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Royal Portrush seals its long-term place on Open roster

Royal Portrush seals its long-term place on Open roster

Irish Examiner4 days ago
The mini-bus had just pulled away from the course on Saturday evening when an American voice summed up her group's day. 'Glad to have seen and done that,' she said, 'but golf really is a TV sport.'
The visitors from across The Pond had come to a realization that millions before her had landed on down the years, but the demand for up close and personal experiences when it comes to the game's world-class players remains stratospheric.
Somewhere in the region of 280,000 people walked the ground of the Dunluce Course, queued for the hangar-sized merchandise store, and ate and drank from the dozens of concession stands over the span of seven days.
It's a record crowd for a Championship outside of St Andrews and that alone explains why the tournament was back in Antrim after just six years and why R&A chief executive Mark Darbon predicted it would again for years to come.
Money talks.
The course stood up too, even in weekend conditions that were far kinder than predicted, thanks to a track that Jon Rahm among others described as hard but fair. Scottie Scheffler and Bryson DeChambeau's 64s were the lowest totals all week.
'It was amazing,' said the American Chris Gotterup who finished third a week after his win in Scotland. 'I was saying all week I felt like here they have a really good understanding of what's going on and the golf that's being played.'
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‘Catastrophic' – New 16,000-seater Championship stadium delayed by ‘ancient woodland' amid warnings over club's future
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‘Catastrophic' – New 16,000-seater Championship stadium delayed by ‘ancient woodland' amid warnings over club's future

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Most of the attention this summer has been on two-pointers – on which counties are scoring them and which counties are not even attempting them. However, a key aspect of the attacking play of both finalists is that they haven't forgotten the score that produces the most impact. Galway were the most prolific in raising green flags this Championship campaign, with 17 across eight games (2.13 goals per game), but Kerry are just behind them with 15 in eight games (1.88 goals per game). Donegal are no slouches themselves, third overall for total goals, with 13. That figure is aided by the amount of games they've played, but they are still fifth in goals per game, scoring 1.3. The counties have come across their goals by very different means. Kerry have scored 15 goals and it will be no surprise to anyone that David Clifford has amassed more than half that tally, with eight goals. A concern for the Kingdom is that Clifford is the only man to raise a green flag since May. 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Roscommon's kickout goes to an isolated player, who is already surrounded by Kerry players looking to intercept David Clifford has been their go-to man since his intercounty arrival and he is the focal point of the Kerry attack more than ever this year. He has scored a total of 8-53 this summer. With such a potent inside forward, the Kerry game plan is often about getting the ball in there rapidly. Clifford cuts out a kickout against Cork and scores a goal directly from the high press Some of Kerry's goals really emphasise their kick passing skills. Seán O'Shea delivered a well executed sideline ball into Clifford for the first goal against Cavan. There was a lot left for the Fossa man to do as he won the ball on the 20m line, but he broke the tackle and drove hard along the endline before firing into the back of net. 'Get the ball in, it's one on one' seems to be the tactic with Clifford. 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This emphasises how much of a 'through-the-hands' team they are. This aspect of their play is the real hallmark of Jim McGuinness 's outfit, who are able to give and receive hand passes at full pace going forward. This skill execution at full pace is only an aspect of their style though, as hard running and finishing out support runs is key to it all working. Shaun Patton's huge kickout and Donegal's willing runners open up space in the scoring zone against Down Donegal players from all parts of the field run hard during quick attacks, getting ahead of the ball and stretching opposition defences considerably. This is likely to be a key battleground in Sunday's encounter. Kerry have a sturdy central channel but they haven't met the 'sprint repeatability' that Donegal possess through the central channels. 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While goals are only a small aspect of the play, they highlight three broader strengths of the finalists: Donegal 1 – The weapon of Shaun Patton's long kickouts. 2 – Players finishing out their runs to create gaps and stretch opposition defences. 3 – Lack of reliance on any individual to score, with trust in the unit. Kerry 1 – Sticking to traditional values of aggressive kick passing to the inside forward line (something that hasn't been as prevalent as expected with the new rules) 2 – Defensive kickout press, which is even more important for stronger teams than their own kickout. 3 – The brilliance of David Clifford, with the other players knowing this and feeding him ball.

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