Paul Kimmage meets Paul McGinley in Portrush: How Darren Clarke and I became friends again
Paul McGinley, though, was following hot on his heels and the two slugged it out in the 'North' final – Clarke taking victory with a birdie on the 18th.
Over the years, the two were great friends – until they weren't. On the eve of The Open at Portrush, McGinley tells Paul Kimmage how their friendship fell apart, and how they've managed to rebuild it.
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Irish Post
6 hours ago
- Irish Post
First Minister of Northern Ireland congratulates Scottie Scheffler on Open win
FIRST MINISTER of Northern Ireland Michelle O'Neill has congratulated Scottie Scheffler on his success in the Open championship over the weekend. The US golfer won the 153rd Open Championship at Royal Portrush Golf Club yesterday afternoon. The American, who finished four shots clear of the field on 17 under par, collected the coveted Claret Jug on the 18th green of the Dunluce Links in front of thousands of ecstatic fans. "I want to congratulate Scottie Scheffler on winning The Open – what a brilliant performance over the past four days,' Ms O'Neill said. First Minister Michelle O'Neill and deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly pictured with the Claret Jug at Royal Portrush Golf Club (Pic: Kelvin Boyles/ "Of course he has had so much success on the PGA Tour and in other tournaments, but I have no doubt this is really special for him as it is his first time winning golf's oldest major championship,' she added. 'This year's Open has been another money-can't-buy showcase for our beautiful north coast and the amazing product we have to offer to visitors and investors. I would like to pay tribute to all the golfers, the organisers, and of course the fans who turned out in record numbers, for making this tournament such a huge success. "It's been another incredible week for golf fans here, and I know they will be looking forward to The Open returning to our shores in the years ahead.' Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly, who was in the grandstand at the 18th green to see the world's number one golfer lift the Claret Jug, said she was 'delighted' for him. "I am absolutely delighted for Scottie Scheffler, winning his fourth major here at the magnificent Royal Portrush Golf Club,' she said. "The noise was incredible as he walked up the 18th with huge crowds lining the fairway. The atmosphere was electric; what an amazing sight. 'And what a great effort from our own Rory McIlroy, but unfortunately it just wasn't to be. Scottie Scheffler has been magnificent throughout the tournament and thoroughly deserves to be the Champion Golfer.' She added: "It has been another fantastic Open Championship - yet again showing that Northern Ireland excels at putting on major sporting events. "The television coverage of this week's event has been seen in more than 190 countries across the globe. "And this worldwide exposure showing our stunning north coast and Northern Ireland as a must-visit golf tourism destination will attract more visitors to our shores and bring significant benefits for our tourism and hospitality sectors and wider economy."
The Irish Sun
10 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Inside Rory McIlroy's Open prize money as Portrush hero earns GIGANTIC sum for seventh place while Scheffler wins
IT proved to be Mission Impossible for Rory McIlroy and the rest of The Open field to reel in Scottie Scheffler - but he did still earn a giant payday to cushion any disappointment. The world number one continues to establish himself as the best golfer since Tiger Woods' prime as Advertisement 3 Home favourite McIlroy shot a two under par round of 69 on Sunday Credit: Shutterstock Editorial 3 He can join McIlroy as a career Grand Slam winner if he takes next year's US Open Credit: Getty 3 A full breakdown of the $17million tournament purse Credit: @DPWorldTour The result McIlroy wound up on 10 under which was good enough for a share of seventh place alongside Bob MacIntyre and Since the trio ended up in a tie, each will go home with $451,833. Scheffler, meanwhile earned a cool $3,100,000 of the overall $17 million purse. Scarily for golfers from this side of the Atlantic Ocean, the 29-year-old swept aside the rest of the field and blew away Portrush as he proved he can master links golf. Advertisement Read More On Irish Sport And after tapping in his par putt to seal the win, he roared with delight then embraced his family on the 18th green in emotional scenes. Scheffler started the final round at -14 with a four-shot lead over playing partner And barring a rogue double bogey when he failed to get out of a bunker on the eighth, in the end, this was merely a Sunday afternoon stroll in the park for He doffed his cap to mark the win, after holing a putt on 18 for a round of 68 to finish -17. Advertisement Most read in Golf He was then And at Shinnecock Hills for the US Open next June, Scheffler will be Scottie Scheffler wins The Open and kisses wife Meredith in emotional celebrations His victory was done and dusted long before he rolled in his putt on the 72nd hole. Scheffler's closest challenger was English who shot 66 to finish on -13. Chris Gotterup made it a USA 1-2-3 while McIlroy ended up in T7 on -10 with a closing round of 69. Advertisement But The big-hitting Californian carded rounds of 65 on Friday, 68 on Saturday and 64 on Sunday - a total of 16 under par over the last three rounds. However, the LIV Golf man - used to playing three rounds on the Saudi breakaway tour - That ruled him out of contention of the Claret Jug - and he looked set to miss the cut before his delayed surge. Advertisement SPICY SERGIO Speaking of nightmares, The head then fell off and tumbled away, leaving Garcia unable to use his longest club for the remaining 16 holes. Ironically, the 2017 Masters champ birdied all three par 5s, including the hole when he broke the driver, and carded a 68 to finish at -3. Advertisement
