Sad to see Sergio Garcia pick up right where he left off with a poor putting display which dropped him below the cutline in his home Castello Masters. A series of Sergio three putts during the second round were in marked contrast to playing partner Jose Maria Olazabal who battled bravely to a 68 to make the cut.
Why doesn’t Sergio just call up Paul Hurrion to get him sorted? He did the trick with Rory McIlroy.
Click on pic below to view highlights from the second round of the Castello Masters on the European Tour site.
We’re heading off for a few days to Oceanico in Portugal so its going to be not quite golfcentral “daily” for a short time. See you all Sunday night when normal service will be resumed. In the meantime roll on the Sunblock and Superbock in Vilamoura!
Ernie Els overpowered the entire field (of four) on his way to winning the Grand Slam of Golf in the Bermuda Triangle. Whoop-dee-doo. Els beat David Toms (how the hell did he get in?) by one shot after carding a second round 69 to finish on five under.
Can anyone explain how Gonzo did not win last win last week in Vilamoura? I can. He missed putt after makeable putt after lording it tee to green. Ironically the only one of the leading players to have worse putting stats was Richard Green! Castano has kept the bank account topped up with top fives in Mallorca, Ireland, Austria and now Portugal and though he hasn’t managed to string two good weeks together this season, this week in Spain may be different. Stop moving Gonzo on your bloody putts!
I’m going to keep the faith with Alex for one week because I still believe he has better in him and his results suggest. Came out of the blocks with a 65 last week but a destructive driver cost him dear in the second round when he shot a horrible 73. He finished tied 36th, his lowest finish in three, having tied third in Austria and top 20’d at the Dunhill Links. If Noren drives it straight this week, he has the game to repeat his Crans Sur Sierre victory in 2009. Came third here in 2008
All eyes will be one Sergio Garcia and Jose Maria Olazabal as they make their return this week but another one of the home contingent to watch out for is Ignacio Garrido. Garrido is to golf what Kevin McBride is to heavyweight boxing, a journeyman who occasionally punches above his weight. The Spaniard has had a better season this year, with a top 15 at the British Open providing a springboard to some good cheques. Very impressive last week in Portugal, he finished four shots back for tied ninth, topping the driving stats for the week.
Just when you least expect it Peter Lawrie pops up and grabs the cash. I love to watch Lawrie play, he hits it no further than you or me, but his course management and short game are among the best on Tour. Tied sixth last week in Vilamoura and always very solid at the end of the season. Lawrie came close at the KLM Open, where Peter Hanson beat him in the playoff and also in Spain at the Open de Espana where he came third after defending his only Tour title won in Catalunya in 2008. A dark horse who goes quietly about his business. Wont know the course as good as some of the others but a dark horse.
If you’re after some long odds glory this week consider a small wager on Peter Hedblom. Missed the cut last week in Portugal, exactly as he did in 2008 when Garcia pipped him to the title. It’s been over a year now since Hedblom won the Johnnie Walker at Gleneagles and he will be hoping to rediscover some good form in the Spanish sun this week.
The marvellous bronze of Seve Ballesteros greeted the 16 participants of the latest “Golfbidder Doc’s Dawn Raid” club testing morning at the fantastic Heritage Golf Resort in Killenard, Co Laois. For this latest adventure Golfbidder supplied a shed load of 
drivers, fairway woods and a selection of wedges for the 16 participants to test on the range at the Seve Natural Golf School. Following the testing the lads were treated to a full Irish Brekkie before tackling the fabulous former Seve Trophy venue.
Pic: Mick Buggy and Cormac Doyle with Seve on front of the clubhouse at The Heritage.
Among the stars of the day were plus one handicapper Mick Buggy from Kilkenny who treated the crowd to an exhibition of ball striking both on the range and out on the Championship Course. Mick’s still on his way back after five years without touching a club and shot a one under par round in breezy conditions. Cormac Doyle from Matrix Golf Tours showed he’s no slouch either (off 8) as he recovered from nearly tearing the driving range down (see the video!) to end the day with the coveted title of “bandit”! Born entertainer Rory Murphy kept everyone laughing with stories of cheap green fees he’s managed to wangle off everywhere from St. Andrews to Bay Hill.
Among the weaponry that impressed was the TaylorMade SuperTri driver and the Ping Rapture V2 was a favourite of the lower handicappers. The unwieldy looking Nike Machspeed Driver proved as straight as the specs suggested and surprised everyone with its quality.
Thumbs Up From The Gang After The Round!
Watch out and sign up for the next Golfbidder Doc’s Dawn Raid coming your way soon!
Rob Fitzpatrick from Dunmurry Springs Golf Club became the inaugural TopGolfer Tour Champion after carding an impressive 1 under total after 36 holes on the Monty Course at Carton House.
Brainchild of Rob Hill, the TopGolfer events attracted 2400 Irish golfers to events all around the country, culminating in the Tour Championship at the Maynooth venue.
Winner Rob Fitzpatrick, off 4 handicap, beat 22 other tour winners including Derek Basquille (3) of Enniscrone Golf Club who held the lead going in to the final round. Third place went to David Kiely (3) of Tramore Golf Club.
Full leaderboard on the topgolfer site http://ireland.vpar-golf.com/live/topgolfer
47 year old Rocco Mediate, playing without a glove, in the pissings of rain has just recorded one of the most dramatic wins in PGA Tour history at the Frys.com Open. Mediate lead by a million miles going into the final round but managed to throw it all away before hammering in birdie then eagle on 16 and 17 to right his listing ship and claim the win.
Rocco’s eagle on 17 was awesome. The rest of the field, to
a man, drove the green and two putted for bird, but Rocco with a bad back, laid up to 112 yards. He then asked his playing partner (Alex Prugh who had driven the green) to mark his ball before wedging his Callaway three foot past the pin and zipping it back straight into the cup.
Mediate finished at 15 under, shooting a final-round 71. His eagle on 17 was his fourth hole-out from the fairway and fourth eagle of the week, meaning that eight of that 15-under total came in a span of four holes.
Bo Van Pelt and Alex Prugh each birdied the last in some style to put the skids on Mediate, who had a little over 4 feet left for his first win in 186 starts. Rocco canned for undoubtedly won of the most dramatic wins in PGA Tour history.
Aussie Richard Green won the 2010 Portugal Masters today at the Oceanico Victoria resort in Vilamoura. View final round highlights on the European tour website by clicking on the pic below
Padraig Harrington closed with a three-under-par 69 at the US$1.25 million Iskandar Johor Open to end his two year winning drought
His winning score of 20-under-par was three shots clear of second-placed Noh Seung-yul of Korea, and worth approx €100,000. Chinese Taipei’s Lin Wen-tang finished third, four with Mardan Mamat fourth.
“It’s somewhat a monkey off your back,” said a smiling Harrington after. Winning is a habit. Every time you win, it is important but when you haven’t won for a while it does add a bit more emphasis to it. It makes it all the more memorable.”
“There’s no doubt that it was my week to win. If you had followed me for the four days, I don’t think anyone would have questioned that my name was written on the trophy before the tournament started. I got the breaks all the way through. I hit some good shots and had a few breaks. Luck of the Irish? I’ll accept that,” added Harrington.
