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**truebluefan** · 05-26-2008, 03:28 AM

The London Golf Club, Ash, Kent, England

**truebluefan** · 07-05-2008, 09:48 PM

Few modern golfers enjoy the imagination of Padraig Harrington. The Irishman is also convivial, approachable, polite and often engagingly barking. Yesterday, after his third round in the European Open, he was nudging towards the sharp edge of his barking best, describing this venue as a near ideal preparation for The Open Championship he defends in a fortnight.

'This is a good forerunner for the Open,' he said, while several reporters leaned on each other's shoulders to try to catch a glimpse of the sea that, I am reliably informed, is about 25 miles away. Open venues always are by the sea, built on the land that links water and solid ground and possess qualities of bounce and undulation that cannot be found inland. Still, if Harrington can imagine he is close to playing links golf while standing on a rolling hill in the middle of Kent then good luck to him.

To be fair this is no dafter than naming this place after a city that is a good trek away, a journey that involves paying a quid to crawl through the Dartford Tunnel. Anyway, Harrington's point is that the ground is hard and bouncy. This is indeed part of the links game that he will encounter at Birkdale soon enough but then this, too, may be found on the track at Brands Hatch just over the hill.

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**truebluefan** · 07-05-2008, 09:49 PM

Colin Montgomerie and Ian Poulter have fallen out in the past and it did not take a lot of reading between the lines during the second round of the European Open at The London Club yesterday to think that the Ryder Cup colleagues might have been about to do so again.

With Poulter preparing to putt at the par-four 13th, Montgomerie remonstrated with a television cameraman who had been in his eyeline and had not immediately moved when asked. “You're only here because of me,” Montgomerie was heard to say.

After backing away from his putt, Poulter holed out for a par, tossed his putter towards his bag in disgust and made a chatting sign with a hand as Montgomerie strode towards the next green. Afterwards, the Englishman, dressed from top to toe in pink, played coy but gave a knowing smile when asked if his sign had been directed towards a cameraman. “No,” he said. Another player then? “Maybe.” He gave little away but had the look of stone-cold fury.

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**truebluefan** · 07-05-2008, 09:51 PM

Justin Rose is back in Britain sounding far happier about his game than he did when he left just over a month ago as he prepared to face a the new challenge of The London Golf Club for The European Open

The World Number Nine lines up at The European Open in Kent this week looking to make amends for his last “home” appearance at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth Club. While he missed the cut that week, shortly after came a second-place finish in the US PGA Tour’s Memorial Tournament in Ohio and he said: “That's the one week I feel I putted to my expected standards and I was in contention, so that was good to know.

“I feel good about my game - things are going in the right direction and I'm working hard.”

As for The Heritage Course at The London Golf Club, Rose's caddie reported to him at the start of the week that it looked like a week for low scoring, but on playing it himself he reported: “Not so easy, scoring might not be low.”

Sergio Garcia received advice from his father, a member of the European Seniors Tour, that it could be a good course for him to play this week, particularly with the links feel ahead of The Open Championship at Royal Birkdale.

“I heard good things about this course,” he said. “I wanted to take a look. My dad played here in a European Seniors Tour event last year, and he told me the course was pretty nice. Even though this course is not properly links, it does have a little bit more of a links kind of look.”

Garcia hopes a successful week will also help to build momentum ahead of The Open, where he plans to go one step better than last year’s second-placed finish.

At Carnoustie he came agonisingly close to lifting the Claret Jug but was denied glory when his eight foot putt to win slid by the hole.

"It took me just a couple of days to get over it," he said. "I just came up about half an inch too far left (a reference to his putt to win on the 72nd hole), but I felt like I learnt a lot and that probably made me a better player for this year.

"If I had made that putt maybe I would never have gone back to the short putter and never won The Players Championship.

"Everything happens for a reason and if I wasn't meant to win The Open last year there must be a reason for it."

Colin Montgomerie won this event at The K Club last year and is optimistic of further success despite the change in venue.

The 45 year old, who finished second at the Open de France ALSTOM last week, said: "I know that it’s a different golf course, but I have played The London Golf Club a few times and I have gained some confidence, so I look forward to it now.

"This is a big week for me defending here, then I have The Barclays Scottish Open, which speaks for itself, and then The Open. I'm looking forward to it."

**truebluefan** · 07-05-2008, 09:51 PM

Peter Hedblom was the early pacesetter at The London Golf Club, surging to the top of The European Open leaderboard with two birdies and an eagle in his opening six holes on Thursday morning.

The Swede, vying for his sixth victory on The European Tour, started on the back nine and after opening with a birdie he added a second at the par-five 12th. An eagle three followed on the 548-yard 15th, moving him to four under par.

Ross Fisher is tied with five others at three under par after a superb opening two holes. The winner of The 2007 KLM Open title started on the tenth and following two quick birdies added another two the 15th and 16th to move to four under par.

A bogey on the 17th brought him back to three under par, alongside countryman Ian Poulter. Poulter made a sparkling start to the €3 million tournament - back in England after 13 years at The K Club near Dublin - when his approach to the 426-yard tenth hit the flagstick and stopped two inches away.

South African duo Hennie Otto and James Kingston were in joint second with Per-Ulrik Johansson and Colin Montgomerie.

Sergio Garcia and Justin Rose were among the later starters.

