Inconsistency on the green leaves McIlroy feeling blue

 

By Nick MulvenneyNovember 28, 2013 3:06 AM

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Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland holds his ball on the second green during the third round of the DP …

By Nick Mulvenney

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SYDNEY (Reuters) - Rory McIlroy is driving as well as ever but his putting let him down on Thursday when he ended the first round of the Australian Open seven shots behind leader Adam Scott after shooting a three-under-par 69.

The world number six's problems since changing his equipment this year have been well documented and he arrived at the Royal Sydney Golf Club this week still searching for his first title of 2013.

After Scott's brilliant round, McIlroy's chances of success in Australia already appear remote and the Northern Irishman was left ruing four missed short putts that could have made a huge difference to his score.

"Missed three or four short ones out there," he told reporters after signing for his card.

"Wasteful, yeah. I felt it could have been a lot lower. Off the tee, I'm driving the ball the best I ever have, it's just a matter of being more efficient and scoring better.

"That's really it. I only played the par-fives at one-under and the way I'm driving it, I should be playing those at four-under."

A missed birdie putt at the seventh and three-putt from the edge of the green at the 16th were the most obvious wasted opportunities, while a pair of bogeys shortly after the turn halted his momentum after a solid front nine.

INCREDIBLE YEAR

"I got the most out of it, especially after bogeys on 10 and 11, so to get in the 60s was decent," he added.

"It was nice to finish with a birdie at the last, makes up a little bit for not making birdie at 16."

McIlroy felt conditions may have been a little trickier for the late starters after U.S. Masters champion Scott had posted his record-breaking 10-under-par 62 in the morning.

"The wind might have got up for us a little bit this afternoon but still 62 on that course is great going," McIlroy added.

"When I was sitting over breakfast, I saw he'd birdied the first six holes and thought, 'oh nice'."

Scott has had an incredible year, following up his Augusta triumph with a win at the Barclays and claiming the Australian PGA and Masters title before helping Jason Day win the World Cup of Golf for his country last weekend.

For McIlroy, it was a reminder of his 2012 season when he became world number one and won the U.S. PGA and a string of other tournaments.

"He's doing what I did last year and (world number three Henrik) Stenson's doing the same thing," the 24-year-old said.

"I've been in that position before, I know what it's like. That's what I'm trying to get back to."

(Editing by John O'Brien)

Golf-Scott wows the Sydney crowds with sizzling 62

 

November 28, 2013 3:17 AM

By Nick Mulvenney

SYDNEY, Nov 28 (Reuters) - Adam Scott revived memories ofGreg Norman's glory days when he wowed the Sydney crowds with a brilliant 10-under-par 62 to take a three-stroke lead after the opening round of the Australian Open on Thursday.

The world number two, who managed what even Norman failed to do in his celebrated career by winning the U.S. Masters earlier this year, smashed the course record by three shots as he continued his celebratory tour of his homeland.

The Australian public were queuing up to get into the Royal Sydney Golf course soon after dawn on a beautiful sunny morning and Scott, who started his round at 7.10am local time, did not let them down.

A packed gallery watched as Scott picked up shots at each of his first six holes then added four more birdies on his last four holes for a blemish-free round that he said ranked with the best of his career.

"It was a really good start and a nice little course record to have at Royal Sydney," Scott told reporters.

"I've felt there was a good round in me for four weeks and finally I threw it out there today."

Scott's previous rounds on his month-long trip back home have not been bad either, winning him the Australian PGA, Australian Masters and third place in Melbourne last weekend to help his country claim the World Cup of Golf.

Compatriot Jason Day finished first at the World Cup but could only watch on Thursday as his playing partner gave a masterclass of golf.

The world number two needed to sink only one putt longer than five feet - a 12 footer at the 15th - and his class was most notable when he was battling to save pars when his swing deserted him in the middle of the round.

"That's how the best players in the world play and I got to witness it today and it was special," said Day, who shot a two-under 70.

"That's something that I'm going to remember for a long time. I look forward to playing with him tomorrow and hopefully catching him."

