McIlroy unable so far to take advantage of scoreable conditions at Royal Portrush
Rasmus Hojgaard and Brian Harman shared the lead on six-under par approaching lunchtime and over halfway through their rounds. The Dane carded five birdies and just one bogey through 14, the American was flawless through ten with four birdies.
Victor Hovland and Tommy Fleetwood both picked up birdies on all three opening holes while Tyrell Hatton was two-under through nine to sit one stroke back from the leading pair. Robert MacIntyre was midway through the round with a blemish-free 33 to get to three-under.
McIlroy, as was the case the day before, just couldn't get enough momentum going. He shot birdie, par, bogey, birdie, bogey, par through the first six holes and that about summed it up. Every time he did something, threatened something, he stuttered again.
The opening birdie made for the perfect start but he was left with a horribly awkward lie beside the lip of a bunker on the par-three third and couldn't rescue the situation.
The birdie to follow, on the brutally tough and superb fourth hole was utter class. An opening drive dead centre of the fairway to 348 yards, a superb iron approach to five feet and the birdie putt to finish it off.
Chants of 'Rory, Rory, Rory' sprouted instantly from the enormous cavalcade of supporters that again attached itself to Northern Ireland's favourite son only for the following fifth to turn pear-shaped for him straight after.
One of the most scenic holes in golf, the sun was blazing as McIlroy's group teed off but the Masters champion found a bunker short and to the left on what is a drivable par-four and again couldn't save himself hardship on his card.
Three pars followed to leave him where he started the day, on one-under par.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Examiner
3 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Inside Kerry's All-Ireland final prep: recovery vans, suit fittings, and hotel chess
Just as it was absent after their stunning All-Ireland quarter-final win over Armagh, the Kerry team bus wasn't near their dressing room following the semi-final victory against Tyrone. Instead, parked outside the door of it under the Hogan Stand beside trusty kit man Colm Whelan's van was a truck with C11 Recovery emblazoned along the side. Eagle-eyed viewers of The Open Championship in Portrush last week may also have noticed it in the players' area. On Instagram, would-be champion Scottie Scheffler and former Masters winner Jon Rahm were pictured outside it. For the past few seasons, Kerry have been using the Kildare-based mobile recovery unit, which features Avantopool ice baths and compression boots. Cork GAA, Munster Rugby, Basketball and Cricket Ireland are among its founder Ryan Casey's other clients. 'For the last number of years, any time we would have got to Croke Park, a recovery guy comes in,' Kerry selector of the previous three seasons Mike Quirke told the Irish Examiner football podcast last month. 'There would be ice baths in the shower area. As soon as that quarter-final is over, the boys goe straight in there for the next day. 'It's a great service and you know what it's a nice thing for players as well because you're saying, 'The recovery guy is booked because we're going to be here in two weeks' time.'' Psychologically, it is most certainly a boost and almost as self-fulfilling and prophetic was something that occurred across Jones Road last Saturday week. Outside of All-Ireland finals in GAA HQ, Kerry have their post-match meal in the Croke Park Hotel but there they were also fitted for their All-Ireland final suits. A couple of hours after qualifying for the final and they were already dealing with the frills and fuss that come with the day. This month three years ago, Jack O'Connor spoke of the distractions around All-Ireland final day. 'They have to understand that this is about performing on the big day and not getting carried away with any sideshows or tickets and looking after their partners the night before and all this. There are a lot of sideshows. 'Getting measured for suits, tickets and accommodation for their partners and all that, you have to absolutely park all of that stuff and concentrate on the performance because it will be well forgotten about if we can't get over the line now.' The logistics and other non-management backroom members pride themselves on their diligent levels of preparation. As they did for the last two games, Kerry will stay in Dunboyne the night before the game with Donegal also expected to spend Saturday in Meath in Enfield (Kerry's banquet is the Clayton Hotel Burlington on Leeson Street and Donegal's takes place in The Radisson Hotel in Golden Lane). Kerry's bookings had been arranged for months – Donegal stayed in the Burlington hotel when they won the 2012 final but Kerry were there when they beat them two years later. For last month's quarter-final, Kerry had heard Armagh attempted to book into the regular Dunboyne base. The result mightn't have gone the team's way but for the final group game against Meath in Tullamore last month, they had organised their accommodation in Mullingar weeks before Glenisk O'Connor Park was confirmed as the venue. In 2022, Kerry made an advance payment on their hotel for an All-Ireland quarter-final assuming they would beat Limerick in the Munster final. The pre-paid booking saved them around €7,000. Last year, accommodation costs for Kerry totalled €165,436 compared to €177,302 in 2023. When Kerry beat Dublin in the following semi-final that year, they hadn't a hotel booked for the night after the final. The team they had vanquished no longer needed their sleeping partners The Gibson Hotel and took their place. There may have been some confusion about April's training camp in Portugal. Last November, treasurer Paudie Healy told local media it would not be taking place only for that decision to be reversed. 