#Padraig Hogan

[celtic-cd-releases]

Released May 2021Co. Clare natives Tara Breen and Pádraig Rynne have been performing as a duet and within many different linups as session musicians over the past decade. Tara Breen, a highly talented multi-instrumentalist from County Clare, started playing the flute at the tender age of six. A current member of the legendary Stockton’s Wing, and regular touring member of The Chieftains, Tara has won almost every All-Ireland title there is to win on fiddle, including the All-Ireland Senior Fiddle Title, the Fiddler of Dooney competition, the Michael Coleman Fiddle Competition and the Senior Oireachtas fiddle title. Such is Tara’s complete mastery of the fiddle, she was chosen to play for the Queen of England at Dublin Castle during her State visit to Ireland. Tara’s obvious virtuosity doesn’t stop at fiddle, as she also holds All-Ireland titles for flute and saxophone.Described as “one of the freshest sounds in Irish music” by fRoots magazine, Padraig Rynne is a virtuoso musician, prolific composer and is regarded as one of the finest concertina players in Irish music today. With an MA in Music technology and a passion for experimenting with diverse genres, Padraig is recognised for his refreshing explorations into the Irish Tradition and beyond. His band work includes, founder and former member of groundbreaking Irish/Breton band Guidewires and current member of Triad with Dónal Lunny and Sylvain Barou. Rynne also tours with Irish instrumental group NOTIFY and Atlantic Arc Orchestra. Pádraig has featured on over thirty albums and has made many high profile TV appearances. Pádraig has performed with many well-known musicians across many genres including multi Grammy award winners Mark Lettieri and Jason Thomas (Snarky Puppy) and American Pop sensation Michelle Chamuel. Nasc, the first album by the duo, was just released and has long time friends and collaborators, Dónal Lunny, Jim Murray and Elaine Hogan guesting. Both Tara and Pádraig tour as a trio with Jim Murray and a quartet with the addition of Dónal Lunny.“Sure-footed, engaging and joyful music from a dynamic Clare duo. Expert musicianship, courageous creativity and sweetness of melody” - Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh, RTÉ Raidió na GaeltachtaFor more info, visit http://padraigrynne.com/https://www.facebook.com/tara.breen.77You can listen to their CD on Bandcamp.https://padraigrynne.bandcamp.com/album/nasc298People reached84EngagementsBoost post1136 sharesLikeCommentShare

[toldnews-blog]

New Post has been published on https://toldnews.com/sports/woods-poised-as-molinari-leads-masters/

Woods poised as Molinari leads Masters

The threat of severe thunderstorms has forced Augusta National officials to instigate a two-tee start in groups of three, with the leading trio of Francesco Molinari, Tiger Woods and Tony Finau off at 09:20 a.m. ET instead of in pairs mid afternoon.

The hope is to get the fireworks wrapped up on the course before they come down from the sky.

In Saturday’s third round, if you weren’t surging forwards you were going backwards.

Four-time champion Woods parred his first four holes and was disappearing in the leaders’ rear view mirror, but when he finally engaged gear at the seventh, he, too, roared up the leaderboard. A fifth birdie at the 16th sparked a tumultuous roar as he tied for the lead.

By the end of a sun-drenched, dazzling day of golf, Italy’s British Open champion Molinari held a two-shot lead at 13 under over Woods and Finau going into the final round.

‘Great test’

Woods, of course, is trying to pull off a fairytale comeback with a fifth Green Jacket 14 years after his last, and a 15th major 11 years after his previous triumph. Inspired by his comeback season last year from spine fusion surgery, including second at the US PGA and culminating in a first victory for five years at the Tour Championship, Woods is rekindling memories of his heyday.

The 43-year-old has now been in white-hot contention in his last three majors and retains the steely focus of the old warrior.

“This is a chance to win a major championship so I’m ready,” he told BBC Sport, talking of Sunday’s early start. Woods also said he was embracing the idea of adding to his major tally.

“That’s part of the deal,” he said. “I’m playing for my fifth but I’m trying to win a golf tournament at the end of the day. I’ve just got to go out and execute. It’s going to be a great test for all of us.”

READ: Tiger Woods’ charge lights at Masters

‘Good fun’

Off the course, the consensus is Woods has mellowed over the years and become more approachable after his injury woes and life struggles. Walking off the 18th following his impressive and at times fortunate 67 Saturday — three times he drove into trees but escaped with a shot at the green — he was all smiles and trading high and low fives with children and patrons lining the ropes.

“Since he’s come back to the sport he hangs out more, he wants to enjoy the life,” said Europe’s Ryder Cup captain Padraig Harrington, a three-time major champion, talking to BBC Sport.

England’s Ian Poulter, Woods’ playing partner Saturday, said of the circus that comes with playing with him: “It’s never easy. It’s always loud, especially when he’s making plenty of birdies. But it was fun, he was good fun to play with.”

Molinari held off the charging Woods to clinch the Open at Carnoustie last year and has previous with the American at Augusta. Molinari first attended the Masters as a caddie for elder brother Edoardo, the US amateur champion, in 2006. They played alongside defending champion Woods in the first round.

‘Hogan-like’

Now, after a stellar season last year, and further success this term, the Italian could be the one to deprive the old master. The last player to win the Open and then clinch the next Masters? Yep. Woods.

Molinari has always been a solid player, but his work with renowned performance coach Dave Alred, alongside swing tutor Denis Pugh, is paying dividends as he translates pressure and accountability in practice into an ice-cool demeanor on the course. He emerged from Saturday’s melee with a bogey-free 66 — making it 43 straight holes without a bogey — to set a relentless pace.

“This is Hogan-like,” said BBC commentator Ken Brown, referring to legendary US pro Ben Hogan, who won nine major titles.

READ: Dave Alred: The guru teaching golfers think like ‘assassins’

Then there’s Finau, the man who dislocated his ankle celebrating a shot in the par-3 contest on his debut last year before going on to finish tied 10th. The Salt Lake City native, the first player of Tongan-Samoan heritage on Tour, led the charge for most of Saturday. He was the first to push the lead to 10 under as he chases only his second top-flight victory and first major title.

“I’m driving the ball nicely and I can attack the golf course if I’m driving well,” said Finau, who was one of three players to shoot 64. “I feel good, I feel comfortable.

“More than anything I needed to keep my foot on the gas pedal.”

READ: Woods close as Koepka and DeChambeau lead the Masters

READ: Tiger Woods: I don’t need to win the Masters, but I really want to’

Wild Sunday

The softer, more receptive course meant good scores were attainable and Webb Simpson and Patrick Cantlay also shot 64s — previously there had only ever been one round of 64 or better in a single Masters tournament. However, forecast strengthening winds and the threat of storms could make scoring more difficult Sunday.

In recent times, the Masters champion has tended to come from the final pairing, but the nature of this year’s event suggests this one might be less predictable.

Behind the leading trio lurks American Brooks Koepka, the reigning US PGA and two-time US Open champion who has won three of his last six majors.

Koepka began Saturday in a five-way tie for the lead, with Molinari among others, but he trod water for much of the round before an eagle at the 15th en route to a 69 took him to 10 under.

READ: Amen Corner: A former champion’s guide to the toughest stretch in golf

Visit CNN.com/Sport for more news, features and video

Simpson, the 2012 US Open champion, and the 43-year-old Poulter, who is still chasing a first major despite his long-time Ryder Cup heroics for Europe, sit on nine under.

In all, 10 players are within five shots of the lead, but the rest will be aware the record comeback over the final 18 holes at the Masters is the eight shots Jack Burke Jr. made up to win in 1956.

Nick Faldo also overhauled a six-shot deficit to beat Greg Norman by five in 1996.

Buckle up. Sunday could be wild.

[junker-town]

The Open starts Thursday: How to watch + a quick preview

Carnoustie hosts The Open for the eighth time.

The 147th Open Championship starts Thursday at Carnoustie in Scotland. Coverage starts at 1:30 a.m. ET on Golf Channel (streaming here) and runs until 4 p.m. ET.

It’s the eighth time the tournament has visited Carnoustie and the first since 2007. That year, Padraig Harrington won with a score of 7 under par, beating Sergio Garcia in the championship’s customary four-hole aggregate playoff.

Some of the sport’s grandest names — Tommy Armour, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, and Tom Watson — are among the winners at Carnoustie in the past.

Like every course in the Open rota, Carnoustie is one of golf’s most hallowed venues.

It’s a challenging links course that plays around 7,400 yards. It’s the most northern course anywhere in the rota, and conditions there are often difficult when the championship’s in town. Harrington’s 7-under mark in ‘07 was an exception; In the seven Opens there so far, the winner has scored above par four times, including Paul Lawrie at 6 over in 1999.

The course’s last four holes are among its most difficult. The most famous moment in the course’s history happened at the 18th in 1999, when leader Jean van de Velde made a grisly triple-bogey to slide into a playoff with Lawrie and Justin Leonard. The course’s deep bunkers, hazards, and frequent bad weather make it an easy place to mess up at.

Depending on your personal taste, The Open could either be golf’s best tournament or merely one of the top few. It’s certainly one of the two most prestigious, along with the Masters. But for the golf-obsessed American who enjoys the annual chance to watch a major while staying up late into the night on a Wednesday, there’s nothing like it.

Per usual, The Open field includes all of the planet’s best players.

Among them is world No. 10 Tommy Fleetwood, who in 2017 set the course record by carding an 8-under 63. Fleetwood finished second at the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills and June and is a not-so-under-the-radar pick to make a charge this weekend at Carnoustie.

Tiger Woods might have a better chance at this event than he did at either the Masters or U.S. Open earlier this year. Woods is a historically great links player, and the softish greens at Open courses might be kind to a guy who’s struggled with the putter this year. (Woods is 56th on the PGA Tour in putting strokes gained, a far cry from his vintage brilliance on the greens.) Older golfers do better at The Open, generally, than at any of the other three major championships. All told, there probably isn’t a more Tiger-friendly major than this one.

Thursday’s first round coverage (all times Eastern)

Television:

1:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. — Golf Channel

Online streams:

1:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. — Golf Channel broadcast simulcast stream

1:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. — “Spotlight” coverage

4 a.m. to 3 p.m. — 3-hole stream focusing on Nos. 8 to 10

Marquee groups stream

5:09 a.m. — Rickie Fowler/Jon Rahm/Chris Wood

10:21 a.m. — Tiger Woods / Hideki Matsuyama / Russell Knox

Radio:

2 a.m. to 3 p.m. -- Sirius XM PGA Tour Radio (Ch. 92/208)

[noblesvilleparks]

Featured Groups for The Open Championship

CARNOUSTIE, Scotland — Jordan Spieth returned the Claret Jug on Monday. His bid to regain golf’s oldest title will begin at 4:58 a.m. ET on Thursday. Spieth will play alongside Justin Rose and Kiradech Aphibarnrat in one of the star-studded groups at Carnoustie.

