Harrington struggles to 31st at U.S. Open

He never really posed a threat over a course that some believed might suit him due to the winds that often come into play there. They were dormant over the first two rounds, in which he shot 73 and 71. He came in with 76 and 75 on the weekend. He couldn’t have been helped in Saturday’s round by the fact that his playing partner, J.J. Henry, staggered his way to a score of 86, which would be enough to take either man in that pairing out of his rhythm. Then, on Sunday, his 75 was well below the average round of 78.7, attributed largely to the glass-like greens. Harrington finished 15 over par at 295 and earned $41,759. Champion Retief Goosen shot 276.
Darren Clarke made a quick exit after Friday’s round. His 147 (73-74) was two strokes too high to make the cut.

ST. OMER OPEN
You can inherit the lead, but you must earn the victory. Sage advice that Stephen Browne would probably sorrowfully nod his head to in agreement. The Dubliner finished the St. Omer Open in France tied for 29th place at 287, three strokes over par. A little past the midway point of Saturday’s round, however, he held the lead, if ever so briefly.
Browne began Saturday tied for second, a stroke behind Carl Suneson. The latter was erratic, mixing birdies with bogeys, so when Browne strung birdies together on 8 and 9, the position atop the leaderboard was his. Fate changed course quickly beginning on the 12th hole, one that Browne bogeyed. He managed par on 13, but bogeyed 14, 15 and 16 to fall back among the pack. He salvaged par on 17, but closed with a double-bogey 6 on the par-4 18th hole.
After hitting a red number nine times through the middle of Saturday’s round, Browne managed only one birdie the rest of the way. Sunday’s travails found him dunned with four bogeys. His cards for the four rounds read 69, 69, 75 and 74.
Among those blowing past Browne was Michael Hoey, who tied for 16th place at 286 (72-70-74-70). Philippe Lima was the champion, shooting 279.

EUROPEAN SENIORS
Denis O’Sullivan may be inching his way back into winning form. The Corkman put up his best showing of the season with a ninth-place tie in the Mobile Cup at the Oxfordshire Golf Club in England. He was in at four-under-par 212 (70-69-73), which was five strokes behind medallist Bill Longmuir. Also competing were Liam Higgins (75-77-70) and Eddie Polland (74-77-71), who shared 40th position at 222.

GOLDEN BEAR TOUR
Sean Quinlivan took a share of 39th place at the Golden Bear Realty Classic, played at Loblolly Pines in Hobe Sound, Fla. and Ballantrae in Port St. Lucie, Fla. He finished four over par at 292 (74-71-71-76) and earned $1,055. Del Ponchock’s 274 stood up for the victory.

EUROPRO TOUR
Padraig Dooley and Ciaran McMonagle were the low-scoring Irishmen at the Cardrona Classic, played at the Cardrona Hotel in Peebles, Scotland. They both finished tied for 28th place at four-under-par 216. Dooley carded rounds of 75, 71 and 70, while McMonagle signed to rounds of 75, 68 and 73. Behind them came Tim Rice, tied for 35th place at 217 (72-73-72), Gavin McNeill (73-73-72) and Eamonn Brady (70-75-73) in a group in 39th place with 218, and Mark Murphy, tied for 49th spot at 222 (74-72-76).
A 36-hole score of 146 was needed to make the cut. Failing this task were Justin Kehoe, 147 (72-75), David Jones, 148 (73-75), Raymond Burns, 148 (72-76), Shane Franklin, 154 (76-78), Barry Templeton, 160 (87-73), and Declan Glynn, 164 (87-77). Inder Van Weerelt took medal honors by shooting 202.