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McIlroy Points to Driver after Another Poor Show
Casey Wants to Emulate Rose as a Major Champion
McIlroy Points to Driver after Another Poor Show
MAYNOOTH, June 27, 2013 (AFP) - World number two Rory McIlroy again struggled with his driver and carded another poor score on the first day of the Irish Open at Carton House on Thursday.
McIlroy signed for a two-over-par 74 to trail Sweden's Oscar Floren by eight strokes.
Floren, 29, heads the field by a stroke after a six-under-par 66 on a rain-softened Colin Montgomerie-designed course on the outskirts of Dublin.
Floren, who is looking for a first Tour success, capped his round by driving to the green at the short par four 13th and holing a 20-foot eagle putt.
"I just came out and hit everything really, really pure," said Floren.
Five players, Dutchman Joost Luiten, American Peter Uihein, Frenchman Jean-Baptiste Gonnet, Northern Ireland's Michael Hoey and former winner Shane Lowry of Ireland, were tied for second place after carding five-under-par 67s.
McIlroy continues to struggle with the driver after grabbing only two birdies but also carding four bogeys.
He could only manage to hit five of 14 fairways while his score of 74 is the sixth time in as many European Tour events this year he has failed to better par in a first round.
"I drove the ball really well last year and the driver was a big factor to my success and I was hitting long and hitting it straight but this year I have just got into a couple of bad habits," he said
"If I miss one fairway, that's fine but when I'm missing it left and also missing it right, like today, that's hard to stand up on the tee and be confident.
"I am trying to stay patient and I don't want to say I'm accepting this but there is nothing else I can do and try to play well and play my way out of this.
"But it's just tough when you come to big tournaments like this and you think you are getting somewhere and you are stopped in your tracks, and you have to reassess everything again."
Lowry, who captured the event in 2009 as an amateur, showed his familiarity with Carton House, given he has a house on the estate and also represents the County Kildare course on Tour.
"It's a real privilege to play on my home golf course, stay in my own house and have all of my family and friends up home to watch me," he said. "What more could a professional golfer want?"
Lowry is playing alongside McIlroy and Bjorn for the opening two rounds and was asked his assessment of McIlroy's game.
"Rory's Rory and I would not be too worried about him at all," said Lowry.
"He didn't get to world number one by not being a great golfer, and I'm sure he could easily go out tomorrow and shoot 65 again and get right back into this tournament."
Casey Wants to Emulate Rose as a Major Champion
MAYNOOTH, June 27, 2013 (AFP) - Paul Casey set about ending a two-year winless drought on day one of the Irish Open on Thursday and declared he believes he can join long-time friend, Justin Rose as a Major champion.
Casey, 35 birdied three holes in succession in a four under par first round on a rain-softened Carton House course.
he England golfer reached a high of number three in the world four years ago but teed up this week in Dublin having slipped to 169th and not having won since capturing the inaugural 2009 Volvo Champions event in Bahrain.
Casey, who also had been sidelined with a broken shoulder at the start of 2012, had to find his way into the US Open the hard way, qualifying weeks earlier at the Walton Heath course in Surrey.
"It was the first time ever I had to qualify for a US Open made me realise how precious they are playing in every one of the Majors," he said.
"And after seeing good friend Justin Rose win the US Open I feel as though I can play that kind of golf.
"Justin and myself grew-up together playing amateur golf, so I've known him an awful long time.
"But was I ready before seeing Justin win? I don't know but I know I am ready now. Certainly 10 years ago when I was pretty green I was not prepared to handle everything that goes with winning a Major.
"But that I feel I am fully, and I just need the golf to be there."
And Casey, who is a member of the Tournament Players Committee, and the body that advises the Tour on day-to-day issues affecting the players, was quizzed following Graeme McDowell's pre-event comments.
McDowell indicated more needs to be done to attract Europe's best players who are competing full-time on the PGA Tour back to play in Europe.
However Casey, who lost his PGA Tour card at the end of 2011, sees the issue more a tax-based concern.
"One of the main reasons the guys playing in the States don't come back to Europe more is the tax reasons and it's something that we can work on ourselves, and something the Tour and the R and A, if you are talking about the Open Championship, should try to address," said Casey.
"Being taxed on percentage of global income is a bit harsh and if that is affecting our game, and I am not saying standing here that it is, but it is something certainly the Tour needs to pursue.
"I'm on the Players Committee and we have huge opportunities but it is down to George (O'Grady, CEO European Tour) and his management team as well as the Tour's Board of Directors to sort out.
"We need direction as there is only so much the Players Committee can do.
"Then again the economic climate in Europe has never been more dreary and the opportunities I hear about are not are quite often not in Europe and away from Europe."
Leading first round scores in the Irish Open at the Carton House course in Maynooth, Ireland, on Thursday (par 72, GBR & IRL unless stated):
66 - Oscar Floren (Sweden)
67 - Michael Hoey, Shane Lowry, Joost Luiten (Holland), Peter Uhlein (USA), Jean-Baptiste Gonnet (France)
68 - Andrew Dodt (Australia), Cian McNamara, Thomas Bjorn (Denmark), Paul Casey, Jose Maria Olazabal (Spain), Michael Lundberg (Sweden)
69 - Garth Mulroy (South Africa), Pablo Larrazabal (Spain), Anders Hansen (Denmark), Chris Paisley , Estanislao Goya (Argentina), Seamus Powers, Marc Warren, Graeme Storm, Jamie Donaldson, Simon Thornton, Robert Rock, Raphael Jacquelin (France), Rafa Cabrera-Bello (Spain).