The northern-most course in The Open’s rota also is the most difficult. “Car-Nasty” rewards the game’s best players, though. Five of the seven winners here on the coast of the North Sea are in the World Golf Hall of Fame, and another Carnoustie champion, Padraig Harrington, seems a sure-fire inductee.

Here’s a closer look at some of the other groups that will draw the lion’s share of the eyeballs here in Scotland. (Note: FedExCup ranking in parentheses; all times Eastern; all groups start on No. 1).

Carnoustie Golf Links

Home of #TheOpen pic.twitter.com/gwnYUoruqM

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 16, 2018

Phil Mickelson (8), Satoshi Kodaira (70), Rafa Cabrera Bello (64): Mickelson won this season’s World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship, his first win since hoisting the Claret Jug in 2013. Kodaira earned his first PGA TOUR victory at this year’s RBC heritage, while Cabrera Bello has three top-10s this season.

Tee times: 3:03 a.m. on Thursday; 8:04 a.m. on Friday.

  Si Woo Kim (41), Webb Simpson (11), Nicola Hojgaard (NR): The past two PLAYERS champions are paired for the first two rounds at Carnoustie. Simpson won this year’s PLAYERS by four shots. It was his first victory since the 2013 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. They’re playing alongside Danish amateur Nicola Hojgaard.

Tee time: 3:25 a.m. on Thursday; 8:26 a.m. on Friday.

  Justin Rose (4), Jordan Spieth (40), Kiradech Aphibarnrat (NR): Rose won earlier this season at another course dubbed Hogan’s Alley. He displayed impressive iron play in winning the Fort Worth Invitational at Colonial. He also won this season’s World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions. Spieth will try to solve his putting woes at the event of his most recent PGA TOUR victory. Aphibarnrat recently accepted Special Temporary Membership on the PGA TOUR after finishing T5 in two World Golf Championships (Mexico Championship, Dell Technologies Match Play).

Tee times: 4:58 a.m. on Thursday; 9:59 a.m. on Friday.

  Jon Rahm (14), Rickie Fowler (16), Chris Wood (NR): This group features two of the top 20 players in the FedExCup, and two players hungry for their first major. Rahm won this season’s CareerBuilder Challenge. Fowler, the 2015 PLAYERS champion, has two runners-up this season (OHL Classic at Mayakoba, Masters). England’s Wood has two top-5 finishes at The Open.

Tee times: 5:09 a.m. on Thursday; 10:10 a.m. on Friday.

  Louis Oosthuizen (75), Paul Casey (12), Patrick Reed (7): Reed rides a string of three consecutive top-four finishes in majors into The Open Championship. He finished second at last year’s PGA before winning the Masters and finishing fourth at the U.S. Open. Casey won this season’s Valspar Championship for his second PGA TOUR victory. Oosthuizen won the 2010 Open Championship at St. Andrews and lost in a playoff to Zach Johnson when The Open returned there in 2015.

Tee times: 5:20 a.m. on Thursday; 10:21 a.m. on Friday.

  Henrik Stenson (43), Tommy Fleetwood (32), Jimmy Walker (53): In 2016, Stenson added The Open Championship to a sterling resume that already included THE PLAYERS Championship and FedExCup. Fleetwood is coming off a runner-up at Shinnecock Hills that included a final-round 63, while Walker was runner-up at this year’s THE PLAYERS.

Tee times: 7:31 a.m. on Thursday; 2:30 a.m. on Friday.

  Rory McIlroy (39), Marc Leishman (20), Thorbjorn Olesen (NR): McIlroy returns to a course where he won the Silver Medal as the low amateur. He was in third place after shooting 68 in the first round of the 2007 Open before finishing 42nd. McIlroy won The Open in 2014 and added the FedExCup two years later. He and Leishman represent the past two champions of the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, as well. Leishman was part of the three-man playoff won by Zach Johnson in the 2015 Open at St. Andrews. Olesen is coming off a recent victory at the Italian Open.

Tee time: 7:53 a.m. on Thursday; 2:52 a.m. on Friday.

  Dustin Johnson (1), Alex Noren (31), Charley Hoffman (102): The FedExCup leader is playing with a Presidents Cup teammate and a potential Ryder Cup foe. Johnson has won twice this season, an eight-shot victory at the Sentry Tournament of Champions and six-shot win at the FedEx St. Jude Classic. He is coming off the disappointment of losing a four-shot lead at the halfway point of the U.S. Open, though. Noren is playing his first season as a PGA TOUR member. He was a runner-up in a playoff to Jason Day at the Farmers Insurance Open. He recently won the French Open.

Tee times: 8:04 a.m. on Thursday; 3:03 a.m. on Friday.

  Justin Thomas (2), Francesco Molinari (27), Branden Grace (74): The reigning FedExCup champion is playing alongside one of the game’s hottest players and the man who shot a record-setting round last year at Royal Birkdale. Thomas is second in this season’s FedExCup standings thanks to wins at the CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES and The Honda Classic. Molinari has two wins and two runners-up in his past five starts, with a T25 at Shinnecock Hills sandwiched in between. He picked up his first PGA TOUR win at the Quicken Loans National before finishing second in last week’s John Deere Classic. Grace shot 62 in last year’s Open Championship, the lowest round in major championship history.

Tee times: 8:26 a.m. on Thursday; 3:25 a.m. on Friday.

  Sergio Garcia (128), Bryson DeChambeau (6), Shubankar Sharma (NR): Garcia returns to the site of one of several heartbreaking finishes that preceded his win in last year’s Masters. He missed a 10-foot par putt on the final hole here in 2007 before losing a playoff to Harrington. Garcia needs some good results to avoid missing the FedExCup Playoffs for the first time. DeChambeau, who’s in the middle of a breakout season that includes a victory at the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide, withdrew from his title defense at last week’s John Deere Classic because of a shoulder injury. Sharma turned heads after holding the 54-hole lead at this year’s World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship.

Tee times: 10:10 a.m. on Thursday; 5:09 a.m. on Friday.

  Ian Poulter (34), Cameron Smith (44), Brooks Koepka (13): Koepka, the first back-to-back U.S. Open champion in nearly three decades, will try to claim a different Open. He’s joined by England’s Poulter, who won this season’s Houston Open. Cameron Smith won last season’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans with Jonas Blixt.

Tee times: 9:59 a.m. on Thursday; 4:58 a.m. on Friday.

  Tiger Woods (50), Hideki Matsuyama (81), Russell Knox (73): The local favorite will play alongside the 14-time major champion. Russell Knox, fresh off a victory at the Irish Open and runner-up at the French Open, is looking to become the first Scot to win The Open since Paul Lawrie won at Carnoustie in 1999. Knox’s Irish Open victory was his first since his dramatic win at the Travelers Championship in 2016. Carnoustie is the closest Open venue to his hometown of Inverness, which is three hours away. Woods, a three-time Open champion, has finished T7 and T12 in two Opens at Carnoustie, a course he has competed on since playing the Scottish Open as an amateur. Matsuyama, who has won five times over the previous four seasons, is in the midst of his first winless season since 2015. He won three times last season to finish eighth in the FedExCup.

Tee times: 10:21 a.m. on Thursday; 5:20 a.m. Eastern on Friday.

SOURCE:   PGA Tour

The post Featured Groups for The Open Championship appeared first on Fox Prairie Golf Course & Forest Park Golf Course.

[shakerrungc]

Featured Groups for The Open Championship

CARNOUSTIE, Scotland — Jordan Spieth returned the Claret Jug on Monday. His bid to regain golf’s oldest title will begin at 4:58 a.m. ET on Thursday. Spieth will play alongside Justin Rose and Kiradech Aphibarnrat in one of the star-studded groups at Carnoustie.

The northern-most course in The Open’s rota also is the most difficult. “Car-Nasty” rewards the game’s best players, though. Five of the seven winners here on the coast of the North Sea are in the World Golf Hall of Fame, and another Carnoustie champion, Padraig Harrington, seems a sure-fire inductee.

Here’s a closer look at some of the other groups that will draw the lion’s share of the eyeballs here in Scotland. (Note: FedExCup ranking in parentheses; all times Eastern; all groups start on No. 1).

Carnoustie Golf Links

Home of #TheOpen pic.twitter.com/gwnYUoruqM

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 16, 2018

Phil Mickelson (8), Satoshi Kodaira (70), Rafa Cabrera Bello (64): Mickelson won this season’s World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship, his first win since hoisting the Claret Jug in 2013. Kodaira earned his first PGA TOUR victory at this year’s RBC heritage, while Cabrera Bello has three top-10s this season.

Tee times: 3:03 a.m. on Thursday; 8:04 a.m. on Friday.

  Si Woo Kim (41), Webb Simpson (11), Nicola Hojgaard (NR): The past two PLAYERS champions are paired for the first two rounds at Carnoustie. Simpson won this year’s PLAYERS by four shots. It was his first victory since the 2013 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. They’re playing alongside Danish amateur Nicola Hojgaard.

Tee time: 3:25 a.m. on Thursday; 8:26 a.m. on Friday.

  Justin Rose (4), Jordan Spieth (40), Kiradech Aphibarnrat (NR): Rose won earlier this season at another course dubbed Hogan’s Alley. He displayed impressive iron play in winning the Fort Worth Invitational at Colonial. He also won this season’s World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions. Spieth will try to solve his putting woes at the event of his most recent PGA TOUR victory. Aphibarnrat recently accepted Special Temporary Membership on the PGA TOUR after finishing T5 in two World Golf Championships (Mexico Championship, Dell Technologies Match Play).

Tee times: 4:58 a.m. on Thursday; 9:59 a.m. on Friday.

  Jon Rahm (14), Rickie Fowler (16), Chris Wood (NR): This group features two of the top 20 players in the FedExCup, and two players hungry for their first major. Rahm won this season’s CareerBuilder Challenge. Fowler, the 2015 PLAYERS champion, has two runners-up this season (OHL Classic at Mayakoba, Masters). England’s Wood has two top-5 finishes at The Open.

