Latest news with #DarrenClarke
BBC News
3 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Second home owners in part of Surrey hit with double tax bill
Second home owners in a Surrey borough will be hit with double council tax bills in an effort to "combat housing shortages". Spelthorne Borough Council has agreed to introduce a 100% council tax premium on furnished properties that are not used as someone's main home, as reported by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).The change, set to start from 1 April 2027, means affected owners will pay twice the standard council tax rate on their second councillor Darren Clarke said at the council meeting: "There are better ways in order to try and occupy more homes than just increasing the amount of council tax that can be levied against them, in a kind of cash grab." Members agreed to initiate the changes for second homes and properties that have been empty for a year at a full council meeting on Thursday. The decision came after the government changed local authority powers to set council tax for empty second homes.A council report stated the policy was "to encourage owners to bring the properties back into the housing market for occupation to combat housing shortages nationwide whilst obtaining further council tax payments to fund local services".The LDRS reported only 76 properties in the borough would be affected by the change, according to council documents.
New Straits Times
7 days ago
- Sport
- New Straits Times
Former champions Morikawa, Smith, Oosthuizen miss Open cut
PORTRUSH, (Northern Ireland): Former British Open champions Collin Morikawa, Darren Clarke, Zach Johnson, Stewart Cink, Louis Oosthuizen, Padraig Harrington and Cameron Smith missed the cut mark of one over par at Portrush on Friday. Australian Smith, the winner at St Andrews in 2022, finished on eight over, one shot better than Ireland's Harrington, the twice champion who had the honour of hitting the opening tee shot in the tournament. Major champions Adam Scott, Jason Day, Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed also failed to qualify for the weekend. Six-times major winner Phil Mickelson did make the cut on level-par, along with Sweden's Henrik Stenson who beat the American in an epic final-round showdown to lift the 2016 Claret Jug at Troon. — REUTERS
Belfast Telegraph
7 days ago
- Sport
- Belfast Telegraph
Tom McKibbin vents his frustration after missing first Major cut of his career
'Not great. A little bit annoyed. Yeah, a little bit p****d off,' he opined bluntly after firing a two-over second-round 73 to finish the week at three-over-par, two shots too many for the cut line. You could hardly blame him, given he started the day so positively with a birdie at the first, but a double-bogey at the eighth after finding trouble over the green and two more bogeys at the par-fours 11 and 14 were enough to do the damage. He reinvigorated his hopes of making the weekend with a birdie at the 15th to get back to three-over, with the cut at that point threatening to move to two-over, but three pars to finish just wasn't good enough. 'The whole week was good, sort of positive,' he continued. 'I thought I played all right, just a few sort of stupid mistakes that, looking back, I wouldn't really hit different. 'The shot was fine, just sort of missed in the wrong spot or got the club slightly wrong. 'Overall, I actually thought I played quite nicely, just a few silly mistakes.' The Open at Royal Portrush: What happened in 2019 It is another crucial bit of Major experience for the 22-year-old, who has four more events on the LIV Tour to play in before he finishes his season with some DP World Tour invites, even if this was the first he has played where it only lasted for two rounds. He will take plenty of confidence from a strong showing on the greens, where he ranked fourth in strokes gained putting, and how he battled through some punishing weather but, ultimately, it wasn't enough to get him in for the weekend. 'I think that's what's probably most annoying. This is probably the best I've played out of them all,' McKibbin fumed. 'Just so many like stupid errors, just pins at the back of the green, hitting over the green. It's just where there's nothing really wrong with the shot. So, I think that's what's a little bit frustrating.' Meanwhile, if this was Darren Clarke's final appearance at a Major, then it was a great one to go out on, and he gave himself a chance of making the cut even if he did end up missing the number by a considerable distance. The 56-year-old looked visibly emotional as he walked up towards the 18th grandstand to round out a second consecutive three-over 74 to end the week at six-over, but he will not forget holing a 56-footer for birdie on the 10th that fostered hope that he might do something special. In the end, though, five bogeys sunk him, including at the 13th and 18th after the birdie at 10, and it's a missed cut for the Dungannon man. Time will tell, but it could very well be his last in this hallowed event.
CNA
7 days ago
- Sport
- CNA
Former champions Morikawa, Smith, Oosthuizen miss Open cut
PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland :Former British Open champions Collin Morikawa, Darren Clarke, Zach Johnson, Stewart Cink, Louis Oosthuizen, Padraig Harrington and Cameron Smith missed the cut mark of one over par at Portrush on Friday. Australian Smith, the winner at St Andrews in 2022, finished on eight over, one shot better than Ireland's Harrington, the twice champion who had the honour of hitting the opening tee shot in the tournament. Major champions Adam Scott, Jason Day, Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed also failed to qualify for the weekend. Six-times major winner Phil Mickelson did make the cut on level-par, along with Sweden's Henrik Stenson who beat the American in an epic final-round showdown to lift the 2016 Claret Jug at Troon.
Yahoo
18-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
'You wouldn't think I was a member here'
Darren Clarke has joked that you would not think he was a member at Royal Portrush after an opening round of 75 at the Open. The 2011 Open winner struggled with one birdie and six bogeys in his opening 16 holes. However, the 56-year chipped in from the rough on the 17th to collect a shot back and his aim is to make the cut for the weekend. "Four over par wasn't what I was hoping for," Clarke told BBC Sport NI. "In my practice I was hitting the ball nicely, putting nicely and doing everything well. "But that's golf, today it didn't quite happen." Clarke admits his performance on the front nine was littered with "stupid mistakes" that left him questioning 'what am I doing?'. "On the front nine I hit shots that wouldn't make you think I was a member here," he added. "But the chip in on 17 was a huge bonus and it was nice to do something good and positive for the day. I just need to play well tomorrow."
