‘It gives me a lot of confidence' – Tom McKibbin gets $750,000 LIV boost before playing his second Open
'Yeah, it gives me a lot of confidence,' said the Holywood star, who will be making his second appearance in The Open after finishing tied 66th at Royal Troon last year.
'My game has felt good for the last couple of weeks, and to finish off well here today, around a very difficult golf course and going into another difficult golf course next week gives me a lot of confidence going there.
'I'm really looking forward to it as it's somewhere that I've played a lot of golf growing up and in the wintertime, somewhere that I enjoy playing. Really excited to go over there.'
Gooch, who is not among the 19 LIV Golf members teeing it up at Royal Portrush, shot a one-under 70 to win his fourth LIV Golf event and the $4m individual prize by a shot from Legion XIII captain Jon Rahm on eight-under.
Legion XIII took the team event by a shot from Sergio Garcia's Fireballs and Rahm was pleased to play well heading to Ireland, where he has won two Irish Opens on links courses.
'I mean, if you're not going to win, second best is best case scenario,' Rahm said.
'Today, I played one of the better rounds of golf I've played in a very long time.'
He won the Irish Open at Portstewart in 2017 and at Lahinch in 2019, and said earlier this week that he loves going back.
'I don't know what it is. I think every week I've had in Ireland has been such a wonderful experience," Rahm said.
"Whether it's the golf course, the tournament, the people, I don't know. I really couldn't tell you exactly what it is. But every time I've gone it's been overwhelmingly positive, so I think that's led to me playing good.
'Or simply the fact that the first time I ever went to Ireland, to Portstewart in Northern Ireland, I played so good that I just kind of carried on.
'But every experience I've had there has been great. The times we've gone, even if it's on time off with the family or tournaments, it's always been such a great one that whenever I go back, I think I feed off of that.
"When it comes to golf, I don't know if there's any secret to it, really."
Paul McGinley, who will be an analyst for NBC at Royal Portrush, fancies Rahm to win The Open, and next week could be the week.
'I ran the Irish Open when it was in Lahinch, and he won,' McGinley said. 'His shot-making around Lahinch was phenomenal. He's also won in Portstewart, which is next door [to Portrush].
'He's won two Irish Opens on Irish golf courses. He's got a three-quarter swing, as we know, and three-quarter swingers are great at knocking the ball out of the air.
'With his short game, too, he's got all the skill sets. I'd be really surprised at the end of his career if Jon Rahm hasn't probably won more Open Championships as he adds to his major total.
'He's got a game and a skill set that's really suited to play links courses.'
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Irish Examiner
2 days ago
- Irish Examiner
Woad golf's latest sensation but caution advisable
History suggests caution is advisable when assessing female golf phenoms. Michelle Wie won just a single major. Charley Hull has reached the age of 29 while scaling golfing heights, but it is fair to say wild excitement about her career when a teenage amateur has not been borne out by subsequent results. For a multitude of reasons, promise can outweigh reality. If it were at all her style – and it is not – Lottie Woad could claim to have already justified the hype. Winning last year's Augusta National Women's Amateur was a statement of intent. Recent weeks have been rocket fuelled for the 21-year-old; Woad won the Irish Open and challenged for the Evian Championship while still an amateur. One professional start, at the Scottish Open, saw Woad lift the trophy on Sunday. She is the name on everyone's lips as the Women's Open lands at the glorious links of Royal Porthcawl today. 'She's playing great golf,' said Lydia Ko, the defending champion, of Woad. 'I've seen her swing. My coach has sent me a video of her swing as well because there's aspects that I'm kind of going for that she has.' High praise. There was more, lots of it. 'I think what Lottie Woad has done is absolutely unbelievable,' said Hull. 'I played with her in the practice rounds in Ireland and in the first two rounds last week. At the minute I feel like she's playing with such confidence she can't miss a shot. I think it's great to see. She's a breath of fresh air for the game. I'm actually really proud of Lottie for what she's done. That's like goosebumps kind of stuff.' Hull's own buildup has been beset by illness and a back injury. 'I'm not hitting it the best, which is very frustrating because it's an event I've been looking forward to playing all year,' she said. Woad will have Ko and Lilia Vu for company in the marquee grouping for days one and two. 'I don't feel too different, to be honest,' Woad said. 