IN NEUTRAL

Canadian Ryan Yip shot a 65 for second place with similarly unheralded American John Young Kim, one of the last players to tee off, joining him on seven-under with five birdies in his last seven holes.

Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy, whose season has been almost as disappointing as Scott's has been successful, hit five birdies but a couple of bogeys around the turn left him with a 69 and a share of 16th.

"I left three or four short ones out there, yeah, just wasteful," said the world number six.

"When you see someone at 10-under-par, especially when you see it's Adam Scott at the top, I felt like I was in neutral at three-under and not making birdies.

"It's hard to give Adam Scott seven shots with three rounds to go."

Scott is unlikely to enjoy such balmy conditions for the second round with the forecast predicting a quickening wind and rain for Friday.

Australian PGA chief executive Stephen Pitt is still expecting bumper crowds to pack the course, though, after 12,000 turned up on Thursday.

"Without getting too premature, I think we're harking back to the great days of the 1990s and 2000s when we had such a charismatic figure as Greg Norman leading the charge," he said.

"I think Adam's sort of assuming that sort of popularity with Australian crowds and the Australian sporting audiences." (Editing by Peter Rutherford)

Scott wows the Sydney crowds with sizzling 62

 

By Nick MulvenneyNovember 28, 2013 3:26 AM

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Australia's Adam Scott (R) shakes hands with playing partner and fellow countryman Jason Day after they …

By Nick Mulvenney

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SYDNEY (Reuters) - Adam Scott revived memories of Greg Norman's glory days when he wowed the Sydney crowds with a brilliant 10-under-par 62 to take a three-stroke lead after the opening round of the Australian Open on Thursday.

The world number two, who managed what even Norman failed to do in his celebrated career by winning the U.S. Masters earlier this year, smashed the course record by three shots as he continued his celebratory tour of his homeland.

The Australian public were queuing up to get into the Royal Sydney Golf course soon after dawn on a beautiful sunny morning and Scott, who started his round at 7.10am local time, did not let them down.

A packed gallery watched as Scott picked up shots at each of his first six holes then added four more birdies on his last four holes for a blemish-free round that he said ranked with the best of his career.

"It was a really good start and a nice little course record to have at Royal Sydney," Scott told reporters.

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Australia's Adam Scott hits a chip shot on the 8th hole during the first round of the Australian Ope …

"I've felt there was a good round in me for four weeks and finally I threw it out there today."

Scott's previous rounds on his month-long trip back home have not been bad either, winning him the Australian PGA, Australian Masters and third place in Melbourne last weekend to help his country claim the World Cup of Golf.

Compatriot Jason Day finished first at the World Cup but could only watch on Thursday as his playing partner gave a masterclass of golf.

The world number two needed to sink only one putt longer than five feet - a 12 footer at the 15th - and his class was most notable when he was battling to save pars when his swing deserted him in the middle of the round.

"That's how the best players in the world play and I got to witness it today and it was special," said Day, who shot a two-under 70.

View gallery

Australia's Adam Scott responds to the crowd after sinking a birdie putt on the 9th hole, his final  …

"That's something that I'm going to remember for a long time. I look forward to playing with him tomorrow and hopefully catching him."

IN NEUTRAL

Canadian Ryan Yip shot a 65 for second place with similarly unheralded American John Young Kim, one of the last players to tee off, joining him on seven-under with five birdies in his last seven holes.

Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy, whose season has been almost as disappointing as Scott's has been successful, hit five birdies but a couple of bogeys around the turn left him with a 69 and a share of 16th.

"I left three or four short ones out there, yeah, just wasteful," said the world number six.

"When you see someone at 10-under-par, especially when you see it's Adam Scott at the top, I felt like I was in neutral at three-under and not making birdies.

"It's hard to give Adam Scott seven shots with three rounds to go."

Scott is unlikely to enjoy such balmy conditions for the second round with the forecast predicting a quickening wind and rain for Friday.

Australian PGA chief executive Stephen Pitt is still expecting bumper crowds to pack the course, though, after 12,000 turned up on Thursday.

