Graeme McDowell outlined a renewed commitment and some ambitious career targets after making an ideal start to the defence of his Volvo World Match Play Championship title.

Graeme McDowell believes the continuing fallout from Europe’s Ryder Cup victory at Gleneagles will ensure a "fairly epic" contest in two years’ time.

COLIN MONTGOMERIE is tipping Lee Westwood to win The Masters next April and with it complete an historic European Tour slam of the majors.

ROSS FISHER, a 29-year-old from the horseracing haven of Ascot, proved at Killarney yesterday that nice guys do come first.

Shane Lowry will tee off at Killarney tomorrow hoping to join a distinguished list of players who have made successful defences of the Irish Open title.

NEXT season’s European Tour – starting in South Africa on Thursday – will feature a minimum of 47 tournaments, including six new ones, and will once again culminate in the Dubai World Championship.

IT WAS triple Major-winning Padraig Harrington who made the effort to break from his practice and congratulate Shane Lowry on last month’s 3 Irish Open success yesterday.

PAUL McGINLEY and Thomas Bjorn – high on Colin Montgomerie’s wanted list as Ryder Cup vice-captains – would love nothing more than to force him into finding someone else.

Paul McGinley and Thomas Bjorn - high on Colin Montgomerie's wanted list as Ryder Cup vice-captains - would love nothing more than to force him into finding someone else.

Paul McGinley, who might well be back at Celtic Manor next year as a Ryder Cup vice-captain under Colin Montgomerie, went from the ridiculous to the sublime at the start of the Wales Open today.

THE countdown to the US Open at Long Island’s Bethpage Parkin New York (June 18-21) begins this week at Jack Nicklaus’s Memorial tournament in Ohio, and the Wales Open at Celtic Manor.

THIRTY-NINE year-old Frenchman Christian Cevaer held his head while all around were losing theirs to win the European Open by a shot from England’s Steve Webster, the Scot Gary Orr and Spain’s Alvaro Quiros at a sunny London Club yesterday.

France's Christian Cevaer, a lowly 449th in the world, was the shock winner of the European Open at the London Club in Kent today.

Rory McIlroy, golf’s most gifted 20-year-old, went off to watch the final of “Britain’s Got Talent” tonight after giving himself another chance for his second European Tour victory.

Ryder Cup Dane Soren Hansen moved into contention for the European Open at the London Club in Kent today – and also witnessed something he has never seen before.

After a nightmare season in which he has made only four cuts in 21 tournaments and never had a single top-40 finish, Welshman Stephen Dodd’s career is suddenly on the up again.

SEVERAL of the game’s finest made their exits from the European Open at the London Club yesterday as the little-known Frenchman Michael Lorenzo-Vera and India’s Jeev Milkha Singh tied for the lead on eight under par at the halfway stage.

SHANE LOWRY was back home among his own people in Clara, Co Offaly, last night disappointed at not having done better in his first professional tournament but in a strange way quite relieved that the occasion was behind him.

Shane Lowry’s professional debut ended after only two days at the European Open today after he could add only a 73 to his opening 78 at the London Club.

Shane Lowry could not produce the fireworks he needed today after starting his professional career with a 78 – but he saw some from playing partner Anthony Wall.

Angel Cabrera was in danger of missing his third halfway cut in four tournaments since his Masters triumph after he began his second round of the European Open with three successive bogeys at the London Club today.

Paul McGinley is predicting great things for Irish Open champion Shane Lowry despite the 22-year-old slumping to a 78 in his first professional round yesterday.

YESTERDAY’S six over 78 on his professional debut in the opening round of the European Open at the London Club means Shane Lowry has little chance of surviving the cut.

DENMARK’S Anders Hansen shot a sparkling seven under par 65 to lead after the first round of the European Open at the London Club yesterday. He is one ahead of South African Thomas Aiken, Peter Hanson of Sweden and Jyoti Randhawa from India.

Shane Lowry’s eagerly-awaited professional debut fell miles short of what he was hoping for in the European Open at the London Club today.

Sweden’s Peter Hanson followed up his dramatic play-off hole-in-one on Monday with a sparkling start to the European Open at the London Club in Kent today.

The first three hours of the European Open at the London Club had just about everything today – from a hole-in-one to a quadruple bogey nine.

Sergio Garcia and Michael Campbell were wishing they could start all over again within an hour of the European Open getting under way at the London Club today.

When Ben Curtis won the 2003 Open, his very first major, with a world ranking of 396th, the jury was out on whether it was a fluke.

SERGIO GARCIA and Henrik Stenson, ranked fourth and fifth in the world respectively, are at the London Club for the European Open beginning here this morning. So, too, is the Masters champion Angel Cabrera, along with a whole lot more of the world’s finest golfers.

SHANE LOWRY will be nicely set up financially by the end of the week if his manager Conor Ridge has his way.

SERGIO GARCIA yesterday thanked family and friends for helping him through one of the saddest times in his life.

Ireland's newest golf star Shane Lowry is determined to make the right impression on and off the course in his new career.

Ross Fisher warned today that he would be prepared to pull out of the Open Championship in July even if he is charging toward victory at the time.

Thousands of golf fans will be watching some of the game’s biggest names for nothing at the European Open this week – and organisers could not be happier about that.

THE drama surrounding Shane Lowry since his stunning Irish Open success continued yesterday at the London Club in Kent. Lowry makes his professional debut in the €1.8m tournament with organisers grouping the 22-year old Offaly golfer with fellow Irishman Paul McGinley and England’s Anthony Wall for the opening two rounds.

Shane Lowry’s professional debut in the European Open at the London Club in Kent on Thursday with be played alongside fellow Irishman Paul McGinley and England’s Anthony Wall.

RORY McILROY has returned to 16th in the world rankings after finishing fifth in the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth on Sunday.

THE TUG-OF-LOVE that ensued between the rival agencies for Shane Lowry’s signature after his remarkable victory in the 3 Irish Open was always going to end in favour of Conor Ridge’s Dublin-based Horizon Sports Management.

Shane Lowry, European golf’s newest star, has turned professional and will make his debut in next week’s European Open at the London Club in Kent.

Offaly's Shane Lowry is expected to announce this afternoon that he is turning professional.

IRISH Open hero Shane Lowry is expected to announce today that he’s turning professional with immediate effect.

Shane Lowry’s stunning Irish Open victory has moved him up from 16th to sixth in the world amateur rankings – the very last one on which his name might appear.

GIVEN these straitened times, it is hardly surprising that the future of at least nine tournaments on the European Tour schedule for 2009 are in some doubt.