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DERMOT GILLEECE
NEWPORT, WALES |
It was one of those
precious moments in team golf. Rory
McIlroy stood downcast on the 18th fair-
way at Celtic Manor on Saturday, having
dumped a heavily hit 3-wood second shot
into the water fronting the green. Sud-
denly there was a comforting arm over his
shoulder and Graeme McDowell was say-
ing: “I’ve got you covered. It’s all right.”
When the priceless half-point was
secured against Stewart Cink and Matt
Kuchar, we felt this could be a defining
moment in McIlroy’s eagerly anticipated
impact on the Ryder Cup. After all, it was
his 30-foot birdie putt on the short 17th
which had given the Irish pair the chance
of victory.
age which may occur,” he said. “You’re
looking at a maximum of about 12 hours of
daylight, from seven till seven.”
Meanwhile, the Irish players battled
on and we had the heartening spectacle
of Harrington finding some form in the
company of Ross Fisher, the player who
beat him for the 3Irish Open title only two
months ago. “There was a lot of pressure
on Paddy, carrying me around,” was the
generous reaction of the English rookie,
given that it was the quality of Fisher’s
play which seemed to lift the three-time
major winner.
Finally, the fragmented nature of play
did little to dampen vice-captain Clarke’s
enthusiasm for the tournament. Though
touted as a likely captain for the Gle-
neagles staging in 2014, he prefers to
look to the future as a player. “While it’s
great to be part of it all, I find it hard not
to be out there hitting the shots,” he said
Sunday. “Which has made me all the more
determined to be playing at Medinah (near
Chicago) in two years’ time.” l
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