European Tour - Irish Open

First topic message reminder :

Home, sweet home…! Always looking forward to the Irish Open week, but to have it only half an hour away from home is just great! Unfortunately not having too much time to write about it so will try and keep it short.
 
So, following last year’s very successful trip to the Royal Portrush, this year we’re back to Carton House, just outside Dublin, and the Montgomerie course, who has been host to the Irish Open in 2005 when it was won by Stephen Dodd (play-off with David Howell) and in 2006, when the winner was Thomas Bjorn (Casey runner up), after a remarkable comeback following a 78 in his first round.
 
http://www.cartonhousegolf.com/montgomerie.html
 
Monty’s course is an inland links-like course (for want of a better word), and, helped by some good old bad Irish weather, proved to be a very tough test indeed for the pros in those two years and I remember there were a few disgruntled faces and unhappy voices out there complaining that it was just too tough. The pretty horrendous rough, the myriad of deep bunkers, some very undulating greens (which sometimes feed off into very deep bunkers) and the fact that it is quite open and exposed if there is bad, windy weather were the main characteristics that contributed to that course making very few fans among the competitors (at more than 7300 yards, it’s not very short either). I played the course before and after they had the Open there first time, and have to say that after the tournament the setup was much ‘milder’ than before with regards to the rough in particular (you can see here a cut from a picture I took in 2006 with Harri in the ‘milder’ part of the rough)…
 

Spoiler:

But anyway, judging by the noises I heard yesterday from some players and from Harrington in particular, it seems that the organisers may have got the message and they went even further this time with cutting down the rough and Paddy seemed to be at pains repeating that with that and the good weather forecasted, scores should be much lower this time and there will be ‘many players who will come out with a smile on their face’…
Not sure how much the reputation of the course had to do with it, but the reality is that the field strength this year turns out to be rather disappointing, with a projected 32 points on offer for the winner, down from a much more decent 38 points last year…
 

Spoiler:

Personally I believe the date/calendar is still the main problem here, while the lack of a big sponsor doesn’t help the situation either. Having said that, well done to all the Irish star players for supporting the event this year once again, I’m just hoping that all of them will also take it seriously and will put up a strong performance this week. Not quite sure if the big guns like Rory, GMac and Padraig are determined to give 100% on the course this week, but I really hope they’ll prove me wrong. The defending champ from Portrush, Jamie Donaldson, has a ‘perfectly bad’ record on Monty’s course with two MC’s out of two. There’s been all sorts of finger pointing to names like Shane Lowry (who lives on site) and Thomas Bjorn as some of the favourites, and although I wouldn’t disagree with that,  I still think that this event, on that course, is really open and it’s hard to predict who will be the contenders come Sunday.
 
As I mentioned, the weather is almost always an issue at the Irish Open, but this year the forecast is not too bad, although some light rain and wind are expected, especially tomorrow and maybe on Sunday afternoon as well. Really looking forward to this and I’m hoping to make it there at least for one (hoping for two) of the next four days…

Luiten in the lead, could go career best @~55 OWGR

PD, are you there today? If so, which flight are you following?

Lowry dropping like a big brick today. Gravity's a b%^*tch

Yep, just got back home, and I'm absolutely wrecked...
 
But it's been brilliant couple of days! Well... more like one day really, due to other commitments, as I ended up with a great deal (for them), i.e. one full day (half yesyerday and half tody) for the price of two...
 
Yes TMO, I knew you're gonna ask, so here it is (before I get the time to write something more consistent)... this is joost for you:
 

Spoiler:

...that's Joost and Peter Uihlein on the 5th green yesterday...

I'd say Luiten is all but sure of qualification for the Open if he wins tomorrow? Anyone any thoughts?

Ps nice one, PD

Looks like another blowy day keeping the scores relatively sensible.Couple of loose shots could be the difference up top.

Is It too early to hope that Paul Casey is signalling his return to top class form? Not necessarily with the win, although that would be nice, but a strong finish and contention would be a great start.

Well done to Casey never nice to see someone fall from the top!

Casey takes it fantastic effort.Solid from Rock(no pun intended)but needs two good weeks to get in the open.

Brilliant stuff from Paul Casey. Eagle on 18 summed it all up. Hopefully he can kick on from here and get back to contending in Majors.

I'm very late with this, but let's start with the weather since it's been playing once again a big factor in the Irish Open ... I was there on Friday and Saturday for a total of about 7-8 hours and in that time I have to say that I've experienced every possible weather feature that you can have during a typical Irish summer. Arrived there rather late on Friday just as the marquee group of Harri and GMac were finishing on the 9th green, and to be honest I didn't feel that I missed too much. Not that unexpected for me, but still very disappointing stuff from the Irish 'superstars' this week. Fairplay to Shane Lowry in that context for his solid performance, but it's been just to little overall to counterballance the dissappointment with the general Irish efforts...
 
