logo
Padraig Harrington and Graeme McDowell among six Irish bidding to claim US Open qualification on ‘golf's longest day'

Padraig Harrington and Graeme McDowell among six Irish bidding to claim US Open qualification on ‘golf's longest day'

They are among the hundreds teeing it up at ten qualifying sites - nine in the US and one in Canada - on what is dubbed golf's longest day.
McKibbin will bid to qualify for Oakmont and his second US Open at Duke University Golf Club in North Carolina, where seven places are on offer, before playing this week's LIV Golf Virginia event at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club from Friday.
Fellow LIV Golf member McDowell (45), who won the US Open at Pebble Beach in 2010, plays for one of four spots at Emerald Dunes Golf Club in West Palm Beach, looking to tee it up in the event for the first time since he missed the cut at Winged Foot in 2020.
Three-time major winner Harrington (53) plays in the same qualifier as Roganstown amateur Keeling at Kinsale Golf and Fitness Club in Columbus, Ohio, where six places are available.
Harrington has played in 17 US Opens and posted five top-10 finishes.
He tied for 27th in 2023 at The Los Angeles Country Club after earning an exemption as the reigning US Senior Open champion.
His best result is a tie for fourth behind Webb Simpson in 2012 at The Olympic Club.
Keeling, the older brother of former European Junior Ryder Cup player Sean, has just completed his Junior year at the University of Louisville.
The Dubliner won one of five spots at Local Qualifying at Tradional Golf Club in Kentucky on May 7, carding a 70 to finish tied for third.
Kerry native Quinlivan, now the Head Professional at Shinnecock Hills, will bid for one of five spots at Canoe Brook Country Club in New Jersey after coming through local qualifying last month.
Power tees it up seeking one of seven spots at Lambton Golf & Country Club in Ontario before joining the already-qualified Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry in the RBC Canadian Open later this week.
Lowry is looking forward to returning to Oakmont, where he had a four-stroke lead heading into the final round in 2016 but shot 76 to finish tied for second, three shots behind Dustin Johnson.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Lowry makes hay with a sparkling 64 for fast start at Canadian Open
Lowry makes hay with a sparkling 64 for fast start at Canadian Open

Irish Examiner

time12 hours ago

  • Irish Examiner

Lowry makes hay with a sparkling 64 for fast start at Canadian Open

Shane Lowry made the most of drying Thursday ground as he surged towards the top of the leaderboard with a productive afternoon's work on the opening day of the RBC Canadian Open. In stark contrast to close friend Rory McIlroy who had the misfortune to head out in very inhospitable conditions early on the opening day at TPC Toronto, Lowry enjoyed his lie in and then got up and running from the get-go after teeing off in the afternoon wave. The Offaly man opened and closed with birdies and found five more, offset by just a single bogey, as his deeply satisfying 6-under 64 put him into a share of fifth place. He wasn't the only one of the late starters to tear up a track which proved defenceless in the drying stillness. McIlroy, having laboured to a 1-over 71 much earlier, must have cursed his fortune. How scoreable did it get? Chilean Cristóbal del Solar, the world's No.316, looked on course to become just the 15th player in PGA Tour history to go sub-60, a 59 very much on the cards until a late wobble. Remarkably, he was still among four players who went lower than then North Course's post-renovation record of 64, Dane Thorbjorn Olsen matching Del Solar with a 9-under 61 for a share of the day one lead. For Lowry, more than 300 places higher in the global rankings, there are big challenges and prizes rapidly approaching over the horizon. Next week's US Open is at Oakmont, where he finished second in 2016, followed by an Open in Portrush where he claimed his major moment in 2019. That's what made Thursday's fast start so satisfying. The sole bogey came courtesy of a wild drive on the par-4 13th but otherwise he was a model of consistency, all parts of the game clicking in nicely. There was almost a highlight reel ace at the 200-yard par-3 11th when a sparkling iron from 200 yards was lasered in to four inches. So much of Lowry's game has been working well this season. Sluggish Sundays have frustrated him, as has a cool putter but Thursday's birdies came from the following distances: 9ft, 8.6ft, 20.8ft, 4.9ft, 15.1ft, the four-inch kick-in and on the final hole an eight-incher after his eagle effort came up just short. Lowry played alongside defending Canadian Open champion and Ryder Cup teammate Robert MacIntyre, the big Scot enjoying the company as he shot a blemish-free 5-under 65. McIlroy's reset remained a work in progress as his return from a three-week break didn't go to plan with his new TaylorMade driver showing some positive signs but a few concerning ones too. The Masters champion shot a frustrating 1-over 71 at TPC Toronto to leave him with work to do when he returns on Friday afternoon, closing with back-to-back bogeys to undo some great recovery work midway through his round. In that stretch McIlroy arguably looked as fluid as he has since Augusta but the costly finish left an aftertaste. 'I actually felt like I played okay. There was a couple of shots in there, it was my first outing with a new driver, and I felt like that went pretty well. I hit some drives that I liked and that I liked to see, so that was encouraging,' he said afterwards. "I hit some good iron shots. Missed a couple of greens and didn't get them up-and-down, especially those last couple holes. Overall, I'm actually pretty happy with how I played. Obviously need to go a little bit lower tomorrow and over the weekend to have a chance. Overall I'm still trying to work on some things, but yeah, I'm okay with where everything is.' McIlroy had travelled north to one of his favourite stops on tour looking for something of a fresh start after his post-career grand slam glow turned gloomy with a difficult week at the PGA Championship in Quail Hollow last month. But with the gruelling test of Oakmont to come next week, McIlroy wasn't sharpening much at all early in Thursday's round. After the course was given an overnight soaking of rain, the soggy start was matched by a stodgy scorecard as McIlroy found himself 2-over through his first eight holes. Starting on the 10th, it was an overshot iron on the 12th and a three-putt on the 17th which put him in an early hole. A birdie four on the long 18th helped to get things moving around the turn and McIlroy added two more in quick succession to get himself back in the red. However that momentum slowed as the putter cooled and an errant drive found tricky rough on the 8th resulting in another bogey after he failed to chop out of more thick stuff wth his third. The mood darkened again when on his final hole he took on a fairway bunker and lost, the drive plugging and a closing bogey leaving him at +1 well outside the top 100 by the end of the day. Some post-lunch range work was on the cards as the weather turned. 'Weather permitting, if it holds off, I'll go hit some balls. It's hard with the driver, like with the one I had been playing with previously, when I missed with it, I was a little bit left.' McIlroy added. "Then my miss with this one is a little bit right. It's just trying to figure that out and manage it a little bit. It's a nice feeling to get up the middle of the fairway and fully release it and know it's not going to go left on you. Yeah, a little bit of practice this afternoon and get ready for tomorrow.' There was one more disappointing Irish postscript when Seamus Power was forced to withdraw shortly after the turn as injury cut his challenge short.