'Sure we're going anyway,' smiled O'Connor about the board agreeing to the trip after Kerry claimed the Division 1 title. Like other counties realised, going abroad worked out cheaper than a camp at home but for Kerry who had played seven games in eight weeks it was also a chance to work on two-pointers. 'It's a skill getting the right kickers on it and creating the space, so we had a bit more time starting with the training camp to work on stuff like that,' he recalled earlier this month. 'That was the real practical reason.' A total of 25 in their eight SFC games compared to 11 in the same amount of league fixtures would suggest the work done on two-pointers on the break was money well spent.
Irish Examiner
15 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Irish sport mourns legendary athletics and hockey trailblazer Maeve Kyle
Today Irish sport mourns a legendary trailblazer - Maeve Kyle has died at the age of 96. Kyle was Ireland's first female track and field Olympian, representing Ireland in the 100m and 200m sprints in 1956 and 1960. She then went on to reach the semi-finals of the 400m and the 800m at the age of 36 in Tokyo 1964. She went on to win a bronze medal in the 400m at the 1966 European Indoor Championships in Dortmund, before setting many records in Masters athletics. Kyle was also a highly accomplished hockey player, winning over 50 caps for Ireland. She also competed in swimming, tennis and golf. Born in Kilkenny in 1928, Kyle was sent to Dublin's Alexandra College and went to live with her grandparents. In an interview for the Irish Examiner in 2016, she said: 'I wanted to become a doctor and went to Trinity. During the first year, I decided I didn't want to become a doctor anymore and changed to Natural Sciences – partly because I fancied a fellow in the class.' Irish Olympic athletics coach Maeve Kyle, who competed in the 1956, 1960 and 1964 Games with the youngest present competitor, 19 year-old Gordon Kennedy, from Tullamore, pictured at Dublin Airport prior to the Irish Olympic team's early morning departure to Sydney for the Olympic Games. Sydney Olympics 2000. Athletics. Picture credit; Brendan Moran/SPORTSFILE After Trinity, Maeve returned to Alexandra and began teaching, also becoming an international hockey player. 'Sport was something I did in my spare time," she told Eoin O'Callaghan in that interview, "and I never got away from that. "I liked to win – make no mistake. People will tell you I had the real driving force but I don't think I did. I don't think I was driven enough to win at all costs. Now, people want to win at any cost. It becomes their life and I couldn't have that.' It was her late husband Seán, who she married in 1954, who persuaded her to take up sprinting and he acted as her coach for many years. She said: 'He loved the technical aspects of all sports – athletics, particularly – and had a brilliant mind. You couldn't build the house if you didn't have the bricks – it was as simple as that with him. You always had a strong base. 'Because of the hockey, I was introduced to international sport quite early. Then, of course, you get a taste for that level. I was fast enough, fit enough. I had a good enough eye and I had the hunger. And I liked learning. Especially from people more experienced than me.' Of the attitude to women in sport she remarked: 'Women's place was secondary in everything. It sounds horrible to say but we were second-class citizens. It's only the last 30 years that women have been kind-of accepted to do a lot of things – but still not everything.' Athletics Ireland said: "Her presence on the international stage opened doors for countless others, and it was her courage, determination, and dignity on and off the track that truly set her apart." After she retired from competing, Kyle became a dedicated coach and mentor. She was a founding figure in the Ballymena & Antrim Athletics Club. and she served as coach to the Irish track and field team at the Sydney Olympics in 2000. In 2006 she was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Irish Sports Council for her outstanding contribution to Irish sport. In 2007, Athletics Ireland recognised Maeve and Sean with the Lifetime Achievement Award. An Athletics Ireland statement read: "Maeve Kyle was more than a legend; she was a torchbearer who lit the path for those who followed. Her legacy lives on in the athletes she inspired and the standards she set." Lochlann Walsh, President of the Olympic Federation of Ireland said, 'We have lost a legend of Irish Olympic Sport who rose to the top despite huge challenges in 1950s Ireland. She was an inspiration to us all. May she rest in peace.' CEO of the Olympic Federation of Ireland, Peter Sherrard, added, 'Our thoughts today are with Maeve's extended family, friends. Her achievements in life gave inspiration to so many Irish women who followed in her footsteps as Olympians.