"Without getting too premature, I think we're harking back to the great days of the 1990s and 2000s when we had such a charismatic figure as Greg Norman leading the charge," he said.

"I think Adam's sort of assuming that sort of popularity with Australian crowds and the Australian sporting audiences."

(Editing by Peter Rutherford)

Scott hot at Australian Open with 1st-round 62

November 28, 2013 3:44 AMAP - Sports

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Adam Scott of Australia walks along the 6th fairway during the Australian Open golf tournament in Sydney, …

SYDNEY (AP) -- Adam Scott birdied his first six holes en route to a course-record 10-under 62 at Royal Sydney on Thursday to take a three-stroke lead after the first round of the Australian Open.

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Scott is attempting to join Robert Allenby as the only golfers to win all three Australian majors in the same year. Allenby won the Australian PGA, Australian Masters and Australian Open in 2005.

Scott broke the previous Royal Sydney mark of 65 set by five players at the 2008 Australian Open. After Scott's opening birdie run, he made par on the next eight holes before birdieing his final four.

''The longest putt I had on those opening birdies was about 5 feet,'' Scott said. ''I hit a lot of quality shots right out of the blocks this morning.''

Canadian Ryan Yip and American John Young Kim each shot 65s and were tied for second. David McKenzie had a 66 while two-time champion Aaron Baddeley was in a group with 67s.

''I like to see the ball running and that's what this course offers me,'' said Yip, a regular on the Canadian Tour.

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Adam Scott of Australia loses his grip as he tees off on the second hole during the Australian Open  …

Rory McIlroy opened with a 69 in his bid for his first win of the year. He made the turn at 2-under, bogeyed 11 and 12, but had three birdies in his final seven holes, including on No. 18.

American Kevin Streelman, who played with Matt Kuchar on the runner-up American team in last week's World Cup at Royal Melbourne, shot 70 playing in the same group as Scott and Jason Day.

Day, who won the individual stroke play at the World Cup, also shot 70.

Scott could not recall starting any round with six birdies, thinking that he once had five in a row to start a round in Qatar. He finished his round Thursday with an approach to nearly tap-in range on the ninth.

''I'm off to a good start, but a lot of work to do yet,'' Scott said. ''It's been a long time since I shot a low round like this. It's a tough setup, but it was a perfect morning for it.''

Most of the best scores Thursday came in the morning groups as the wind picked up in the afternoon. Similar weather conditions are forecast for Friday when Scott will play in the afternoon.

Scott won the Australian PGA and Australian Masters before sharing the World Cup team trophy with Day last week at Royal Melbourne.

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Adam Scott of Australia plays a shot on the 18th fairway during the Australian Open golf tournament  …

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Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland, addresses the media ahead of the Australian Open golf tournament i …

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Adam Scott of Australia watches as his ball flies after he teed off on the second hole during the Au …

GOLF-Madsen on a roll as he takes Dunhill first round lead

 

November 28, 2013 11:38 AM

Nov 28 (Reuters) - - Dane Morten Orum Madsen continued his hot streak after Sunday's victory in the South African Open by taking the first-round lead at the Alfred Dunhill Championship at Malelane, east of Johannesburg, on Thursday.

His seven-under 65 put him one shot ahead of South African Allan Versfeld and Portuguese Ricardo Santos, who eagled the last for a share of second place.

The 25-year-old Madsen was a surprise winner of last week's opening 2014 European Tour event and his form held with eight birdies and one bogey on the picturesque Leopards Creek course on the border of South Africa's Kruger Park.

Last year's Alfred Dunhill Championship winner, South African Charl Schwartzel, who romped home by 12 strokes for the third-largest winning margin in European Tour history, is tied in third after a four-under-par 68.

He shares the position with Frenchman Victor Riu, Englishman Richard Finch and Scot David Drysdale.

Twice major winner John Daly hit a par-72 on his return to South Africa, where he had played the Sunshine Tour from 1987 to 1990 before his U.S. PGA Championship success in 1991.

It is the 47-year-old American's first tournament since elbow surgery earlier in the year. (Reporting by Mark Gleeson; Editing by Tony Goodson)