World No. 1 Rory McIlroy watched Tiger Woods win the World Golf Championshiop at Mount Juliet in 2002 – now he hopes he can win a second Irish Open at the Kilkenny course.

RORY McIlroy will make a much-anticipated return to the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open at Mount Juliet Estate in May.

The four-time Major winner will join his fellow Northern Irishman, close friend and tournament host Graeme McDowell, when McIlroy tees it up at the second Rolex Series event of the 2020 Race to Dubai season.

The current World No. 1 will head a star-studded field which also includes defending champion Jon Rahm and the reigning Open Champion Shane Lowry, when the event takes place from May 28-31.

McIlroy will be targeting a second victory in an event which he himself hosted from 2015-18 – helping elevate the historic national open to become one of the European Tour’s eight premier Rolex Series events.

The 30-year-old famously lifted the trophy at the K Club in 2016, delighting the home crowds with a swashbuckling display down the stretch to hold off Scot Russell Knox – who went on to claim the title in 2017 – and Welshman Bradley Dredge.

“I’m looking forward to it a lot,” said McIlroy. “It’s a bit different going back for a May date as opposed to July, and at a parkland course at Mount Juliet.

“I’ve never played the course but got good memories – it was the first time I ever watched Tiger Woods play in person.

“My dad drove me down and we watched the WGC there and that was really cool, so it’ll be exciting to tee it up there myself and try to win a tournament there.”

Dubai Duty Free chief executive Colm McLoughlin said: “We are delighted Rory has confirmed his attendance at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open at Mount Juliet.

“Our involvement as title sponsor of the tournament began when Rory took on the hosting duties in 2015, and he did a great job in raising the profile of the event.

“We are looking forward to a great week in Kilkenny and working with Mount Juliet, the European Tour, this year’s host Graeme McDowell, Sport Ireland and all of the other entities to make this event a great success.”

Mount Juliet already boasts a prestigious list of winners after a three-year stint of hosting the event – with Nick Faldo, Bernhard Langer and Sam Torrance winning in 1993, 1994 and 1995 respectively – and McIlroy will be hoping to join that list in May.

The luxury five-star resort in Kilkenny also hosted Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf in 1997 – a challenge match between Tom Watson and Fred Couples, won by the latter – as well as the WGC-American Express Championship in 2002 and 2004 – won by Tiger Woods and Ernie Els respectively.

Buy early bird tickets by March 3

EARLY bird ticket prices begin at €13 for the Wednesday pro-am day, with Thursday and Friday day tickets available for a special price of €23.

Saturday and Sunday tickets begin at €27. Fans can enjoy five days of world-class golf and entertainment for only €83 if they purchase their season tickets prior to Tuesday, March 3.

Children under 12 years of age are entitled to free entry when accompanied by an adult.

Day junior tickets for kids aged between 12 and 17 years of age are €10 (season ticket €25), while students aged between 18 and 24 with valid ID, and over 65s, can buy concession tickets.

The latter cost €15 for Thursday and Friday, €20 for Saturday and Sunday (€60 for a season). Parking access can be purchased for €5 per day, or €10 to cover all five days.

The only official sales channel to purchase tickets is via ticketing platform Eventbrite by clicking here.

The resale of Dubai Duty Free Irish Open tickets on unofficial platforms contravenes the European Tour’s ticket terms and conditions and render the tickets void.

Official hospitality tickets are also available on the ticketing page, or by calling the Euorpean Tour sales team on (01344) 840681.

The post World No 1 McIlroy confirms entry for Dubai Duty Free Irish Open at Mount Juliet appeared first on Golf North.

Fedex Cup champion Rory McIlroy beat defending champion Xander Schauffele in a play-off to win the HSBC Champions, at Sheshan International. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

RORY McIlroy overcame Xander Schauffele in a play-off to win his third World Golf Championships title at the WGC-HSBC Champions, in China.

The Northern Irishman – who claimed his second Fedex Cup win in August – entered the final day at Sheshan International Golf Club with a one-shot lead.

And McIlroy still held that as he stood on the 18th tee, with playing partner and defending champion Schauffele his nearest challenger.

A closing birdie from Schauffele saw him join McIlroy at 19-under and take it to extra holes, but the American could not repeat last season’s play-off triumph over Tony Finau.

McIlroy hit a wonderful drive and found the green in two to set up a birdie which Schauffele could not match.

The San Diego ace found a nasty lie off the tee and was forced to lay-up on the first trip back up the 18th.

McIlroy said: “There’s a lot of stuff that people don’t see behind the scenes just in terms of hard work and putting the hours in at home.

“But all of that, it’s not work, really. It’s playing golf for a living. I’d be in trouble if I did have to work for a living.

