Rory McIlroy smiling again after stunning 64 at Travelers Championship – but Scottie Scheffler is the man to catch
'It was good,' McIlroy said. 'I said yesterday, this is a nice tonic compared to last week in terms of it's a slightly more benign golf course and the penalty for missing isn't quite as severe.
'You can give yourself plenty of chances for birdies, which Keegan and I did today.
'Overall, it was a good start to the tournament, and I think when you're in a two-ball like that we can sort of feed off one another a little bit, too, that's nice, as well.'
'I've had a lot of highs and lows in my career, especially this year some lows,' said the former US Open champion, who missed the cut by a shot last week.
'I made a mistake that I deeply regret. I'm very sorry for what happened.
'But I'd also like to move on, not only for myself but for Oakmont, for the USGA, and kind of focus on the rest of this year and things that come up. I still want to try to make the Ryder Cup team.'
Scottie Scheffler fired an eagle and seven birdies in an eight-under 62 to grab a share of the lead as he chases his fourth win in his last six starts.
The world number one leapfrogged Rory McIlroy at the top of the FedEx Cup standings thanks to wins in the CJ Cup Byron Nelson, the US PGA, and the Memorial Tournament.
ADVERTISEMENT
Learn more
He was also joint seventh in last week's US Open without playing his best golf and insists he drew confidence from his performance at Oakmont.
'The way I swung it the first couple rounds was pretty poor,' Scheffler said of the US Open following an impressive opening round at TPC River Highlands.
'I mean, I was not getting the ball in play. I don't know if you saw much of it, but it wasn't very pretty.
'But I was very proud of the way I stayed in the tournament, and I still gave myself a chance to win.
'That gives me a lot of confidence going forward that I could - especially on a golf course like Oakmont where you know you have to get the ball in play – and I wasn't able to do that in the beginning of the tournament.
'And to hang in there, flirt with the cut line on Friday, have a good finish to my round Friday, kind of bounce back, get myself back in the tournament to give myself an opportunity to win was I felt like pretty good. I gained some confidence from that.
'It's also just good reflection knowing that it's really important for me just to stay in it mentally, and I felt like last week was, oddly enough, as good as I've been mentally on the course throughout the season.'
It was also a good day for Leona Maguire, who was just four shots off the lead after opening with a battling level par 72 in the KPMG Women's PGA in Texas.
The Co Cavan star, who arrived at Fields Ranch East at PGA Frisco struggling for form on the back of four successive missed cuts, made two birdies and two bogeys in a solid round as Thailand's Jeeno Thitikul shot 68 to head Australia's Minjee Lee by one stroke.
On the HotelPlanner Tour, Max Kennedy (23) planned a dip in the sea to cool off after scorching to a 10-under-par course record 60 to grab the lead in the Blot Play9 Golf in Brittany.
The Royal Dublin rookie (23) made six birdies and two eagles in a career-low round at Bluegreen de Pléneuf Val André to lead by four strokes from England's James Morrison.
'Yeah, very happy,' said 72nd-ranked Kennedy, who can take a massive leap this week in the race for 20 DP World Tour cards.
'Obviously, a very nice round. I didn't miss a whole lot of shots, and it was even nicer to save a good par on the last.
'It would have been nice to give myself a chance on the last for a 59, but still, I'll take a 60.'
While Kilkenny's Mark Power was joint fourth after a 66, Ballymena's Dermot McElroy followed an eagle two at his first hole with a quintuple bogey 10 at the next, the 11th, en route to an 84.
Meanwhile, County Louth's Gavin Tiernan (19) used all his links experience to battle his way into the quarter-finals of the Amateur Championship at Royal St George's.
But while he beat Belgium's Jarno Tollenaire by two holes before seeing off France's Gaspar Glaudas 3&2 to take his place in the last eight, he's not dreaming of the Masters place awarded to the champion just yet.