The Irish Sun
19 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
‘I don't care' – James Wade doesn't know who Scottie Scheffler is as he launches into bizarre rant about darts and golf
JAMES WADE appeared to not know who Scottie Scheffler is as he emphatically rejected comparisons between golf and darts. The Oche veteran, 42, was speaking after his 11-7 victory over Wessel Nijman at the World Matchplay in Blackpool. 3 James Wade was asked about comments made by Scottie Scheffler Credit: Sky darts 3 Scottie Scheffler recently won The Open Credit: AFP During the press conference, Wade was asked about comments made by As the question was being delivered, Wade asked "Who?" - before appearing to turn to the moderator. He then had the room in stitches as he quipped: "I've got no idea what's happening in darts, let alone golf." Wade then added: "It sounds really disrespectful, I don't really care what's happening in darts." READ MORE IN SPORT Giving the subject some more thought, Wade continued: "You get golf - they've got this whole new organisation they've moved across to, and I don't even know what's going on, if I'm honest with you. "Why do you play golf at a competitive level? To supply for your family. All I do is I take my hat off to them. "They're all earning a bundle of money. And no one really cares about what people think within reason. "As long as you try your best when you're at that stage, at that pinnacle of the game… you know. Most read in Darts BEST ONLINE CASINOS - TOP SITES IN THE UK "It's non-comparable. Golf players aren't even close to being on the pressure or the pedestal that dart players are put upon." After checking with the moderator about whether Scheffler is world No1, Wade added of the American: "How does he get to a tournament? Is it a private jet? Right. So when I get on an EasyJet flight… you're laughing and joking, but seriously. Gerwyn Price and Daryl Gurney in heated ruckus on stage at World Matchplay Darts "He doesn't have to get on a happy bus. He doesn't have to do all those things. It's non-comparable, really. I think you should perhaps do what dart players do and see what they have to see, and do what they have to do, you know. "It's quite amazing what dart players achieve when they don't have all that up their bottom, you know. "Don't get me wrong, I'd love to get in a private jet. I'd love to be in a backwards entrance in an airport. "But, you know, I'm a dart player. I will do EasyJet. I will do Ryanair. Because I am what I am. 'I MIGHT EVEN WASH HIS CAR' "Would you travel 12 hours to get to a floor tournament? Would you do that three times in a week? No, you wouldn't. "So I think you should probably reflect… and I don't mean that in a disrespectful way." Seeking not to cause any issues with "There's no PDC player that gets any special treatment. I wish I was. I wish I did. "If this guy wants to invite me on his private jet to go to a tournament, I'm your man. I might even wash his car before it." World No8 Wade will be back in action tomorrow in Blackpool, as he takes on No22 Gian van Veen for a place in the last four. 3 Wade has been in action this week in Blackpool Credit: Shutterstock Editorial
