February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
By John Manley
Padraig Harrington and Paul McGinley represented Ireland in the World Golf
Championships — EMC World Cup at The Taiheiyo Club in Gotemba, Japan, but couldn’t reprise their victory of several years ago, when the event was held at Kiawah Island, S.C. This year, the duo settled for a tie at 14th place with Australia.
Harrington and McGinley recorded a 64 on the first day of the tournament, which was played under an alternate shot format. Their second-round 72 left them seven strokes behind New Zealand’s Michael Campbell and David Smail, who led the pack at that point. Another 64 in the third round moved the Irish duo only a stroke closer to the Kiwis, who shot 65 between them.
While Harrington and McGinley ended with 71, Denmark and South Africa rallied to force a four-way tie with New Zealand and the U.S., which was represented by David Duval and Tiger Woods. The South African duo of Ernie Els and Retief Goosen prevailed in sudden death to win the championship.
UBS Warburf Cup
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Back at Kiawah, this variation on the Ryder Cup for the older set found the U.S. defeating an international team that included Des Smyth, 12 1/2-11 1/2. Smyth was victorious in all three contests he participated in.
Teamed with Gary Player in match play, they beat the duo of Arnold Palmer and Mark O’Meara, 3 and 2. They also took Palmer and Dana Quigley by two holes. In singles play, Smyth scored a 4 and 3 win over Loren Roberts.
PGA Q-School
Richard Coughlan is once again a man in search of a tour. The Birr, Co. Offaly, native didn’t earn enough this year to retain his playing privileges for 2002, so back to the qualifying tournament he went. A second-stage qualifier was held at the Oak Valley Golf Club in Beaumont, Calif., where Coughlan missed advancing to the final stage by four strokes. Coughlan finished two over par at 290 (75-73-70-72) for the 72-hole event. The top 19 and ties advanced, which established a score of 286 as the highest to go on.