Tee times: 5:09 a.m. on Thursday; 10:10 a.m. on Friday.

  Louis Oosthuizen (75), Paul Casey (12), Patrick Reed (7): Reed rides a string of three consecutive top-four finishes in majors into The Open Championship. He finished second at last year’s PGA before winning the Masters and finishing fourth at the U.S. Open. Casey won this season’s Valspar Championship for his second PGA TOUR victory. Oosthuizen won the 2010 Open Championship at St. Andrews and lost in a playoff to Zach Johnson when The Open returned there in 2015.

Tee times: 5:20 a.m. on Thursday; 10:21 a.m. on Friday.

  Henrik Stenson (43), Tommy Fleetwood (32), Jimmy Walker (53): In 2016, Stenson added The Open Championship to a sterling resume that already included THE PLAYERS Championship and FedExCup. Fleetwood is coming off a runner-up at Shinnecock Hills that included a final-round 63, while Walker was runner-up at this year’s THE PLAYERS.

Tee times: 7:31 a.m. on Thursday; 2:30 a.m. on Friday.

  Rory McIlroy (39), Marc Leishman (20), Thorbjorn Olesen (NR): McIlroy returns to a course where he won the Silver Medal as the low amateur. He was in third place after shooting 68 in the first round of the 2007 Open before finishing 42nd. McIlroy won The Open in 2014 and added the FedExCup two years later. He and Leishman represent the past two champions of the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, as well. Leishman was part of the three-man playoff won by Zach Johnson in the 2015 Open at St. Andrews. Olesen is coming off a recent victory at the Italian Open.

Tee time: 7:53 a.m. on Thursday; 2:52 a.m. on Friday.

  Dustin Johnson (1), Alex Noren (31), Charley Hoffman (102): The FedExCup leader is playing with a Presidents Cup teammate and a potential Ryder Cup foe. Johnson has won twice this season, an eight-shot victory at the Sentry Tournament of Champions and six-shot win at the FedEx St. Jude Classic. He is coming off the disappointment of losing a four-shot lead at the halfway point of the U.S. Open, though. Noren is playing his first season as a PGA TOUR member. He was a runner-up in a playoff to Jason Day at the Farmers Insurance Open. He recently won the French Open.

Tee times: 8:04 a.m. on Thursday; 3:03 a.m. on Friday.

  Justin Thomas (2), Francesco Molinari (27), Branden Grace (74): The reigning FedExCup champion is playing alongside one of the game’s hottest players and the man who shot a record-setting round last year at Royal Birkdale. Thomas is second in this season’s FedExCup standings thanks to wins at the CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES and The Honda Classic. Molinari has two wins and two runners-up in his past five starts, with a T25 at Shinnecock Hills sandwiched in between. He picked up his first PGA TOUR win at the Quicken Loans National before finishing second in last week’s John Deere Classic. Grace shot 62 in last year’s Open Championship, the lowest round in major championship history.

Tee times: 8:26 a.m. on Thursday; 3:25 a.m. on Friday.

  Sergio Garcia (128), Bryson DeChambeau (6), Shubankar Sharma (NR): Garcia returns to the site of one of several heartbreaking finishes that preceded his win in last year’s Masters. He missed a 10-foot par putt on the final hole here in 2007 before losing a playoff to Harrington. Garcia needs some good results to avoid missing the FedExCup Playoffs for the first time. DeChambeau, who’s in the middle of a breakout season that includes a victory at the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide, withdrew from his title defense at last week’s John Deere Classic because of a shoulder injury. Sharma turned heads after holding the 54-hole lead at this year’s World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship.

Tee times: 10:10 a.m. on Thursday; 5:09 a.m. on Friday.

  Ian Poulter (34), Cameron Smith (44), Brooks Koepka (13): Koepka, the first back-to-back U.S. Open champion in nearly three decades, will try to claim a different Open. He’s joined by England’s Poulter, who won this season’s Houston Open. Cameron Smith won last season’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans with Jonas Blixt.

Tee times: 9:59 a.m. on Thursday; 4:58 a.m. on Friday.

  Tiger Woods (50), Hideki Matsuyama (81), Russell Knox (73): The local favorite will play alongside the 14-time major champion. Russell Knox, fresh off a victory at the Irish Open and runner-up at the French Open, is looking to become the first Scot to win The Open since Paul Lawrie won at Carnoustie in 1999. Knox’s Irish Open victory was his first since his dramatic win at the Travelers Championship in 2016. Carnoustie is the closest Open venue to his hometown of Inverness, which is three hours away. Woods, a three-time Open champion, has finished T7 and T12 in two Opens at Carnoustie, a course he has competed on since playing the Scottish Open as an amateur. Matsuyama, who has won five times over the previous four seasons, is in the midst of his first winless season since 2015. He won three times last season to finish eighth in the FedExCup.

Tee times: 10:21 a.m. on Thursday; 5:20 a.m. Eastern on Friday.

SOURCE:   PGA Tour

The post Featured Groups for The Open Championship appeared first on Shaker Run Golf Club.

[hamiltongolfcourses]

British Open

British Open, officially the Open Championship or the Open, one of the world’s four major golf tournaments—with the Masters Tournament, the U.S. Open, and the Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) Championship—and the oldest continually run championship in the sport. Best known outside the United States as the Open Championship or, simply, the Open, it has been held annually (with a few exceptions) on various courses in Scotland, England, and—on one occasion—Northern Ireland since 1860. History The first Open Championship was played on October 17, 1860, at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. A field of eight professionals played three rounds of Prestwick’s 12-hole course in one day. Willie Park, Sr., won the inaugural tournament and was presented with the Challenge Belt, a silver-buckled leather belt that each champion was to keep until the following Open. The tournament was opened to amateurs in 1861. In 1863 a purse of £10—which was to be shared among the professionals who finished in second, third, and fourth place—was introduced, and a first-place cash prize of £6 was added in 1864. In 1870 Tom Morris, Jr., won the Open for the third consecutive time and was thus allowed to keep the Challenge Belt permanently. As there was no award to present to the winner, the Open was not held again until 1872, when it was determined that the winning golfer would receive the Golf Champion Trophy, now commonly known as the Claret Jug. In 1892 the Open became a 72-hole event (four rounds of 18 holes), and in 1898 a cut (reduction of the field) was introduced after the first two rounds of play. The Open has always been dominated by professionals, with only six victories by amateurs, all before 1930. The last of those was Bobby Jones’s third Open, which was part of his celebrated Grand Slam (four major tournament victories in one calendar year). The popularization of golf in the mid-20th century produced a string of noteworthy Open champions, including England’s Sir Henry Cotton (winner in 1934, 1937, and 1948), South Africa’s Bobby Locke (1949–50, 1952, 1957), Australia’s Peter W. Thomson (1954–56, 1958, 1965), and the United States’ Arnold Palmer (1961–62) and Tom Watson (1975, 1977, 1980, 1982–83). Watson’s final win in 1983 ended an era of U.S. domination, during which American golfers won 12 times in 14 years. For the next 11 years there was only one American winner, with the Claret Jug going to Spain’s Seve Ballesteros, Australia’s Greg Norman, and England’s Nick Faldo, among others. In 1995 the Open became part of the PGA Tour’s official schedule. American John Daly won that year after a play-off with Italy’s Costantino Rocca, beginning another period of American supremacy at the Open in which 10 of the next 13 winners hailed from the United States, including Tiger Woods, who won three championships (2000, 2005–06). Subsequent years saw a number of victories by golfers for whom the Open was their first major tournament triumph, including Paul Lawrie in 1999, David Duval in 2001, Ben Curtis in 2003, and Padraig Harrington in 2007. Another notable Open champion is Jack Nicklaus, who won in 1966, 1970, and 1978 and placed in the top five 16 times, including seven second-place finishes. Harry Vardon won the Open six times—more than any other player—and four golfers, including Thomson and Watson, won five championships. South African Gary Player, who won the title in 1968 and 1974, holds the record for the most appearances in the Open, with 46. Courses The Open Championship has always been played on links courses (mostly treeless golf courses that are built along a coast and retain the natural uneven terrain of their locations). From 1860 to 1870 the Open was played exclusively at Prestwick Golf Club. Since 1872 it has been played at a number of courses in rotation. Initially the three courses were Prestwick, St. Andrews, and Musselburgh, all located in Scotland. The nine courses in the current rotation are the Old Course at St. Andrews; Carnoustie Golf Links in Carnoustie, Scotland; Muirfield in Gullane, Scotland; the Ailsa Course at the Westin Turnberry Resort, outside Girvan, Scotland; Royal Troon Golf Club in Troon, Scotland; Royal St. George’s Golf Club in Sandwich, England; Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England; Royal Lytham & St. Annes Golf Club in Lytham St. Annes, England; and Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Hoylake, England. The Open is a unique event and is of great importance to professionals and amateur golfers alike, as well as to fans of golf. Unlike the play of other majors—which are typically contested in sunny locales in the United States—the outcome of the Open is often influenced by the weather. On a links course, morning and afternoon tee times can produce vastly different playing conditions, depending on the breeze that comes in off the sea. The weather is just one of the many unique features of the Open that combine with its long history and prestigious reputation to make it an event unparalleled in golf. This author, who experienced a warm reception from his home crowd when he finished second to Tiger Woods at St. Andrews in 2005, looks forward to competing in the Open every year. To him, the Open is pure romance and theatre, and it truly is a special event that every golfer dreams of winning. British Open Winners year winner* 1860 Willie Park, Sr. 1861 Tom Morris, Sr. 1862 Tom Morris, Sr. 1863 Willie Park, Sr. 1864 Tom Morris, Sr. 1865 Andrew Strath 1866 Willie Park, Sr. 1867 Tom Morris, Sr. 1868 Tom Morris, Jr. 1869 Tom Morris, Jr. 1870 Tom Morris, Jr. 1871 not held 1872 Tom Morris, Jr. 1873 Tom Kidd 1874 Mungo Park 1875 Willie Park, Sr. 1876 Bob Martin 1877 Jamie Anderson 1878 Jamie Anderson 1879 Jamie Anderson 1880 Bob Ferguson 1881 Bob Ferguson 1882 Bob Ferguson 1883 Willie Fernie 1884 Jack Simpson 1885 Bob Martin 1886 David Brown 1887 Willie Park, Jr. 1888 Jack Burns 1889 Wille Park, Jr. 1890 John Ball 1891 Hugh Kirkaldy 1892 Harold Hilton 1893 William Auchterlonie 1894 J.H. Taylor 1895 J.H. Taylor 1896 Harry Vardon 1897 Harold Hilton 1898 Harry Vardon 1899 Harry Vardon 1900 J.H. Taylor 1901 James Braid 1902 Sandy Herd 1903 Harry Vardon 1904 Jack White 1905 James Braid 1906 James Braid 1907 Arnaud Massy (France) 1908 James Braid 1909 J.H. Taylor 1910 James Braid 1911 Harry Vardon 1912 Ted Ray 1913 J.H. Taylor 1914 Harry Vardon 1915–19 not held 1920 George Duncan 1921 Jock Hutchison (U.S.) 1922 Walter Hagen (U.S.) 1923 Arthur Havers 1924 Walter Hagen (U.S.) 1925 Jim Barnes (U.S.) 1926 Bobby Jones (U.S.) 1927 Bobby Jones (U.S.) 1928 Walter Hagen (U.S.) 1929 Walter Hagen (U.S.) 1930 Bobby Jones (U.S.) 1931 Tommy Armour (U.S.) 1932 Gene Sarazen (U.S.) 1933 Denny Shute (U.S.) 1934 Henry Cotton 1935 Alf Perry 1936 Alf Padgham 1937 Henry Cotton 1938 Reg Whitcombe 1939 Dick Burton 1940–45 not held 1946 Sam Snead (U.S.) 1947 Fred Daly (Ire.) 1948 Henry Cotton 1949 Bobby Locke (S.Af.) 1950 Bobby Locke (S.Af.) 1951 Max Faulkner 1952 Bobby Locke (S.Af.) 1953 Ben Hogan (U.S.) 1954 Peter Thomson (Austl.) 1955 Peter Thomson (Austl.) 1956 Peter Thomson (Austl.) 1957 Bobby Locke (S.Af.) 1958 Peter Thomson (Austl.) 1959 Gary Player (S.Af.) 1960 Kel Nagle (Austl.) 1961 Arnold Palmer (U.S.) 1962 Arnold Palmer (U.S.) 1963 Bob Charles (N.Z.) 1964 Tony Lema (U.S.) 1965 Peter Thomson (Austl.) 1966 Jack Nicklaus (U.S.) 1967 Roberto de Vicenzo (Arg.) 1968 Gary Player (S.Af.) 1969 Tony Jacklin 1970 Jack Nicklaus (U.S.) 1971 Lee Trevino (U.S.) 1972 Lee Trevino (U.S.) 1973 Tom Weiskopf (U.S.) 1974 Gary Player (S.Af.) 1975 Tom Watson (U.S.) 1976 Johnny Miller (U.S.) 1977 Tom Watson (U.S.) 1978 Jack Nicklaus (U.S.) 1979 Seve Ballesteros (Spain) 1980 Tom Watson (U.S.) 1981 Bill Rogers (U.S.) 1982 Tom Watson (U.S.) 1983 Tom Watson (U.S.) 1984 Seve Ballesteros (Spain) 1985 Sandy Lyle 1986 Greg Norman (Austl.) 1987 Nick Faldo 1988 Seve Ballesteros (Spain) 1989 Mark Calcavecchia (U.S.) 1990 Nick Faldo 1991 Ian Baker-Finch (Austl.) 1992 Nick Faldo 1993 Greg Norman (Austl.) 1994 Nick Price (Zimb.) 1995 John Daly (U.S.) 1996 Tom Lehman (U.S.) 1997 Justin Leonard (U.S.) 1998 Mark O'Meara (U.S.) 1999 Paul Lawrie 2000 Tiger Woods (U.S.) 2001 David Duval (U.S.) 2002 Ernie Els (S.Af.) 2003 Ben Curtis (U.S.) 2004 Todd Hamilton (U.S.) 2005 Tiger Woods (U.S.) 2006 Tiger Woods (U.S.) 2007 Padraig Harrington (Ire.) 2008 Padraig Harrington (Ire.) 2009 Stewart Cink (U.S.) 2010 Louis Oosthuizen (S.Af.) 2011 Darren Clarke 2012 Ernie Els (S.Af.) 2013 Phil Mickelson (U.S.) 2014 Rory McIlroy 2015 Zach Johnson (U.S.) 2016 Henrik Stenson (Swed.) 2017 Jordan Spieth (U.S.) 2018 Francesco Molinari (Italy)