“To practise hard and to do all the right things and to see it pay off like this and get wins like this makes it all worthwhile.

“It is what sport is about. Xander pushed me the whole way, or all 73 holes we played together this week.

“We played every round, and one more, as well. He played great. He was battling a flu all week, wasn’t feeling his best, and so the calibre of golf he played this week, it takes some doing.

“I don’t want to take anything away from him. He birdied the last to get into the play-off, and then I produced two of the best shots of the day when I needed it, which was really cool.

“I have one more event left in Dubai. I want to finish the season off as well as I can,” said McIlroy, whose biggest disappointment of the year came when he missed the cut at Royal Portrush, which hosted the Open, for the first time in 58 years in July.

McIlroy, who had two top 10s in the US Open and USPGA, added: “I really wanted to get another win before the end of the year.

“And now that I’ve done that, it would be nice to get two wins.

“I’m excited for the future. I feel like this year compares to 2014, 2015, but I don’t see any reason why I can’t go ahead and have an even better year next year.”

The win for McIlroy is his fourth worldwide this season and sees him join only Dustin Johnson and Tiger Woods as players to have won three of the four World Golf Championships events.

Rory’s previous victories came at the Bridgestone Invitational in 2014, and the WGC Cadillac Match Play in 2015.

A 14th European Tour victory – and the World No. 2’s first since the 2016 Dubai Duty Free Irish Open – also sees him equal Darren Clarke’s record for Northern Ireland.

Schauffele paid tribute to his conqueror saying: “He’s an elite player. When he’s on, I’d say he’s arguably the best player in the world.

“He made me play better. I know what I need to do to become a better player.

“My time will come. I’m looking forward to getting healthy, not coughing, sleeping. More important things than trying to win a golf tournament.”

South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen was the third member of the final group and he finished third at 17-under – two shots clear of Mexico’s Abraham Ancer, Frenchman Victor Perez and Austrian Matthias Schwab.

Perez and Schwab both fired closing rounds of 66 in impressive World Golf Championships debuts, while Ancer signed for a 67.

Sheffield’s Matthew Fitzpatrick finished on 14-under, two shots clear of Jason Kokrak, Patrick Reed and Paul Waring.

•For full results in the HSBC Champions click here.

SHANGHAI, CHINA – NOVEMBER 03: Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland pictured after with the ‘Old Tom Morris Trophy’ after winning the WGC HSBC Champions at Sheshan International Golf Club on November 03, 2019 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by Matthew Lewis/Getty Images)

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A third 67 in a row gave Rory McIlroy a one-shot lead over Louis Oosthuizen as he chases a third World Golf Championships title in the HSBC Champions, at Sheshan International. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

RORY McIlroy carded a third consecutive round of 67 to take a one-shot lead into the final day of the WGC-HSBC Champions.

The World No. 2 is going in search of a third World Golf Championships title – and went bogey-free to move to 15-under and edge one clear of Louis Oosthuizen.

The South African has a Claret Jug in his trophy collection, but has never won a WGC event – losing out to Australian Jason Day in the final of the WGC-Dell Match Play three years ago.

McIlroy said: “I probably played the best today that I’ve played all week. I drove the ball well.

“Hitting my irons pretty good for the most part. I feel like I didn’t quite get as much out of the round as I could have but I’m not going to complain.

“I’m in the lead going into tomorrow, so just need to rest up and try to get out there and play another good, solid round of golf.

“I keep saying, I think my consistency this year, I’ve been able to take that to another level to what I’ve been able to do previously.

“Right now, the game feels pretty simple. I know that it’s not going to feel like that all the time, but when it does, you have to take advantage of that feeling.

“I’ve given myself another opportunity to win a very big golf tournament, a tournament that I’ve never won before.

“I want to go out there and be committed, play aggressively, and shoot a good number. I took a lot from the win in Canada earlier this year.

“I went out tied for the lead, and I just said from the start, ‘I’m going to keep my foot down and I’m going to go for everything.’

“It was a good lesson that when you do have something right there, in front of you – a tournament to win or something to achieve – you just have to grab it with both hands, and that’s what I’ll do tomorrow.”

A victory for McIlroy would be his first European Tour triumph since 2016.

It would also see the Fedex Cup winner join just Tiger Woods and Dustin Johnson in having won three of the four different WGC events.

The Northern Irishman won his second and latest WGC event at the 2015 Match Play at San Francisco’s Harding Park.

Since then has had nine top 10s in the tournaments, including a fourth top five at Sheshan International Golf Club in 2016.

Oosthuizen will be hoping to be inspired by South Africa’s Rubgy World Cup final, which came after the end of the third round in China.

