Month: September 2020

Conor Dowling’s US Open Report – Tuesday

/ niall@corkgolfnews.com

We had a bit of a change of schedule today.  James didn’t hit the course until lunchtime and it was straight to the range.  To be fair he’s hitting it as well as I’ve ever seen him.  He did some Trackman work and after a bit of adjusting he put a new Titleist TSi driver into the bag.  He was absolutely ripping it.  He also has a new 21 degree Titleist TS2 hybrid as the 19 degree was going too far.  I think this is a good sign, the last time he put a new driver in the bag was when we were on the way up to Portmarnock for the Amateur last year and he had a fitting at the GUI Academy in Carton House.

As we weren’t up to much with James this morning, Mike Collins and myself went to the course to go Tiger hunting!  We met him on the 16th,  he was playing with Justin Thomas so it was great to see the two of them hitting a few shots.  After Tiger finished I ended up saying a quick hello to his caddie Joe LaCava and I ended up getting one of the Bridgestone Tiger balls he had used.  I reckon I’ll never get another chance to do that so I’m glad I took the opportunity.

I also had a chance to talk to Harry Diamond who’s on the bag for Rory McIlroy.  He’s a really nice guy and we were chatting about golf back home as well as the course and the draw.  There’s seems to be plenty of talk about the course from a lot of players and caddies.  There’s been a lot on Twitter about the rough and the media are picking up on it, there has been a few videos too on the greens and some of the slopes.  A lot of players are giving out, but they’ll know where  they have to put it on Thursday, and how to plot their way around the course.

Conor Dowling’s US Open Report – Tuesday

James seems to be happy enough about the draw, and I’m really looking forward to watching Bubba play golf.  The bag is ready now, we’re using James’ Irish carry bag so its nice and light and easy to drag around.  The only thing James really looks for during a round is water so I’ll make sure that I’ve plenty of that.  He’s pretty laid back when on the course so the only other thing I have to do is get the yardages right!  Thursday is getting closer now so the plan for tomorrow will be to focus the practice on the short game and play the back nine in the evening.

Conor Dowling’s US Open Report – Monday

/ niall@corkgolfnews.com

Another early start yesterday, we were first out on the course at 7.01.  We played nine holes and then hit the range for an hour or so.  The place is getting a lot busier now and practice rounds for the full 18 holes look like they are taking up to six hours which is mad.  It’s not the rough that causing the long rounds, it’s the slopes and the undulations on the greens.  The greens are running pretty fast now and everyone is trying to work out the angles, the slopes and the backstops.

After lunch myself and Mike went out to the back nine.  We had a good walk around and took plenty of notes.  The yardage book is fine but it doesn’t help in term of lines off the tee or slopes so we’ll have all that planned out by Thursday.  We still don’t know when we’re out in the first round.  The draw should be out in the morning, I think it might have been delayed due to the changes to the start list.

 

I think the week is going to be all about driving and putting.  The fairways are narrow, very narrow in places so James has been spending most of his time on the range working on his driving.  He’ll probably start working on his short game today and Wednesday.  It’s all aimed towards sharpening up, and his game should be in nice shape for Thursday.

Off the course very little is happening, there are very few people around and none of our friends and family from Mallow.  We’re in the bubble that the US sports have spoken about so it’s literally moving from the hotel to course, and from the course to the hotel.  The weather is nice, it’s around 23/24 degrees at the moment so it’s really nice.  It should be around the same on Thursday and Friday with a bit of cloud so that should suit us perfectly.

Conor Dowling’s US Open Report – Sunday

The rough is still the talking point for many people, we took the video below on the right of the 11th when walking the course.  That’s it for Monday, we’re heading down for a bite to eat now and we’re planning another early start in the morning.

 

Conor Dowling’s US Open Report – Sunday

/ niall@corkgolfnews.com

After nearly a week out here we finally got to Winged Foot.  On Saturday evening we went over to register and have a look around and this morning we played the full 18.  We went out at 8.15, first on the course!  We played the full 18, it’s very long and the rough is crazy – thick and long.  The greens are a bit soft at the moment but I’d say they’ll firm up as the week goes on.  After the course we headed to the range for another 90 minutes, and James was hitting it very well.  Although the past week has been very enjoyable, it was great to finally get onto the course at Winged Foot.

The week has flown by since we arrived on Monday.  Earlier in the week we met up with Stephen Walsh from Portmarnock.  He had been in touch before we came out to see if we wanted to play a few courses.  We were a bit limited as we were following all of the Covid guidelines but we did get to play Garden City Golf Club in Esssex County with Stephen.  It’s a great course and we really did enjoy ourselves.  We all played well too so that helps.  Michael Collins joined us late last week so the three of us are here now.  It’s a bit disappointing that nobody could travel over to see the event but I suppose we’re lucky to be here.

We’re all set now for the week.  We had our first Covid test last Monday when we arrived and another one yesterday.  We got the all clear so it’s all eyes on the tournament, and we’re back out for another practice round tomorrow.

 

 

Fermoy set for John Whyte Memorial

/ niall@corkgolfnews.com

Fermoy golf club will host their annual senior scratch cup on Sunday, the John Whyte memorial. The event has been a popular fixture on the calendar for many years, with a some famous winners. 2019 Amateur Champion James Sugrue won the event in 2016 and 2018. 

The contenders for the 2020 event include John O’Brien, Ronan Twomey, Seamus Stack and Continue reading →

O’Keeffe Blitzes the field to claim Munster Stroke Play

/ niall@corkgolfnews.com
Peter O’Keeffe celebrates with his wife Mary Claire and daughter Alice following his Munster Strokeplay win

Peter O’Keeffe won the biggest prize in Cork golf on Sunday.  After 72 holes he won the Munster Stroke Play and added his name to the famous Cork Scratch Cup.  O’Keeffe had a blistering performance on Sunday, he entered the final 36 holes 4 off the lead but ended up winning by seven strokes.  Two rounds of 70 put on Saturday put him in contention going into the second day.  Saturday’s performance included 11 birdies and one eagle, and that gave the Douglas golfer the confidence to know his game was good enough to win.  O’Keeffe reached Continue reading →