'No, I'm just taking it hole by hole, one shot at a time,' said the East Tennessee State University star, who will face Estonia's Richard Teder in the quarter-finals. 'That's been my motto this week, just one shot at a time.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
2 hours ago
- Irish Times
Europe's Ryder Cup class of 2025 shapes up with familiar feel for US showdown
If continuity is key to Ryder Cup success, even the phlegmatic Luke Donald must be doing cartwheels. This also applies to those who believe the occasional away win is necessary if the event is to remain within the realms of serious sporting contest. The European class of 2025 is now very close to replicating the one that won in Rome in 2023, but with one quirk; Rasmus Højgaard replacing his twin brother, Nicolai. What the United States would give for such a settled scenario. Should Donald be so minded, he can keep change to an absolute minimum. Recreating a winning environment becomes so much easier when the characters involved are the same. When Europe slumped to comprehensive defeat at Whistling Straits four years ago, seven of the 12-man team were sampling an American Ryder Cup for the first time. At Hazeltine, in 2016, half of Darren Clarke's European contingent were debutants. The US again won with ease. Tommy Fleetwood suffered heartache in Memphis on Sunday. There was the consolation of qualification for Bethpage at the end of September. Fleetwood has joined Rory McIlroy and Justin Rose – brilliant in his playoff victory last weekend – as guaranteed to be in the team. Robert MacIntyre and Tyrrell Hatton are sure to follow. Shane Lowry may knock Sepp Straka out of the six automatic berths – the Austrian has withdrawn from this week's PGA Tour stop in Maryland for family reasons – but both will be in New York. Below Straka and Lowry in the rankings come Rasmus Højgaard, Ludvig Åberg, Viktor Hovland, Matt Wallace and Matt Fitzpatrick. The rogue element for one of those inside the top dozen on the European points table is that Donald is sure to turn to Jon Rahm , whose move to the LIV Tour has distorted his place in the world rankings and automatic qualifying potential. Rahm posted two top-10 finishes in this year's Majors and earned three points for Europe in Rome. READ MORE There is a reason the legal challenge from Rahm and Hatton towards the European Tour Group for fines issued for playing on LIV has been kicked down the road until after the Ryder Cup; Donald wants both on his team. [ Team Europe ready to take sportswashing's poster boy on board for Ryder Cup Opens in new window ] Long before the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles in 2014, Paul McGinley sensed Victor Dubuisson would be in European colours. The Frenchman was a maverick, an outlier. McGinley quietly built a relationship between Dubuission and the man who would become his Ryder Cup partner, Graeme McDowell . The assimilation process was successful, but lengthy. Donald has no such problems. There is, however, scope for at least a modicum of late drama. It seems logical to assume that if European qualifying stopped now, Rahm would take the place of Wallace, who sits 11th. Wallace will have a final opportunity to give Donald food for thought at next week's British Masters. Should the Englishman, who has spoken candidly about the pain of missing out on the Ryder Cup in 2018, prevail or even go close at the Belfry it would make others vulnerable. Justin Rose reacts after making a birdie on the 18th hole during a playoff against JJ Spaun at the FedEx St Jude Championship at TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tennessee. Photograph:Wallace tied for third when the US PGA Championship stopped at Bethpage in 2019. As a rookie, Wallace would have to give Donald undeniable cause to pick him. Looking at the names in the frame, that appears a simple case of making himself a better option than Rasmus Højgaard. The big-hitting Dane enjoyed a wonderful end to 2024, but has not properly built on that position of strength. This week's DP World Tour event in Denmark feels big for the twin. Fitzpatrick, doubtless aware of Wallace's potential to surge, has the British Masters on his schedule, as has Rasmus Højgaard. Fitzpatrick, 12th in the standings, is a Major champion and previous top 10 in the world player who lost his way spectacularly in the early part of this year. His rebound has been impressive, recently involving a batch of high finishes on either side of the Atlantic, including a share of fourth at The Open . Fitzpatrick is still involved in the FedEx Cup playoffs and will tee up this week at Caves Valley. For Donald, these are all relatively trivial issues. Every player he needs in the Bethpage picture is already there. In McIlroy, he also has an on-course leader with a