Rory unravels as nightmare five-putt leaves him well adrift
RORY McIlroy’s second round at the AT&T Pebble Beach ProAm descended into a nightmare when he produced a five-putt on the par-four fifth at Monterey Peninsula.
McIlroy’s hopes of tasting victory nosedived after a poor second round yesterday and that shocking putting display which turned a potential eagle chance in to an ugly double-bogey proved costly.
Under par for the day and within four shots of the lead after beginning on the back nine, the 28-year-old almost drove the green with his tee shot and finished just short of the front edge.
McIlroy elected to putt from distance from off the putting surface and saw his eagle attempt run six feet past, only for his hole to quickly unravel in the space of a couple of minutes.
With father Gerry watching on, McIlroy raced his birdie effort past the edge and three feet past the hole but elected against re-marking his ball before making his next attempt.
His rushed par-save attempt ended up further past the hole than his original birdie attempt, with McIlroy requiring another two putts — taking his tally to four from inside six feet — to eventually nudge in a double-bogey six.
McIlroy was three shots off the pace after carding an opening round of four under 68 but his tournament debut soon turned sour.
As the four-time major winner stepped off the course he was tied 85th after signing for a 74 and a one under par total.
As American Beau Hossler, a PGA Tour rookie, and Dustin Johnson lead the charge on 11 under during their second rounds, McIlroy found himself well off the pace.
Phil Mickelson was in the clubhouse on nine under par while Shane Lowry is three under after a second round 73.
Graeme McDowell, who shot an opening round one-under 71, slipped to two over par through 12 holes.
Nature or nurture? The search for the secret to sporting success has taken in many tomes but maybe sometimes it is simply in the blood. The name Fulton in Irish basketball circles is laminated in 24-carat respect.
Step forward 15-year-old CJ Fulton of St Malachy’s Grammar and Star of the Sea. An incredible 47-point performance in the All Ireland Schools under-16 final has garnered 400,000 views on social media and shortly he and his team-mates will enjoy a reception with the Lord Mayor at Belfast City Hall.
On the bench giving instructions was dad and former Irish captain Adrian, assisting fellow Malachy’s teacher Phil Molloy, while his grandfather Danny — a former Star and Ireland head coach — proudly watched on from the stands of the National Basketball Arena.
Adrian was the on-court general for dad, head coach Danny, when Star won the All-Ireland Superleague in the 1990s and came agonisingly close on numerous occasions to win the Cup. Now CJ is showing even more promise than his talented dad, with an American university scholarship in two years time all but guaranteed — if he wishes to take it up.
The sporting talent of the Fultons is not confined to basketball as Danny’s father Bertie is remembered as one of Northern Ireland’s football legends, representing Great Britain at the 1936 Olympics when Jesse Owens stood tall in front of Adolf Hitler and his Nazi regime with his gold medal-winning displays.
“Four times my dad turned down the chance to go and play for Manchester United,” revealed 71-year-old Danny, also a past Malachy’s student, having travelled on the train every day from Larne. “My dad definitely saw Hitler, I don’t know whether that was a great experience but he was in the same stadium as Jesse Owens. I suppose if he had signed for Manchester United, that wouldn’t have happened.
“I always wanted to be a PE teacher and that was the influence of my father. I never saw him play but he would talk a lot about his career and when he talked about playing in the Olympics he always said that if Britain had picked the Cliftonville goalkeeper Fred McCrory they would have least won a bronze medal. He wasn’t impressed with the English goalie. As it happened they lost 5-4 to Bulgaria and went out at the group stages.
“We’ve always been a sporting family. In fact when the great Joe Bambrick scored his record six goals for Ireland against Wales in 1930, my dad was the left back and my uncle Jimmy McCambridge was the inside left. You couldn’t conceive of a teacher captaining an international team today but he did it. He was a true amateur — he’d be turning his grave looking at the way English football has gone.”
Danny’s sporting odyssey was greatly helped by the influence of Malachy’s teacher Mick McCormick and while he was a solid basketball, it was in coaching that he truly thrived.
“I taught at La Salle College for 33 years and there were quite a few players who went on to become Irish internationals such as Gareth Maguire, Brendan Kennedy, Paul Kennedy and Brendan Rushe but really it wasn’t until I went to a coaching course in Long Beach, California that I really understood what the sport was about. After five minutes I turned to John Kennedy and said ‘we know nothing about basketball’ and I had been coaching for seven years and he had played for Ireland!”
One of six brothers, as well as having eight sisters, Danny would go on to have a glittering career in Irish basketball and continues to be assistant coach to Superleague side Star, as well as monitoring the development of grandson CJ.
“He’s a very smart player, he doesn’t make too many mistakes. That performance in the schools final was exceptional for any level of sport,” he added.
Comparisons have naturally been drawn between CJ and dad Adrian who also had the opportunity to head Stateside but turned it down.
“I was at a stage that in Upper Sixth that because of my age I could have gone to the States and done a year of high school before going on to university over there. I was offered the chance by St Thomas Aquinas in Connecticut but I turned it down and then later on I was offered the chance of playing professionally in France and Croatia and again turned that down because I wanted to stay at home,” said 46-year-old Adrian. “I don’t regret it but I do wonder what it would have been like. It’s a debate that we’re having in the house at the moment. I think it would be a great experience for Christopher if he wants it... but America is not for everybody.”
It seems that CJ’s career may well follow the same Irish path of that of Adrian as the teenager is eager to play a part in ending the trophy famine at Belfast Star. “I want to win the National Cup for my dad and my granda. Star have never won it so that would be great,” says the 15-yearold, who is coming to terms with his little bit of fame.
In the All Ireland final, his game-high 47 was a point more than the total number of the opposition, St Mary’s of Tralee and included 15 three-pointers — a masterclass in scoring that had the world talking about him.
❝ Four times my dad turned down the chance to go to Manchester United