'I got a lot of confidence from the last month, really. I am just trying to continue to ride that. There's always pressure. I don't think there's any more than there was, like from my perspective, before any of the last few weeks. I was still wanting to contend and that's still the aim.' Like Scottie Scheffler, who is dominating the male game, Woad will not talk in headlines. Like the American, Woad's swing can be unorthodox. She has something in common with another icon of this sport; Woad is managed by the same agency as Tiger Woods. Woad serves as the latest example of how the American college circuit prepares golfers for life as a professional. The Surrey athlete excelled at Florida State University amid a rise to the summit of the amateur world ranking. 'She's been in a lot of those kind of tougher moments,' Ko added. 'Obviously it's different than being an amateur and playing collegiate golf to as a pro, but I think she's been there and done really well in those pressure conditions no matter what kind of environment she's been in. So I think there's a little bit more experience under her belt than what people probably give her credit for. 'When I've seen the coverage or how she composes herself, she doesn't seem like she rushes into things or gets like overly emotional. I'm sure that's going to help her with that transition as well.' Ko's analysis is valid. Woad's greatest strength is appearing totally unflustered when placed in tricky golfing scenarios. Her display of front-running at Dundonald Links on Sunday made a mockery of supposed rookie status. In Ireland, she won by half a dozen shots. 'Absolutely amazing,' said the world No 1, Nelly Korda, in adding to the chorus of commendation for Woad. 'I was very impressed with her composure, her process [in Scotland]. When it comes to her shot routine, especially under pressure and in the heat of the moment, sometimes people seem to fidget and kind of doubt themselves but she stuck to it, she stuck to her process every single time. I think one of the main things that I noticed is how mature she is for her age and how comfortable she was in the heat of the moment. 'You can see that she's put a ton of hours in. Her putting is very solid, her game's solid, she hits it pretty far off the tee. She grew up in this kind of weather too, so I feel like she's kind of comfortable.' It would seem a shock if Woad is not in Porthcawl contention. The R&A has increased the prize fund for this major, by $250,000 to $9.75m, with the winner collecting $1.4m. The male equivalent had its purse frozen for 2025. The scale of growth in the Women's Open is shown by the fact golfers were competing for $3.25m as recently as 2018. It was confirmed on Wednesday that the 2027 edition of the tournament will take place at Royal St George's, which has staged the men's Open 15 times. A rare stop for elite golf in Wales has seen players assess the local culture. 'When I drove from Scotland after I missed the cut last week, I saw all the road signs,' said Grace Kim. 'It went from like English to, not in a rude way, like gibberish.' Ouch. Out in the afternoon today is Ireland's Anna Foster, who qualified for Royal Portcawl in final qualifying at Pyle & Kenfig on Monday, and hopes to enjoy her latest experience of the event more than her first: "I played in the AIG Women's Open in 2023 at Walton Heath and it was quite an overwhelming experience as an amateur but now I feel I have more confidence in myself.' The other Irish contenders, Leona Maguire and Lauren Walsh, are both out this morning. Guardian
RTÉ News
2 days ago
- RTÉ News
Leona Maguire's form back on even keel as Irish trio get set for AIG Women's Open
Time flies and the LPGA Tour and Ladies European Tour seasons have been no different as the fifth and final major of the year arrives on the horizon. On Thursday, the elite in women's golf will be teeing off at the Royal Porthcawl Golf Club in south Wales for the prestige of winning the AIG Women's Open and Leona Maguire comes into the tournament in decent form. It hadn't always been that way as the year had ticked into early summer with the Cavan native enduring four missed cuts in a row across May and early June as momentum deserted her. Slowly but surely though the next four LPGA tournaments have been more encouraging, finishing in a tie for 19th at the KPMG Women's PGA Championship, T18 at the Dow Championship, joint-seventh at The Amundi Evian Championship and then last week's T16 at the ISPS HANDA Women's Scottish Open, although the KPMG Women's Irish Open was not anywhere near as gainful after finishing tied for 48th. That two of those results have been at major events will be a boost to her confidence before she tackles the Royal Porthcawl course. Maguire will be the most experienced of the three Irish competitors in the field, where she will be joined by Anna Foster and Lauren Walsh. Foster had a fruitful Irish Open at Carton House as the Dubliner finished tied for 12th, although Walsh did not make the cut in her home county of Kildare at a venue where she last year signed up to be their official touring professional. Walsh will be the first of the Irish to tee off on Thursday, bright and early at 6.41am, with Maguire next at 7.58am and Foster among the late starters at 3.11pm, having been among the 17 players to make it through final qualifying at Pyle & Kenfig on Monday to take her place in