“It was a very fast start,” said Oosthuizen. “I really struck the ball really good with my irons.

“The driver, I had a few awkward swings out there, but at the end I started hitting it good. So all in all, I feel like I’ve got a really good feel on the greens, and just played really good.

“I think around this golf course, the way the greens are, if you give yourself lots of opportunities, you’re going to make a few.

“They are so pure and so good, the greens. It’s the best I’ve seen them,” added Oosthuizen.

“I played with Rory the last two rounds last week. He’s absolutely striping it. I need to play really good golf tomorrow.”

Sheffield’s Matthew Fitzpatrick and defending champion Xander Schauffele were at 13-under, a shot clear of Cheshire’s Paul Waring.

Fitzpatrick, who is looking to extend of winning at least once in each year he has been on tour, said: “It was a bit up-and-down.

“Certainly didn’t have any ‘A Game’ today. Just didn’t feel comfortable really out there with my driver.

“The fairways around here are tough, and that was a bit of a grind. To get in at 13 that was good – you’ve got to be on your game.

“Of course you’re looking at leaderboards, and anyone that says otherwise is a liar. You’ve always got it in your mind, that you know what you need to do, and – at the same time – got to try and stick to the game plan.

“That’s why everybody is here is to win. If not, you may as well go home.

“It will be a good day tomorrow. Unfortunately, Rory is playing very well. He’s playing very annoying. I’ve got to play well, and that’s why it’s a World Golf Championships. It’s got the best players in the world.”

Sungjae Im and Jason Kokrak were at 11-under, a shot clear of Abraham Ancer and Kevin Kisner – and two ahead of another South African – Christiaan Bezuidenhout.

Recent Alfred Dunhill Links winner Victor Perez and Austria’s Matthias Schwab are also on the same mark.

•For live scoring in the fourth round of the HSBC Champions click here.

The post Rory McIlroy closes in on World Golf Championship hat-trick but Louis’s lurking appeared first on Golf North.

Hallamshire’s Matt Fitzpatrick shot a five-under 67 to take the second round lead inthe HSBC Champions at Sheshan International. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

MATT Fitzpatrick will take a one-shot lead into the weekend at the WGC-HSBC Champions as he seeks the victory that will extend his winning streak over the first four years of his career to a win in every season.

But he will have World No. 2 Rory McIlroy breathing down his neck at Shanghai’s Sheshan International Golf Club.

Both players carded rounds of 67 in the second round, with Fitzpatrick moving to 11-under and leading the way by one from his 2016 Ryder Cup team-mate.

The 25-year-old is looking to extend his impressive record of having won every year since he graduated from European Tour Qualifying School in 2014.

The Hallamshire GC member, who won the US Amateur in 2013 – the first English winner since Harold Hilton in 1911 – has four second places on the 2019 Race to Dubai.

Matthew Fitzpatrick, who has added the invaluable experience of Billy Foster as his caddy in 2019, said: “The back nine, I putted fantastic, as good as I’ve putted all year.

“The rough is tough. The greens are firm – they are slopy as well. Today was definitely difficult.

“It’s where you want to be, at the top after two rounds. Obviously better to be there for four, but it’s a good start to the week.

“Getting a little bit more comfortable with my game than last week, so hopefully carry on over the weekend.

“It’s so important to the fairways here, because you miss them, you’ve either got a terrible lie and hacking out, or you’ve got a good lie and getting a flyer.

“It’s a big key to hitting fairways around here and if you can keep doing it, you’ll give yourself more chances.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to be in this position a few times already this year – a little bit different being a WGC.

“It means a little bit more to everyone. Still the same plan. Still trying to hit fairways and greens, and really that’s the key around here is if you keep it out of the rough, you’ve got a good chance.”

A victory on Sunday would be his first in a World Golf Championships event and represent another milestone in the Yorkshire ace’s career.

McIlroy has finished second seven times since his last European Tour victory at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open in 2016.

Rory was happy not to be playing catch up heading into the weekend as he tries to add the HSBC Champions to the 2014 WGC Bridgestone Invitational he won at Firestone, and the WGC Cadillac Matchplay title he won at San Francisco’s TPC Harding Park, in 2015.

McIlroy said: “Delighted with the first two rounds. To put myself right in contention going into the weekend is something that I wanted to do.

“It’s something that I haven’t done a lot of over the last few weeks. I’ve sort of had bad starts and then clawed my way back into a good position at the end but to be right in the tournament after two days, I’m excited.”

“I think my short game has been really good, which takes the pressure off your long game.

I can be a little more free with my long game, go at a few more pins and be a little more aggressive. And because of that, I’m hitting it closer and giving myself plenty of chances for birdies.