Although the rough has been indeed cut down significantly this year and the course has been playing much easier than I've seen it before, this still remains a tough challenge no matter what and considering the weather conditions as well, the scores we've seen this week are very much a testament of the quality of play from those who find themselves near the top on Sunday. The 23-shot difference between the lead at the moment and the last place from those who made the cut is another testament of the fact that if you're not 100% focused and on form here, things can very easilly go pear shape...
 
The top prize for best overall performance I've seen these days must go to Luiten, superb ball striking and the most confident with the putter. Always looked and felt in control. Mind you, Uihlein looked and felt just as good, until Saturday when I decided to leave him after he tapped in that for a par at the 2nd as I decided to move on the 5th green to wait for Shane Lowry's group. Little did I know until later in the day that at the next hole, the par 3 3rd, the American collapsed with a double bogey and never really recovered since. Pitty, I saw him these days for the first time in flesh and was really impressed with him. Cool and controlled, always a nice smile on his face and a pleasure watching him overall...
 

Spoiler:

Best shot I've seen it's probably a toss up between Casey's dart at the par 3 show-hole 17th on Saturday (within ~3 feet and birdie) and this bunker shot from Ilonen at the 9th. Very deep bunker and less than ideal stance with feet well above the ball, but he played it beautifully inside 2-feet from the stick and got his par.
 

Spoiler:

A few aproach shots from Luiten, Larrazabal and RRock, among others, also came close...
Can't really remember a really bad shot I've seen apart from the odd wayward teeshots here and there...
 
Other highlights included watching for the first time from close range a couple of driver bombs signed Alvaro Quiros (ears popping stuff), who played really well overall, while among the biggest disappointments, apart from the dismall performance of the Irish superstars and the weather, was the fact that I missed somehow to catch a glimpse of segnor O'Lazabal, which is a pitty considering that he's been playing so well all week...
 

Spoiler:

High marks once again to the organisers, as usual, everything was well put together and the course was in excellent condition (especially the greens).  Only small complaints with the car parking which was a bit far away (the O'Meara course was sacrificed for that purpose) and the kids entertainment stuff wasn't quite as good as it was two years ago in Killarney...
 
P.S. By the time I finished this Casey alreay won the tournament. Great for him, no doubt, and I see the Irish commentators are already trying to claim him for some of his Irish connections...

Thrilled for Casey, still some work to do to get in to The Open.
Perhaps that win will get him into the Bridgestone and close to the Top 100 for a PGA Champioship tee-time.

Always thought he'd be the first since Paul Lawrie to win a Major, but fifth wouldn't be bad - let's hope he gets there.

I'll be interested to hear from those who attended, pd, John C, what they think of the course . . . . .

And: We had to listen to a bloke called Shane doing commentary - wouldn't much care for a steady diet of him, though Gary Murphy was walking the course and was quite good.

Fine tournament.
Fine win.

Tremendous result.  He's had a long hard road back to full golfing fitness.  Absolutely delighted for him.  Hope he manages to sober up in time for a crack at The Open!

"Casey was fantastic this afternoon. Saw him 1 and 6-18 which included a couple of lip outs showing how good it could have been. Ball striking peerless and general demeanour excellent. He could do some damage soon!"

Couldn't resist re-posting a comment I made after watching Casey during the US Open Qualifier. Really pleased for him!

Well done Paul! Back to top English player (although Justin's a long way to catch). As for Open qualifyong spots: Luiten is no 6 on the 5 out of the top 20 R2D 2013 not qualified oherwise if I am not mistaken (Rumford-Ilonen-Sterne-Jamieson-TB) if I am not mistaken which means he's got some work to do...

mighty,
Jamieson is already qualified via IFQ. JL looking good.

Nice to see Casey in the winners circle! Hope he continues his climb to the top.

Didn't make it to Carton House.................quality winner though

WELL DONE CASEY!!

I think it might be good for casey to play a bit more on the euro tour tbh. A few more wins could be just what he needs to get that confidence back..

I heard a rumour pd is tweeting Paul Casey up to #102.
Pity he's not in the Francais field, (maybe he can change that?) but Luiten's there.

Another GB / Ire winner at this event - quite a run.

Pleased for Casey, and would like to see him back at the top level. Still a way to go for him I guess (in terms of OWGR, WGCs and majors etc and even "just" returning to the PGA Tour assuming that's his intention). Could be dangerous if he manages to make it to The Open in this kind of form in this kind of weather?

Also glad to see Rocky contending, and hope this signals a longer term uptick in form for him too.

I guess smooching Pollyanna Woodward must have bucked Casey up. Can't say I'm surprised, she'd get a rise from a corpse...

And well done to Gareth Shaw on his 5th place!

5th place for Shaw even better. Will he be added to the Fench Open field?

And confirmation that Paul Casey earned a spot in next month's "Bridgestone" - he'll need a good result between now (entering "France" would have been a good start with the chance of getting to Muirfield) and then to assure himself of a spot at Oak Hill however.

Is it correct to say that the only way Paul Casey can now get into the field for the Open is to win the Scottish Open the week before (as he's not playing in France)?

