Rory McIlroy and Darren Clarke returned to competitive golf for the first time since the PGA Championship and both appeared to profit from the time off. McIlroy checked in joint-third at the Omega Masters at Crans-sur-Sierre in Crans Montana, Switzerland, while Clarke settled into a share of 35th place after contending early.
McIlroy shared the second best first-round score (65) with Martin Kaymer, as both stood two strokes off the leader, Nick Dougherty. Clarke shot 67 and was tied for eighth place.
McIlroy didn't really lose the tournament through any miscues, but rather from a dearth of birdies. He finished off the event with rounds of 69, 67 and 68, and was passed on Sunday by eventual victor Thomas Bjorn, who shot 62 to win on this circuit for the second consecutive week. McIlroy's 269 stood five strokes in back of Bjorn's 264.
Any lingering doubts about the injury McIlroy sustained during the PGA were dismissed.
"It was a great week for me, because coming off the injury I didn't know what to expect," McIlroy said. "The arm felt 100 percent healthy." He admitted that a few missed opportunities on the greens from "very makeable distances" cost him the tournament.
Clarke actually played better than his standing might indicate. A bushel full of bogeys on Sunday (five straight, running from the ninth through 13th holes) laid him low. Clarke managed rounds of 71, 69 and 72 the rest of the way to finish at 279.
Peter Lawrie remained relevant, tying for 16th place at 274 (70-66-69-69). Consecutive double bogeys on the back nine during Thursday's opening round put him in a hole, but he made hay at the first hole, at which he carded eagle-3 on two of the four days.
Michael Hoey also went the distance, finishing joint-48th at 281 (70-70-71-70).
PGA TOUR
Graeme McDowell and Padraig Harrington will enjoy the rest of the FedEx Cup from the comfort of their living rooms. Neither man finished high enough in the Deutsche Bank Championship at TPC Boston to qualify for this week's BMW Championship at Cog Hill in suburban Chicago.
McDowell tied for 37th place in Boston at 4-under-par 280 (71-68-70-71). More importantly, that left him in 73rd place in the points standings, when he needed to land 70th or higher to advance to this week's tournament.
Harrington, meanwhile, shot 4-over-par 287 (69-73-70-75), which placed him 73rd in the tournament and 89th on the FedEx Cup points list.
LADIES EUROPEAN TOUR
Rebecca Codd and Martina Gillen were part of an octet that shared 17th place in the UNIQA Ladies Open at Fohrenwald-Wiener Neustadt in Austria. They both shot 2-under-par 217, with Codd signing to rounds of 71, 69 and 74, while Gillen cards read 72, 69 and 73. Caroline Hedwall's 204 was the winning score.
NATIONAL PRO GOLF TOUR
Chris Devlin got a piece of 12th place in the San Antonio Open at TPC San Antonio's Canyons Course in Texas. At 8-under-par 280 (72-68-68-72) for the event, he left eight strokes between him and Scott Harrington, the medalist.
EUROPEAN SENIOR TOUR
Des Smyth tied for 15th place in the Travis Perkins plc Senior Masters at Woburn Golf Club's Duke's Course in England. He finished the 54-hole event one stroke over par at 217 (72-74-71), leaving a gulf of 10 strokes between him and medalist Boonchu Ruangkit of Thailand.
Denis O'Sullivan shared 35th place at 222 (75-74-73), while Eamonn Darcy's 227 (79-74-74) was good for a piece of 53rd place.
