The cat wasn't just let out of the bag, it jumped out. Patrick Reed
– the world number 14 – revealed at Augusta that he would be adding the Irish Open at Royal County Down next month to his schedule, as part of a two-week stint in Europe that would also take in the BMW PGA at Wentworth the previous week.
Again, Reed's addition – in joining names that already number Rickie Fowler, Sergio Garcia and Lee Westwood – confirms how the association with Rory McIlroy, who is hosting the tournament through his charitable foundation, and will of course be the headline act himself, has attracted the strongest field in years. The tournament, title sponsored by Dubai Duty Free, takes place at the famed links beside Slieve Donard on May 28th-31st.
Of the quintet of Irish players who competed at Augusta, only one – Graeme McDowell – is playing in this week’s RBC Heritage Classic at Hilton Head. McDowell is hoping a return to a course where he has previously won will kickstart a season that has got off to a slow start.
“My game is not where I need it to be but I’ll keep grinding away. A golf course like Hilton Head that requires a lot of placement strategy off the tee and golfing in the wind brings good memories, maybe that’s the type of place that will switch me back on . . . it’s a golf course I know I can get around,” said McDowell.
Hectic schedule
Indeed, McDowell – after easing his way into the schedule – faces a hectic upcoming schedule that will see him play Hilton Head, a week off, followed by a four-in-five-week stretch that takes in the WGC-Cadillac Matchplay, the Players, the BMW PGA and the Irish Open before he sets his sights on the US Open at Chambers Bay.
For McIlroy, like Shane Lowry, his next outing will be in the matchplay which takes place at Harding Park in San Francisco, the week before the Players championship at Sawgrass.
With talk of the career Grand Slam put to bed for another year, McIlroy took “a lot of positives” away following his improvement from being on the cut mark during his second round on Friday to finishing a career-best fourth at the Masters. The format for the matchplay has been changed this year, from a straight 64-man knock-out into one of 16 four-player groups which guarantee players at least three matches before moving on to the knock-out phase.
Best performance
Tiger Woods is in no hurry to play again despite comfortably his best performance of the season in the Masters.
His performance in the Masters suggests he is on the right road to improvement, but asked when he would compete on the PGA Tour again Woods added: “It’s not going to be for a while. I have a little time off, and go back to the drawing board, work on it again, and refine what I’m doing.”
Pádraig Harrington isn’t in the WGC-Matchplay field, having failed to break into the world’s top-64. The Dubliner is ranked 84th and plans on taking a family holiday before resuming his tour schedule in the Players and then the following week’s Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow.
