Golf digest

A round-up of today's other stories in brief

Harrington wants Cowen as coach

PÁDRAIG HARRINGTON is hoping to convince top coach Pete Cowen to break his vow not to take on new players and help him emerge from his three-year slump, reports Brian Keogh. The Dubliner split up with veteran Scot Bob Torrance at last week's Irish Open after 14 years and three major wins together.

And after speaking with Cowen about his swing for 90 minutes and then working under his watchful eye for another hour at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational on Saturday night, he’s hopeful they can get together soon.

Ruling out this week’s US PGA as the place to start, Harrington said: “I asked Pete Cowen to have a look and he gave me his opinion. He watched me hit a few shots and it is certainly something different. But I realise there is a time and a place for everything and Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday of a major is not that time.

“There is nothing set in stone and we are not there yet but I have to sit down to talk to him about what he does. I asked him to have a look and he gave me his opinion.”

Cowen already coaches 18 tour players including world number two Lee Westwood and major winners Darren Clarke, Graeme McDowell and Louis Oosthuizen.

O'Donovan has a strong finish

RICHARD O'DONOVAN produced the best final round of the Irish contingent in the European amateur Individual Championship in Sweden at the weekend. A two-under-par 70 helped the Lucan player to finish with a 72-hole aggregate of 285 – three under par.

That was the same total as Portstewart's Paul Cutler and Kevin Phelan of Waterford Castle, who both ended with rounds of 73. They shared ninth place. Rathmore's Alan Dunbar was on 289 after a closing 73.

The championship was won by Austrian Manuel Trappel, after a three-hole play-off with English champion Steven Brown, after both finished on 278.

Thornton claims title by six shots

SIMON THORNTON won the 101st PGA Irish Championship at Seapoint in record figures.

Newcastle-based Thornton fired a 72-holes total of 19-under-par 269 to win by six strokes over Gary Murphy, having carded just one bogey in his 72 holes but he was annoyed with that lone dropped shot.

It was a trap-to-line win for Thornton. In the last round he covered the front nine in six-under with an eagle three at the sixth hole highlighting the run.

Seniors' Tour player Des Smyth and newly qualified Séamus McMonagle shared third place on 276, with Smyth posting a final 70 and McMonagle a 67.