[2018sslpgataiwan]

高爾夫》「大賽製造機」還不過癮，柯普卡攻佔世界第一

【羅開新聞中心Minsey Weng綜合報導 圖╱Getty Images╱美巡賽提供】「大賽製造機」的稱號還不夠，美國職業高協和美巡賽的雙料年度最佳球員也不過癮，Brooks Koepka（布魯克斯•柯普卡）在2018-19年的美巡賽初登場錦上添花，一舉取代同胞大哥Dustin Johnson（達斯汀•強森），成為史上第二十三位世界球王。 這位現年二十八歲的美國選手，聯邦快遞盃季後賽表現平平，接著萊德盃也僅僅為美國隊貢獻1.5分，不過上週在韓國進行的THE CJ CUP @ Nine Bridges（希杰盃）大發神威，四天狂飆低於標準桿二十三桿，最後以四桿之差擊敗Gary Woodland（蓋瑞•伍德蘭），贏得生涯第二座非大賽級的美巡賽冠軍，並把自己送上世界排名首席的位置。 「世界第一是我從小的夢想，沒想到這一刻真的到來了。」至今累積十二座職業冠軍的柯普卡說道。 柯普卡的前進世界球王之路，始於去年六月在Erin Hills（厄林丘）那場史上最不像美國公開賽的美國公開賽，四天分別攻下六十七、七十、六十八和六十七桿，以低於標準桿十六桿追平Rory McIlroy（羅瑞•麥克羅伊）在2011年Congressional Country Club（國會鄉村俱樂部）所創下的賽史最低桿（平標準桿）紀錄。 一年後，當美國公開賽回到傳統USGA（美國高協）壓榨式的風格，柯普卡的開局在Shinnecock Hills Golf Club（辛內寇克丘高爾夫俱樂部）的七十五桿看起來沒有機會爭冠，但三天後以高於標準桿一桿，成為二十九年來首位衛冕冠軍大業的選手。 兩個月後，柯普卡再征服今年轉戰Bellerive Country Club（貝勒萊夫鄉村俱樂部）的PGA錦標賽百年監會，不但勇奪最近六場大賽中的第三勝，還以二百六十四桿創下賽史最低總桿紀錄，從此和Gene Sarazen（金恩•沙拉森）、Ben Hogan（班•侯根）、Jack Nicklaus（傑克•尼克勞斯）及Tiger Woods（老虎•伍茲）齊名：同一年���辦美國公開賽和PGA錦標賽。 值得一提的是，自從二次世界大戰以來，只有五人曾經寫下大賽六戰三勝的壯舉，之前四位為尼克勞斯）、Arnold Palmer（阿諾•帕瑪）、伍茲和Padraig Harrington（派洛•哈靈頓），今年加入了美國新生代好手柯普卡，而且還登上世界球王寶座的大位。 「對我來說，我只要持續贏球。」柯普卡說道：「我想多贏一些例行美巡冠軍，持續增加大賽勝場數。感覺自己的狀況愈來愈好，特別是贏了幾場大賽後，每次站在梯台上，不管狀況��不好，都能覺得自己能夠贏球。」 事實上，柯普卡年初還因為手腕動刀而休兵四個月，直到Wells Fargo Championship（富國錦標賽）才重返工作崗位，但復出狀況良好，隨後在Fort Worth Invitational （殖民地邀請賽）繳出兩張侵略性的六十三桿，單獨名列第二，接著愈打愈有信心，最近十二次出賽贏了三座冠軍。 年僅二十八歲就累積三座大賽冠軍，現役選手除了伍茲之外，只有Jordan Spieth（喬丹•史畢斯）和麥克羅伊做到。柯普卡儼然是新一代的「大賽製造機」，冠軍履歷表也相當亮眼，2012年轉職業後，每年至少贏得一勝，另外包括一場純歐巡賽、兩場日巡賽和四場歐洲挑巡賽。 「現在處於興奮狀態，我也不知道為什麼，已經等不及要再下場比賽了。」柯普卡說道。

文章來源：羅開Golf 頻道

[ultrasfcb-blog]

The Open 2018: What makes Carnoustie

The Open 2018: What makes Carnoustie

The Open 2018: What makes Carnoustie

The Open: Jean van de Velde’s 18th hole disaster

The 147th Open Championship Venue: Carnoustie, Scotland Dates: 19-22 July Coverage: Live across BBC Radio, highlights on BBC TV and online, live text commentaries on BBC website.

Carnoustie. Wrecker of dreams. Jean van de Velde. The most famous of Open Championship meltdowns.

The images are as fresh today as if they happened yesterday. Van de Velde, socks and shoes off, wading into Barry Burn. A three-shot lead and the Claret Jug slipping away at the last.

But the Frenchman, who signed for a seven on the par-four 18th, was not the only player chewed up by ‘Car-nasty’ in 1999.

Teenage tears flowed on day one for a Spaniard who walked off the course with an 89. An 18-over-par 89, the consoling shoulder of his mother absorbing the anguish.

That 19-year-old was Sergio Garcia. He had won the Irish Open two weeks before. The new Seve? Not quite.

Garcia returned in 2007, demons banished. He opened with a six-under 65 and led from start almost to finish.

He needed one final par to break his major duck but an eight-foot putt lipped out and for a third straight Open at Carnoustie, it was a play-off. American great Tom Watson had won his first major there in a 1975 play-off; Scotland’s Paul Lawrie benefited in 1999; this time it was Ireland’s Padraig Harrington.

What makes Carnoustie Car-nasty?

Open 2018: What makes Carnoustie so tough?

Clearly, the weather can play its part. But then it can do that at all seaside courses.

Taking that out of the equation, at 7,400 yards Carnoustie is the longest course on the Open rota, but what really sets it apart is Barry Burn, Island and Home – the final three holes – widely regarded as the toughest finish in championship golf.

Record 18-time major winner Jack Nicklaus said in 2007: “I’ve always regarded Carnoustie as the hardest of all the championship venues.

“It’s got all the features you would want, including a few blind shots. It’s what you would expect from Scottish golf.”

Five-time Open champion Watson called the 248-yard 16th “the hardest par three in the world”.

