Rory shoots course record 62 to become youngest winner on the PGA Tour since Tiger!
May 3rd, 2010 | PGA European Tour Golfers, PGA Tour, Putting Biomechanics, Rory McIloryWhat a final round, Rory McIlroy’s 10-under-par final round to win the Quail Hollow Championship on Sunday has drawn superlative-filled praise from the world of golf. The youthful star of European golf, made his mark in the United States last night when he won the Quail Hollow championship in record-breaking fashion, shooting a course-record 62, 10 under par, to become the youngest winner on the PGA Tour since Tiger Woods.
Rory who will celebrate his 21st birthday on Tuesday, covered the first 17 holes of his final round in nine under par but saved his best until the last as he rolled a 45-foot putt into the centre of the hole for another birdie. There was a look of wonder on his face as the ball dropped and he was not alone in his astonishment. He finished his round with a run of six threes – two pars, three birdies and one eagle, at the par-five 15th – and his 15-under-par total beat the field by four shots.
“Ridiculous,” Rory said afterwards when asked to sum up his round. “I just got in the zone. I saw my shots and just hit them and I saw the line of my putts and they just went in.”
Quail Hollow has a reputation of being one of toughest courses on the PGA Tour – Phil Mickelson criticised its “ridiculous” greens the other day – and the Quail Hollow Championship traditionally attracts the best field outside the major championships. Yet McIlroy made a mockery of the course’s reputation and left the best players in the world looking ordinary.
Woods, the world No1, did not even make the cut and Mickelson, the Masters champion, shot a final-round 68 to finish in second place. On another day that would have been good enough to win, as the left-hander conceded afterwards.
“I was out on the course after five or six holes, thinking that 68 was the number [to win the tournament],” he said. ” I have got to congratulate Rory. To shoot 30 on the back nine to win this tournament, on this course; he is some kind of player.”
He really is and Mickelson was not alone in lauding the Ulsterman. It was noticeable that, when McIlroy stepped off the final green, a welter of players, including Lee Westwood and Padraig Harrington, were waiting to shake his hand.
Yesterday’s victory was McIlroy’s second as a professional golfer – his first came at the Dubai Desert Classic 15 months ago – and his first on the PGA Tour, of which he became a member at the start of the this year.
Congratulations Rory from all at Quintic, all the hard work and hours doing your practice drills are starting to pay dividends… You have structure and a rountine to follow each week, plus your feel and tempo are improving each day as a result!!!
Oliver Wilson’s Balancing Act - ProStance at the WGC
February 24th, 2010 | PGA European Tour Golfers, ProStance
Oliver Wilson working on ProStance (WGC - Tuson, AZ, USA : Feb 2010)
www.pro-stance.com
Westwood crowned king in Dubai
November 23rd, 2009 | Lee Westwood, PGA European Tour Golfers, Padraig Harrington, Rory McIloryCongratulations to Lee Westwood after a nerveless final round 64 secured a six shot victory and with it ‘The Race to Dubai’ title for 2009. The putter was certainly working over the weekend… The hard work is certainley starting to pay off!
Westwood, who led by two overnight, produced the finest round of his career to take the €830,675 first prize at the Earth course that also secured his status as European Number One for the second time in his career. With his second victory on The European Tour this season, the win moves Westwood up to World Number Four in the Official World Golf Rankings, matching his highest career position. To cap it all, his closing 64 was also a new course record on the Greg Norman-designed venue.
Congratulations also to Ross McGowan with his second place finish opens up a whole new scheduale for him next year. Ross has also worked hard on his putting and with the ‘palms together grip’. Ross carded a final round 68, including five straight birdies from the 12th, to hold on to second place on 17 under par after a sustained charge from Rory McIlroy, who fired five birdies on his back nine before bogeying the par five 18th to sign for a 67 and with it third place place on 15 under par as well as second in The Race to Dubai.
“I have no complaints. I gave it my best shot and it’s been a great season, but Lee is just in a different class,” said McIlroy, who gains a place in the top ten of the Official World Golf Rankings despite finishing runner up in The Race to Dubai. “Most times coming here leading and then finishing third would be good enough [to win The Race to Dubai], but even if I’d played well I’m not sure I could have got to 23 under!
Further down the leaderboard on tied 4th was Padraig Harrington, so all in all, it was a very exciting weekend watching the top 4 putt there way around the Earth Course. What do they say, Drive for Show, Putt for Dough…
Congratulations once again Lee, you certainley rolled a few in!
