Brian Keogh: PGA preview – Masterful Rory McIlroy the man to beat at Quail Hollow
Who dares often wins at risk-reward Quail Hollow, but after receiving close to six inches of rainfall over the past 10 days, it's more likely that the Bomber Command will have too much firepower for the SAS (short-and-straight) brigade in the 107th PGA Championship.
A par-71 course measuring 7,626 yards would not usually frighten the best players in the world, but so soft are the fairways in this well-heeled corner of Charlotte that it's hard to see players who don't blast the ball 300 yards through the air having much chance of being a factor on Sunday evening.
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Irish Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Rory McIlroy regrets 'horrific' first purchase with PGA Tour winnings
Rory McIlroy, who ranks second on the all-time career earnings list behind Tiger Woods, still recalls his first significant purchase after receiving his initial PGA Tour payout. McIlroy has an estimated net worth of €214 million and career earnings of €91,780,751 from his time on the course. He became the sixth golfer to complete the Grand Slam after clinching the Masters earlier this year. However, his first victory on the PGA Tour came just two days before his 21st birthday at the 2010 Quail Hollow Championship. This maiden win earned him €1million, and it was also the year he joined the PGA Tour. McIlroy has confessed to making a "horrific" purchase when he received his first paycheck. When quizzed about his first major buy after joining the PGA Tour, McIlroy recalled splurging on a watch. "With diamonds around it. It was horrific. I can't believe it was like the worst purchase ever. It was so bad," he admitted, reports the Irish Star. Despite this early misstep, McIlroy remains a watch aficionado with an impressive collection. However, he does regret the diamond-encrusted timepiece he bought back in 2010. When asked about the make and model of the watch, McIlroy responded: "I do. It's not the make and model that I'm sponsored by now, so I'm not going to say it." Omega has backed McIlroy since 2013, and limited edition timepieces crafted by the firm feature in his collection. McIlroy serves as a brand ambassador for Omega, though he's also been spotted sporting Audemars Piguet watches. Whilst McIlroy expressed regret over buying the mysterious timepiece, he also utilised his media session at the Caves Valley Golf Club to address the Ryder Cup. The tournament will take place at Bethpage Black Course in New York from Sept. 23-28, and McIlroy has already begun playing psychological warfare. McIlroy acknowledged that he's been approached to serve as a playing captain for Team Europe, but rejected the proposition every time it's been put forward. McIlroy then insisted it wasn't feasible due to the increased responsibilities and media duties. Keegan Bradley will lead Team U.S. and might become the first playing captain since Arnold Palmer in 1963. With fewer than six weeks remaining until the 2025 Ryder Cup, McIlroy suggested that Bradley's position would be taxing if he accepts the challenge. "I don't think you can do it," McIlroy said. "I just think the commitments that a captain has the week of -- you think about the extra media that a captain has to do, you think about the extra meetings that the captains have to do with the vice captains, with the PGA of America. "In Keegan's case, preparing your speech for the opening ceremony -- just there's a lot of things that people don't see that the captain does the week of the Ryder Cup, especially now that the Ryder Cup has become so big. "If you'd have said it 20 years ago, I'd say, yeah, it was probably possible to do, but how big of a spectacle and everything that's on the line in a Ryder Cup now, I just think it would be a very difficult position to be in. So I just think for those reasons. "Then the captain isn't going to be on the course all day, so really the captain's only going to be able to play one session on Friday, one session on Saturday. Would you rather not have a player that has the flexibility to go twice if he's playing well? There's a lot of different things that go into it, and that's why I think -- look, it's just my opinion, but I think it would just be very difficult to do."