It’s called Barry Burn, after the stream that meanders across it, and several other holes, and the American failed to par it in five attempts (including the 18-hole play-off). “Couldn’t lick it. Tried, but couldn’t lick it,” he conceded.

The Barry Burn also features heavily on the 17th. Island is so named because the drive has to find a landing area almost completely surrounded by water.

The closing three holes – 16th (top right) protected by Barry Burn, 17th (centre) with island fairway, and 18th (left) heading to white clubhouse

Three-time Open champion Tiger Woods called the hole “a little weird”; 2011 winner Darren Clarke opts for “weird and wonderful”.

And so to Home. A 499-yard par four. The burn crosses the hole three times, including just in front of the green. With a helping wind, a drive and a pitch is enough. Into the wind, it’s a daunting prospect.

Rampaging Irishman Harrington arrived on the 18th tee in 2007 with a one-shot lead after starting the day six behind Garcia. He hit two into the burn and walked off with a six – albeit after a terrific chip and putt.

“Out of bounds left off the tee, water left, water right, water short, bunkers straight in front of you,” he told BBC Sport. “All the complications off the tee that you can possibly think of.

“The second shot, you can hit the green and go out of bounds. We’ve seen that many times. It’s the most difficult closing hole in major championship golf and probably in world golf.”

Playing tough since 1931

Armour (left) lost the sight in his left eye in a mustard gas attack in World War One

Those final three holes have been troubling players since Carnoustie, located just north of St Andrews on the east coast of Scotland, hosted its first Open Championship in 1931.

Eventual winner Tommy Armour, a Scottish-born American, said he had “never lived through such an hour” after local favourite Mac Smith and Argentina’s Jose Jurado fell apart.

Smith just needed to par his way in from 16 to win. A double bogey on 16 and another double on 17 ended his hopes.

Jurado also dropped two shots on the 17th and, in an era when scoreboards were not visible around the course, played it safe on the 18th, thinking he could bogey the hole and still get in a play-off.

“For maybe 20 years I thought about it constantly,” said Jurado long after two-putting for a bogey and handing victory to the American.

When The Open returned in 1937, England’s Henry Cotton played what is considered the round of his life in torrential rain to post a final-day 71 and win by two shots.

There is grainy footage of him putting between puddles on greens that would be deemed unplayable today.

It’s not always carnage at Carnoustie

This, the 147th Open, will be the eighth staging of golf’s oldest major at Carnoustie.

In 1953, American Ben Hogan arrived in Angus having already won the Masters and US Open. After opening with a one-over 73, he improved his score each day, finishing with a 68 and six-under total to win by four shots – the last of his nine majors.

He played with such precision that the sixth – ‘Long’, a 567-yard par five – was renamed Hogan’s Alley after he threaded his tee shot down the left side of the fairway, between bunkers and out of bounds, in each round to give himself a better angle of approach to the green.

It was Hogan’s one and only Open appearance, at the age of 40, and just four years after a near-fatal car crash threatened to halt his career. His record of winning the first three majors of the year has never been matched. He was prevented from attempting to win the final leg of the Grand Slam because the US PGA Championship was held at the same time as the Open.

Gary Player won the only other Open at Carnoustie. He played one of the best shots of his illustrious career on the par-five 14th, drilling a three-wood into the teeth of a gale to two feet to set up an eagle three.

That helped the South African catch and pass American Billy Casper, who had a six on that hole, named Spectacles because of the two bunkers that protect the green.

Harrington also eagled the 14th on his way to beating Garcia in 2007, a fortuitous hop out of the rough helping his ball finish on the green.

That eagle undid the damage of his double bogey on the last – a double bogey that Harrington later said could have sent his career “into reverse”.

Carnoustie. Maker of dreams.

Harrington would go on to retain the title at Birkdale in 2008 – the last player to do so

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[next-step-foundation-blog]

"The Carnoustie finish is one of the toughest"

The Open at Carnoustie is something special. It has always produced top class winners going right back to the 1930’s. There is no doubt that this has a huge amount to do with the quality of the test. Carnoustie is a fair golf course and requires commitment to ones shots. Disciplined course management is critical round the Angus Links.

1931 - Tommy Armour

1937 - Henry Cotton

1953 - Ben Hogan

1968 - Gary Player

1975 - Tom Watson

Then a lengthy gap ensued with the Open finally returning in 1999.  

1999 - Paul Lawrie

2007 - Padraig Harrington

2018 - ?

In 1953 Ben Hogan travelled to Scotland to play in the Open for the first and only time he would. He had been under pressure to play and it was considered that he wouldn’t be a really great or true champ without playing in, and perhaps winning, an Open. Only four years earlier, following a horrific car accident, it was feared Hogan would never walk again never mind play golf. That alone highlights the incredible individual that Hogan was and the mindset required. Although, perhaps when you have been through the devastating injuries Hogan suffered, it may have been easier to play golf as if it didn’t matter. On that note, it’s interesting to also point out in 1931 Tommy Armour played and won the Open with only one eye! Having fought in the First World War, rising to the rank of Staff Major, Armour lost his eye during a gas attack. Winning the Open at Carnoustie would prove massively popular for the Silver Scot who had emigrated to the states in the 1920’s. The home crowd still looked on Armour as their own.

Carnoustie and Hogan can equally be described as tenacious, uncompromising and proud and with this in mind, and with also a little insight and inside knowledge, Patrick Reed the newly crowned 2018 Masters Champ may be a great bet for this week’s Championship. Not only does Patrick’s character meet the descriptions above, but he is a genuinely good guy, sometimes misunderstood and 100% focused on producing great golf. He’s shown himself to be a great driver of the ball, an excellent putter and most importantly a steely competitor.

The Carnoustie finish is one of the toughest, and 1999 and 2007 showed that it’s never over til it’s over. A great week of golf lies ahead.

[nationalgolfclub]

Featured Groups for The Open Championship

CARNOUSTIE, Scotland — Jordan Spieth returned the Claret Jug on Monday. His bid to regain golf’s oldest title will begin at 4:58 a.m. ET on Thursday. Spieth will play alongside Justin Rose and Kiradech Aphibarnrat in one of the star-studded groups at Carnoustie.

The northern-most course in The Open’s rota also is the most difficult. “Car-Nasty” rewards the game’s best players, though. Five of the seven winners here on the coast of the North Sea are in the World Golf Hall of Fame, and another Carnoustie champion, Padraig Harrington, seems a sure-fire inductee.

Here’s a closer look at some of the other groups that will draw the lion’s share of the eyeballs here in Scotland. (Note: FedExCup ranking in parentheses; all times Eastern; all groups start on No. 1).

Carnoustie Golf Links

Home of #TheOpen pic.twitter.com/gwnYUoruqM

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 16, 2018

Phil Mickelson (8), Satoshi Kodaira (70), Rafa Cabrera Bello (64): Mickelson won this season’s World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship, his first win since hoisting the Claret Jug in 2013. Kodaira earned his first PGA TOUR victory at this year’s RBC heritage, while Cabrera Bello has three top-10s this season.

Tee times: 3:03 a.m. on Thursday; 8:04 a.m. on Friday.

  Si Woo Kim (41), Webb Simpson (11), Nicola Hojgaard (NR): The past two PLAYERS champions are paired for the first two rounds at Carnoustie. Simpson won this year’s PLAYERS by four shots. It was his first victory since the 2013 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. They’re playing alongside Danish amateur Nicola Hojgaard.

Tee time: 3:25 a.m. on Thursday; 8:26 a.m. on Friday.

  Justin Rose (4), Jordan Spieth (40), Kiradech Aphibarnrat (NR): Rose won earlier this season at another course dubbed Hogan’s Alley. He displayed impressive iron play in winning the Fort Worth Invitational at Colonial. He also won this season’s World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions. Spieth will try to solve his putting woes at the event of his most recent PGA TOUR victory. Aphibarnrat recently accepted Special Temporary Membership on the PGA TOUR after finishing T5 in two World Golf Championships (Mexico Championship, Dell Technologies Match Play).

Tee times: 4:58 a.m. on Thursday; 9:59 a.m. on Friday.

  Jon Rahm (14), Rickie Fowler (16), Chris Wood (NR): This group features two of the top 20 players in the FedExCup, and two players hungry for their first major. Rahm won this season’s CareerBuilder Challenge. Fowler, the 2015 PLAYERS champion, has two runners-up this season (OHL Classic at Mayakoba, Masters). England’s Wood has two top-5 finishes at The Open.

Tee times: 5:09 a.m. on Thursday; 10:10 a.m. on Friday.

  Louis Oosthuizen (75), Paul Casey (12), Patrick Reed (7): Reed rides a string of three consecutive top-four finishes in majors into The Open Championship. He finished second at last year’s PGA before winning the Masters and finishing fourth at the U.S. Open. Casey won this season’s Valspar Championship for his second PGA TOUR victory. Oosthuizen won the 2010 Open Championship at St. Andrews and lost in a playoff to Zach Johnson when The Open returned there in 2015.

Tee times: 5:20 a.m. on Thursday; 10:21 a.m. on Friday.

  Henrik Stenson (43), Tommy Fleetwood (32), Jimmy Walker (53): In 2016, Stenson added The Open Championship to a sterling resume that already included THE PLAYERS Championship and FedExCup. Fleetwood is coming off a runner-up at Shinnecock Hills that included a final-round 63, while Walker was runner-up at this year’s THE PLAYERS.

Tee times: 7:31 a.m. on Thursday; 2:30 a.m. on Friday.

  Rory McIlroy (39), Marc Leishman (20), Thorbjorn Olesen (NR): McIlroy returns to a course where he won the Silver Medal as the low amateur. He was in third place after shooting 68 in the first round of the 2007 Open before finishing 42nd. McIlroy won The Open in 2014 and added the FedExCup two years later. He and Leishman represent the past two champions of the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, as well. Leishman was part of the three-man playoff won by Zach Johnson in the 2015 Open at St. Andrews. Olesen is coming off a recent victory at the Italian Open.

Tee time: 7:53 a.m. on Thursday; 2:52 a.m. on Friday.

  Dustin Johnson (1), Alex Noren (31), Charley Hoffman (102): The FedExCup leader is playing with a Presidents Cup teammate and a potential Ryder Cup foe. Johnson has won twice this season, an eight-shot victory at the Sentry Tournament of Champions and six-shot win at the FedEx St. Jude Classic. He is coming off the disappointment of losing a four-shot lead at the halfway point of the U.S. Open, though. Noren is playing his first season as a PGA TOUR member. He was a runner-up in a playoff to Jason Day at the Farmers Insurance Open. He recently won the French Open.

