GRAND SLAM OF GOLF:Rory McIlroy came from five strokes back to match American Keegan Bradley's four-under-par 67 and leave Darren Clarke and Charl Schwartzel way behind after the first round of the 36-hole PGA Grand Slam of Golf at Port Royal in Bermuda.
The event brings together the season’s four major champions, with the winner earning almost €434,000 and even the player finishing last taking home more than €143,000. No European has won since Ian Woosnam in 1991.
McIlroy birdied three of the last five holes, but both fellow Northern Irishman Clarke and South African Schwartzel triple-bogeyed the short 16th as they managed only 77 and 74 respectively.
Bradley, whose victory in the USPGA Championship in August came in his first Major appearance, went to the turn in a dazzling 30 to lead by four. He actually started with a bogey, but then came eagles on the second and seventh and birdies at the third, sixth and ninth.
After he had stretched his advantage to five early on the back nine it became a different story, however. Bradley bogeyed the 14th and 16th as US Open champion McIlroy, who had flown from China for the tournament, found form to make a contest of it with birdies at the 14th, 15th and 17th despite some heavy rain.
It looks a straight fight between the two of them in the second round with Clarke and Schwartzel hitting tee shots down the cliff left of the 16th green.
McIlroy said: “I’m very happy. I gave myself so many chances on the front nine and didn’t really make anything, but I finished really, really well.
“It was a bonus to par 16 and birdie 17 in that bad weather and I’m in a good position going into tomorrow.
“The greens were for me very difficult to read. I think if I had spent a bit more time on them maybe I would have figured them out a bit better today. I’ll have to just read more into the grain and really take that into consideration instead of just the slopes.”
Clarke commented: “It was absolute crap and I didn’t come all the way here to play that bad, so obviously I’m disappointed.”
EUROPEAN TOUR:European Tour chief executive George O'Grady hailed Tom Lewis yesterday as golf's "new young star" following the Briton's spectacular victory at the Portugal Masters.
The 20-year-old, in only his third tournament as a professional, produced a blistering final-round 65 to record a two-shot win at Vilamoura on Sunday.
Lewis’s achievement of winning third time out equalled the 2007 feat of Rory McIlroy, who won the US Open four months ago and is now ranked third in the world. Former number one Tiger Woods won his fifth professional tournament. “We have witnessed the emergence of a new young star,” O’Grady said. “It was a breathtaking performance.”
O’Grady said the tour was fortunate to have three outstanding young players in Lewis, McIlroy (22), and Italian Matteo Manassero (18). “Tom, Rory and Matteo are three unique talents who have been lucky to break through early in their careers,” said O’Grady. “Matteo has already won twice and he is a precision player who always looks under control while Rory had to learn how to lose tournaments before he could win them.”
LPGA TOUR:World number one Yani Tseng added another accolade to her glowing resume when she was named the LPGA Tour's player of the year yesterday for a second consecutive time.
The occasion was even more meaningful for her as the announcement was made ahead of this week’s inaugural Sunrise LPGA Championship in her native Taiwan. Tseng, who will receive the award during the season-ending CME Group Titleholders tournament at Grand Cypress Golf Club in Orlando has won six times on the LPGA Tour this year, including two majors.
