Stanley overcame a double bogey early in his round by running off four birdies on the front nine for a 4-under 68, giving him a one-shot lead over Brandt Snedeker going into the weekend.
Tag Archive: double bogey
Kyle Stanley overcame a double bogey early in Friday’s round by running off four birdies on the front nine for a 4-under 68, giving him a one-shot lead in the Farmers Insurance Open going into the weekend. Brandt Snedeker, who first gained fame as a rookie at Torrey Pines when he shot 61 on the North Course, had a 64 on the North again to make a swift climb up to second.
The tougher South Course at Torrey Pines suited Kyle Stanley just fine Friday in the Farmers Insurance Open. Stanley overcame a double bogey early in his round by running off four birdies on the front nine for a 4-under 68, giving him a one-shot lead over Brandt Snedeker going into the weekend. Snedeker, who first gained notoriety as a rookie at Torrey Pines when he shot 61 on the North Course, had…
The tougher South Course at Torrey Pines suited Kyle Stanley just fine Friday in the Farmers Insurance Open. Stanley overcame a double bogey early in his round by running off four birdies on the front nine for a 4-under 68, giving him a one-shot lead over Brandt Snedeker going into the weekend. Snedeker, who first gained notoriety as a rookie at Torrey Pines when he shot 61 on the North Course …
• Two-shot penalty costs McIlroy share of lead in Abu Dhabi
• Luke Donald was right to highlight error, says McIlroy
The education of Rory McIlroy continues apace, although his inexorable march towards superstardom took an unexpected and damaging detour on Friday into the netherworld governed by the rules of golf.
Experience says that no one emerges happy from that mysterious place and so it proved in the case of the world No3, who was penalised two shots during the second round of the Abu Dhabi Championship for the heinous crime of brushing away some sand that lay between his ball and the flag on the 9th green. If the sand had been on the green, he would have been fine. It was not and therefore he was not – although it took his playing partner Luke Donald to point out this uncomfortable fact.
“I felt pretty bad about it but as soon as I saw him doing it I knew I had to say something,” the world No1 said. “It’s a pretty basic rule, to be honest, and, if I hadn’t said something, there are plenty of people who would.”
Donald is right about that. The world is full of armchair rules officials these days, television remote in one hand and telephone in the other, primed to call in at the merest suggestion that something might be up. At this same event last year Padraig Harrington was disqualified after a viewer phoned to complain he moved his ball a fraction while addressing a putt.
Harrington accepted his fate with equanimity and so did McIlroy. “My ball was maybe six feet off the green and there was a lot of sand between it and the hole. I just brushed the sand away and as soon as I did it Luke said, ‘You can’t brush sand off the fringe.’ I knew straight away he was right. I wasn’t thinking clearly and just made a very stupid mental mistake.”
McIlroy’s par four was immediately converted into a double-bogey six. That pushed him down the leaderboard. To his credit he clawed his way back, with a birdie at the par-five 10th after a towering three-wood to the heart of the green. He followed that with a bogey at the next, then two birdies and a string of pars for a level-par round of 72 and a 36-hole score of 139, five under par.
As rounds of golf go, it was more Alton Towers than Augusta National. Still he was not complaining. “I am not sure I have ever had that many up and down in a round of golf before. It is pretty interesting stuff,” McIlroy said.
And fairly effective. With 36 holes to go, McIlroy finds himself in a tie for fourth, two shots behind the leader, Thorbjorn Olesen, who added a five-under-par 67 to his opening day 70. The 22-year-old Dane is no mug – he finished 48th in the Race to Dubai last year – but he might not care to look at the leaderboard overnight lest he sleep a little less easily.
There are 30 players within five shots of the lead and plenty of them have better pedigrees. McIlroy is one and so is Donald, who has looked a little out of sorts, especially with a driver in his hand, but when the numbers were totalled up he finished on one under par.
