A week after Darren Clarke's big win in England, there was a scarcity of Irish participation in last week's European Tour stop, the Nordea Masters at Bro Hof Slott in Stockholm. But Damien McGrane gave it his best shot and was in with a slight chance on Sunday morning. Any notion of a rally quickly faded as McGrane hit the turn with two bogeys and no birdies. He finished the round with 76, which combined with his earlier scores of 72, 70 and 70, landed him in joint-16th place at even-par 288.
Alexander Noren shot 273 for a 7-stroke victory in a field that included Americans Bubba Watson and Dustin Johnson, who finished among a foursome tied for sixth place, 12 strokes off Noren's winning number.
BRITISH SENIOR OPEN
Mark McNulty shot 68 for a share of the first-round lead in the British Senior Open, but it went downhill from there. He stumbled his way to rounds of 76, 78 and 71 to finish with a share of 44th place at 5-over-par 293.
Also going the distance were Denis O'Sullivan, who shot 294 (73-74-71-76) for a piece of 49th place, and Eamonn Darcy in 75th place at 309 (76-72-76-85).
Des Smyth missed the cut at Walton Heath in Surrey; he shot 149 (75-74) to miss by one stroke.
Ross Cochran of the U.S. shot 276 for a 2-stroke victory over Mark Calcavecchia, with Tom Watson another stroke back in third place.
NATIONAL PRO GOLF TOUR
Chris Devlin earned a share of 10th place in the Sunshine State Open at Grand Cypress in Orlando, Fla. Rounds of 72, 71, 73 and 69 left the Ballymena native 12 strokes behind the low score and three under par. His take was $3,133.
HOOTERS TOUR
Barry O'Neill finished joint-25th in the Heart of North Carolina Golf Classic at Pinewood Country Club in Asheboro, N.C. The Waterford native completed the event 11 strokes under par at 273 (68-70-66-69). That was 14 strokes off the low number established by Jeff Corr. O'Neill took home $1,764.
EGOLF PROFESSIONAL TOUR
Seamus Power tied for 36th place in the Scratch Golf Championship at Woodside Plantation in Aiken, S.C. Power, from Waterford, shot 284 (68-75-71-70), which was four strokes under par and 11 off the low number, which led to a 3-man playoff. Friday's round saw Power go without a birdie on a day when scores weren't affected by the weather. He earned $1,451.
EUROPRO TOUR
David Rawluk and Noel Fox were the lone Irish to make the cut at the ABC Solutions UK Championship at Wychwood Park Golf Club in Crewe, England. Both preceded their professional careers with stints at U.S. colleges - Rawluk at UNC-Charlotte and Fox at East Tennessee State. Rawluk tied for 35th place at 2-over-par 218 (72-71-75), while Fox settled for a share of 50th place at 224 (72-72-80). Duncan Stewart shot 207 for the win.
ALPS TOUR
Dara Lernihan was the top Irish finisher in the Le Fonti Open in Bologna, Italy. He tied for 18th place at 5-under-par 211 (72-69-70). Distance was key to Lernihan's finish; he played the par-3s four strokes over par, but clipped eight strokes off par at the par-5s, including two eagles at the 558-yard 14th hole. The par-3 ninth hole and the par-4 11th hole were especially troublesome for him; he bogeyed both holes on all three days, including a double at 11 in the third round.
Also on site were Richard Kilpatrick, who tied for 30th place at 213 (69-73-72), and Brendan McCarroll, who got a piece of 36th place at 215 (73-66-76). Interestingly, McCarroll's 66 was low round of the day. He had no bogeys, but picked up no fewer than four on the other two days.
Marco Crespi shot 204 for the victory.