Lee Westwood
DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - NOVEMBER 09: Lee Westwood of England lines up his putt on the par five 18th hole during the first round of the Dubai World Championship on the Earth Course, Jumeriah Golf Estates on November 19, 2009 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)
McIlroy can learn from Garcia’s putting woes
October 13th, 2009 | PGA European Tour Golfers, Rory McIloryBy Karl McGinty
Tuesday, 13 October 2009
If Rory McIlroy ever gets bored with the daily putting drills prescribed by Dr Paul Hurrion, he need only watch the video of Sergio Garcia beating his own brains out at the Madrid Masters. It was horrible to see Garcia, one of the most majestic ball-strikers in golf, so badly humiliated on the greens at Centro Nacional de Golf.
Stripped of all confidence, he looked muddled, confused and, at times, utterly clueless about what was happening to him. Admittedly, the putting surfaces in Madrid became spiked-up and bobbly in late afternoon. Yet, no matter how accusingly Garcia looked at the line of each missed putt, the real problem lay elsewhere.
The figures for Sunday’s final round tell a tale of maddening incompetence by a player ranked at No 9 in the world. Garcia sublimely hit 17 greens in regulation that afternoon — then two-putted every single one of them. Astonishingly, of the 71 strokes which sent Garcia tumbling into a tie for 17th place in a tournament which he had led at half way, 36 of them were putts!
The likes of Tiger Woods and Padraig Harrington were born with an assassin’s touch around the green.
Garcia wasn’t so-blessed.
Neither was McIlroy — but Dr Hurrion, the English bio-mechanics expert who also works with Harrington, believes that through sound method and hard work a good putter can be made. If anything, McIlroy’s more exciting from tee to green than the mercurial Spaniard. He currently leads the Race to Dubai and the European Tour in stroke average (69.86), despite languishing in 109th place in the putting charts (17 behind Garcia) with 30 putts per round.
So for the past 14 months, McIlroy’s devoted one hour per day — not easy for a young lad with so much excitement in his life — to repetitive putting routines which Dr Hurrion expects will provide the 20-year-old with the feel for a good putt which should stand to him for the rest of his career.
Inevitably, it’s been mind-numbingly tedious but, at this stage of McIlroy’s career, method is the one sure way he has of avoiding the madness of Sergio Garcia.
GEL celebrates European Tour win as Anthony Kang wins Malaysian Open
February 16th, 2009 | GEL Golf, PGA European Tour GolfersGEL Golf is celebrating its first European Tour win after American Anthony Kang secured the Malaysian Open using a GEL groove putter on Sunday (February 15) at the Saujana Golf & Country Club in Kuala Lumpur.
Kang recorded his first victory in eight years using a GEL Rego putter from the Paul Hurrion Signature Range, which he had been given by GEL rep, Shane Warde, at the start of the week.
“I actually dreamt last night that I won the tournament but I have those sort of dreams quite often!” said Kang, who had been using a GEL putter from the original range before switching to the GEL Rego. “It feels great to have beaten a strong field here - it hasn’t quite sunk in yet but it is an amazing feeling.”
By winning the Malaysian Open, which is co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour, Kang earned the biggest pay cheque of his career with the first prize of US$333,330.
Despite being launched just two years ago, GEL has already clocked up four Tour victories; American Bryan Saltus won the 2007 Johnnie Walker Cambodian Open on the Asian Tour using a GEL Sapphire, Hsu Mong-nan of Chinese Taipei claimed the Omega China Tour’s Shanghai Championship in 2008 with a GEL Jade and American Tom Stankowski clinched the 2008 Canadian Tour Championship using a GEL Emerald.
“We are delighted to be a part of the success that these four players have enjoyed around the world using our GEL putters and we look forward to many more victories to come,” commented Alec Pettigrew, founder and managing director of Groove Equipment Ltd (GEL) Golf.
GEL Golf has firmly established itself as the number one groove putter on Tour in Asia and is aggressively working its way into the US PGA, European and Canadian Tours.
REGO - (Straight)
A modified alignment, face-balanced blade with inline weighting, perimeter weighting with a center shaft and no offset. Weight alignment arms create unique weight distribution within the putter face. Three-line alignment system squares the putter face to help focus the putter to the target. Loft 3.0 degrees. Lie 73 degrees. Standard shaft length: 34″ and 35″. 431 stainless steel material. (380gm head weight)
REGO - Hurrion Signature Range
‘Now I want the Claret Jug’
February 5th, 2009 | PGA European Tour Golfers, Putting BiomechanicsBy Karl MacGinty - Irish Independent
Thursday February 05 2009
THE hoodie had a big California surf motif splashed across its front; his jeans were suitably faded and the baseball cap featured a Mexican beer. Rory McIlroy’s fashion statement came through loud and clear at Holywood Golf Club yesterday as he looked forward to more than two weeks of chilling out with his pals. All’s calm after his desert storm. Gerry and Rosie McIlroy’s world-famous son was a teenager once again… until he started talking about his plans, his hopes and his ambitions.