This was hard to believe but Donald has developed the happy knack of getting the most out of not very much. “All I need is a good round on Saturday and I’ll be right in it,” he said.
The presence of Tiger Woods, tied with McIlroy and five other players, looks particularly ominous. The former world No1 has played beautifully over the two days. His ball striking has come back, his course management is as good as it ever was and, on Friday at least, his putting bore at least a resemblance to what it once was. In short he looks primed.
“There are 36 holes to go and there is a lot of guys who have got a chance to win. I just need to do my job,” Woods said after his 69. He could scarcely say anything else but there is spring in the great man’s step, a palpable aura of expectation. He fancies it, as the driving-range Johnnies might say, although in this he is not alone.
The third round will see the American paired with McIlroy for a third successive day. It is just a hunch but do not be surprised if they are slugging this one out on Sunday afternoon. It has that kind of feel.
guardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
• McIlroy’s US Open final-day iron shot on 10th wins vote
• Colsaerts surges clear of field in Volvo Golf Champions
Rory McIlroy’s six-iron to the 10th hole on the final day of his runaway US Open victory has been voted the European Tour’s shot of the year for 2011 by fans.
The towering tee shot over water came to rest just a few inches from the cup and for most people removed any lingering fear that the young Ulsterman would collapse like he did at the Masters two months earlier.
“I thought that shot was probably the most important in the round because YE Yang had just stuck it in there close,” he said. “To follow that up with mine was pretty cool.
“I had a big lead, but there was always the chance that if I had hit it in the water or done something silly and YE had made his birdie then it would have put a bit of pressure on me. Hopefully I can produce a few more of those in 2012.”
Belgium’s Nicolas Colsaerts leads the Volvo Golf Champions by four strokes after surging clear of the field with a course-record 64 at Fancourt in South Africa on Thursday.
Padraig Harrington was three behind until he finished with a double-bogey seven that left England’s Tom Lewis and home hopes Thomas Aiken and Branden Grace in joint second.
The Open champion Darren Clarke managed only a 74, but that was one better than the Masters champion Charl Schwartzel in the winners-only 35-man event.
Even allowing for the small field, Colsaerts’ lead after day one was impressive, and there have only ever been seven events in European Tour history where someone has been further in front after 18 holes.
“Exceptional, but so is he,” Colin Montgomerie said of Colsaerts’ nine-under-par round. “He is fantastic – potentially as good as it gets.”
Despite such praise Colsaerts has only ever tasted victory once in nearly 200 European Tour starts and that will encourage the 34 players left trailing in his wake.
However, Clarke already has 10 strokes to make up – he was wearing contact lenses for the first time, but rustiness was his problem. Until he reached the 549-yard 18th Harrington was the one doing his best at trying to reel Colsaerts in, but a bad drive and three putts led to a double bogey and a 69.
“Such is life,” said the Dubliner, 89th in the world and trying to get back into the top 64 in time for next month’s Accenture world match play in Arizona.
“It was a very comfortable six under for 17 holes, but it’s a nasty tee shot and that was a mental error.”
Instead England’s Lewis and South Africans Aiken and Grace, who qualified by winning the Joburg Open on Sunday, share second spot.
Montgomerie played with Lewis and praised his performance. The 21-year-old led The Open last summer – his first-day 65 was the lowest ever round by an amateur in the event – and then won the Portugal Masters on only his third start as a professional.
“He has every opportunity to make you-know-what come September,” said Montgomerie in reference to the Ryder Cup.
No European has ever gone from Walker Cup to Ryder Cup in a year – Rickie Fowler has done it for the Americans – and Lewis is not dismissing the possibility.
“If I play well there’s no reason why not,” said the Welwyn Garden City-based golfer.
The day belonged to Colsaerts, though. The biggest hitter in Europe two seasons ago, he was looking forward to taking on Sandwich last July after finishing third in the Scottish Open the week before, but after deciding a scooter would be the best way to get about for the week in Kent he tried to jump a kerb because of the traffic and came unstuck.