stated aim of assisting Europe to a win in the US long before he clinched a career Grand Slam. Such a hugely incentivised McIlroy is a dangerous McIlroy. Fevered discussion on the US side surrounds the possibility, indeed the likelihood, of Keegan Bradley operating as a playing captain. The dual role need not be anything close to the disaster some insist, but the lack of clarity around how precisely Bradley became the captain and his definitive plan if qualifying to play has been striking. Those outside the US top 12 include Patrick Cantlay, Brian Harman, Cameron Young, Sam Burns, Wyndham Clark and Jordan Spieth. Brooks Koepka , the US PGA champion in 2019, has regressed towards irrelevance since winning the same Major in 2023. Bradley has far bigger, far more profound decisions to make than his European counterpart. Bryson DeChambeau has matured as a player in six years, but as Koepka triumphed at Bethpage, his compatriot missed the cut. The US can call upon Scottie Scheffler , modern golf's immovable object. They also command the home advantage ordinarily so crucial when these teams joust. Europe have strength in other forms. The stability offered to Donald only increases already high European hope. − Guardian
Irish Examiner
3 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Europe's Ryder Cup class of 2025 shapes up with familiar feel for US showdown
If continuity is key to Ryder Cup success, even the phlegmatic Luke Donald must be doing cartwheels. This also applies to those who believe the occasional away win is necessary if the event is to remain within the realms of serious sporting contest. The European class of 2025 is now very close to replicating the one that won in Rome in 2023, but with one quirk; Rasmus Højgaard replacing his twin brother, Nicolai. What the United States would give for such a settled scenario. Should Donald be so minded, he can keep change to an absolute minimum. Recreating a winning environment becomes so much easier when the characters involved are the same. When Europe slumped to comprehensive defeat at Whistling Straits four years ago, seven of the 12-man team were sampling an American Ryder Cup for the first time. At Hazeltine, in 2016, half of Darren Clarke's European contingent were debutants. The US again won with ease. Tommy Fleetwood suffered heartache in Memphis on Sunday. There was the consolation of qualification for Bethpage at the end of September. Fleetwood has joined Rory McIlroy and a reinvigorated Justin Rose as guaranteed to be in the team. Robert MacIntyre and Tyrrell Hatton are sure to follow. Shane Lowry may knock Sepp Straka out of the six automatic berths – the Austrian has withdrawn from this week's PGA Tour stop in Maryland for family reasons – but both will be in New York. Below Straka and Lowry in the rankings come Rasmus Højgaard, Ludvig Åberg, Viktor Hovland, Matt Wallace and Matt Fitzpatrick. The rogue element for one of those inside the top dozen on the European points table is that Donald is sure to turn to Jon Rahm, whose move to the LIV Tour has distorted his place in the world rankings and automatic qualifying potential. Rahm posted two top-10 finishes in this year's majors and earned three points for Europe in Rome. There is a reason the legal challenge from Rahm and Hatton towards the European Tour Group for fines issued for playing on LIV has been kicked down the road until after the Ryder Cup; Donald wants both on his team. Long before the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles in 2014, Paul McGinley sensed Victor Dubuisson would be in European colours. The Frenchman was a maverick, an outlier. McGinley quietly built a relationship between Dubuission and the man who would become his Ryder Cup partner, Graeme McDowell. The assimilation process was successful, but lengthy. Donald has no such problems. Rasmus Højgaard is in line to replace his twin brother, Nicolai, in Europe's Ryder Cup team. There is, however, scope for at least a modicum of late drama. It seems logical to assume that if European qualifying stopped now, Rahm would take the place of Wallace, who sits 11th. Wallace will have a final opportunity to give Donald food for thought at next week's British Masters. Should the Englishman, who has spoken candidly about the pain of missing out on the Ryder Cup in 2018, prevail or even go close at the Belfry it would make others vulnerable. Wallace tied for third when the US PGA Championship stopped at Bethpage in 2019. As a rookie, Wallace would have to give Donald undeniable cause to pick him. Looking at the names in the frame, that appears a simple case of making himself a better option than Rasmus Højgaard. The big-hitting Dane enjoyed a wonderful end to 2024, but has not properly built on that position of strength. This week's DP World Tour event in