“If I do miss, I’ve got my short game to ball back on and rely on and I’ve been able to get the ball up-and-down very well the last few months.

“All of that combined with the second shots, and confidence if I do miss a green, that’s been a key to shooting some of these low scores.”

Defending champion Xander Schauffele, South Korean Sungjae Im and Australian Adam Scott were then at nine-under, a shot clear of local hero Li Haotong and Frenchman Victor Perez, who won the Foshan Open in China on the European Challenge Tour, a year ago.

Schauffele, who has been feeling poorly, is not giving up on his title.

The American said: “I’ve been preparing all year, and I’ve looked forward to coming back here all year. I’m not going to let the flu get my hopes down.”

South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen was at seven-under, one clear of Austrian Matthias Schwab and England’s Paul Waring.

Oosthuizen will be keen to finish off a good third round before South Africa tackle England in the Rugby World Cup final in Japan, which kicks off at 9am UK time.

•For live scoring from the HSBC Champions third round click here.

The post Matt Fitzpatrick wants to extend winning run at HSBC Champions but Rory’s ready appeared first on Golf North.

World No. 2 Rory McIlroy can’t wait to begin his bid for a third WGC title at this week’s HSBC Champions at Shanghai’s Sheshan International Golf Club. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

RORY McIlroy is itching to get back into the winner’s circle at a World Golf Championships event as he prepares to tee it up at this week’s WGC-HSBC Champions.

The Northern Irishman won his second and latest WGC event in 2015. And since then has had nine top 10s in the tournaments, including a fourth top five at Sheshan International Golf Club, in 2016.

McIlroy has won three times on the US PGA Tour this season and moved up to No. 2 in the Official World Golf Ranking – but has not yet added to his impressive tally of European Tour wins.

“WGCs are some of the biggest tournaments we play,” said McIlroy.

“It’s always the strongest fields. You’re playing against the best players in the world. To win those events, it means that you’ve done something very well.

“I played well in WGCs this year. I had a good chance to win in Mexico, finishing second.

“Had a chance to win in Memphis, didn’t quite get over the line there, Brooks (Koepka) played very well on that last day. And actually played okay on the Match Play, ended up being beaten by Tiger.

“I’ve always enjoyed WGCs. I think it was a real thrill to get into those fields for the first time, and then to progress and to win a couple of them and be in contention in some of them.

“You’re going up against some of the best players in the world. I think as a competitor that’s what I want to do,” McIlroy added.

“I want to go up against the best players in the world more often and you really get a chance to do that at these events.”

“I started this year maybe eighth or ninth in the world. If I play well the next few weeks, I’ll have a great platform going into next year.”

Having spent 95 weeks of his career ranked as the world’s best, McIlroy is eager to get back to that position, and to continue his climb this week.

Meanwhile, Justin Rose is eyeing a late dash to Race to Dubai glory as he returns to happy hunting ground at Sheshan International.

The Hampshire ace lifted the trophy in Shanghai two years ago, and went on to win the Turkish Airlines Open the following week.

Those victories set up a grandstand finish to his European Tour campaign.

The Race to Dubai went right down the back nine on the final Sunday of the season, with Rose eventually edged out by Tommy Fleetwood in the race for the Harry Vardon Trophy.

Rose’s sole Major win came in the US Open in 2013, a year after he claimed his first WGC title in the Cadillac Championship, at Doral, in Miami, in March 2012.

Rose said: “It’s been a good little hunting ground for me the last couple of years and it’s a golf course I really enjoy.”

“I was so close to getting it done and just sort of stumbled bit on the Sunday. When I look back at it, it was a lot to ask.

“Winning in Shanghai, winning in Turkey and then I was pretty much right there in Dubai.

“With the way the points are weighted with the prize fund in Turkey and Dubai, it offers me the opportunity to make a run.

“I’ve probably got to win the last three to challenge Shane Lowry and Jon Rahm, and the guys that are doing really well, but that’s the situation I put myself in in 2017 – and I very nearly did it.”

At 29th in the Race to Dubai rankings, Rose knows he will need a similarly impressive finish to the 2019 season to challenge again.

But the 2016 Olympic Gold Medal winner is not afraid of the challenge, with three more Rolex Series events to come in a row after China.

Also teeing it up this week are former Open Champion Francesco Molinari, defending champion Xander Schauffele and 2019 Open Champion Shane Lowry.

Molinari acknowledged his struggle to repeat the success this season after claiming his first Claret Jug in 2018.

“It’s been a learning year, especially since April, obviously things have not gone how I was hoping.

“I’m just trying to learn from how it’s been and get back where I was at the beginning of the season or last year.