I'm sure there will be a few late withdrawals in the week leading up to Muirfield. Would he be high up on any standby list or does anyone know how that works?

Tinmar that would be correct winner of the Scottish gets in.pretty sure any late drop outs get filled by the final quali reserves after tomorrows 36 holes on the 4 local courses.Not sure how many spots are left as we speak but usually only 12 or so

Unless Casey gets himself a late invite to Paris, winning in Scotland is his only route left, yes. The remaining places to be filled for the Open are as follows:

1. The 5 highest-ranked players in the FedEx top 20, not already qualified, as of next Monday. These are currently Horschel (5), Weekley (9), Henley (16), English (17), Howell III (18). Those with the best chance of gatecrashing are Duke (21), de Laet (23) and Walker (24), who all play this week (nos. 25 and 26, Bae and Laird, are AWOL). Howell and Henley are also playing, but English is absent. For the record, Casey is at 218 and wouldn't qualify even if he played (he isn't) and won.

2. The 5 highest-ranked players in the R2D top 20, not already qualified, as of next Monday. These are currently Rumford (5), Ilonen (7), Sterne (9), Bjorn (16) and Luiten (18). The closest challengers are Warren (21), Gallacher (23) and Larrazabal (26), all of whom are in Paris, as are Bjorn and Luiten. Casey is in 27th, about 65k short of Luiten, but isn't currently in the field.

3. Scottish Open winner; Casey is currently in the field. The place is only available for the winner, not the highest-finishing non-qualified player as in previous years.

4. John Deere Classic winner. Again the place is only open for the winner; in 2003 it went to the highest-finishing non-qualified player, Ben Curtis in T13th, and he won the whole thing.

5. 12 spots to local qualifying, being played tomorrow. Like most tour pros Casey is barred from entering as he has already played in International Final Qualifying at Sunningdale. Notable players at Local qualifying include:

Dunbar - Current Tour players Shiv Kapur, Robert Dinwiddie and Adrian Otaegui; ex-European Tour winner Mark Davis; Amateur Champion Jin Jeong; former Challenge Tour winners Colm Moriarty and John Wade; 2011 Walker Cup player Michael Stewart; everyone's favourite cheat Elliot Saltman; and Kevin Phelan, the Irish amateur who made the US Open cut last month.
Gullane - new Seniors Montgomerie and Andrew Oldcorn, and old Senior Mark James; tour regulars Pablo Martin, Steven O'Hara, Andrew Marshall and Oscar Floren, and former regular Garry Houston; PGA Tour veteran Scott Dunlap; former CT winner James Hepworth; ex-US Amateur winner An Byeong-hun; and last week's Amateur runner-up Max Orrin. And another Saltman (Zack).
North Berwick - Ryder Cup player of 20 years ago Peter Baker, and of 22 years ago Paul Broadhurst; Tour winners Peter Hedblom and Raymond Russell, and former Tour regulars Iain Pyman, Zane Scotland, David Higgins, Mark Pilkington and David Griffiths; and former CT winners Daniel Gaunt, George Murray, Jamie McCleary and Michael McGeady.
Musselburgh - Tour winners Jarmo Sandelin and Matthew Zions; ex Amateur No. 1 Scott Arnold; 2011 Walker Cup player Jack Senior; ex Asian Tour winner Chris Rodgers; the final Saltman (Lloyd); and ex CT winner James Heath.

Re: Alternates - for the past few years the alternates have been taken from a list of the highest OWGR-ranked players not already qualified. How far down the rankings this goes depends on how many extra players are needed: in 2012 only one alternate place was available, and given to the world No 56 (Michael Thompson, after Ben Crane (54) declined it). Usually there are more alternates though - in 21 the last player was the 11th alternate, Ricky Barnes (#81), in 2010 the 5th alternate, Jason Day (#72), and in 2009 the 6th alternate, John Senden (#95). At the moment, if all 10 places from the R2D and FedEx standings, plus both places from the John Deere and Scottish, are all taken up, then 8 alternates will be needed (not allowing for any further withdrawals). The rankings that the alternates will be taken from will be the week when the places are confirmed available (either next week or the week after); but if they were to be taken from this week's (and assuming the 10 places from the FedEx and R2D don't change), those 8 places would go to: Laird, Jacobson, Leishman, Stanley, de Laet, Wood, Duke and Walker (#73).
If that is how it pans out, with a lot of golf yet to be played, then the alternates for any further drop-outs would be:
1. S Stallings
2. B de Jonge
3. R Palmer
4. S Gallacher
5. D Lingmerth
6. SM Bae
7. P Larrazabal
8. J Merrick
9. J van Zyl
10. K Chappell
11. C Kirk
12. C Hoffman
13. P Casey

so if someone already qualifed for the open wins in Scotland then where is this space filled from?

Maybe all this non qualifying for majors has spurred on Paul. Clearly a top 40 player if not better as standard and should be in all majors..

Naughty snowboarder.

hend085 wrote:so if someone already qualifed for the open wins in Scotland then where is this space filled from?

From the alternates list. See the post above yours