‘I honestly woke up and felt like I had drunk 10 pints'
Two weeks ago, Rory Townsend faced a fact that put his unorthodox journey into sharp focus. Ahead of the Tour of Flanders, it was pointed out to the former Irish national champion that he was the oldest debutant among the 175 participants in the iconic Belgian classic.
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RTÉ News
an hour ago
- RTÉ News
Leona Maguire ready to chase history at Women's Irish Open
Leona Maguire is somewhere between Texas and Michigan when the call comes through from RTÉ Sport. It's the Monday after the KPMG Women's PGA Championship and it's been road and air ever since, the life of a professional athlete. There's another big leg to come yet after a stop off at the Dow Championship and that's across the Atlantic Ocean and back to Irish soil as the headline act at the 2025 KPMG Women's Irish Open, which takes place this week at Carton House and will be shown live on RTÉ. It'll be a reinvigorated Maguire that tackles the course after her top-20 finish in Texas, where MinJee Lee tamed a ferocious course, winning by three strokes at a tournament that saw only three players finish par or better. The Cavan golfer finished with a 76 to fall to six-over par overall, but it was good enough for her first top-20 finish at a major since the same event two years previously. The fact that it came on the back of four missed cuts in succession suggests it came out of nowhere, but the player herself was always tranquil about her form and knew it was a matter of 'when' not 'if.' "It was a very positive week," she told RTÉ Sport. "It was a tough golf course, it was over 100 degrees Fahrenheit here and it was very windy – the windiest conditions we've played in in a long time. Combine that with a difficult course set up and it really made for a challenge. "It was kind of nice, you expect a challenge at majors. The KPMG PGA has become a challenging event and we were all expecting that and it was nice to put four good rounds together at this time of the year." "I definitely felt that my game was trending in the right direction," she added. "I played really well at the Meijer at Grand Rapids the week before. "Golf is a funny game, sometimes all it takes is a little thing to click and away you go." The thousands streaming through the gates of Carton House will be hoping that it has clicked completely as Ireland chases its first winner in the event. Since the competition's return in 2022 after a nine-year absence, Maguire has been Ireland's best finisher on all three occasions – T4, T14 and T15. Understandably, a win on home soil sits extremely high up on her golfing to-do list. She'll have the likes of Madelene Sagstrom, Charley Hull, Anna Nordqvist, Georgia Hall and defending champion Annabel Dimmock to contend with on the O'Meara Course, but she is hopeful that history will be made at what's set to be another record-breaking event. "I think it's testament to the investment KPMG have put into the event over the last number of years. "Since it came back at Dromoland a couple of years ago (2022) the tournament has really elevated and built year-on-year. "We have increased numbers of spectators and obviously the increase in the number of top quality players coming over. Anna Nordqvist, Charley Hull, they're a little bit taken aback when they see the number of Irish fans that come out. "Even this week I've had a few friends taking pictures beside Luas signs of me and it's a bit surreal at times. It's one of the pinnacle events and one of the premier events on the Ladies European Tour." Irish golf is especially strong right now – as will be demonstrated by the large home contingent taking part this week – and while Maguire is doing her thing Stateside, six players are currently in competition on the Ladies European Tour. One of those, Carton House's touring professional Lauren Walsh, sits just outside the top 10 in the LET Order of Merit in just her second season with a pro card. Maguire doesn't usually go too far without twin sister Lisa, the pair playing their first Irish Open together in 2009, and said that having so many familiar faces on the European circuit is a real tonic for the difficult stretches of life on the road. "There's more pros out there and more girls on tour than there ever was. "It's great for the girls when they're travelling week-on-week that they have each other. "Historically, the Spanish and French have had lots of buddies out there and it definitely shortens the road a little bit. "So many Irish players (16 in all) are are set to play next week and it's great to give the younger girls that exposure." "The travel is the big component to professional golf," added Maguire, who feels this year's earlier date will help with the goal of breaking last year's 37,000 attendance figure. "You probably don't have it on the amateur side, well definitely not as much. You finish up one place on Sunday night and you're either on a plane straight away or maybe Monday morning. "It's a lot easier when things go to plan, it gets a bit trickier when things don't." With another major awaiting at the Evian Championship next weekend, that trip to France will be made all the more easier if Maguire's Irish dream has been achieved.