Sunday’s dramatic one-stroke victory over Justin Rose and an elite field at the Dubai Desert Classic propelled McIlroy to No 16 in the world, forcing him to reset his sights for 2009. Now he’s aiming for a place in the World top-10. “If I win the Accenture Match Play in a couple of weeks’ time, that’ll get me up to fifth,” he said with a chuckle. Clearly, McIlroy’s been doing his sums — these days his dreams have a hard mathematical edge.
When the kid with everything was asked what wish would he like granted in 2009, he paused for nearly 30 seconds before replying quietly: “Win a Major.” If he could pick one? “Win The Open, that would be awesome,” he continued. “After Harrington’s two, it’d be nice to keep the Claret Jug in the country for another while. “To be honest, I’d take any one of the four Majors,” added McIlroy, before his pragmatic side took charge: “In fact, I’d just take another win.”
Having seen McIlroy’s name linked to Tiger Wood’s in so many headlines since Sunday, the world now expects miracles from a 19-year-old who has played just one Major — the 2007 Open, where he joined Harrington on the podium as winner of the Silver Medal for leading amateur.
Crazy
He’s never been to Augusta National, where he makes his US Masters debut in April, nor Turnberry, venue for The Open in July, which he said “seems crazy because you can almost see it from here.” As for June’s US Open at Bethpage, McIlroy watched on TV as Woods won there in 2002, and he’s tamed The Black Course on his PlayStation. He also remembers Hazeltine, where Harrington defends the Wanamaker Trophy in August, for Rich Beem’s 2002 PGA victory, while his friend Richie Ramsay of Scotland won the US amateur title on the Minnesota track.
McIlroy has a wealth of information on this year’s Major venues but, in golf, actually seeing for oneself is akin to believing and it’s no coincidence that Sunday’s breakthrough win on Tour was achieved on his fourth visit to The Desert Classic and on an Emirates Club course he was playing for the umpteenth time.
In the past seven months, however, golf has learned never to say never where this young Ulsterman is concerned. Since linking up with canny Irish caddie JP Fitzgerald and Harrington’s putting guru Dr Paul Hurrion last summer, McIlroy has leapt over 160 places up the world ladder.
“I went to Paul Hurrion because Harrington goes to him and Padraig holes everything,” he admits. “He changed my set-up, changed my grip, changed everything. The way I used stroke it, I could get on a run and be very streaky but I wasn’t as consistent. My pace putting has really improved and so has my holing-out from six feet.”
Fitzgerald has been calming and inspirational on many occasions. McIlroy cited the 17th green in Dubai last Sunday, saying: “JP crouched down beside me when I was reading my putt and said ‘big players love these situations. You’re a big player. This is why we are here’. It was great for him to say that.
“Ever since JP’s been on the bag, I’ve played really good. He’s been a big part of the success I’ve had over recent months.
“If some aspect of my game isn’t so good any day, we’ll sit down over lunch and discuss what we did well or didn’t do so well. I might say my half-shots weren’t so great so he’ll say ‘let’s go work on them on the range. He’s very good in that way.” Yet McIlroy is still very much his own man, as he displayed when an elderly male reporter baldly asked “on behalf of female fans, what about the hair?” “I haven’t had it cut since Switzerland and I’ve played great,” retorted McIlroy, unabashed. “I might just keep it.”
Like Hercules, this reporter suggested. “I think you’ll find that was Samson,” McIlroy corrected. Nice shot kid. Now I know what Justin Rose felt like!
Karl MacGinty
http://www.independent.ie/sport/golf/now-i–want-the-claret-jug-1628232.html
Rory McIlroy wins Dubai Desert Classic…
February 2nd, 2009 | PGA European Tour GolfersNorthern Ireland teenager Rory McIlroy held his nerve to win a first professional title at the Dubai Desert Classic by one stroke from Englishman Justin Rose. Rory carded a final round two under par 70 to finish at 19 under and so seal a wire to wire victory, as Rose fell just short after a five under par round of 67 at Emirates Golf Club.
McIlroy had led by six strokes with six holes left to play after reeling off four straight birdies from the ninth, but three bogeys in three holes saw Rose move to within one of his playing partner standing on the final tee. McIlroy admitted that the pressure had made it difficult, saying: “You see guys coming down the stretch with a four or five shot lead, and you think it’s easy – but it’s not. You still have to play the shots, and you still have to hole the putts. Putting is a part of his game that the Holywood teenager reckons has improved a great deal under Harrington’s guru, Dr Paul Hurrion, and which he rates as a key factor behind his recent impressive results.
