MAYNOOTH, Ireland, 21 May 2005 — Briton David Howell climbed to the top of the Irish Open leaderboard yesterday to put his crushing British Masters disappointment behind him.
Howell, pipped to last week’s title in a playoff, produced an exhilarating run of four birdies in five holes to shoot a two-under-par 70 in windy conditions and set the second-round target of 140. Joint overnight leader and fellow Briton Nick Dougherty then handed in a 72 to sit alongside Howell, a stroke ahead of home favorite Paul McGinley, who posted a 69, and Britain’s Phil Golding.
Howell said losing the playoff to Thomas Bjorn at Forest of Arden when he just needed to par the 72nd hole for victory had hit him harder than anything in his career. He bogeyed the short 18th with a wayward five-iron and, though he took Bjorn to a second extra hole, his iron shots let him down three times on the finishing hole to let in the Dane.
Sheehan Rolls at Hogan’s Alley
In Toronto, American Patrick Sheehan shot a spectacular eight-under 62 to grab the first round lead at the $5.6 million Colonial at Fort Worth, Texas on Thursday, surging two strokes clear of Brian Bateman and D.J. Trahan. Sheehan, still searching for his first PGA Tour win, got his round off to a blistering start, scorching the famed Colonial Golf Club for seven birdies on his first eight holes.
Not even a double-bogey at the ninth could cool off the red hot Sheehan who rebounded with birdies on 10, 11 and 13.
Sitting on nine-under with two to play the 35-year-old had the course record in his sights but a bogey on the last forced him to settle for eight-under — the best round of his career
It was also the lowest opening round at Hogan’s Alley in the 58 year history of the event.
Trahan and Bateman both shot six-under 64s, one shot better than South Korea’s Kevin Na and Americans Brandt Jobe and Kenny Perry, the winner at the Bay Hill Invitational earlier this year.
Ted Purdy, winner of the Byron Nelson championship last week, continued his good form to lead a group of five on four-under 66. World No. 4 Phil Mickelson got his round off to a sputtering start with bogeys on three of his first six holes but recovered with back-to-back birdies to finish at one-over 71.
Steve Flesch, looking to become the first back-to-back winner of the Colonial since Ben Hogan in 1952-53, got the defense of his title off to a disastrous start with nine-over 79 that included a pair of double-bogeys.
Kim Seizes Sybase Classic First-Round Lead
In New Rochelle, New York Christina Kim fired a six-under-par 65 on Thursday to claim a one-shot lead in the LPGA’s $1.25 million Sybase Classic.
With Swedish superstar Annika Sorenstam — who posted a dominating 10-shot victory at last week’s Chick-fil-A Championship for her fourth win in five starts this season — taking a week off, Kim took full advantage.
A birdie at the first hole got Kim off to a good start, and the 21-year-old kept it going throughout her round with seven birdies and just one bogey.
Kim followed her birdie at the first with three more on the front nine before carding her only bogey at the par-four eighth, where she drove into a fairway bunker and left her approach short. Three birdies in a row from the 13th boosted Kim to a one-shot lead over Malaysia’s Siew-Ai-Lim. Germany’s Miriam Nagl, 2002 winner Gloria Park of South Korea and compatriot Hee-Won Han, the 2003 champion, shared third on 67.
Defending champion Sherri Steinhauer had some trouble navigating the 6,161-yard Wykagyl Country Club course and posted a 74. Michelob Ultra champion Cristie Kerr shot a 72 and was tied for 27th while the tour’s top rookie, Paula Creamer, carded a 69 to headline a group of five golfers tied for sixth at two-under, a group that included Koreans Soo-Yun Kim and Mi Hyun Kim and Taiwan’s Yu Ping Lin.
Thai Veteran Boonchu Takes Over the Lead in the Philippine Open Golf
In Manila, Thai veteran Boonchu Ruangkit produced vintage golf to grab the halfway lead in the Philippine Open after a battling three-under-par 68 yesterday.
Boonchu, who turned 49 last week, carded five birdies against two bogeys at the par-71 Mount Malayarat Golf and Country Club for a two-day total of four-under-par 138 and leads by one stroke from overnight leader Andrew Buckle of Australia, who scrambled to a 73. Former champion Felix Casas and amateur star Juvic Pagunsan, who was runner-up last year, raised local hopes by ending the day two off the pace in equal third place with Korean American Ron Won.
Casas, winner here in 2001, shot a second straight 70 while Pagunsan signed for a 72 after recovering from a disastrous start.
Another former champion and Manila-based Rick Gibson of Canada moved into the title frame with a 70 to lie three behind Boonchu, who is a five-time winner in Asia with his last win being the 2004 Thai Open.
Another of the Philippine’s hopefuls, Angelo Que, dropped off the leaderboard after a difficult 75, which included seven bogeys and three birdies.
