February 17, 2011
By Staff Reporter
But Clarke made an impressive run before petering out over the last three holes.
After a birdie at the second hole at Marriott’s Forest of Arden course in Warwickshire, England, Clarke used a five iron to help his ball find the cup on number three from the fairway. He took a double-eagle 2 on the par-5 to clip three strokes off par and apply serious heat to Campbell. Birdies at 7 and 8 enabled Clarke to make the turn in 30. He added another birdie at 12, but bogeys at 16 and 18 ended his title hopes. He finished three strokes under par for the tournament at 285 (74-72-72-67), which landed him a share of eighth place.
Gary Murphy was two strokes behind in 11th position. He shot 287 (75-73-68-71). Graeme McDowell appears to be returning to form. He shared 16th place at 288 (74-75-73-66). Damien McGrane tied for 24th place at 290 (72-77-70-71) and Paul McGinley was lodged amidst a cluster in 36th place at 292 (72-79-73-68).
Spending the weekend looking in from the outside were Peter Lawrie (77-76) and David Higgins (74-79), whose 36-hole scores of 153 were two strokes above the cut line. Also playing was teen sensation Rory McIlroy, who shot 163 (82-81).
The low number for the event was 282, which Bjorn shared with David Howell and Brian Davis. Bjorn needed two playoff holes for the outright victory.
CHAMPIONS TOUR
Des Smyth got a share of 25th place in the Blue Angels Classic at The Moors Golf Club in Milton, Fla. After opening with 73, Smyth caught fire, shooting 63 and 66 to finish the event eight strokes under par at 202, which was eight strokes off the winning number. Mark McNulty was one stroke behind at 203 (66-70-67), which got him a piece of 30th place.
CHALLENGE TOUR
Michael Hoey tied for 15th place in the Tessali-Metaponto Open di Puglia e Basilicata at Riva dei Tessali & Metaponto in Italy. He finished nine strokes under par at 276 (70-71-68-67), which was nine behind medalist Rafael Gomez. Justin Kehoe got a piece of 68th place at 286 (71-70-70-75). Colm Moriarty shot 142 (72-70) for the first 36 holes and missed the cut by just a stroke. He was joined on the sidelines by Noel Fox, 144 (72-72), and Tim Rice, 145 (70-75).
EUROPRO TOUR
A strong Irish contingent took to the course for the Kronenbourg Classic at Whitekirk in North Berwick, Scotland, with Michael McDermott showing best in third place. He helped his cause with five birdies over the final nine holes to finish at 4-under-par 212 (74-69-69). Gavin McNeill tied for eighth place at 215 (74-70-71), Padraig Dooley joined in at the 22nd spot at 219 (75-72-72), Alan Murray (75-73-73) and Eamonn Brady (74-73-74) were among 11 in 32nd place at 221, Damian Mooney tied for 43rd place at 222 (72-77-73), Alan Thomas shared 51st place at 224 (76-71-77), and Peter Williamson was joint 60th at 227 (74-73-