the field. When it comes to potential contenders for victory, much of the attention will be on the player who has been taking the game by storm in recent weeks. England's Lottie Woad said she will block out the noise this week after being installed as the favourite despite it being her first major since turning professional. The 21-year-old former Florida State University student marked her entry into the paid ranks by cruising to a three-stroke victory at last week's Scottish Open. She also won the Irish Open by six strokes as an amateur earlier this month before just missing out on becoming the first amateur to win a major when she was beaten by one stroke by Australia's Grace Kim at the Evian Championship. English amateur Lottie Woad has won the KPMG Women's Irish Open at Carton House 📺 @rteone @rteplayer - — RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) July 6, 2025 So it is hardly surprising that Woad, who turned professional after the Evian Championship, has found herself in the spotlight as she arrived in South Wales. Asked about the growing expectation, Woad said it was all part of the learning process. "I don't think you can ever really fully handle it. I definitely feel like I've got a lot better at it," she told reporters. "I just try and block out the noise as much as possible really." Woad finished tied 10th at the Women's Open last year at St Andrews, but said Porthcawl presents a tough challenge. "I think it will be a really good test. We'll see; weather is always a factor in links golf. A lot more to mind off the tee than St Andrews last year. Definitely got to keep in play," she said. "A lot of holes, par is a good score, and then you've got to take a chance on the par-5s really." Amongst a high-quality field standing in Woad's way is defending champion Lydia Ko from New Zealand. "She's kind of come out with a bang, and I'm sure she's going to keep continuing to play well," Ko said of Woad. "I don't know a lot about her game personally, but the little that I've seen, she seems super impressive and has that kind of cool, calm, collected demeanour, and that's, I think, pretty important as a player." Olympic champion Ko is playing in Wales for the first time and said she is ready for the elements. "I would rather it be tough than be calm. As much as I love sunny weather, when I'm coming to play the Women's Open, I expect it to be rainy, windy, and that's what I've gotten to really enjoy about this Championship," she said. "I hope it brings all those elements." World number one Nelly Korda is bidding to win her first British Open after coming tied second last year. She is also expecting big things from former amateur world number one Woad. "Golf is a game of confidence, and she's definitely high up there right now, so she's going to be trusting everything," Korda said. "Her worst finish in the past three events is theoretically second or third. I think she's also riding a confidence high too with how well she's playing."
Irish Independent
3 days ago
- Irish Independent
Paul McGinley tees off with Donald Trump as US President opens new course in Scotland
The former European Ryder Cup captain and ex-DP World Tour board member joined the US President, his son Eric and his Sky Sports Golf colleague Rich Beem in hitting the opening tee shots on the New Course in Menie. More than 40 big names in the golf business world, as well as former footballers Robbie Fowler, Jim Leighton, Gianfranco Zola, and Andrei Shevchenko, teed it up at the venue, which is one of 15 Trump golf properties. McGinley recently expressed his disappointment that Trump-owned Turnberry is currently out in the cold when it comes to The Open rota. Speaking on the Indo Sport Podcast, McGinley said: "I think the best course is Turnberry and I think it's a real shame that we're not playing it." He added: "I know people have a lot of views on Trump, but I'll tell you what, he's done a hell of a job with the work he has done in Turnberry." Trump also owns Doonbeg, which is just 20 miles from Lahinch, where McGinley was host when it staged the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open in 2019. The Clare venue is understood to be on track to host the Amgen Irish Open next year. US pharmaceutical giants Horizon Therapeutics took over as Irish Open sponsors in 2022 with a deal to back the event until 2027. Horizon was subsequently acquired by Amgen, an American multinational biopharmaceutical company, in 2023. Amgen, which has major pharmaceutical manufacturing plants in Ireland, took over the sponsorship of the Irish Open, which will be held at The K Club in September. Golfers Pádraig Harrington, Shane Lowry, Séamus Power and Brendan Lawlor are ambassadors for Amgen, which could be seriously affected by President Trump's trade war. As the Irish Independent reported this week, there is confusion in Government and the EU about what products will be covered by the baseline 15pc tariff, which activates on Friday following the US trade deal. It is still unclear if pharmaceuticals, which are critical to the Irish economy, will be included in the 15pc bracket or if they could yet be hit with a higher levy.
