Clarke begins arduous climb in the Alps
Darren Clarke wants to scale the heights as a player again by becoming king of the mountains in the Swiss Alps this week. The Ulsterman joins fellow Ryder Cup vice-captain Paul McGinley in the Omega European Masters at Crans-sur-Sierre bidding to edge closer to the all important top-15 in the Race to Dubai standings.
Pressure on McIlroy but McDowell a banker
Rory McIlroy faces the most pressure packed day of his career in China on Sunday. Luckily, he has Graeme McDowell to share the burden as Ireland takes a one stroke lead into the final round of the Omega Mission Hills World Cup.
Yes, McIlroy and McDowell are on track for a wire-to-wire victory after a bogey-free eight under par 64 left them on 26 under, just one clear of Italian brothers Edoardo and Francesco Molinari (61) and Sweden's Henrik Stenson and Robert Karlsson (62), the defending champions.
Given McIlroy's amazing ascent from 50th to 10th in the world rankings over the past 11 months, it's amazing to think that he might have under-achieved.
Lowry claims joint third in Japan
Shane Lowry claimed the biggest cheque of his professional career and his best finish since his Irish Open victory when he tied for third behind Italy's Edoardo Molinari in the €1.5 m Dunlop Phoenix Tournament on Sunday.
Molinari claimed his fourth win of the season and his third in his last five starts when he made a four footer on the second play-off hole to beat Sweden's Robert Karlsson after both players had tied on 13-under 271.
Lowry closed with a four under par 67 to share third with Hirofumi Miyase on seven under par and earn 11.6m yen (around €88,000).