The Open Day 3: Rory McIlroy press conference
Scottie Scheffler insists he was unaware of Rory McIlroy's charge as he took command of The Open at Portrush
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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.
Irish Times
4 days ago
- Irish Times
Final Major of season the perfect stage for Lottie Woad to confirm her arrival as golf's new superstar
Just one major remains this season, with that honour falling to the AIG Women's Open at Royal Porthcawl in Wales. It will bookend a year in which one player completed the career Grand Slam – none other than Rory McIlroy . It has also been a season that saw Scottie Scheffler claim two of the men's championships, taking home the Wanamaker Trophy as PGA champion and the Claret Jug for his success in the Open at Portrush . That's the men's side of things, with the world's one and two the dominant figures. The women's season has primarily been a story of breakthroughs, with Mao Saigo (Chevron Championship), Maja Stark (US Open) and Grace Kim (Evian Championship) all winning their first majors. Minjee Lee's success in the KPMG Women's PGA – her third major win – was the only one that went to a multiple champion. There is a strong sense of anticipation about what awaits on the Welsh coast this week. Lottie Woad's seismic arrival on to the women's professional circuit has the feel of a superstar emerging before our eyes. As the long-time world amateur number one, Woad (21) – winner of the Augusta National women's amateur championship last year and a star turn in Britain and Ireland's Curtis Cup win – had been flagged as one to watch. READ MORE However, the English star's win in the KPMG Irish Women's Open at Carton House kicked off the sort of hot form line that only someone like Nelly Korda has managed in recent years on the LPGA Tour. Woad followed that Irish Open win with a third-placed finish in the Evian – a major. That form saw her earn a full LPGA Tour card through the elite pathway route. She brought that momentum to Dundonald Links, where she won the KPMG Scottish Open on her professional debut. Woad is already in the top 25 on the Rolex world rankings. Her swift impact on the professional game has added a new dimension to women's golf. It must be close to certain that Anna Nordqvist will pencil her in for next year's Solheim Cup in the Netherlands. Woad has acquired veteran caddie Dermot Byrne, who previously caddied for Shane Lowry and Leona Maguire . The partnership has been very successful so far and there is a further Irish connection as Novellus, a Dublin finance institution, is one of her main sponsors. Lottie Woad with her caddie Dermot Byrne during the final round of the Women's Scottish Open at Dundonald Links Golf Course last weekend. Photograph:Of her seamless transition from an amateur to tour life, Woad remarked: 'I think just getting experience is great. I played a lot of majors and pro events before [winning in Scotland]. So it wasn't all new, really. I think the more experiences you give yourself, the better.' While she is the new poster girl for women's professional golf and clearly has an exciting journey ahead, there are others who will be looking to find a major breakthrough at Royal Porthcawl. Among them will be three Irish players. Leona Maguire has hit decent form of late, with top-10s in each of the last two majors. She has fond memories of this part of Wales having won her Amateur Championship title at nearby Pyle & Kenfig in 2017. The two other Irish players in the field for the season's final major are Lauren Walsh, who earned her place off the LET current season order of merit, and rookie Anna Foster, who earned her place in the field through final qualifying at Pyle & Kenfig. On the PGA Tour, this week's Wyndham Championship is the final event of the regular season before the leading 60 players move on to the FedEx Cup playoffs (Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry are among those guaranteed to progress). However, Séamus Power will need to deliver something special at Wyndham as he is currently 130th in the rankings. That leaves him in a fight to retain full playing privileges, which go the top 100 in the rankings. With no event on the DP World Tour this week, the focus is on the Scottish Challenge at Roxburghe on the HotelPlanner Tour where Max Kennedy, Liam Nolan, Daniel Mulligan, Alex Maguire, Mark Power, Dermot McElroy and Jonathan Caldwell are in the field.
Irish Examiner
4 days ago
- Irish Examiner
Harrington gets head straight to dodge twin perils of overthinking and relaxation
The fact he was struggling with his game gave Pádraig Harrington a mental edge in the final round of the Senior Open at Sunningdale on Sunday. In a fascinating insight into his mental outlook these days, Harrington revealed he was unhappy with aspects of his preparation and swing, despite leading by two shots going into Sunday's fourth round. Breaking down the mechanics of his swing struggles, Harrington revealed his abilty to now cope with something less than perfection. "I've been struggling this week. I've been really struggling with my coordination. I've been spinning out of it and just can't get my arms to keep up. Body was going too quick. "When you are struggling, your expectations go down and you can be better mentally and I certainly was excellent all day mentally, and to be honest, I hit it a lot better than I thought. I played a lot better than I thought. I'm sure from the outside, they looked pretty simple, and to be honest, most of the day, it was. "I think I really had a bad warmup, like really bad, again. And I just think when you go out like that, you just are prepared to get the job done with wherever the ball goes; you're going to hit the shot. You're going to get it. Your expectations go down. "I managed myself very well. I tried to swing the smoothest, slowest I could all day. Just tried to really swing within myself. Just try to tone it down and as I said just get around it. I happened to play quite well as it turned out. I didn't overthink it when I was on the golf course. I hit some beautiful iron shots to start off. "So yeah, it worked very nicely but I was prepared for a fight to be honest, and I was surprised I probably played as well as I did, and I had a lot of nice chances all day. "I'm sure from the outside it looked very comfortable, but there was at times, there was a little bit of turmoil in my own head at times." Harrington took the title by three shots from Thomas Bjorn and Justin Leonard. Just as he has learned to cope with feeling below par, he is now acutely aware of the pitfalls of relaxing when a round is going well. "I don't want to relax. That has cost me in the past. One of my worst traits is when I lost a Senior PGA a few weeks ago by relaxing. I get ahead of myself, and you know, sometimes when it's an easy shot, easy tee shot, I can lose focus. "So I want to stay hyped up. And to be honest, I think today, because I wasn't comfortable with my swing, I never let my guard down. I was always into it and focused all day, and yeah, I think that fear really does help me, and certainly, I'm not one for wanting to be relaxed out there because I don't think any of my best performances ever happened that way." Harrington became just the fifth player to win the The Open and the Senior Open, joining Irishmen Darren Clarke and Christy O'Connor Jr. "As you get older, you realise a lot of things is legacy and what you've done and you want to win on a great golf course like Sunningdale. You want to do things that stand out, and having won a real Open, coming out, winning the Senior Open, it does give some — it adds a validation. It's certainly satisfying to do it, to extend your career that way. "There are some great names on the trophy. I was watching it coming out last night. I was looking up inside at the board that has all the winners. It's a deep sense of satisfaction. I'm kind of on a high of winning, but then there will be that deep sense of satisfaction knowing that you've done both. "I'm thrilled to have won but very satisfied that I've won a Senior Open with my two Opens. The fact that only five people have ever done it is quite special. I'm quite proud that I've managed to survive this long in the game. "Longevity, at this stage, I think we look for a lot of things about our legacy in the game. The fact that I'm only the fifth person to have done that double, that's pretty special."
