The PGA Tour Champions isn’t seen as a stepping stone for a major championship but that’s the path Padraig Harrington has taken to get ready for this week’s Masters. His joint-second finish in the Rapiscan Systems Classic in Saucier, Miss. suggests that he might have made the right choice as opposed to opting for the PGA Tour’s Valero Texas Open.
Harrington, who will play in his first Masters since 2015, qualified for Augusta by virtue of having tied for fourth place in last year’s PGA Championship. His game seems to be in top form as he began the Rapiscan with a 67 that was good for a share of the lead.
A second-round 72 then left Harrington six strokes behind eventual champion Steven Alker. Both shot 65 on Sunday.
Harrington has played well at Augusta in the past but hasn’t been an especially strong threat there. He has twice tied for fifth place, his best finishes there. He has two other top-10s there, although he’s missed the cut in four of his last five attempts.
Darren Clarke was also on the scene at the Rapiscan. After rounds of 72 and 67, he was on even terms with Harrington. But a final-round 77 saw him sink into a share of 42nd place, 18 strokes off Alker’s winning number.
PGA TOUR
Rory McIlroy was looking to get in four competitive rounds at the Valero Texas Open but had to settle for just a pair. He missed the cut by two strokes after signing to rounds of 72 and 73.
The two rounds differed greatly as McIlroy racked up six birdies and six bogeys on Thursday. His scorecard lacked color on Friday, due to two bogeys against a single birdie.
Graeme McDowell left a gap of six strokes between his 36-hole score and the cut line. The shorter holes proved his undoing. He lost seven strokes to par at the par-4s, along with one bogey at the par-3s. Meanwhile, he played the par-5s three strokes under par without a single bogey.
McIlroy now heads to Augusta in search of that illusive green jacket off just two rounds of tournament golf in almost four weeks. Besides Harrington, the other Irish in the field include Shane Lowry and Seamus Power. Stephanie Meadows is happy with her recent performances. INPHO/PHOTOSPORT/JOHN COWPLAND
LPGA
The Irish golfer of the moment on this circuit is no longer Leona Maguire. Rather, Stephanie Meadow has put together back-to-back strong tournaments, although her finish in the Chevron Championship in Rancho Mirage, Calif. might suggest otherwise.
Meadow was fortunate to even play the weekend as she survived the cut on the number after rounds of 73 and72. A string of three consecutive birdies leading up to the turn in Friday’s round made the difference.
A bogey-free 67 on Saturday elevated Meadow to the top 20, although eventual champion Jennifer Kupcho was far out in front. On Sunday, Meadow picked up where she left off by taking birdie on three of her first seven holes. She hit a wall of sorts on the back nine, however, logging five bogeys with just one birdie to undo the damage. She signed to 73.
Whereas Meadow was angling for a top-10 finish early in the round, she ended up tied for 35th place, 11 strokes behind Kupcho, who could afford to shoot 74 and still win by two strokes. Yet, she didn’t feel discouraged.
“Definitely two really good weeks in a row,” Meadow said. “Just a bad back nine there. Didn’t really feel like I did a whole lot wrong. Couple three-putts and hit a drive 50 yards by hitting a tree and a couple really bad lipouts.
“Obviously, really stings right now because I would’ve really liked that top 20. It’s still a great start and I’m excited that I’m trending in the right direction.”
As for Maguire, she finished a stroke behind Meadow at 2-under-par 286 (72-69-74-71). Friday’s round was immaculate, with three birdies, but then she could muster just a single birdie on Saturday, while giving back three strokes.
The LPGA is off this week but heads to Hawaii next week for the Lotte Championship.
CHALLENGE TOUR
Tom McKibbin earned a share of 37th place in the Limpopo Championship in South Africa. An opening 68 suggested he might contend here but the backsliding began on Friday, when he shot 70. The weekend yielded rounds of 72 and 74, which left him 15 strokes off the winning number belonging to Mateusz Gradecki.
The four closing holes at Euphoria Golf Club were anything but kind to McKibbin; he racked up five bogeys and no birdies there. He currently ranks 15th on the Challenge Tour rankings.
A 36-hole score of 139 or better was needed to play on the weekend. Paul Dunne, who was just a stroke off the lead after opening with a bogey-free 66, stumbled to a birdie-free 78 on Friday. John Murphy (70-72) and Richard O’Donovan (79-72), likewise, had the weekend off.
This circuit will now go on hiatus for several weeks, resuming play in Spain in late May.