Tee times: 8:04 a.m. on Thursday; 3:03 a.m. on Friday.

  Justin Thomas (2), Francesco Molinari (27), Branden Grace (74): The reigning FedExCup champion is playing alongside one of the game’s hottest players and the man who shot a record-setting round last year at Royal Birkdale. Thomas is second in this season’s FedExCup standings thanks to wins at the CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES and The Honda Classic. Molinari has two wins and two runners-up in his past five starts, with a T25 at Shinnecock Hills sandwiched in between. He picked up his first PGA TOUR win at the Quicken Loans National before finishing second in last week’s John Deere Classic. Grace shot 62 in last year’s Open Championship, the lowest round in major championship history.

Tee times: 8:26 a.m. on Thursday; 3:25 a.m. on Friday.

  Sergio Garcia (128), Bryson DeChambeau (6), Shubankar Sharma (NR): Garcia returns to the site of one of several heartbreaking finishes that preceded his win in last year’s Masters. He missed a 10-foot par putt on the final hole here in 2007 before losing a playoff to Harrington. Garcia needs some good results to avoid missing the FedExCup Playoffs for the first time. DeChambeau, who’s in the middle of a breakout season that includes a victory at the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide, withdrew from his title defense at last week’s John Deere Classic because of a shoulder injury. Sharma turned heads after holding the 54-hole lead at this year’s World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship.

Tee times: 10:10 a.m. on Thursday; 5:09 a.m. on Friday.

  Ian Poulter (34), Cameron Smith (44), Brooks Koepka (13): Koepka, the first back-to-back U.S. Open champion in nearly three decades, will try to claim a different Open. He’s joined by England’s Poulter, who won this season’s Houston Open. Cameron Smith won last season’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans with Jonas Blixt.

Tee times: 9:59 a.m. on Thursday; 4:58 a.m. on Friday.

  Tiger Woods (50), Hideki Matsuyama (81), Russell Knox (73): The local favorite will play alongside the 14-time major champion. Russell Knox, fresh off a victory at the Irish Open and runner-up at the French Open, is looking to become the first Scot to win The Open since Paul Lawrie won at Carnoustie in 1999. Knox’s Irish Open victory was his first since his dramatic win at the Travelers Championship in 2016. Carnoustie is the closest Open venue to his hometown of Inverness, which is three hours away. Woods, a three-time Open champion, has finished T7 and T12 in two Opens at Carnoustie, a course he has competed on since playing the Scottish Open as an amateur. Matsuyama, who has won five times over the previous four seasons, is in the midst of his first winless season since 2015. He won three times last season to finish eighth in the FedExCup.

Tee times: 10:21 a.m. on Thursday; 5:20 a.m. Eastern on Friday.

SOURCE:   PGA Tour

The post Featured Groups for The Open Championship appeared first on The National Golf Club of Louisiana.

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Featured Groups for The Open Championship

CARNOUSTIE, Scotland — Jordan Spieth returned the Claret Jug on Monday. His bid to regain golf’s oldest title will begin at 4:58 a.m. ET on Thursday. Spieth will play alongside Justin Rose and Kiradech Aphibarnrat in one of the star-studded groups at Carnoustie.

The northern-most course in The Open’s rota also is the most difficult. “Car-Nasty” rewards the game’s best players, though. Five of the seven winners here on the coast of the North Sea are in the World Golf Hall of Fame, and another Carnoustie champion, Padraig Harrington, seems a sure-fire inductee.

Here’s a closer look at some of the other groups that will draw the lion’s share of the eyeballs here in Scotland. (Note: FedExCup ranking in parentheses; all times Eastern; all groups start on No. 1).

Carnoustie Golf Links

Home of #TheOpen pic.twitter.com/gwnYUoruqM

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 16, 2018

Phil Mickelson (8), Satoshi Kodaira (70), Rafa Cabrera Bello (64): Mickelson won this season’s World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship, his first win since hoisting the Claret Jug in 2013. Kodaira earned his first PGA TOUR victory at this year’s RBC heritage, while Cabrera Bello has three top-10s this season.

Tee times: 3:03 a.m. on Thursday; 8:04 a.m. on Friday.

  Si Woo Kim (41), Webb Simpson (11), Nicola Hojgaard (NR): The past two PLAYERS champions are paired for the first two rounds at Carnoustie. Simpson won this year’s PLAYERS by four shots. It was his first victory since the 2013 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. They’re playing alongside Danish amateur Nicola Hojgaard.

Tee time: 3:25 a.m. on Thursday; 8:26 a.m. on Friday.

  Justin Rose (4), Jordan Spieth (40), Kiradech Aphibarnrat (NR): Rose won earlier this season at another course dubbed Hogan’s Alley. He displayed impressive iron play in winning the Fort Worth Invitational at Colonial. He also won this season’s World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions. Spieth will try to solve his putting woes at the event of his most recent PGA TOUR victory. Aphibarnrat recently accepted Special Temporary Membership on the PGA TOUR after finishing T5 in two World Golf Championships (Mexico Championship, Dell Technologies Match Play).

Tee times: 4:58 a.m. on Thursday; 9:59 a.m. on Friday.

  Jon Rahm (14), Rickie Fowler (16), Chris Wood (NR): This group features two of the top 20 players in the FedExCup, and two players hungry for their first major. Rahm won this season’s CareerBuilder Challenge. Fowler, the 2015 PLAYERS champion, has two runners-up this season (OHL Classic at Mayakoba, Masters). England’s Wood has two top-5 finishes at The Open.

Tee times: 5:09 a.m. on Thursday; 10:10 a.m. on Friday.

  Louis Oosthuizen (75), Paul Casey (12), Patrick Reed (7): Reed rides a string of three consecutive top-four finishes in majors into The Open Championship. He finished second at last year’s PGA before winning the Masters and finishing fourth at the U.S. Open. Casey won this season’s Valspar Championship for his second PGA TOUR victory. Oosthuizen won the 2010 Open Championship at St. Andrews and lost in a playoff to Zach Johnson when The Open returned there in 2015.

Tee times: 5:20 a.m. on Thursday; 10:21 a.m. on Friday.

  Henrik Stenson (43), Tommy Fleetwood (32), Jimmy Walker (53): In 2016, Stenson added The Open Championship to a sterling resume that already included THE PLAYERS Championship and FedExCup. Fleetwood is coming off a runner-up at Shinnecock Hills that included a final-round 63, while Walker was runner-up at this year’s THE PLAYERS.

Tee times: 7:31 a.m. on Thursday; 2:30 a.m. on Friday.

  Rory McIlroy (39), Marc Leishman (20), Thorbjorn Olesen (NR): McIlroy returns to a course where he won the Silver Medal as the low amateur. He was in third place after shooting 68 in the first round of the 2007 Open before finishing 42nd. McIlroy won The Open in 2014 and added the FedExCup two years later. He and Leishman represent the past two champions of the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, as well. Leishman was part of the three-man playoff won by Zach Johnson in the 2015 Open at St. Andrews. Olesen is coming off a recent victory at the Italian Open.

Tee time: 7:53 a.m. on Thursday; 2:52 a.m. on Friday.

  Dustin Johnson (1), Alex Noren (31), Charley Hoffman (102): The FedExCup leader is playing with a Presidents Cup teammate and a potential Ryder Cup foe. Johnson has won twice this season, an eight-shot victory at the Sentry Tournament of Champions and six-shot win at the FedEx St. Jude Classic. He is coming off the disappointment of losing a four-shot lead at the halfway point of the U.S. Open, though. Noren is playing his first season as a PGA TOUR member. He was a runner-up in a playoff to Jason Day at the Farmers Insurance Open. He recently won the French Open.

Tee times: 8:04 a.m. on Thursday; 3:03 a.m. on Friday.

  Justin Thomas (2), Francesco Molinari (27), Branden Grace (74): The reigning FedExCup champion is playing alongside one of the game’s hottest players and the man who shot a record-setting round last year at Royal Birkdale. Thomas is second in this season’s FedExCup standings thanks to wins at the CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES and The Honda Classic. Molinari has two wins and two runners-up in his past five starts, with a T25 at Shinnecock Hills sandwiched in between. He picked up his first PGA TOUR win at the Quicken Loans National before finishing second in last week’s John Deere Classic. Grace shot 62 in last year’s Open Championship, the lowest round in major championship history.

Tee times: 8:26 a.m. on Thursday; 3:25 a.m. on Friday.

  Sergio Garcia (128), Bryson DeChambeau (6), Shubankar Sharma (NR): Garcia returns to the site of one of several heartbreaking finishes that preceded his win in last year’s Masters. He missed a 10-foot par putt on the final hole here in 2007 before losing a playoff to Harrington. Garcia needs some good results to avoid missing the FedExCup Playoffs for the first time. DeChambeau, who’s in the middle of a breakout season that includes a victory at the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide, withdrew from his title defense at last week’s John Deere Classic because of a shoulder injury. Sharma turned heads after holding the 54-hole lead at this year’s World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship.

Tee times: 10:10 a.m. on Thursday; 5:09 a.m. on Friday.

  Ian Poulter (34), Cameron Smith (44), Brooks Koepka (13): Koepka, the first back-to-back U.S. Open champion in nearly three decades, will try to claim a different Open. He’s joined by England’s Poulter, who won this season’s Houston Open. Cameron Smith won last season’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans with Jonas Blixt.

Tee times: 9:59 a.m. on Thursday; 4:58 a.m. on Friday.

  Tiger Woods (50), Hideki Matsuyama (81), Russell Knox (73): The local favorite will play alongside the 14-time major champion. Russell Knox, fresh off a victory at the Irish Open and runner-up at the French Open, is looking to become the first Scot to win The Open since Paul Lawrie won at Carnoustie in 1999. Knox’s Irish Open victory was his first since his dramatic win at the Travelers Championship in 2016. Carnoustie is the closest Open venue to his hometown of Inverness, which is three hours away. Woods, a three-time Open champion, has finished T7 and T12 in two Opens at Carnoustie, a course he has competed on since playing the Scottish Open as an amateur. Matsuyama, who has won five times over the previous four seasons, is in the midst of his first winless season since 2015. He won three times last season to finish eighth in the FedExCup.

Tee times: 10:21 a.m. on Thursday; 5:20 a.m. Eastern on Friday.