“I tried to hit a few balls, but felt a bit like a clown – I was hitting 160-yard drives,” said the man used to blasting it twice as far.
Colsaerts was out for two months and has not had a top-eight finish since, but nine birdies in the last 11 holes reminded everybody what he is capable of.
He made twos on all four short holes and also birdied four of the five par fives.
A pair of 62s in Indonesia and Holland remain his lowest scores on the European Tour, but he said: “This is probably the best round I’ve ever had – it’s quite a serious test of golf.”
guardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
SUN CITY, South Africa — Graeme McDowell recovered from a double-bogey seven at No. 14 to birdie two of his last three holes Friday for a 5-under 67 and a one-shot second-round lead at the Nedbank Golf Challenge. McDowell moved to 7 under for the tournament and ahead of four players, who shared second at Sun City. Read full article >>
Brad Kennedy won the New Zealand Open on Sunday, holing a 30-foot birdie putt on the first hole of a playoff with Australian compatriot Craig Parry to complete a wire-to-wire victory. Kennedy closed with a 2-over 74 to match Parry at 7-under 281 at Clearwater Golf Club. Parry took a two-stroke lead to the final hole, but drove into the water and finished with a double bogey for a 69.
Graeme McDowell made up for his double bogey with five birdies on the back nine.
Graeme McDowell overcame a back-nine double-bogey seven to birdie the last hole on Friday in the Nedbank.
SUN CITY, South Africa — Graeme McDowell recovered from a double-bogey seven at No. 14 to birdie two of his last three holes Friday for a 5-under 67 and a one-shot second-round lead at the Nedbank Golf Challenge. The Northern Irishman moved to 7 under for the tournament and ahead of four players who shared second at Sun City. Read full article >>
Graeme McDowell will take a one-shot lead into the third round of the Nedbank Golf Challenge in Sun City. McDowell overcame a double-bogey seven on the 14th to card a five-under-par 67 at the Gary Player Country Club.
• McDowell survives double bogey for seven under
• Martin Kaymer in group of four one behind
Graeme McDowell will take a one-shot lead into Saturday’s third round of the Nedbank Golf Challenge in Sun City.
McDowell overcame a double-bogey seven on the 14th to card a five-under-par 67 at the Gary Player Country Club.
At seven under par the former US Open champion tops a crowded leaderboard in South Africa with Lee Westwood – the defending champion – Martin Kaymer, Robert Karlsson and Jason Dufner all one shot behind.
Luke Donald is five shots off the pace after a 72 left the world No1 two under alongside the home favourite Charl Schwartzel. The Masters champion began the day tied for the lead with Westwood but struggled to a 74 after running up a double-bogey six on the 8th.
McDowell’s own double bogey came when he pulled his drive into the undergrowth but he also had seven birdies, including two in his last three holes.
“That’s exactly what I wanted,” McDowell told Sky Sports. “It’s a pretty bunched leaderboard, which says a lot about how tough the course is when you start leaving the beaten track. I’m very happy to finish with a couple of birdies after a bit of a whoopsie on the par-five.”
McDowell spent a long time on the range after Thursday’s opening round and added: “I spoke to my coach, Pete Cowen, who told me to tighten up my backswing a bit and I felt like I controlled my ball a bit better today, so thanks Pete.”
Kaymer was pleased with his 68, which featured one bogey, three birdies and an eagle on the par-five 10th. “I played well again, the same as yesterday,” the German said. “I look forward to the weekend, I think I’ve put myself in a good position. I had a few good weeks in China last month which gave me a bit of confidence.”
guardian.co.uk © 2011 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
Graeme McDowell recovered from a double-bogey seven at No. 14 to birdie two of his last three holes Friday for a 5-under 67 and a one-shot second-round lead at the Nedbank Golf Challenge.