“I got myself into a great position in the middle of the back nine, but then let a few shots slip and Justin birdied a couple as well, so I had to fight back. It was nice to just hold it together on the last and get a great up and down for the victory.”
The win elevates McIlroy to 16th in the Official World Golf Ranking, and makes him the seventh youngest winner in The European Tour’s history.
Dubai-based Swede Henrik Stenson finished third on 17 under par, with his compatriot Robert Karlsson, Germany’s Martin Kaymer and England’s Paul Casey a further shot adrift in a tie for fifth.
McIlroy said: “To hold off a field like this, as well – the likes of Justin Rose, Paul Casey, Henrik Stenson, Sergio Garcia, Martin Kaymer, Colin Montgomerie – makes my win all the more satisfying.”
QUINTIC’S All-Weather Huxley Putting Green helps top golfers fine tune their putting stroke.
January 5th, 2009 | PGA European Tour Golfers, Putting BiomechanicsThe recent upgrade to the Huxley all-weather putting green installed at Dr Paul Hurrion’s Quintic putting laboratory has resulted in even better ball roll on a surface that remains consistently true and even throughout the year, irrespective of weather conditions.
Laid originally in 2003, the Huxley all-weather putting green is an important element of Quintic’s professional sports training, analysis and consultancy services, says Dr Hurrion, one of the UK’s leading sports science consultants and performance analysts.
”Upgrading the green to the very latest Huxley all-weather putting surface has produced measurable improvements across the board,” commented Dr Hurrion. “The result has enhanced the experience of golfers who use our services. Regular Quintic visitors include three-time Major Championship winner, Padraig Harrington, along with other members of the European Ryder Cup team and PGA European Tour.”
Specialising in sports biomechanics and performance analysis, Quintic’s high-tech putting laboratory near Coventry, England, also attracts low handicap club golfers and members of the Professional Golfers Association, the latter gaining 25 PDP Points for attending one of Quintic’s all-day golf clinics.
Founded in 1998 by Dr Paul Hurrion and his father, Robert, the Quintic Consultancy Ltd has gained a high reputation throughout the sporting world for its advanced video analysis software designed to improve and enhance an individual’s technique in sports as diverse as high diving, cricket, javelin throwing, bob sleighing, squash and golf.
The expertise of Paul Hurrion – who is a Doctor in Sports Biomechanics – has helped maintain continued expansion of Quintic’s consultancy services, with a growing number of professional golfers booking sessions in the company’s putting laboratory.
“Our Huxley all-weather outdoor putting green is an essential part of the Quintic experience, enabling golfers to put our computer video analysis and indoor training sessions into practice in a real-life setting,” explained Dr Hurrion. “A natural turf green would not be suitable for this purpose due to the high maintenance demands and variability of the surface, in particular over winter when we do much of our fine-tuning work with professional golfers.
Measuring 75 sq yards (63 sq m) and equipped with six pin cups, the green incorporates a number of subtle borrows and contours, specified by Dr Hurrion to provide a suitable challenge to golfers using the green.
“There are holes with minimal deviation on the approach and others with double conflicting contours which make for a very interesting roll of the ball,” he explained. “Although reading the green demands high concentration, the new surface is extremely true and consistent with excellent ball roll, rewarding the diligent golfer. As for maintenance, the Huxley green needs only an occasional brushing and rolling to maintain peak condition and a good speed. I am really delighted with both our original investment and the recent upgrade to the putting surface.”
For further information, please contact:
Paul Huxley
Huxley Golf
The Dean
New Alresford
Hampshire SO24 9BL
United Kingdom
Tel: 44 (0)1962 733222 e-mail: sales@huxleygolf.co.uk
Rory looks for help
June 24th, 2008 | PGA European Tour Golfers, Putting BiomechanicsMcIlroy asks Harrington ‘Doc’ to cure his putting ills
By Karl MacGinty
Tuesday June 24 2008
RORY McILROY has asked Padraig Harrington’s ‘doctor’ to help cure his putting ills.
Ireland’s teenage sensation has started working with short-game specialist Dr Paul Hurrion in an effort to improve his putting averages on the European Tour.
“I decided to go and see Paul a couple of days after the US Open qualifier at Walton Heath because I didn’t want my poor putting to linger on,” explains McIlroy.
McIlroy languishes in 63rd place on Tour with average of 29.7 putts per round, two more than the best in Europe.
“I said to myself, I’m not putting well and I need to do something about it.