Denmark feels big for the twin. Fitzpatrick, doubtless aware of Wallace's potential to surge, has the British Masters on his schedule, as has Rasmus Højgaard. Fitzpatrick, 12th in the standings, is a major champion and previous top 10 in the world player who lost his way spectacularly in the early part of this year. Fitzpatrick's rebound has been impressive, recently involving a batch of high finishes on either side of the Atlantic, including a share of fourth at the Open. Fitzpatrick is still involved in the FedEx Cup playoffs and will tee up this week at Caves Valley. For Donald, these are all relatively trivial issues. Every player he needs in the Bethpage picture is already there. In McIlroy, he also has an on-course leader with a stated aim of assisting Europe to a win in the US long before he clinched a career grand slam. Such a hugely incentivised McIlroy is a dangerous McIlroy. Fevered discussion on the US side surrounds the possibility, indeed the likelihood, of Keegan Bradley operating as a playing captain. The dual role need not be anything close to the disaster some insist, but the lack of clarity around how precisely Bradley became the captain and his definitive plan if qualifying to play has been striking. There remains a lack of clarity about the plans of Keegan Bradley, the US Ryder Cup captain, if he qualifies to play. Pic: AP Photo/Jessica Hill Those outside the US top 12 include Patrick Cantlay, Brian Harman, Cameron Young, Sam Burns, Wyndham Clark and Jordan Spieth. Brooks Kopeka, the US PGA champion in 2019, has regressed towards irrelevance since winning the same major in 2023. Bradley has far bigger, far more profound decisions to make than his European counterpart. Bryson DeChambeau has matured as a player in six years, but as Koepka triumphed at Bethpage, his compatriot missed the cut. The US can call upon Scottie Scheffler, modern golf's immovable object. They also command the home advantage ordinarily so crucial when these teams joust. Europe have strength in other forms. The stability offered to Donald only increases already high European hope. Guardian
Extra.ie
a day ago
- Extra.ie
Lowry falls out of Ryder Cup places after FedEx horror show
Shane Lowry has slipped out of Team Europe's Ryder Cup automatic qualifying spots after a performance to forget in the US. Lowry finished tied for 59th out of 69 golfers at the opening FedEx Cup Playoff in Memphis on Sunday. Heading into last week, the 38-year-old was fifth on the Ryder Cup Team Europe rankings, with only the top six automatically qualifying for the event. Shane Lowry had a poor display in Memphis. Pic: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile Lowry has now slipped down to seventh place after his poor showing in Tennessee. What hasn't helped Lowry's chances is that Justin Rose put on a stunning show to claim victory at the St Jude Championship following a tense three-hole playoff with JJ Spaun. Rose delivered a fantastic run of four birdies in the closing five holes before defeating the US national in the playoff. The 45-year-old's victory means that he has mathematically secured his automatic qualifying spot, sitting in second only behind Rory McIlroy. Tommy Fleetwood will be disappointed that he didn't come away with the victory in Memphis after leading by five strokes after 36 holes. While his wait for a PGA Tour win continues, Fleetwood has joined McIlroy and Rose in securing an automatic Ryder Cup qualification. Robert MacIntyre has fallen from second to fourth place in the rankings but holds a healthy lead over his fellow European hopefuls. Tyrell Hatton fell one place into fifth but it was Sepp Straka's decent showing that has pushed Lowry out of the top six altogether. Lowry has fallen out of the Team Europe top six. Pic: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile Lowry will be hoping to be one of the six captain picks that Luke Donald will have at his disposal but his recent form could worry the European skipper. The Offaly native has slumped ten places on the OWGR ladder after finishing tied for second at the Truist Championship in May. Lowry currently sits 18th in the rankings. However, there's a silver lining for the Irishman as he's already into this week's BMW Championship at Caves Valley. The field is down to just the top 50 in the FedEx Cup standings ahead of the season's final that will see only the top 30 progress to the Tour Championship at East Lake. The final event for Ryder Cup points will be the Betfred British Masters, which finishes on August 24. Meanwhile, JJ Spaun's runner-up finish in Memphis means that he has now mathematically qualified for the US Ryder Cup team. Spaun joins Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele on Keegan Bradley's team ahead of the event in New York at the end of September.