Irish Daily Mirror
21 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Scheffler slams Irish golf fans for comments 'that were very far over the line'
Scottie Scheffler has hit out at Northern Irish golf supporters for overstepping the mark with remarks made during last month's Open Championship. The world No. 1 secured his second major of the season at Royal Portrush with a total of 17-under-par, despite facing a hostile crowd who were there to cheer on Rory McIlroy during his triumphant homecoming following his Career Grand Slam completion at the Masters in Augusta earlier this year. Whilst Scheffler maintained that the abuse he endured on hostile turf didn't affect his performance, he suggested some spectators went too far with their aggressive behaviour. Following the third round of the BMW Championship at Caves Valley Golf Club, the 29 year old remarked that the atmosphere was mild compared to what he experienced in Northern Ireland. He said: "I didn't see any of that. I played with Bob [MacIntyre] when we were in Scotland. I heard some fairly choice words when I was leading the tournament in Ireland," reports Belfast Live. "I think it's part of it. People have a tendency to say things that are dumb. I can think of a few things that were said to me in the final round in Ireland that were very far over the line. "If you're a fan, it's only going to fire the guy up more, and I think just do your best to behave out there. It can be a little bit silly sometimes." If Scheffler's performance in Portrush was anything to go by, then the remarks certainly sparked something within him that enabled him to raise his game considerably. That's considering he completed the tournament four strokes ahead of his nearest rival, Harris English. McIlroy was regrettably unable to secure back-to-back major championships in 2025 at the Open, finishing in a tie for seventh alongside Xander Schauffele and MacIntyre with a combined score of 10-under. This comes as Scottish rising star MacIntyre has expressed his frustration at some of the remarks he has encountered from American spectators at this week's BMW Championship in Maryland. The 29 year old was leading the field going into the fourth and final round of the competition at 16-under, four shots ahead of second-placed Scheffler. When asked about how a particularly loud spectator on the 14th impacted him, he responded: "Yeah, he was just jeering. He was just shouting I missed it, he's pushed it. Pushed it right in the middle of the hole, I guess." Furthermore, MacIntyre also revealed that supporters were making noise from the moment he approached the first tee-box, stating: "I mean, it started on the first tee. It probably started when I walked down to the range. "It ain't bothering me. It's there. As long as they don't do it within... if they do it outside the shot, it's fair game, but don't do it within the shot that's going to affect myself or Scottie." When questioned whether it motivates him to hear people criticising him around the greens and fairways, he added: "100 percent. It can go two ways. "But look, I grew up all my days amateur golf being the one on the outside looking in, faced not fitting, really fighting for it. What we say in the team, it's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog, and I grew up fighting to be in this position."
RTÉ News
2 days ago
- RTÉ News
Robert MacIntyre four clear of Scottie Scheffler at the BMW Championship; Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry have disappointing rounds
Scotland's Robert MacIntyre has moved four shots clear of Scottie Scheffler after the third round of the BMW Championship but it was a frustrating day for Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry after they posted rounds in the 70s. MacIntyre had come under pressure from Scottie Scheffler during the third round, with the American ultimately taking one shot out of MacIntyre's half-way advantage, but he will take a significant dose of confidence into Sunday after his closing birdie gave him a little extra breathing space. After two blistering rounds of 62 and 64 on the first two days, Saturday's 68, that leaves him at 16 under, was much more of a grind for MacIntyre, who struggled to find the fairways of the Caves Valley course on the third time around. He bogeyed the first after a wayward second shot before a birdie on the par-five fourth, only to find himself in the trees on the fifth, ultimately saving par. MacIntyre, who is on the verge of joining McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood and Justin Rose in qualifying for Europe's Ryder Cup team, birdied again on the ninth and was clearly fired up, appearing to gesture unhappily at the crowd after sinking a putt to save par on the 14th. He narrowly missed a birdie putt on the 17th but it was all smiles on the 18th. "It was a tough, tough start," MacIntyre said on Sky Sports. "Going out with that lead is difficult but if I do my job well these guys have got to do really well to catch me. "A 68 today, it was a struggle at times, through five or six holes, but it's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog and I've got all the fight." Asked about his clash with the galleries on the 14th, MacIntyre laughed as he talked about Ryder Cup rivalries. "We're in America, playing against their sweetheart Scottie, who I get on well with, he's a great guy," he said. "I expected it today and I expect it again tomorrow. You give me crap, I'll give you crap back. I'm not scared of that." Scheffler, on 12 under, had closed the gap with birdies on the fourth, seventh and 11th holes, but a missed putt saw him bogey the 12th. He birdied again on the 14th to sign for a 67 that keeps him firmly in the hunt going into the final day. Sweden's Ludvig Aberg will look to make it a three-horse race after his birdie on the 18th brought him within two shots of Scheffler. Sam Burns and Harry Hall are two further shots back in a tie for fourth, one shot ahead of Fleetwood and Maverick McNealy Tied for 14th on three under is McIIroy after a 71. The Masters Champion started with a double-bogey six on the first and while he picked up shots on four and eight, he gave one back on six. It was a similar mixed bag on the way home; a bogey on 10 was followed by a birdie. Holes 15 and 16 produced bogey/birdie respectively. As for Lowry, he has work to do on Sunday if he wants to make the top-30. At four over, he currently occupies a share of 34th spot on four over after a disappointing 75. A double-bogey five on 17 and a dropped shot at the last compounded a round to forget for the Offaly man.
