Gary Hurley’s charge towards the European Amateur title was halted as thunder and lightning forced an early finish on day three on the Dukes course at St Andrews.

Maurice Kelly will be aiming to complete a magnificent quick-fire double when he competes at the British Seniors Amateur Championship, which gets underway at Ganton, Yorkshire, this morning.

European captain Paul McGinley today named Sam Torrance and Des Smyth as his first two vice-captains for September’s Ryder Cup at Gleneagles.

Darren Clarke will have to wait to make his 500th European Tour appearance after pulling out of the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters through injury.

Former Ryder Cup captain Jose Maria Olazabal will attempt to bring some Medinah magic to the Seve Trophy and lead another European side to a team triumph.

Shane Lowry secured his best finish in nearly a year but two crowd distractions over the closing holes in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at St Andrews cost him victory.

Former Ryder Cup captain Bernard Gallacher remains in a “critical” condition in Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.

Gareth Maybin will tee up in the British Open at Muirfield next month after producing two splendid rounds in the international final qualifying at Sunningdale yesterday.

Carton House’s Shane Lowry warmed-up for this week’s Irish Open with a blistering final round 65 in the BMW International Open in Munich.

Ernie Els busted out of last week’s Merion ‘torture chamber’ and singled out Irish-born caddy Colin Byrne for helping produce his lowest score in seven months on the opening day of the 25th anniversary BMW International Open in Munich .

Paul McGinley has received an invitation to contest this year’s PGA Championship where fellow Irishman Rory McIlroy will defend the Rodman Wanamaker Trophy.

A week that meant so much to Northern Ireland turned out to mean even more for Welshman Jamie Donaldson tonight.

Welshman Jamie Donaldson finally landed his first European Tour title at the 255th attempt today.

None of the three Irish players involved in yesterday’s qualifying rounds over the New and Old courses at Sunningdale made it through to next month’s British Open Championship at Royal Lytham St Annes.

Ryder Cup captain Jose Maria Olazabal still had a chance to make his 22nd appearance at The Open despite three late bogeys in his first round of the 36-hole qualifying event at Sunningdale today.

Paul McGinley heads into today’s British Open 36-hole qualifier buoyed after storming his way to a share of third place at the BMW International Open near Cologne.

Ryder Cup captains past and present Colin Montgomerie and Jose Maria Olazabal are part of a 96-strong field at Sunningdale tomorrow battling for 10 places in next month’s Open Championship.

ONCE again Sinn Féin has demonstrated its grasp of politics by capturing the presidential campaign with the story of itself.

Holders Britain and Ireland have been hit much harder by withdrawals than Continental Europe for next week’s Vivendi Seve Trophy in Paris.

Thomas Bjorn has won a five-man, five-hole play-off in the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles.

Paul McGinley has a chance to further his claims to the Ryder Cup captaincy in 2014 after being put in charge of the Great Britain and Ireland team again for the Vivendi Seve Trophy in Paris on September 15-18.

After playing in every Open since 1989 Colin Montgomerie misses out at Sandwich this week.

Graeme McDowell now refers to Rory McIlroy as “The Man” – but his own talent was there for all to see again at Castle Stuart near Inverness today.

American former Ryder Cup player Anthony Kim has confirmed he will be at Sandwich for the Open next week.

JUMPING in a lake to celebrate his French Open win has put Thomas Levet out of this week’s Scottish Open — and quite possibly the British Open as well.

Ireland's Damien McGrane was off to a solid start today in the Alstom French Open at Le Golf National near Paris, sitting in a group behind leader David Lynn.

INSPIRED by a tip from compatriot Christy O’Connor Jnr, Des Smyth captured his fourth European Senior Tour title in thrilling fashion with a sublime round of 65 at the Van Lanschot Senior Open in Holland yesterday.

PAUL McGINLEY was nicely positioned to make local knowledge pay when he stood four under par through 27 holes in yesterday’s final qualifying round for the British Open at Sunningdale.

Whether Colin Montgomerie ever plays another major championship remains open to doubt after he failed miserably in a 36-hole qualifier for The Open today.

Colin Montgomerie gave himself another mountain to climb when he managed only a one-over-par 71 in the first round of the Open Championship 36-hole qualifier at Sunningdale today.

RORY McILROY tried all he knew but was unable to live with the scorching pace set by Steve Stricker and a host of other Americans in the final round of the Memorial tournament at Muirfield Village, Ohio, yesterday.

Swede Alex Noren won his second European Tour title at Celtic Manor today – and this time all it needed was solid golf rather than a moment of magic.

Paul McGinley has received a late call-up into tomorrow’s Open Championship qualifier at his home course Sunningdale – thanks to fellow Dubliner Peter Lawrie.

Former world number one Vijay Singh has pulled out of the Open Championship qualifying event at Sunningdale on Monday.

FORMER Irish Open champion Shane Lowry comfortably made it through the 36-hole qualifier for the US Open at Walton Heath yesterday.

Colin Montgomerie found himself in a late dash to make his tee-off time at Wentworth today – and four hours later was very glad he had done it.

Sergio Garcia looks set to make a late decision on whether his infected fingernail has healed enough for him to play the HP Byron Nelson Championship in Texas.

Padraig Harrington is “absolutely gutted” that he is not fit enough to play in this week’s BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth.

Former world number one Vijay Singh will compete at Sunningdale next month in a bid to qualify for the Open at Royal St George's.

Dr Garret FitzGerald was caricatured as something between a whiz kid and an absent-minded professor.

Four men were remanded in custody in Britain today when they appeared in court charged with murdering a man found dying in the back of a van.

SHANE LOWRY cannot conceal the excitement ahead of his first Major championship this week.

RORY McILROY warmed-up for the British Open with a three-under par on day one of the French Open and then suggested Paul McGinley be considered a Ryder Cup Vice-Captain.

Five years after beating Tiger Woods down the stretch to become US Open champion New Zealand’s Michael Campbell finds himself in a very different battle in Scotland tomorrow.