February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
Darren Clarke salvaged a measure of pride with his 11th-place finish in the British Open at Troon, but he was elevated by a late flurry of birdies. He kept the leaders in sight after the first day with a 69 but lost pace over the next two rounds with scores of 72 and 73. Sunday’s finale saw him shoot 68, which featured consecutive birdies on holes 4-6 and 15-17. He finished eight strokes behind Todd Hamilton and Ernie Els, who settled the playoff to Hamilton’s advantage.
Paul McGinley also went the distance. He tied for 57th place at 293 (69-76-75-73). His first round was marred when he had to call a penalty stroke on himself, as a result of his ball moving as he was addressing it. At 145 for 36 holes, he just made the cut.
Padraig Harrington wasn’t so lucky, finishing 36 holes at 147 (76-71). He was joined by Daniel Sugrue, 148 (74-74), Graeme McDowell, 152 (79-73), and Brian McElhinney, 152 (76-76).
CHALLENGE TOUR
Stephen Browne scorched the Gardagolf Country Club in Italy for a tournament-low 62 in the final round of the Texbond Open. This was a glass half-full situation, however. Browne had made the cut with no strokes to spare and with a 74 in the third round was nowhere near the top of the leaderboard as the final round commenced. He did propel himself into a tie at 18th place, finishing nine under par for 72 holes at 279 (72-71-74-62).
Browne played a nearly flawless final round, carding nine birdies and an eagle-2 on the par-4 13th hole. His only bogey occurred on the par-4 8th, where he took a 5.
Michael Hoey acquitted himself well, too. He shared 10th place at 276 (70-67-71-68). Sam Little shot 269 for the victory.
EUROPRO TOUR
Last week was gut check time for Ciaran McMonagle. Just days after coughing up a championship with bogeys on the last two holes, the Donegal man teed the ball up in the Mortgage Group Classic at the Bristol Golf Club in Bristol, England. He managed to put his disappointment aside and finish the 54-hole event tied for fifth place at nine-under-par 201 (66-68-67), just two strokes off medallist Geoffrey Harris.
McMonagle had one rough patch on the front nine during the second round, where he posted three bogeys, making the turn in 38. He steeled himself, however, and ran the table so to speak with 30 for the back nine, highlighted by an eagle-3 on the par-5 15th hole.
Also on the course were Eamonn Brady, who tied for 37th place at 208 (67-68-73), and the trio of Tim Rice (68-69-72), Gavin McNeill (69-69-71) and Padraig Dooley (70-68-71), who finished in joint 42nd place at 209.
NATIONWIDE TOUR
Keith Nolan tied for 26th place in the Pete Dye West Virginia Classic at the Pete Dye Golf Course in Bridgeport, W.V. Nolan, enjoying one his best and least erratic performances of recent years, finished eight under par at 280 (70-71-71-68). He earned $4,560. D.A. Points was the tourney champion at 265. Richard Coughlan missed the cut for the first time in seven outings. His 144 (71-73) was off by two strokes.