The 42
an hour ago
- The 42
Carla Ward's Ireland feel the heat during Stateside slog
AFTER A SECOND heavy defeat to USA in three days, Ireland boss Carla Ward spoke about 'dangerously hot' conditions in Cinicinatti. Temperatures soared over 30 degrees as the depleted Girls In Green shipped another 4-0 drubbing yesterday. They lost on the same scoreline at altitude in Denver. Anna Patten also blasted the 'ridiculous' heat and humidity after another difficult outing against the world number one, who were also understrength. 'I actually don't think words can describe it,' Patten told RTÉ. 'To play with only a two-day break against the quality of players they have, in that temperature at this time of day, to be honest, it's a bit ridiculous.' The defender gave an insight into how hard it was to play in it, with high heart-rates unable to drop as bodies were overworked. Players were 'unwell' and 'begging to come off,' Ward explained, giving the sideline perspective. 'On 22 minutes, there were a couple of players asking to come off. We couldn't make those changes,' she told Tony O'Donoghue. Advertisement 'Then, at half time, we unfortunately had three enforced changes physically, due to fatigue, and a couple of them were unwell at half time. Even through the second half, players (were) almost begging to come off and we couldn't do anything about it.' Katie McCabe, Denise O'Sullivan, Megan Campbell, Aoife Mannion, Leanne Kiernan and Heather Payne were among the Irish absentees due to unavailability and injury. Others who travelled were on limited minutes, the overwhelming majority out of season. While Ward has talked up the merits of the trip, most will feel that it was a rather pointless endeavour. The timing was challenging, with the Championship contingent out of action since late April. The WSL finished on 10 May. Bar the NWSL and League of Ireland players, most have been holidaying and recharging the batteries in recent weeks after long, tough seasons. This was always going to be a mismatch, made more so by the loss of key Irish players, particularly star duo McCabe and O'Sullivan. The US were also down some big names, with Emma Hayes opting to rest all bar one of her European-based crew, Chelsea's million dollar defender Naomi Girma. But a young, domestic selection — all in season — made their mark, eager to impress and secure their future with the serial winners. Alyssa Thompson, Olivia Moultrie and Emma Sears were among those to dazzle across the double-header; Ireland outplayed and outmuscled twice, the gulf in class as wide as it has ever been. Albeit in very different circumstances, Ireland's pre-World Cup friendlies Stateside two years ago finished 2-0 and 1-0. Along with the same result in 2008 at Giants Stadium, a one-goal loss is as good as it has ever gotten in an abysmal record of friendlies in the US: 17 meetings, 17 defeats, 59 goals conceded, one scored. While the games themselves are tricky to assess, and won't be read into too much, it has all added to a sense of drift. 2025 has been testing: that much was inevitable after the Euros qualification heartbreak, the raft of retirements, and a change of management. Right now, it's hard to see that these friendlies, the first of Ward's mixed reign, have done more good than harm. While they will point to the opportunity of playing against one of the best teams in women's football, the Nations League promotion/relegation playoff against Belgium in October is the next big focus, and this didn't seem like appropriate preparation. Granted, when initial plans were in place, Ireland likely held aspirations of automatic promotion. Still, there must have been scope for experimentation and blooding new players, such as the U19 Euros stars of last summer, as 2027 World Cup qualifying looms large. Ellen Molloy, Hayley Nolan and Izzy Atkinson were the only different, yet familiar, faces in the squad; all used sparingly. Erin McLaughlin and US-born Dee Bradley were called up mid-camp; neither featured. The back-up goalkeepers remained unused. Ward deployed a 4-5-1 formation for the most part — Chloe Mustaki getting a real chance at left-back in the absence of McCabe and Campbell, Jessie Stapleton again covering on the right amidst a lack of options — but reverted to a back three/five for Sunday's second half. (Nolan and Lucy Quinn played out of their preferred positions.) While we at home didn't learn much from the exercises, that was one on-field positive the manager pointed to in her TV interview. 'We've looked at two different systems, we've looked at two different ways of playing. We've added a couple of other layers to what we want to try and do. 'I think overall as a camp, it's been a powerful one in terms of learning and educating in various ways.' Sometimes, the benefit of these trips — and difficult games — are seen only in hindsight. Soundings from the camp were positive through a whistle-stop tour, the social media dispatches underlining a tight-knit squad bonding further. Right now, it might seem pointless and meaningless to some, but the hope is that further spirit has developed and that the extended period together has been purposeful on the training pitch and in the classroom. The Belgium playoff is almost four months away, 116 days to be precise, but it will roll around quickly. The Red Flames, in Euro 2025 action over the coming weeks as Ireland watch from afar, will bring plenty more heat.
Irish Daily Mirror
2 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Irish father's pride with son set to make Wimbledon debut
An Irishman has spoken of his pride as his son prepares to make his debut at Wimbledon. The 2025 iteration of the famous grass-court Grand-Slam kicked off on Monday, and while all eyes will be on the likes of Coco Gauff and Carlos Alcaraz over the next fortnight, for Irish fans, Tuesday could well belong to James Fernandez-McCabe. Fernandez-McCabe, a 21-year-old who represents Australia, will make his Wimbledon debut tomorrow when he takes on World number 58 Fabian Marozsan of Hungary. Ranked 123 places lower, James will have his work cut out for him as he looks to progress to the second-round at the All-England club. Speaking on RTE Radio's Oliver Callan show, Fernandez-McCabe admitted that the whole experience was a bit 'overwhelming', but that the thought of stepping out onto the famous courts gave him 'goosebumps.' James' father, Patrick, is originally from Walkinstown in Dublin. He moved to Australia in 1997 when he was just a year older than James is now, where he married Irene - James' mother. Taking up the sport as a youngster, James' father didn't have the money for top of the range, professional tennis lessons, so YouTube became the starlet's main instructor. James also excelled at other sports but went all in on tennis and is now preparing for the biggest match of his life. "That is my childhood. Maybe it wasn't normal at the time," he said. "It builds character and without it I wouldn't be where I am now. So I'm just grateful. I'm lucky." Speaking about James' early days in the sport, Patrick said "I got carried away early days. I was probably a bit hard on him ... but you do what you have to do."