SOURCE:   PGA Tour

The post Featured Groups for The Open Championship appeared first on Sherwood Forest.

[golfpga2017championship-blog]

PGA Championship 2017 Live Golf Online Coverage

The 99th edition of the PGA Championship 2017 is chock full of storylines. As the first round of the tournament plays out at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina, much of the attention will be on Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy and Hideki Matsuyama.PGA Championship 2017

Spieth, of course, is attempting to win back-to-back majors this year. He won the British Open in spectacular fashion last month, as he rallied in the final holes after losing the lead to Matt Kuchar and earned the Claret Jug. That victory gave Spieth three-fourths of the career Grand Slam, and if he can win the PGA Championship, he would join the game’s all-time greats.PGA Championship 2017 Live

Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tiger Woods are the only players in the game’s history to have won all four majors, and the 24-year-old Spieth would become the youngest to achieve that goal.

Spieth believes that he has accomplished the most difficult part of winning golf’s Grand Slam.

“Getting three legs of it is much harder than PGA Championship getting the last leg, I think,” Spieth said, per Mike McAllister of PGATour.com. “Although I’ve never tried to get the last leg, so it’s easy for me to say. We’ve had three in two years and so, I mean, if we just continue with the same process, get the right breaks and driving ranges are in play then, I’ve got a good shot at No. 4.”

Spieth’s reference to the driving range was his shot on the 13th hole of the final round of the British Open. After an off-target tee shot that landed in the driving range, Spieth scrambled on that hole to an incredible bogey, and he surged to the championship after that hole.

McIlroy has won the PGA Championship twice, having PGA Championship come away with the title in 2014 when he won at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky, and he was also victorious in 2012 at Kiawah Island Golf Resort in Kiawah Island, South Carolina.

In addition to his past success in the tournament, McIlroy has done quite well at Quail Hollow. He has two tour victories there, and it would be a surprise if he were not in contention. Additionally, McIlroy played well in the final three rounds of the British Open after struggling in the opening round.

“This is a week I’ve been looking forward to for a long time,” PGA Championship McIlroy said at his Tuesday press conference (h/t Jeff Ritter of Golf.com). “I think once you go back to a place where you do have great memories, all that starts to come flooding back to you and it makes you feel good about yourself. That’s sort of how I feel around here.”

Matsuyama has played sensational golf this year, and he is the PGA Tour’s leading money winner with more than $7.7 million earned. The Japanese is also the leader in FedEx Cup points and is coming off a spectacular victory in the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational last week, in which he shot a 61 in the final round to beat runner-up Zach Johnson by five strokes.

Matsuyama got off to an excellent start as he made a 52-foot birdie on the first hole and added another birdie on the second.

While the tournament is not going to be won in the first round, it pays to get off to an excellent start in the PGA Championship. The last 17 major winners have been under par after the first round, according to Justin Ray of the Golf Channel.

As the first round plays out, golf fans know that they have four full days of top-notch competition ahead of them.

PGA Championship 2017 live stream TV Schedule to PGA Round 2. Golf’s best are flocking to Charlotte this weekend to take part in one of the season’s most competitive tournaments. Quail Hollow Club is playing host to the 99th PGA Championship, the fourth and final major of the season. 2017 PGA Round 2 Championship

Thorbjorn Olesen and Kevin Kisner sit atop the leaderboard PGA Round 2 after firing off a pair of 4-under 67s on Thursday. Five players are tied for second at 3 under, including U.S. Open winner Brooks Koepka.

Here is everything you need to know regarding coverage, along with must-watch story lines and tee times for Friday’s second round.

MUST-READ STORIES:

Jordan Spieth struggles with his putter on Thursday. Brooks Koepka “feels like crap” after clocking marshal with errant tee shot. Rickie Fowler recovers after shaky start to the PGA. Moving PGA Championship is right move for everyone not in the Midwest. Revamped Quail Hollow provides stiff test for PGA Championship. Milestone tournament: Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els set to play in 100th major.

HOW TO WATCH:

TNT: 1-7 p.m. ET

TEE TIMES (ALL TIMES ET):

Tee No. 1

7:20 a.m. — David Muttitt, Bud Cauley, Graham DeLaet 7:30 a.m. — Rod Perry, Yuta Ikeda, Emiliano Grillo 7:40 a.m. — Joost Luiten, Paul Claxton, Russell Henley 7:50 a.m. — Patrick Cantlay, Thongchai Jaidee, Soren Kjeldsen 8:00 a.m. — Omar Uresti, Y.E. Yang, Shaun Micheel 8:10 a.m. — Danny Lee, Marc Leishman, Anirban Lahiri 8:20 a.m. — Byeong Hun An, Kevin Chappell, Mackenzie Hughes 8:30 a.m. — Jonas Blixt, Steve Stricker, Brian Harman 8:40 a.m. — D.A. Points, Tyrrell Hatton, Adam Hadwin 8:50 a.m. — Martin Laird, Bill Haas, Graeme McDowell 9:00 a.m. — Jeunghun Wang, Alexander Levy, Jamie Broce 9:10 a.m. — J.J. Wood, Ryan Fox, Haotong Li 9:20 a.m. — Jaysen Hansen, …, Cody Gribble 12:35 p.m. — Shane Lowry, Stuart Deane, Pablo Larrazabal 12:45 p.m. — Alex Noren, Scott Hebert, Russell Knox 12:55 p.m. — Hideki Matsuyama, Ernie Els, Ian Poulter 1:05 p.m. — Daniel Summerhays, Robert Streb, Chris Wood 1:15 p.m. — Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Thomas, Patrick Reed 1:25 p.m. — Bubba Watson, Charl Schwartzel, Paul Casey 1:35 p.m. — Sergio Garcia, Brooks Koepka, Jordan Spieth 1:45 p.m. — Jason Day, Dustin Johnson, Henrik Stenson 1:55 p.m. — Padraig Harrington, Keegan Bradley, Davis Love III 2:05 p.m. — Zach Johnson, Lee Westwood, Charley Hoffman 2:15 p.m. — David Lingmerth, Scott Brown, Nicolas Colsaerts 2:25 p.m. — Scott Hend, Kenny Pigman, Andrew Johnston 2:35 p.m. — Kelly Kraft, Brian Smock, Patrick Rodgers

Sports Pulse’s Trysta Krick checks in with Steve DiMeglio at Quail Hollow Club for an update on the PGA Championship and his thoughts on why the tournament is being moved on the golf calendar.

Tee No. 10

7:25 a.m. — Lucas Glover, Matt Dobyns, Hideto Tanihara 7:35 a.m. — Mike Small, Jason Kokrak, Satoshi Kodaira 7:45 a.m. — Thomas Bjorn, Branden Grace, Pat Perez 7:55 a.m. — Adam Scott, Luke Donald, Webb Simpson 8:05 a.m. — Billy Horschel, Matthew Fitzpatrick, Si Woo Kim 8:15 a.m. — Jimmy Walker, Phil Mickelson, Jason Dufner 8:25 a.m. — Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Rickie Fowler 8:35 a.m. — Matt Kuchar, Justin Rose, Brandt Snedeker 8:45 a.m. — Daniel Berger, Jim Furyk, Kevin Kisner 8:55 a.m. — Ross Fisher, Rafa Cabrera-Bello, Ryan Moore 9:05 a.m. — Jhonattan Vegas, Bryson DeChambeau, Jordan Smith 9:15 a.m. — Alex Beach, Sean O’Hair, Kevin Na 9:25 a.m. — Chris Moody, Luke List, Jamie Lovemark 12:30 p.m. — Grayson Murray, Rich Berberian Jr., Peter Uihlein 12:40 p.m. — Adam Rainaud, Tony Finau, Fabrizio Zanotti 12:50 p.m. — Younghan Song, Dave McNabb, Charles Howell III 1:00 p.m. — Sung Kang, Wesley Bryan, Dylan Frittelli 1:10 p.m. — William McGirt, Francesco Molinari, Jim Herman 1:20 p.m. — Gary Woodland, Andy Sullivan, Kyle Stanley 1:30 p.m. — Rich Beem, Vijay Singh, John Daly 1:40 p.m. — Louis Oosthuizen, Danny Willett, J.B. Holmes 1:50 p.m. — Thomas Pieters, Xander Schauffele, Rod Pampling 2:00 p.m. — Thorbjorn Olesen, Brendan Steele, Hudson Swafford 2:10 p.m. — Cameron Smith, Bernd Wiesberger, Brandon Stone 2:20 p.m. — K.T. Kim, Greg Gregory, James Hahn 2:30 p.m. — Richard Sterne, Ryan Vermeer, Chris Stroud

[yahoo-devil-ball-golf-blog]

2017 PGA Championship tee times and notable groups at Quail Hollow

There’s one major question on everyone’s mind heading into the 2017 PGA Championship at Quail Hollow in Charlotte, North Carolina: Can Jordan Spieth do it?

By “it,” of course, we mean complete the career slam of winning all four championships. Only five men — Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods — have done it in golf history. Spieth, coming off a win at The Open, has come close before at the year’s final major. He came in second to Jason Day in 2015. Last year, he finished well off the pace in a tie for 13th, though. Can he close the door on the career slam? He’ll tee it up on Hole 10 with the other two major winners of this year — Masters champ Sergio Garcia and U.S. Open winner Brooks Koepka — at 8:25 a.m. ET on Thursday morning.

That’s the star group that will grab the most attention, but there are plenty of other intriguing groups. Playing right behind that star-studded pairing is another strong group: Jason Day, world No. 1 Dustin Johnson and Henrik Stenson. Each one of those three will be looking for his second major.

Defending PGA Championship winner Jimmy Walker will start in the afternoon, beginning play at 1:25 p.m. from Hole 1. He joins five-time major winner Phil Mickelson and 2013 PGA Championship winner Jason Dufner. Just after that group comes a threesome of young stars: Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and Rickie Fowler tee off at Hole 1 at 1:35 p.m.

Quail Hollow has hosted an annual tournament on the PGA circuit since 2003. From 2003 to 2008, the tournament was sponsored by Wachovia. For 2009 and 2010, it was known simply as the Quail Hollow Championship. Since 2011, it’s been the Wells Fargo Championship. It’s usually drawn a strong field: McIlroy won there in 2010 and 2015, and Fowler won in 2012. James Hahn, the 2016 Wells Fargo champ, tees it up with K.T. Kim and Greg Gregory on the first hole at 9:10 a.m.