“It’s nice to come back every year and knowing that it’s going to get better year after year.

“The course is world-class. Everything about the event is world-class really,” added Molinari, who won the 2010 HSBC Champions – his first win on the world stage.

“I think that’s why you see some of the world’s best players coming back every season.

“Still a busy stretch coming these next five weeks, all big tournaments and it would be nice to finish the year well and build some momentum going into next season – so that it doesn’t feel like I have to start from scratch next year.”

•McIlroy, Schauffele and Molinari tee off in the final group on Thursday, at 10.50am local time. For live scoring click here.

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Kevin Kisner put the disappointment of last year’s final defeat to beat Matt Kuchar in the WGC-Dell Technologies World Match Play Final. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

KEVIN Kisner claimed a maiden World Golf Championships title after triumphing over Matt Kuchar in the final of the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play.

In the consolation match European No. 1 Francesco Molinari overcame Lucas Bjerregaard in an all-European battle to finish third.

Kisner, who finished runner-up to Bubba Watson in this event last year, went one better at Austin Country Club with a 3&2 win over his American compatriot.

That made it six wins in seven matches, and in the process became the first player to lift the trophy after losing his first match of the week.

Georgian native Kisner said: “I was thinking out there it might be the hardest match just because you have the physical aspect more than any other week.

“It was grueling, definitely, with the winds and the temperature today. Overall it was a long week, but I prevailed and I’m a World Golf champion.

“I just learned a lot from last year. I learned about preparation. I learned not to get too amped up for that final.

“You still have to come out and play golf. I don’t think either one of us played our best golf. But I drove it great all week with my Callaway driver, and it was a great week.”

Kisner’s opening defeat came to Englishman Ian Poulter, whom he later beat in a play-off decider to emerge from the group stage, and he had to beat another Ryder Cup hero – Molinari – in the semi-final to earn his place in the decider.

Having been two down with three to play, the reigning Race to Dubai Champion birdied the 16^th and 17^th holes to bring the match down the 18^th all square.

But a disappointing three-putt on the last ended the Italian’s hopes of a maiden World Golf Championships victory.

European No. 1 Francesco Molinari in action in the third and fourth place play-off match at Austin Country Club. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

Molinari said: “Obviously it was a very good start and then I think we were both really struggling for energy a little bit on the back nine.

“It was a very long week but we tried to keep going. And I think I played very well on the front nine this afternoon, so maybe a bit of consolation after this morning.

“It’s just one of those days, too many mental mistakes and some really weird shots around the greens. But all in all it’s a positive week.

“Obviously it’s bittersweet right now. I think going into Augusta, it’s a good week. Clearly I need to get my short game a little bit sharper than this morning, but otherwise it seems pretty good.

“It was definitely a positive week. Just a shame about this morning on the back nine.

“I didn’t play my best game and made too many mistakes, and kind of gave it away once, and then managed to fight my way back and then gave it away again.

“But it’s golf and it’s a long week, and with seven rounds it can happen to be slightly off for a few holes. So, it’s positive in general.”

Kuchar, meanwhile, dispatched of Bjerregaard on the 18^th hole in a tight semi-final match in which the Dane was never ahead but was never more than one hole down.

The American’s birdie at the par five 16^th put him one ahead with two to play and, although Bjerregaard held his nerve with a birdie putt at the penultimate hole to take it down the last, a pair of closing pars meant Kuchar progressed.

Having been embroiled in a row with Spain’s Sergio Garcia, who swiped at a tap in and missed before Kuchar could give him the nod for a concession, which ultimately cost the European in Saturday’s quarter-final, the 2013 World Match Play champion was disappointed not to  become the first player since Tiger Woods to win the title twice.

Kuchar, who already has two wins in the 2019 season under his belt, said after losing to Kisner: “It was certainly not what I’m looking for. It’s tough to maintain the high level of play the entire tournament.

“You hope to do it and I feel like I’ve kind of built a game that I could rely on playing some good, steady golf.

“But I gave too many holes away. It’s one of the things I pride myself on is not ever giving holes away.

“I knew against Kisner I couldn’t do it, and he just plodded along and played good, steady golf, and let me make mistakes. And that was good playing by Kevin.”

Both Molinari and Bjerregaard – who beat 14-time Major winner Tiger Woods in the quarter-final – could take consolation from their best respective finishes in a World Golf Championships event.

Big-hitting Bjerregaard, the last man in the field, was unhappy after coming down hard from his high after beating Tiger Woods to make the last four.

“There’s a lot of confidence from this. Today sucks, I’ll be honest with you. I had a lot of confidence from yesterday and the group play.

