Other golf stories in brief

Feherty's cycle of misfortune

DAVID FEHERTY'S obsession with cycling is having an impact on his body . . . but it's not all good.

On Tuesday, the Ulsterman - a commentator with CBS television - suffered concussion and a bruised back after he was hit by a car when out cycling near his hotel in Detroit. It was former tour player Feherty's second accident in a matter of months. Back in March, he suffered three broken ribs and a punctured lung when hit by a truck near his Dallas home.

 Swedish flavour to Woods' menu

TIGER WOODS was a no-show at the pre-tournament champions' dinner the other night, but the world's number one - winner of the US PGA at Tulsa last year - still had an input, with the likes of Phil Mickelson, Shaun Micheel and Rich Beem asked to tuck into a menu selected by Woods.

The menu was influenced by Tiger's wife Elin. Among the dishes were dill-marinated herring, Swedish meatballs, seared Swedish sausages and crusted elk medallions.

Ireland finish as runners-up

GIRLS' INTERNATIONALS:Ireland overcame the absence of their champion Leona Maguire, who suffered a back injury, to grab the Swansea Spoon as runners-up in the four-cornered Home International Championship at Panmure, near Carnoustie, yesterday.

Sarah Cunningham partnered Lisa in the morning foursomes and they battled hard against Scotland's Carly Booth Kelsey MacDonald but went down by 4 and 2. Stephanie Meadow and Sarah Louise were also beaten, meaning Ireland went to lunch 2-1 behind.

In the afternoon Maguire overwhelmed Sammy Vass 5 and 3. Cunningham produced a remarkable singles display to defeat Booth by 4 and 3. Sarah Louise and Stephanie Meadow also prevailed, 5-4, as England regained the title when they defeated Wales 7-2.

Scotland 4 Ireland 5 (Scotland names first): Foursomes: C Booth and K MacDonald bt S Cunningham and Lisa Maguire 4 and 2; R Wilson and S Vass lost to P Delaney and E O'Driscoll one hole; A Niven and L Atkins bt S Meadow and S Louise 3 and 2. Singles: Booth lost to Cunningham 4 and 3; MacDonald bt S Crowe 7 and 6; Vass lost to Lisa Maguire 5 and 3; Niven lost to O'Driscoll 7 and 6; Atkins bt Louise two holes; Wilson lost to Meadow 3 and 2.

England 7 Wales 2 (England names first): Foursomes: H Barwood and H Clyburn bt A Boulden and K O'Connor two holes; R Connor and H Baek bt K Miller and G Bradbury and 2 and 1; K Tidy and A Peters bt N Gobey and L Watkins 3 and 1. Singles: Barwood bt C Williams 5 and 3; Clyburn bt Watkins 7 and 5; Baek lost to Boulden 3 and 1; K Mundy lost to K O'Connor 3 and 2; Tidy bt K Miller 2 and 1; Connor bt Gobey 2 and 1.

McDowell feels hard done by as bogeys build at end

GRAEME McDOWELL must have wondered what on earth he had done to offend the golfing gods yesterday, as he watched playing companions Billy Mayfair and Ryan Moore pitch into holes and scramble for their lives in the first round of the US PGA Championship at Oakland Hills writes Philip Reid.

By the end, he was the poor man of the three-ball: Mayfair shot a 69, Moore a 70 and McDowell was left with a 74. Did he feel hard done by?

"You always feel hard done by - it's golf. Yeah, I do. I do. I feel like I should have got something more out of the game today because I played well. I did all the right things: I hit it in the fairway, which is the key.

"And my short game was okay as well. I gave myself chances but I just didn't hole anything. I didn't putt well enough to get anything out of the day."

In fact, McDowell accumulated 31 putts in his round, a number of them birdie putts that shaved the hole and, on occasions, stopped on the lip.

What really irked McDowell was his finish, a run of bogey-bogey-bogey from the 16th.

"My comfort level in the last two majors is as good as it's ever been. I am enjoying it, really enjoying the test.

"If you start beating yourself up it is going to be a long day.

"But bogeying the last three for a 74? I'd have been very content with a 72. A 74 is a little disappointing . . . if I go out and shoot level par on the back nine tomorrow, I am back in the tournament."

Drumm delivers in style to help clinch Boys' title

BOYS' INTERNATIONAL:Chris Drumm's devastating 8 and 6 dismantling of Jonathan Bell in the ninth of the singles pairings played a key role in Ireland's 8-7 win against holders England to clinch the Boys' Home International championship at Royal County Down yesterday.

Drumm helped the host nation regain the lead and remain out front to deny England's recovery of 5.5 to 4.5 in the singles.

The 18-year-old scratch handicapper turned two-up on Bell, and delivered the fireworks to quickly nail down the tie.

Malone's Garth McGee beat Tom Lewis by 2 and 1. McGee was three-up after 12. Barry Anderson of County Sligo defeated Max Smith by 2 and 1, while Donaghadee's Garth Boyd had to settle for a share with David Renwick.

Ireland secured a two-point advantage from the morning foursomes, but the cushion was wiped out by England's skipper Tommy Fleetwood. He beat Alan Dunbar of Rathmore by 5 and 3. It was also a similar disaster for a second day running for Moyola Park's Luke Lennox, losing on the 15th green to Gary King.

Eddie Pepperell pushed England to the front for a first time. Two holes clear at the turn he beat Moyola Park's Chris Selfridge by 4 and 3, before home hero Reeve Whitson squared the overall for a two-hole victory against Adam Myers.

In the battle to avoid the wooden spoon Wales beat Scotland 9-6.

Ireland 8 England 7: Foursomes (3.5-1.5) - A Dunbar, L Lennox bt T Fleetwood, T Lewis 3 and 1; R Whitson, C Selfridge bt M Smith, A Myers 5 and 4; G Boyd, G McGee halved with J Bell, T Boys; M Durcan, C Drumm bt E Pepperell, G King 4 and 3; B Anderson, P Dunne lost to D Renwick, S Hodgson 3 and 2

Singles (4.5-5.5) - Dunbar lost to Fleetwood 5 and 3, Lennox lost to King 4 and 3, Whitson bt Myers 2 holes, Selfridge lost to Pepperell 4 and 3, Boyd halved with Renwick, McGee bt Lewis 2 and 1, R O'Sullivan lost to Boys 2 and 1, Anderson bt Smith 2 and 1, Drumm bt Bell 8 and 6, Dunne lost to Hodgson 4 and 3.

Pierse stays in sight of leaders

SENIORS OPEN:Tipperary's Arthur Pierse stayed in touch with the pacemakers as he continued his defence of the Seniors Amateur Open Championship in Kent yesterday.

Pierse, a former Walker Cup player, returned a second successive 74 for a 148 total to be just five strokes behind leader 61-year-old Canadian Graham Cooke with one round remaining. "I was just steady again today - nothing much happened but it was reasonable stuff," said Pierse.

While it may be too much for the Irishman to pull back in one round he has made a spirited defence of his crown. Cooke lost to Pierse in a play-off for the title at Nairn last year and is determined to make amends this time.

IRISH SCORES

148 - A Pierse (Tipperary) 74, 74; 150 - A Morrow (Portmarnock)73, 77; 153 - V Smyth (County Louth) 76, 77; 155 - M Morris (Portmarnock) 75, 80; 156 - L MacNamara (Woodbrook) 77, 79; 158 - M Galvin (Limerick) 77, 81; 161 - I Stewart (Curragh) 82, 79.;