No US Open fairytales for Igoe or Devlin; Harrington praying to St Jude
Chambers Bay
There were no fairytales for the Irish in last night’s US Open Sectional Qualifiers as both Longford teenager John Igoe and Ballymena’s Chris Devlin withdrew without completing 36 holes and failed to make it to Chambers Bay.
Igoe, a 19-year old two handicap amateur from Killoe, opened with an 82 at the Bears Club in Florida but opted not to return a card in round two after playing his front nine in six over at a venue where Andrew Pope, Luke Donald and amateurs Jack Maguire and Sam Horsfield took the four qualifying places.
Devlin, who qualified for Torrey Pines in 2008, was tied for 100th place on 12 over par at Brookside Golf and Country Club and Lakes Golf and Country Club in Ohio when play was suspended due to dangerous weather conditions.
In the end, 17 progressed there but Devlin was already out of the running after an opening 81 on the Brookside Course and he also withdrew.
The qualifiers were:
T1 Putnam, Michael University Place, Wash. -8 F -12 68 B 64 L 132
T1 Saunders, Samuel Fort Collins, Colo. -6 F -12 66 B 66 L 132
T3 Hearn, David Canada -7 F -11 68 B 65 L 133
T3 Dechambeau, Bryson (a) Clovis, Calif. -5 F -11 66 L 67 B 133
T5 Cappelen, Sebastian Denmark -8 F -9 71 B 64 L 135
T5 Summerhays, Daniel Fruit Heights, Utah -4 F -9 67 B 68 L 135
T7 McNeill, George Fort Myers, Fla. -6 F -8 70 L 66 B 136
T7 Ishikawa, Ryo Japan -5 F -8 69 B 67 L 136
T7 Fritsch, Brad Holly Springs, N.C. -5 F -8 69 L 67 B 136
T7 Smith, Cameron Australia -5 F -8 69 L 67 B 136
T7 Van Pelt, Bo Jenks, Okla. -1 F -8 65 L 71 B 136
T7 Villegas, Camilo Colombia Even F -8 64 L 72 B 136
T13 Points, D.A. Windermere, Fla. -5 F -7 70 B 67 L 137
T13 Streb, Robert Shawnee, Kan. -4 F -7 69 L 68 B 137
T13 Cejka, Alex Las Vegas, Nev. -3 F -7 68 L 69 B 137
T13 Chappell, Kevin Scottsdale, Ariz. -3 F -7 68 B 69 L 137
T13 Lee, Danny Irving, Texas -2 F -7 67 L 70 B 137
Players battled at 10 Sectional Qualifying sites across the US for the chance to join defending champion Martin Kaymer and Ireland’s Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry, Graeme McDowell and Darren Clarke at Chambers Bay in Washington on Thursday week.
Click here for the results and stories from each venue.
Pádraig Harrington must win this week’s FedEx St Jude Classic in Memphis to make the world's top 60 and join he other Irish in Washington next week. But even if he scrapes into the top 60 on points due to a drop in the field strength may, he's still vulnerable and could be leapfrogged by a player below him. In other words, his chances are very slim.
Harrington is 91st in the world and said at the Irish Open that he'd likely need 25 world ranking points to make it into the top 60 on Sunday and secure a place at Chambers Bay.
“I’ll be there trying to put in a big performance," he said at Royal County Down. “It’s a big ask to go out and win on demand for sure but we will have to give it a go. I like the event and I have contended for it once before.”
Harrington is joined in Memphis by 2010 US Open champ McDowell as McIlroy and Lowry make early trips to Chambers Bay.
On the European Tour, the action has moved to Austria for the Lyoness Open at the Diamond Country Club where Michael Hoey, Damien McGrane, Gareth Maybin, Kevin Phelan, Simon Thornton and Peter Lawrie tee it up.
Meanwhile the European Challenge Tour will return to the Republic of Ireland for the first time in six years with theIrish Challenge at Mount Wolseley Hotel Spa and Golf Resort from October 8-11.
Tetrarch Capital, the new owners of Mount Wolseley (and Mount Juliet) have committed to hosting the event in 2016 and 2017 after signing a three-year deal.
The Confederation of Golf in Ireland (CGI) and the Irish Sports Council have also come on board as partners for the event.
The Irish Challenge will be the fourth last event of the season on the Challenge Tour, as the race for the top 15 in the Challenge Tour’s Road to Oman Rankings nears its climax.
The last time a Challenge Tour event took place in the Republic of Ireland was in 2009 at Moyvalley GC, a tournament won by England’s, Robert Coles. Derryman Ruaidhri McGee is currently inside the top 10 in the Road to Oman.