Rory McIlroy off to slow start at Canadian Open as third major looms
Rory McIlroy off to slow start at Canadian Open as third major looms

Irish Daily Mirror

time15 hours ago

  • Irish Daily Mirror

Rory McIlroy off to slow start at Canadian Open as third major looms

Rory McIlroy did not show too many signs of life in his opening round of the Canadian Open as he laboured to a one-over-par 71 to sit near the foot of the leaderboard. In what is only his second singles tournament since his Masters triumph, McIlroy is hoping to fine-tune his game ahead of next week's US Open. A disappointing PGA Championship will not have bothered McIlroy too much in the aftermath of his Masters triumph but with majors coming thick and fast the Holywood man will be hoping to find some form ahead of next week's major at Oakmont. Starting on the back nine, McIlroy was one-over at the turn following bogeys on the 12th and 17th. However, three bogeys in a row on 18, one, and two sparked some life into his game but the former world number one left the course with a sour taste in his mouth following back-to-back bogeys to finish his round. Waterford's Seamus Power withdrew from the tournament, while Shane Lowry was a late starter, but started off fast with six birdies in his opening 12 holes.

Sabalenka dethrones Swiatek to reach first French Open final
Sabalenka dethrones Swiatek to reach first French Open final

The 42

time16 hours ago

  • The 42

Sabalenka dethrones Swiatek to reach first French Open final

ARNYA SABALENKA ENDED Iga Swiatek's bid for a fourth straight French Open title as the world number one powered her way to a maiden Roland Garros final. The Belarusian snapped Swiatek's French Open winning streak at 26 matches with a 7-6 (7/1), 4-6, 6-0 success and will face either second seed Coco Gauff or French surprise hero Lois Boisson on Saturday for the title. 'It feels incredible but also I understand that the job is not done yet. I'm just thrilled with the performance today,' said the 27-year-old. 'What can I say, 6-0 – it couldn't be much more perfect than that!' Sabalenka edged a topsy-turvy first set that featured eight breaks of serve in a tie-break, before Swiatek hit back to level the match. The finale turned out to be a complete anti-climax, as Swiatek made 12 unforced errors in the third set and won only six points. Sabalenka is targeting a fourth Grand Slam title and first not on hard courts, after winning last year's US Open and the Australian Open back-to-back in 2023 and 2024. Swiatek has still not reached a WTA final since lifting the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen 12 months ago. She showed signs of a revival on the Paris clay where she has dominated since lifting the title as a teenager in 2020, but her game deserted her in the deciding set as she slipped to only the third French Open defeat of her career. Sabalenka has now won their last two meetings, and five of 13 in total. Advertisement This was the first time the pair, the dominant players in women's tennis of the past few years, have gone head-to-head at a Grand Slam tournament since Swiatek's win in the 2022 US Open semi-finals en route to the title. Sabalenka will be a strong favourite to lift the trophy when she takes on either Gauff, who she lost to in the 2023 US Open final, or world number 361 Boisson. Sabalenka roared out of the blocks as Swiatek double-faulted to give up a break in the very first game. The top seed quickly built a 3-0 lead with a double-break, as Swiatek mustered only four points in the opening exchanges. But Sabalenka's hold in game two proved to be the only one until Swiatek cut the gap to 4-3 to stay within touching distance, before making it four successive games to edge in front. Sabalenka did manage to create a chance to serve out the set, but unsurprisingly, Swiatek broke again to force a tie-break as the Belarusian lashed a groundstroke long. The three-time Grand Slam champion finally got the first set on the board, though, blasting through the tie-break as Swiatek eventually cracked. The breaks of serve kept coming in the second set, until Swiatek managed to hold for a 3-1 advantage. The pair belatedly stabilised behind their serves, albeit too late for Sabalenka in the second set as Swiatek held to love to force a decider. The four-time champion had never lost a three-set match at the French Open, but found herself sliding towards defeat as she slipped 2-0 behind in the third. Swiatek, who has built a reputation for dishing out bagels, then wilted under the pressure in a disappointing final set that lasted just 22 minutes. – © AFP 2025

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store