**truebluefan** · 07-05-2008, 09:52 PM

Ross Fisher’s week to remember got even better at The London Golf Club as he broke the course record to lead The European Open.

Three days after finishing joint third in the Open Championship qualifier at Sunningdale, the 27 year old finished with six successive birdies to record a spectacular nine under par 63 and break the course record set by Seve Ballesteros in 1984.

It was also the lowest round of his European Tour career.

Fisher was in the second group out at 7.40am and with ten birdies in all - and a bogey - in the windy conditions he took an early five stroke lead over the chasing pack.

David Lynn was mounting a challenge having got off to a slow start with bogies at the second and seventh, but birdies at the third, eighth, ninth, 11th and 14th moved him to three under par before an eagle at the 15th moved him into second place. Although he dropped a shot on the 16th he was still well placed.

Peter Hedblom is also on four under par alongside Gonzalo Fernandez-Castaño, Robert Rock, Jeev Milkha Singh and Peter Hanson. Spain’s Fernandez-Castaño saw five birdies and an eagle balanced against three bogies, while Rock picked up seven birdies only to give shots back at the second, fourth and 16th holes.

Hedblom, vying for his sixth victory on The European Tour, started on the back nine and after opening with a birdie he added a second at the par five 12th. An eagle three followed on the 548 yard 15th, moving him to four under par and into a temporary lead.

Thereafter, he dropped a shot on the par three seventh, but regained it on the next hole to finish on 68.

Defending champion Colin Montgomerie finished two under par and Open Champion Padraig Harrington finished at level par, while Sergio Garcia and Justin Rose were among the later starters.

**truebluefan** · 07-05-2008, 09:53 PM

It took Graeme McDowell only three holes to join Ross Fisher out in front in The European Open at The London Golf Club in Kent.

A 25 foot putt on the short 11th was followed by another birdie at the long 12th as McDowell continued his bid for a second win of the season - one that would almost certainly lift him to sixth in The Ryder Cup race.

Not that the Ulsterman, nine under par after his flying start, is putting his Ryder Cup ambitions at the forefront of his mind, high priority though it is.

McDowell sees the last two months of the Points race in very simple terms - "I know I've got to perform," he said.

It is probably a good thing that he is not looking at the table at the moment because on Sunday he fell out of a top-ten place.

He said: "I'm trying to take the emphasis off The Ryder Cup. I'm just focussing day-by-day and not looking beyond Sunday of The European Open right now.

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**truebluefan** · 07-05-2008, 09:58 PM

Graeme McDowell and Sergio Garcia turned on the style to keep alive their hopes of winning The European Open at The London Golf Club.

Resuming two strokes behind first round leader Ross Fisher - one of the second round's afternoon starters - McDowell added a 67 to his opening 65 to set the clubhouse target of 12 under par.

Playing partner Garcia finished eagle-birdie for a sparkling 64 and climbed into joint second place with Fisher on nine under.

McDowell wasted little time making his mark when play resumed, following a 25-foot putt on the short 11th with further birdies at the two back nine par fives, the 12th and 15th.

He did bogey two holes later, but the outward half brought more birdies on the second, fourth and seventh before he missed a seven-foot chance at his last.

Garcia, joint 30th overnight on one under, turned in 32, but saved his best for the end of his round in his first tournament on European soil since the Volvo Masters last November and his first in Britain since he lost a play-off for The Open Championship to Padraig Harrington last July.

**truebluefan** · 07-05-2008, 10:03 PM

England’s Ross Fisher holds a one stroke lead in The European Open with a world-class chasing pack gathered and ready to strike over the weekend at The London Golf Club.

Fisher added a four under par 68 to his opening course record 63 to lie on 13 under par, one clear of Northern Ireland’s Graham McDowell, who shot a 67 while Sergio Garcia surged through the field with a best of the day 64.

“After a 63, you just want to go out there and obviously you want to repeat it,” said Fisher. “You kind of want to show people that it wasn't a fluke and that you're playing nicely so just try to go out there and do the same things as I did yesterday, which I felt like I did pretty well.”

McDowell, two behind overnight, moved ahead with a morning 67, then Fisher, having played the Kent lay-out "blind" on Thursday, had four more birdies in his first ten holes, bogeyed the 14th and 16th, but then closed with another birdie.

Garcia, who paired with McDowell had a better-ball 60, finished eagle-birdie to move into the frame. The Spaniard loves his golf, but he loves his tennis too and it was a great day for him on both fronts.
First he burst into contention with his eight under par 64, his lowest round of the year.

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**truebluefan** · 07-05-2008, 10:04 PM

Irishman Padraig Harrington endured mixed fortunes in his round three bid to catch overnight leader Ross Fisher at The European Open.

The Open Champion, who started the day 11 shots adrift of leader Ross Fisher after rounds of 72 and 70, stormed through the opening nine holes in 31, but returned in 38 to leave him eight shots behind the Englishman.

Initially, Harrington was in formidable form, starting with a birdie three at The London Golf Club and then taking an eagle at the 541 yard fifth with a stunning 30 foot putt.

At five under par the Dubliner then converted a 20 foot chance for birdie at the next and when he two-putted the downwind 563 yard eighth, he was seven under and into a tie for fifth.

His outward 31 could have been better, but a 15 foot putt on the ninth eluded him before he dropped a shot on the par four tenth and another at the 12th.

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