Irish Independent
20 hours ago
- Irish Independent
‘None of us could hang with him this week' – Rory McIlroy heaps praise on ‘amazing' Scottie Scheffler after Open win
The Holywood star could not mount the final-round charge he needed to come from six strokes behind the world number one and claim a dream win at Royal Portrush. But while the Masters champion expressed his admiration for Scheffler's brilliance on the Dunluce links and his dominance over the past few years, he is not discouraged. 'All I can do is focus on myself and try to play the best golf that I can,' McIlroy said after a closing 69 left him seven shots adrift of the Texan in a tie for seventh. 'I know that when I do that, I'll have my weeks where I'll contend and hopefully win.' Scheffler now needs only the US Open to match McIlroy and complete the career Grand Slam and the Down man was full of praise. 'Yeah, none of us could hang with Scottie this week,' he said as Scheffler shot 68 to win by four strokes from Harris English and by five from last week's Scottish Open winner Chris Gotterup on 17-under-par. 'He's an incredible player. He's been dominant this week. Honestly, he's been dominant for the last couple years. He is the bar that we're all trying to get to. 'In a historical context, you could argue that there's only maybe two or three players in the history of the game that have been on a run like the one that Scottie's been on here for the last 24 to 36 months. Incredibly impressive. 'Yeah, he's a very worthy winner. Also, he's a great person, and I think he's a wonderful ambassador for our game as well. I'm really happy for him and Meredith and his family.' It was an emotional week for McIlroy, who missed the cut when The Open returned to Royal Portrush in 2019 and he hopes to have at least one more chance to win a Claret Jug on home soil. 'I tried as best as I could to keep my emotions in check, especially walking up the last there and that reception,' McIlroy said. 'Look, it's been an awesome week. I've gotten everything I wanted out of this week apart from a Claret Jug, and that's just because one person was just a little bit better than the rest of us. 'It's been an amazing week. I feel so thankful and just so lucky that I get to do this, I get to do this in front of this crowd. 'Hopefully I'll have one or two Opens left here, if the R&A decide to keep coming back, probably one while I'm still competitive and another one while I'm more grey than I already am. 'It's just been incredible to come back here and to play and at least feel like I had a chance today going out there. Just an awesome week. 'Honestly, I think Portrush has quickly turned into one of the best two or three venues that The Open goes to. Talk to every player this week, and they won't say one single bad thing about the golf course. 'Then I just think the way it sets up, from a logistical standpoint, I think the R&A have worked so well with the local government to make sure everything runs smoothly. "It's only been six years since 2019. I'm not sure Portrush is going to have The Open every six years, that would be nice, but I would obviously love it to keep coming back.' As for his final round, he admitted his failure to take advantage of big drives on the eighth and ninth and his double bogey at the 10th ended his slim hopes. 'I feel like I try my hardest every time I play,' he said. 'I'm not going to try even harder here. If anything, that's probably to my detriment. I felt like I did well. Eight, nine and 10 today were the ones that killed me. Not that I was never going to get to 17-under, I don't think. 'I could have maybe finished second, which would have been better than where I did finish, but only making par off those tee shots on eight and nine and then the double off of 10 after the flier, that did me in. Then I just tried to play a good back nine and finish as well as I could.' McIlroy won three times earlier this season — the AT&T Pro-Am at Pebble Beach, The Players and the Masters — and he's now targeting an away Ryder Cup win. 'I feel like I'm getting back to where I want to be, and we've still got a lot of golf left this year with obviously Ryder Cup being the big one in there in September,' he said. 'I don't want to play too much leading up to that because I want to be fresh. So I'm looking forward to a few weeks off here. I'll reflect on what's been already a good year and start to get myself ready for that run up to the Ryder Cup.' As for watching Scheffler dominate the game, he had only one feeling. 'Admiration,' he said. 'I think all you can do is admire what he does and how he does it. I think what he does is one thing, but how he does it is another. 'He just goes about his business, doesn't do anything overly flamboyant, but he's the best at executing in the game right now. 'Yeah, he's been absolutely amazing over these past two to three years. As I said, all you can do is tip your cap and watch in admiration.'
