it is once again a hazardous time for European Tour players trying to get between tournaments as the season enters the business end of things.

For Irish professional David Higgins some of that so called glamorous jet travel might be welcome challenge as he arrives in Wentworth as 2009 Irish PGA Order of Merit winner and steps up from regional golf this week to take his place at the BMW PGA Championship.

His last major event was a year ago when he qualified for The Open and travelled knowing he had the pedigree on links courses to perform well at Turnberry. But a 75 on the second day put an end to any hopes of playing the weekend and it remains his sole appearance at The Open so far.

In November last year he failed to make it through European Tour Qualifying School but has remained active on the Irish circuit over recent months working on his game. This few days Surrey will be a telling reminder though if he is missing the cut and thrust of competitive golf on the international circuit.

The Irish contingent joining Kerry man David Higgins will be the top golf names in the country including last year’s 3 Irish Open winner, Shane Lowry; Quail Hollow Champion, Rory Mclroy, 2 time Open Winner, Padraig Harrington; Ryder Cup heroes Darren Clarke and Paul McGinley along with Graeme McDowell, four time winner on the European Tour.

For Damien McGrane the worries are about travelling from the Mallorca Open this weekend to London where he hopes to join Gareth Maybin, who finished runner up in the Ballantine’s Championship in Korea recently; Michael Hoey, who was sixth in the Madeira Islands Open BPI – Portugal and 2008 Open de España winner, Peter Lawrie.

Paul Casey of England will defend his BMW PGA Championship title against one of the strongest fields ever to have assembled for The European Tour’s flagship event, with five of the World’s Top Ten set to tee up over Wentworth Club’s newly remodelled West Course.

European Number One Lee Westwood, Race to Dubai leader Ian Poulter and defending champion Casey will be joined next week by three-time Major Champion and course designer Ernie Els all challenging for a major of the €4,500,000 prize fund.

The BMW PGA Championship will run from Thursday May 20th until Sunday May 23rd 2010 on the West Course at the Wentworth Club.

Moriarty Best of Irish in Mallorca

Having traded the Challenge Tour this week for the main Tour Colm Moriarty of Team Ireland finished the final day with a one under par 69 at the Iberdrola Open Cala Millor Mallorca to earn a share of 32nd place and was the best of three Irish players who made the cut for the weekend at Pula Golf Club.

Although his final tally of 7 over was well of the pace Moriarty can draw satisfaction from this week having missed the cut on his last outing on the European Tour in the Madeira Islands Open BPI – Portugal last April. Moriarty played the front nine in level par mixing two birdies with two bogeys and then went two shots better to finish the back leg in 34 after a birdie on 17.

Alejandro Canizares shot a four under par round to match Sweden's Peter Hanson earning a play off which the Swede went on to win.

Peter Hanson has now added to his European Tour wins having won the SAS Masters at Arlandastad Golf in Stockholm in 2008

The early tournament leader James Kingston dropped to 2 under after a 1 under par final round to card an aggregate of 278 and finish 3rd in a tie with Pelle Edberg of Sweden who was 3 over for the final day having started out the morning in a share of the lead.

Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano battled through the day but a double bogey on 16th added to his problems and finished 4 over for the day on 1 under for the tournament.

Damien McGrane also completed the final day in one under par for a 7 over total after making the turn in 36 shots. Two birdies on 14 and 17 gave him his best round of the week.

Paul McGinley, still struggling to find form after his knee operation, dropped two shots through the first 4 holes then picked up a birdie on 7 only to drop another shot reaching halfway in 38. On the back nine he traded two early birdies on 11 and 12 with bogeys on 17 and 18 to end his round on three over on a total of 15 over.

Davies Champions in Germany as Team Ireland Falter

Henderson Order of Merit leader on the Ladies European Tour Laura Davies shot a final round of 68 to secure another title in Gut Häusern Golf Club on Sunday by two shots from fellow English player Melissa Reid who signed for a one over par round. Overnight leader Ashleigh Simon of South Africa carded a 75 to slip to third place on 8 under.