“But today really sucks – I didn’t bring my game today, unfortunately and I just kept making mistakes all day.

“Fran made it hard. I didn’t put pressure on him, but he put a lot of pressure on me right from the start.

“It was not really my match. It’s been a brilliant week. Of course, I can’t stand here and say it’s been a bad week.

“We were 64 to start and I’m in the last four. But to lose twice in a day, that hurts.

“I had a good match against Kooch this morning, and gave him a little bit for his money down the last few holes, and unfortunately I wasn’t able to do that against Frankie today.”

The post Kisner kills off Kuchar to earn WGC-Dell Match Play title appeared first on Golf North.

Open Champion Francesco Molinari has won more holes in his first two matches than any of the other 63 players in the field at the WGC-Dell World Match Play so far. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

FRANCESCO Molinari’s love affair with match play golf continued at Austin Country Club as the Italian cruised to a second successive victory in the group stages of the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, beating his fellow 2018 Ryder Cup team-mate Thorbjørn Olesen 4&3, on Thursday.

The reigning Race to Dubai Champion has won more holes than any other player this week after the opening two days of play in Texas, with 15, while he is the only player to have won both of his matches prior to the 16^th hole.

Including his incredible 100 per cent record at The Ryder Cup last September, Molinari has now won seven consecutive match play encounters in which he has played.

And the Italian faces Webb Simpson in round three later today (Friday) hoping to seal his passage to the weekend knockout stages.

Molinari said: “It was somewhat similar to yesterday – very good start the first six, eight holes and tried to control his comebacks.

“I have a lot of respect for Thorbjørn as a player, so I knew it was going not be an easy match.

“He fought hard today and obviously played some solid golf. So hopefully more to come the next few days.”

Justin Rose will also play Gary Woodland knowing a win will see him through having come back from three down with four to play against Frilford Heath’s Eddie Pepperell to gain a half.

Hampshire raised Rose revealed: “Obviously I’m delighted to get a halve. I had a great match with Eddie. He’s such a class individual, as well as player.

“To the point where you almost feel sorry for him by doing that to him over the last few holes.

“I felt I needed to birdie the last four holes, but we didn’t birdie the par five, otherwise I would’ve won the match. But my goal was to birdie out. And obviously you set new intention.

“You kind of forget everything that’s happened previously in the match and that’s the way you’ve got to do it.

“Eddie was obviously very, very hard for me. The whole day he was just solid, and his short game is so good. As you saw on 17 he’s never out of the hole.

“Every time he missed a green he upped and downed it. So I had to win holes with birdies.”

Rose also revealed he had been lifted by his long-time caddie Mark “Fooch” Fulcher, who was watching in the gallery as he continues to recover from minor heart surgery.

Justin, from North Hants GC, said: “I have to give a little credit to Foochie. He’s been walking on the sidelines here.

“He kind of gave me a bit of a ‘come on Rosy’ with four holes to play and lifted my spirits a bit and obviously fought hard for it.

“I could tell he hadn’t given up on me. That picked me up a little bit and made me dig a little deeper possibly.”

The half means Pepperell will be flying home early, having lost his first round match to Gary Woodland 2&1 as even a victory over Argentinian Emiliano Grillo will not be enough.

Sweden’s Henrik Stenson, meanwhile, will face off with the USA’s 2020 Ryder Cup Captain Jim Furyk in a winner-takes-all clash, with both players having won their opening two matches.

The 2016 Open Champion said: “I played okay. It’s difficult out there. You’ve got a course where the standard is quite high.

“It’s undulated greens and it’s blowing a good two-club wind. It’s difficult to get it right.

“A lot of times with the shorter clubs it’s probably even harder to get the yardages right than with some longer irons.

“It was difficult conditions. I played pretty solid and didn’t give much for free, even though I tried on one or two occasions.

“I kept it together nicely, and he gave me one or two easy holes, and other than that I thought I had it under control most of the day.”

Lucas Bjerregaard, Branden Grace, Matt Kuchar, Marc Leishman, Li Haotong, Rory McIlroy all hold the outright lead in their respective groups heading into day three.

Among those players still in with a shout of qualifying should they win their final group match include European Tour members Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Paul Casey, Bryson DeChambeau, Tony Finau, Billy Horschel, Tommy Fleetwood, Tyrrell Hatton, Alex Noren, Olesen, Louis Oosthuizen, Ian Poulter, Jon Rahm, Xander Schauffele and Matt Wallace.

Garcia maintaineed his 100 per cent record with a 5&4 win over American Andrew Putnam and said: “Pretty much everything went well today.

“I think I missed maybe one green in these conditions, which were quite tough – a little wind, gusty. I drove the ball very, very well and it my irons really well. I gave myself a lot of birdie opportunities.