“Putting has been the only aspect of my game letting me down over the last few weeks,” added McIlroy, who missed his second cut in three events at last weekend’s International Open.
“So I’ve done something about it. It was my own decision to go to Paul. I’d met him when I was at Padraig Harrington’s house.
“Since Padraig’s probably the best putter on Tour, I thought: ‘Why not go and see Paul?’ I spent a whole day at this lab and now I am working hard in practice.”
A scientist who specialises in bio-mechanics, Dr Hurrion also counts Paul McGinley, David Howell and Philip Archer among his clients.
“Really, what he has done is pick my technique apart and put it back together again. I still have a long way to go but, hopefully, I can soon start seeing the results,” McIlroy explains. “If in the next five to 10 years I can take two shots a round off my scoring, it’s going to make a huge difference.”
Now 90th in the Order of Merit with €170,352 won in 15 events this season, McIlroy needs around €50,000 to retain his card. Yet his sights are set higher. Principally, he’s targeting a first win on Tour.
Rocket Science for everyone!
June 12th, 2008 | PGA European Tour Golfers, Padraig Harrington, Putting Biomechanics, Quintic Video SoftwareArnold Palmer has recently been credited with being the single most important sporting icon to begin the transformation of golf into the ‘game for everyone’. A generation before marketing became a byword for charlatanism with testosterone, Palmer’s looks, undoubted athletic prowess and his charisma made him much more ‘bankable’ than any other golf professional of his age. But here’s an interesting thing… Recently re-produced photos of Arnie in his heyday show the young dragon pouting strangely. This was mentioned in passing to John Lewis from Bay Hill by Palmer UK & Ireland, who explained that it’s because the young Palmer smoked like a chimney, but modern custom forbids this and so the Lucky Strikes have been airbrushed out but the facial expression of the habitual smoker remains. It’s representative of how sport has turned against nicotine and related sybaritic pleasures - many would have thought that golf didn’t really number among the sports where selfdenial and discipline were that evident.
At the Open in 1976, Johnny Miller walked away with the champion’s purse of £7500,having beaten Jack Nicklaus in to second place by 6 strokes. And the biggest attraction on the Royal Birkdale ground was the Guinness Tent, says an observer of the time. Golf was slightly rarefied, slightly Bertie Wooster, slightly… well… naff. Then Tiger Woods happened. With his shameless athleticism and firebrand physicality he has 60 PGA victories and 13 majors and will surely go on to break the Jack Nicklaus record of 18 majors … ‘did him no good at The Open, mind you. Padraig Harrington didn’t gain possession of the Claret Jug at The Open using a metal detector. His training regime is strict, well-researched, rigorously executed. And what’s behind it all?
Biomechanics…
When kids go to school today, if they’re taught physical education by a recent graduate of any decent training college, biomechanics will have been written large in the syllabus of what physical education teachers have to master. For those of us who aren’t aware of the term Sports Biomechanics uses the scientific methods of mechanics to study the effects of various forces on the sports performer. It is concerned, in particular, with the forces that act on the human neuromusculoskeletal system; velocities, accelerations, torque, momentum, inertia… It also considers aspects of the behaviour of sports implements, footwear and surfaces where these affect athletic performance and injury prevention.
Harrington has mastered this concept, because as an athlete his in depth knowledge of how his body works in golf competitions allows him to monitor his performance in fine detail, accentuate positive and eliminate negative aspects, as well as avoid strain or injury. Dr Paul Hurrion is a doctor of biomechanics, and consults regularly with Padraig, as well as with the likes of Paul McGinley, David Howell, Philip Archer, and Lee Westwood. During interviews with the press at the Scottish Open, much was made of Westwood’s recent visit to a putting lab to sort out his erratic performance on the greens.
“The laboratory is a room with a hard floor, green carpet, cameras all over the room and mirrors – it’s a bit kinky really,”
Lee Westwood
It’s quite an accurate description of ‘The Quintic Putting Lab’ in the centre of England
where Dr Paul Hurrion is based. It would also describe the set up Padraig Harrington has at his home in Dublin; a faithful replica of the lab at Quintic.
“Quintic Performance Analysis Software provides com-prehensive, easy to use, tools that allow me to analyse my full swing, chipping and putting in fine detail, whether I’m on the practice range, indoors or away on Tour,” explains Padraig. “I am able to synchronise and compare my swing action and tempo immediately, whilst the use of the drawing tools enables me to calculate the speed and acceleration of my club and arms.”
This science is what is making the single most meaningful contribution to sport in our time…
To read the complete article please click here download the PDF document
Hurrion - Golf Ireland.pdf
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