Here are all of the tee times, listed in Eastern Time:

Tee No. 1

7:20 a.m. — Grayson Murray, Rich Berberian Jr., Peter Uihlein

7:30 a.m. — Adam Rainaud, Tony Finau, Fabrizio Zanotti

7:40 a.m. — Younghan Song, Dave McNabb, Charles Howell III

7:50 a.m. — Sung Kang, Wesley Bryan, Dylan Frittelli

8 a.m. — William McGirt, Francesco Molinari, Jim Herman

8:10 a.m. — Gary Woodland, Andy Sullivan, Kyle Stanley

8:20 a.m. — Rich Beem, Vijay Singh, John Daly

8:30 a.m. — Louis Oosthuizen, Danny Willett, J.B. Holmes

8:40 a.m. — Thomas Pieters, Xander Schauffele, Rod Pampling

8:50 a.m. — Thorbjorn Olesen, Brendan Steele, Hudson Swafford

9 a.m. — Cameron Smith, Bernd Wiesberger, Brandon Stone

9:10 a.m. — K.T. Kim, Greg Gregory, James Hahn

9:20 a.m. — Richard Sterne, Ryan Vermeer, Chris Stroud

12:35 p.m. — Lucas Glover, Matt Dobyns, Hideto Tanihara

12:45 p.m. — Mike Small, Jason Kokrak, Satoshi Kodaira

12:55 p.m. — Thomas Bjorn, Branden Grace, Pat Perez

1:05 p.m. — Adam Scott, Luke Donald, Webb Simpson

1:15 p.m. — Billy Horschel, Matthew Fitzpatrick, Si Woo Kim

1:25 p.m. — Jimmy Walker, Phil Mickelson, Jason Dufner

1:35 p.m. — Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Rickie Fowler

1:45 p.m. — Matt Kuchar, Justin Rose, Brandt Snedeker

1:55 p.m. — Daniel Berger, Jim Furyk, Kevin Kisner

2:05 p.m. — Ross Fisher, Rafa Cabrera Bello, Ryan Moore

2:15 p.m. — Jhonattan Vegas, Bryson DeChambeau, Jordan Smith

2:25 p.m. — Alex Beach, Sean O’Hair, Kevin Na

2:35 p.m. — Chris Moody, Luke List, Jamie Lovemark

Tee No. 10

7:25 a.m. — Shane Lowry, Stuart Deane, Pablo Larrazabal

7:35 a.m. — Alex Noren, Scott Herbert, Russell Knox

7:45 a.m. — Hideki Matsuyama, Ernie Els, Ian Poulter

7:55 a.m. — Daniel Summerhays, Robert Streb, Chris Wood

8:05 a.m. — Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Thomas, Patrick Reed

8:15 a.m. — Bubba Watson, Charl Schwartzel, Paul Casey

8:25 a.m. — Sergio Garcia, Brooks Koepka, Jordan Spieth

8:35 a.m. — Jason Day, Dustin Johnson, Henrik Stenson

8:45 a.m. — Padraig Harrington, Keegan Bradley, Davis Love III

8:55 a.m. — Zach Johnson, Lee Westwood, Charley Hoffman

9:05 a.m. — David Lingmerth, Scott Brown, Nicolas Colsaerts

9:15 a.m. — Scott Hend, Kenny Pigman, Andrew Johnston

9:25 a.m. — Kelly Kraft, Brian Smock, Patrick Rodgers

12:30 p.m. — David Muttitt, Bud Cauley, Graham DeLaet

12:40 p.m. — Rod Perry, Yuta Ikeda, Emiliano Grillo

12:50 p.m. — Joost Luiten, Paul Claxton, Russell Henley

1 p.m. — Patrick Cantlay, Thongchai Jaidee, Soren Kjeldsen

1:10 p.m. — Omar Uresti, Y.E. Yang, Shaun Micheel

1:20 p.m. — Danny Lee, Marc Leishman, Anirban Lahiri

1:30 p.m. — Byeong Hun An, Kevin Chappell, Mackenzie Hughes

1:40 p.m. — Jonas Blixt, Steve Stricker, Brian Harman

1:50 p.m. — D.A. Points, Tyrrell Hatton, Adam Hadwin

2 p.m. — Martin Laird, Bill Haas, Graeme McDowell

2:10 p.m. — Jeunghun Wang, Alexander Levy, Jamie Broce

2:20 p.m. — JJ Wood, Ryan Fox, Haotong Li

2:30 p.m. — Jaysen Hansen, Cody Gribble, Chez Reavie

[irishgolfdesk]

Relentless Ireland crush England to set up European title showdown with Spain

Shane Lowry called it the best Irish side since he and Rory McIlroy played their part in the first of back-to-back European Amateur Men's Team Championship wins in Scotland in 2007.

This time the venue is Linna Golf in Finland — home of Irish Open champion Mikko Ilonen — but the golf was of the same stellar order as the side captained by Pádraig Hogan and mentored by National Coach Neil Manchip crushed the holders England 5-2 to set up a title decider with Spain on Saturday.

The six-man unit of Gavin Moynihan, Cormac Sharvin, Gary Hurley, Paul Dunne, Jack Hume and Dermot McElroy has proved to be a formidable one and with their putters only now cooling down after some sensational performances with the blade over the past few days, Spain know they are in for a torrid match having seen of Scotland with relative ease in their semi-final.

"They played superbly," said the non-playing skipper.  "I would have been quite happy even before playing this morning to share the foursomes 1-1 and that's how it turned out."

While the top pair of Sharvin and Moynihan lost 3 and 2 to Ryan Evans and Paul Howard, Dunne and Hurley easily beat Ben Stow and Jordan Smith 4 and 2 to set up what proved to be a near whitewash of the English in the afternoon.

"Paul Dunne and Gary Hurley played superbly to close out their match quite early and Cormac and Gavin played well but struggled a little bit off the tee and got out of position once or twice," captain Hogan said. "When you are playing to the standard we are at in a European semi-final, it is difficult to get back into the match."

In the singles, it was a green wave and England simply had no answer.

Moynihan beat Evans 4 and 3 and Sharvin saw off Jordan Smith 2 and 1 as McElroy held firm to take down the massive hitting Stow 2 and 1 and Hurley crushed Ashley Chesters with a birdie blitz.

EATC semifinal England vs Ireland started at 8.00. Scores http://t.co/dqOmeYxbt5 #emgolf #eatc2014 pic.twitter.com/OmYbFRqdMp

— Suomen Golfliitto (@golfliitto) July 11, 2014

Dunne lost on the 18th to the impressive Toby Tree but having rifled a six iron to 30 inches at the last he missed the putt for a half — a rarity this week for a man who is putting like a demon.

"In the afternoon the guys came out firing and they were absolutely relentless," the skipper said. "We got them to a nice comfortable lead in one or two matches early on and England looked physically nervous for some reason. They hadn't been behind in the singles yesterday and we knew they were liable to get a bit nervy if we could get at them early on.

"Gavin was a trooper. He didn't putt as well as he can this afternoon but his tee to green play was magnificent. Cormac was swashbuckling again and played fantastic golf. He is full of confidence at the moment and he just peppered the flags.

"Paul had a tough match against Toby Tree and I have never seen Paul hole as many putts as he has done over the last few days.

Himself and Gary in the morning firusomes were all square after eight and birdied the ninth, 10th, 11th and 12th to go four up. Paul holing three of the putts between 10 and 20 feet and Gary holing one from 25 feet.

"It continued into the afternoon and having played in Home Internationals a couple of times and seen England putt us off the course, it was wonderful to see our boys hole so many on the greens today.

"Paul played quite well but got caught in the end. Having hit the most magnificent six iron into about two and a half feet, he missed the putt. Had he holed it, it would have meant England getting nothing out of the singles execpt a halved match.

"Dermot came in a No 4 having struggled a bit yesterday. But we brought him in today and playing Ben Stow was like David and Goliath.

"Ben Stow hits the ball miles and he was leaving Dermot 40 yards behind him off the tee. But Dermot holed a lovely putt on the third from about 12 feet to get a half and then hit a seven iron to about four feet at the next to go one up and he played fabulous golf after that and closed the match out on 17.

"Gary Hurley was the anchor man and he was like a dog with a bone. He never gives up and played wonderful golf at the back of the field and was at least four or five under when he closed out the match (against Chesters) on the 15th green."

Ireland won the title at Western Gailes in 2007 with Lowry and McIlroy joined by future Walker Cup player Jonny Caldwell, Richard Kilpatrick, Gareth Shaw and Simon Ward.

Lowry beat Victor Dubuisson 5 and 4 in the final as Ireland beat France 4.5 — 2.5 and he was a member of the winning side in Turin in 2008 when was again joined by Caldwell and Shaw with Paul Cutler, Paul O'Hanlon and Niall Kearney completing the six-man line-up. England (who had Chris Wood in their ranks) were Ireland's victims in the final, going down by 4.5 — 2.5.

There are no guarantees that Ireland can win the title for the sixth time following those wins in 1967, 1983, 1987 and that back-to-back run from 2007 to 2008.

"While we know we have a strong team, you never know when you get to a venue if the course is going to suit your eye," the captain said.

Whether Ireland use all six players in the final remains to be seen after Jack Hume was rested for the semi-finals.

The teams for the foursomes and singles only have to be submitted 30 minutes before the off, which gives both captains the flexibility to see how the foursomes have developed and then set out their singles order accordingly.

"If you've lost two-nil then you can go down the order and just go for it," the captain said. "If it is 1-1 you have flexibility, even more if you are two-nil up.

"We will wait and se how we set out the team tomorrow but the Spanish are very good side. 

"We are in good shape so hopefully we can go out now and see it through. It's always nice to beat England but it will be nicer if it is on the way to winning the title." 

European Amateur Team Championship, Linna Golf, Finland 

Scores

Semi-finals

Ireland 5, England 2

Foursomes:

Cormac Sharvin and Gavin Moynihan lost to Ryan Evans and Paul Howard 3/2

Paul Dunne and Gary Hurley beat Ben Stow and Jordan Smith 4/2.

Foursomes result: Ireland 1, England 1

Singles:

Moynihan bt Evans 4/3.

Sharvin bt Jordan Smith 2/1

Paul Dunne lost to Toby Tree 1 hole

Dermot McElroy bt Stow 2/1

Hurley bt Ashley Chesters  5/3

Singles result: Ireland 4, England 1

Over result: Ireland 5, England 1.

Semi-final: Spain 5, Scotland 2

FINAL - IRELAND V SPAIN