“I put pressure on him every single hole. And after I got in front – other than that little bogey on 13 – I hit a good second shot just a little too hard – I didn’t give him anything. I kept putting pressure on him.”

Grace, who got the better of World No. 1 Dustin Johnson never having been behind in the match, admitted: “This is fun. Obviously I wish there were more of these events in a year, even if there’s just one more.

“But I think it’s tricky around a golf course like this because it’s elevated. There’s a lot of wind. It’s open.

“You still have to hit it in the fairways, you can’t always just play the golf course and try and make birdies.

“You have to keep your eye on what your opponent is doing, and feed off that and make decisions according to that.

“It’s always nice to beat the Number One player in the world. I knew it was going to be a lot of solid golf.

“And he obviously made a couple of birdies here and there, obviously with the power that he can get on the golf ball.”

For today’s matches and live scoring see here

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Surrey’s Paul Casey is looking to go back to back at the WGC World Matchplay in Austin, after defending his Valspar trophy at Copperhead, last week. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

PAUL Casey arrives at this week’s WGC-Dell Technologies World Match Play in buoyant mood after the Englishman defended a title for the first time in his professional career last week at the Valspar Championship on the US PGA Tour.

The 41-year-old is the most recent of three Europeans to have won in consecutive weeks on the other side of the Atlantic – alongside Rory McIlroy and Francesco Molinari.

And all three are present at Austin Country Club in a field which features 48 of the world’s top 50. Casey, who was raised in Surrey, has a strong record in knockout formats, having won the Volvo World Match Play at Wentworth Club back in 2006.

His Ryder Cup record of four wins and five ties out of 12 matches – having played in 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2018 having fallen out over the qualification process after missing out at Celtic Manor in 2010 – is one not to be sniffed at.

Add to that two runner-up finishes and four further top 10 in this event, and Casey is a force to be reckoned with in Texas this week.

The former Burhill junior who won back to back English Amateur Championships in 1999 and 2000 before turning pro at the end of that year said: “It feels great to be here after winning, really good.

“It’s obviously been a short week. I’m a little bit tired. I’d like to have a day off to recover, but it’s probably a good thing just to crack on.

“Last week was brilliant, so enjoyable, and what a tough golf course that is. But last year was like this huge kind of relief and quite emotional.

“Sunday was just exciting and felt great and kind of felt like the sort of golf – I certainly made mistakes, everybody did – but felt like golf I was playing 10 years ago, when I was in my 30s rather than my 40s.

So it felt very good.

“My matchplay record is fairly strong. Maybe not a huge amount of success in this particular event, or at Austin Country Club.

“But I played well finishing off the Ryder Cup last year in Paris. That was a great match against Brooks.

“I know how to play it. I’ve got massive respect for my group, but I don’t really have a group of death.”

The 13-time European Tour winner is one of 10 Englishmen in the field this week, a tournament record, and three of those are making their debut this week – Oxfordshire’s Eddie Pepperell and Herfordshire pair Tom Lewis and Matt Wallace.

Francesco Molinari does not have a standout record in the event, which has been won by Major winners in 12 of the last 16 outings.

The last outsider to produce a shock was Kevin Sutherland who won in 2002 when the WGC Matchplay was played at La Costa Resort in California’s Carlsbad, the home to two of the world’s biggest club manufacturers in TaylorMade and Calloway.

Molinari, who won his first Major by claiming the Claret Jug at The Open at Carnoustie, in July, said: “It’s always a tough event, not one where I’ve done particularly well in the past – so hopefully I’ll manage to change that trend this year.

“Clearly these guys are the best players in the world and it’s really exciting for people watching at home because anyone can beat anyone over 18 holes.

“I think the format is good, even if you win the first game you have to be on your toes and play well for the rest of the group stage and it can be a challenge for everyone for sure.

“You need a certain dose of good luck in match play but mostly you need to play good golf for a long time because it’s a lot of golf.

“In golf the margins are so small that really anything can happen, but you come into the week hoping to do well and hoping to play some good golf and that’s all you’ve got to do.

“So my focus will be on trying to control my game and my emotions and play some good golf and if you get the right breaks, you can go all the way.

“Since the event has come to Austin there has been a great atmosphere and the course is very good for match play, so many risk and reward holes so it should be a fun week for everyone.”   

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Frilford Heath’s Eddie Pepperell, who has soared up the world ranking rankings from outside the top 500 to No. 36 in less than two years , makes his WGC World Matchplay Champinship debut at Austin Country Club today.

OXFORDSHIRE’S Eddie Pepperell will take his mindset back to his amateur days when he makes his debut in the WGC Matchplay Championship at Austin Country Club, in Texas, this week.