Laura Davies defied the unseasonable cold and windy conditions to fire a closing round of 68 and claim her 74th career victory at the UniCredit Ladies German Open, presented by Audi - coming from nine strokes behind after Friday’s second round.

Australian Karen Lunn took fourth place after a 69  with Sweden’s Helen Alfredsson (71), Denmark’s Iben Tinning (71) and Sweden’s Linda Wessberg (75) sharing fifth.

Alison Walshe of Team Ireland was the best of the Irish in a six way share of 14th place following a round of 74.  Having started with a birdie on the first Walshe then dropped a shot to reach the half way in 38 battling through two birdies and two bogeys to complete the back nine in level par.

Team Ireland colleague Rebecca Coakley picked up no shots all day in the difficult conditions and with five bogeys on her card signed for a 77 and a one under par total.

Tara Delaney matched her first round score of 74 after making the turn in level par despite dropping a shot. The back nine saw her lose two more shots and end her trip to Germany  with a five over par total.

Hazel Kavanagh who had remained level par through the last two rounds came home in 78 shots with six bogeys on her card to finish on 6 over.

Murphy Misses Out Again

 

James Kingston of South Africa finished level par in round two of the Iberdrola Open Cala Millor Mallorca to post 5 under at Pula Golf Club and a share of the lead with Pelle Edberg of Sweden who signed for a 5 under 65 earlier in the day. Two dropped shots by Kingston on holes 11 and 12 pushed the South African to 4 under with 5 holes to play. Then a birdie on 17 secured a share of the lead for the South African ahead of day three.

Having been the leading Irish player from Thursday Gary Murphy was on course through six holes on 3 under. Then a double bogey on the 8th hole pushed the Kilkenny man back to one over par with nine holes to play. Added misery of two dropped shots on the 11th, a triple bogey on the 12th, another double on 17 and then a dropped shot on the 18th added another missed cut for Murphy as he finished on 7 over - one shot beyond the projected cut off mark.

Colm Moriarty, playing his second European Tour event this season, completed a level par round only dropping one shot on the fifth. The Glasson professional then carded a birdie on the 11th hole to finish with a 4 over total ands the chance to compete over the weekend.

Damien McGrane double bogeyed the 10th at the very start of the second round and then picked up a birdie immediately afterwards to make the turn in 36. A level par back nine could not improve on a 5 over total but was enough to remain one shot inside the projected cut.

Paul McGinley went around Pula in one over par with a double bogey on the 11th the biggest problem making the halfway mark in a 2 over par 37. The homeward leg of 34 came after two birdies and his 6 over was to prove enough, in the end, to earn a weekend stay as the cut extended to an aggregate of 146 shots.

Team Ireland Five at German Ladies Open

   

Following on from Turkey last week Team Ireland Golf fields five players in the UniCredit Ladies German Open presented by Audi which starts on Thursday May 13th in Gut Haeusen Golf Club, near Muenich, on the next stop on the Ladies European Tour.

The group that played last week in the Turkish Airlines Ladies Open - Hazel Kavanagh, Rebecca Coakley, Martina Gillen, Tara Delaney and Alison Walshe return to action again this week in Germany.

In 2009 Martina Gillen finished in 43rd place and was the best of the Irish players with Coakley, Kavanagh, Delaney and Coughlan-Ryan all missing the cut.

Last weeks winner in Turkey, Melissa Reid of England, moved into the 3rd place in the Henderson Order of Merit following her victory and plays this week hoping to improve on her 3rd place finish last year. 

Order of Merit leader Laura Davies also plays at the Ladies German Open.

For the 120 professionals competing this week there is increased prize money of €330,000 on offer, with a fifty thousand Euro cheque for the winner who would also take home an Audi A5 Convertible

In 2009 Jade Schaeffer of France emerged as the winner after a close battle with Paula Marti Zambrano of Spain.