US Open winners head Smurfit European Open field
IN: News | European PGA | Smurfit European Open (2005) | Preview | by Bruce Young | 29 Jun 2005
The Smurfit European Open takes on a new dynamic this week with the European Tour welcoming back one of its own when Michael Campbell takes to the fairways of the K Club just outside of Dublin.
Campbell is keen to put the hectic pace of the last ten days behind him and focus on the job at hand.
"I would now like to close that door and move on with what lies ahead," he said from Brighton earlier this week.
A huge party at his home on Sunday night helped in that process and he looks to this event to take up where he left off. It will be a hard task as despite having many of his fellow professionals at the party he will face the round of back slapping and congratulations that will come his way all week. Nice problem to have mind you.
Aiding Campbell in this quest will be the fact that he has won here in 2002 so is returning to familiar territory with fond memories but interestingly enough he missed the cut in each of his last two times here.
The K Club was opened in 1992 and was designed by Arnold Palmer and his team. This year they will play the Palmer Course, a change from last year when the tournament was played over the adjacent Smurfit layout as modifications and lengthening were being undertaken at the Palmer course.
Retief Goosen will defend a title he won two weeks after winning the US Open at Shinnecock Hills last year. Despite his rather strange demise at Pinehurst he must still be considered a player to beat.
Harrington, like Campbell, may find backing up a win at his last start a tough task but having finished second here in 2001 and 2002 he has an affinity with the Palmer layout and will not lack any local support and perhaps sympathy as he continues to think of his ailing father.
Darren Clarke is another with family sickness on his mind but he will be keen to return to the golf course after a break of more than a month. He was playing well when he took a few weeks off to be with his wife Heather, who is suffering from cancer. Like Campbell and Goosen he has won here previously in 2001.
Lee Westwood has won here twice, was second last year and he is playing well of late. His recent form has been solid if not spectacular and it might just be that this event offers a chance for him to return to the winners circle for the first time since October of 2003.
Angel Cabrera won the BMW a month ago and was 33rd in the US Open following that win. He is the third highest world ranked player in the field. Although he has not won this event he has been inside the top ten in each of his last three times.
Nick O'Hern was 10th here last year and despite a missed cut at the Barclays last week in New York, his form of late continues to be good. He is setting himself a demanding schedule recently but if he is fresh enough he could still do well.
Thomas Bjorn is not playing as well now as he was a month ago. He has had mixed results at this layout with several missed cuts but also a runner up placing to Clarke in 2001. I'm not sure about his chances this week.
Paul McGinley's runner up at the BMW has been surrounded by some less than impressive form and has had little success here.
Richard Green was runner up here last year along with fellow countryman Peter O'Malley. O'Malley found form last week when fourth in France but for Green, while he has not been bad of late, he is not having quite the same level of success as he did in 2004.
Marteen Lafeber has had good results here in each of the last two years with top tens and was fourth in his homeland three weeks ago. He might be good for some each way value.
Of the other Australasians to those mentioned above Brett Rumford, previous winner Peter Senior, Marcus Fraser, Terry Price, Peter Fowler, Stephen Scahill, Brad Kennedy, Wade Ormsby and Jarrod Moseley are guaranteed starts.
The tournament has prizemoney of €3.5 million.
Photo - Anthony Powter