The Abingdon ace, who takes on big hitting American Gary Woodlands, at 5pm GMT, on Wednesday, will be full of confidence after a top five at The Players Championship two weeks ago.

Pepperell will then face Hampshire’s Justin Rose – his playing partner in the final round of the recent Players championship where he finished tied for third – 24 hours later.

His final group stage opponent will be Argentinian Emiliano Grillo, on Friday, for a place in the last 16 where the group winner could face defending champion Bubba Watson, or former Masters Champion Jordan Spieth, on Saturday.

The 28-year-old, who will make his Masters debut at Augusta in two weeks, said: “Matchplay is very different. I’ve haven’t played matchplay for a decade or so – since I was an amateur. Although Matt and I played in the GolfSixes last year.

“I had a good matchplay record as a kid. I love playing the man, as opposed to the course.

“I’ve not got any expectations or pressure on this event. I mean out here, all these guys are very good golfers, so I think you’re taking it all with a pinch of salt.

“Anything can happen on the day. You’ve just first of all got to make sure that you play well. But I’ve historically loved matchplay so it will be nice to – hopefully we can use some of those positive memories and get positive.

“I think that’s going to be the hardest thing for me this week,” added the former Great Britain and Ireland junior international, who has been resting since his exertions at Sawgrass.

“I don’t know how competitive I am. I think I’m competitive. But the position these guys are in, I don’t know. It can sometimes be hard to be positive because they’re golfing very lovely. But then again if you stand on the tee, there might be more positive juices flowing. It’s hard to say.

“I think I’m prepared for it. I don’t think too much about those things, so I like to just play golf and make sure I’m playing as good as I can.

“And the good thing is as I’m getting a bit older, it seems that the results are coming better, and better results are coming as I tend to reach the levels I want to reach, let’s say.

“So that’s nice. And the fact if it does is great, and if not, so be it.”

Certainly, Pepperell, who claimed his second European Tour victory at Walton Heath – claiming the Skysports British Masters, in October – is benefitting from growing confidence levels following his latest display in the States.

Eddie said: “It was a bizarre week at The Players, I didn’t feel like I played very good. I was ready to go home pretty early in the week.

“And then before you know it, I found a good run here and there on a Sunday.

“One of those weeks I wouldn’t be able to say I expected or saw it coming, because I really didn’t.

“It was a lot of fun, that’s for sure. Playing with Justin on Sunday was great.”

Pepperell produced a string of birdies on the back nine to leapfrog the leaders thanks to a 30-foot snaking putt on Sawgrass’ infamous par three island green at the 17^th, to become the clubhouse leader before Rory McIlory caught him.

Eddie added: “Obviously the 17^th was a pretty magical moment for me. And I had a lot of people at home saying how much they enjoyed it.”

ABOVE: Experienced caddy Mick Doran (left) compared Eddie Pepperell to a younger Lee Westwood in his prime after the Frilford Heath ace finsihed third at The Players two weeks ago

Pepperell has formed a very good partnership over the last year with veteran caddy Mick Doran (above), who has worked with Lee Westwood when they won 16 tournaments together, having also caddied for Italian Constantino Rocca in the play-off at the 1995 Open at St Andrews, and for Justin Rose, Luke Donald and Camillo Villegas.

Doran was very impressed by Pepperell’s Players Championship performance – especially as it was his first look at a very fiddly Sawgrass, which tests players’ patience and course management to the full.

Mick told Golf South: “Eddie has something which a lot of golfers don’t – and that is when he is in a position near the top of a leaderboard he goes one way… forward.”

And Eddie also displayed a lot of grit having played poorly in practice but somehow found a way of scoring around the Pete Dye design where even the likes of Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy have seriously struggled before finding a way to win around Sawgrass, at Ponte Vedra Beach, the home of the PGA Tour.

Mick added “The Players was something I haven’t seen before where I can honestly say, in my eyes, Eddie was really struggling with his swing.

“I have been very fortunate to work with many great golfers and Westwood in his prime reminds me of Eddie. Both very humble guys with something in them where they have another gear. It’s been a week now from The Players and we finished third.

“To a lot of people that means nothing. But I promise you that week was very special as sometimes it’s about the bigger picture.”

It will be interesting to see how Eddie fares in his WGC debut – there will be more appearances for sure given his world ranking now which sees him in 36^th – the seventh highest ranked Englishman – behind Rose (2^nd), Paul Casey (11^th), Tommy Fleetwood (12^th), Ian Poulter (32^nd), Matt Wallace (35^th), with former B.B.&O. team-mate Tyrrell Hatton in 37^th place.

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