McDowell leads Irish effort in hunt to catch Tiger

YOU wouldn’t have wanted to be out in the latter part of the day at St Andrews yesterday but ironically that’s when the challenge fared best.

Graeme McDowell finished strongly for a 69 to lead the five-strong Irish challenge for the Open Championship and stand three behind leader Tiger Woods. Paul McGinley signed for a 70 and is also nicely placed, but a cold putter hurt Darren Clarke badly and he closed on 73.

Peter Lawrie failed to capitalise on a solid start and he was two over on 74, while British amateur champion Brian McElhinney from Donegal is well back on 78.

McDowell had every reason to be satisfied with a three under par round, finishing it off nicely with two birdies and no concessions in his last five.

And having chipped and putted 17 for par, he rounded it off in style by launching a massive drive into the heart of the 18th green and two-putting for birdie.

And yet the man who last year shot 62 around the Old Course admitted: “I didn’t find it easy out there at all. I saw on the board that Stephen Webster had reached the turn in 30 and I thought I was hanging in nicely for one under. I was pretty content and glad that the rain held off until we were going down 15 and there was a bit of help from the wind.

“The greens weren’t fast at all and got even slower with the rain. But my pace putting was the key, it was excellent, as it has to be at St Andrews. I had a lot of long range putts that I got stone dead.

“I was watching the TV this morning and saw Tiger get to seven under after 12 and thought he was going to be a tough guy to catch. So it’s good to be in the bunch.”

The occasion always means a great deal to McGinley.

“That was a solid round of golf in tougher conditions but that’s the luck of the draw, that’s the British Open and maybe we’ll have the best of it tomorrow,” he said.

“I got off to a nice start with a 15-footer for birdie at the first and missed from four feet at the second so it could have been even better.

“Overall, I’m pleased, I hit a lot of good shots, putted well. I had ball control. There were good cut shots, good draw shots, punches under the wind.

“The big tournament atmosphere kicked in and I had a bit of adrenalin starting off. I hadn’t been playing well but my game went up a lot of notches as against where it has been for the past couple of weeks. The 17th is one of the toughest in golf so it was very nice to be one of the few to make birdie there. I hit three great shots, drive, seven iron that I drew in on the wind to 15 feet and sank the putt. I was unlucky at 18 where my drive almost climbed out of the Valley of Sin only to roll back in and then I three-putted, which leaves a sour taste at the end.”

McGinley has played down the significance of the many hole changes that have taken place. However, he is totally flummoxed by the 348-yard 12th. “The big hitters can get on the green there but I can’t. Sergio Garcia played with me and he smashed the driver, and there was his ball on the green. But I have no idea how to play that hole and I’m going to struggle. There’s no place for me to hit it off the tee unless I play five iron and seven iron to the green, I may do that.”

Clarke had putted beautifully for the most part in finishing second at Loch Lomond last week and, after further work with American coach Stan Utley at St Andrews, felt he had this aspect well under control.

That view hardened when he rolled in a 40-footer for a birdie at the third but then it was one disaster after another with the blade.

“I three-whacked it six times and you can’t do that in the Open. I holed three longish ones as well but I had no feel for the pace of the greens at all. You’re always going to have 40-, 50-, 60-footers on greens this size but I didn’t expect to three-whack them all the time. Then to finish the way I did after getting to one under with three to play, after birdies at the 14th and 15th, and then go bogey, bogey, par, was terribly disappointing.

“At the 16th, I was trying to chip in a little six-iron and run in, as opposed to fly it, and caught the wrong side of the slope.

“At the 17th I hit a nine-iron short, front right, played a lovely chip that ran seven feet past and missed that.

“I hit an easy driver to 18, made the green, and then three putts again. 69, 70 is the score I should have had. Tiger’s 66 was a great score with the greens as firm as they are and the tough pin positions. They all looked like Sunday pins to me.”

Peter Lawrie got off to a consistent start with nine fours, the birdie at the long fifth cancelled out by a bogey at the short eighth. He was back under par with a second gain at the 10th, had another at the 14th but also bogeyed the par three 11th, but a tangle with the coffin bunkers at the 13th cost him a double bogey. The 17th cost him another shot and so it was 38 home for a two over par 74. McElhinney managed a long birdie at the third on his way to a disappointing 78.