Latest news with #Englishman
Irish Independent
2 hours ago
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Nick Faldo identifies where Rory McIlroy sits among the all-time greats of European golf
Faldo believes McIlroy's Grand Slam win last April at the Masters ensured he has achieved more than he did in his own career Nick Faldo believes Rory McIlroy is on course to go down in history as the greatest European golfer of all-time and hinted a victory for the newest member of the sport's Grand Slam club in this week's Open Championship at Portrush could end the debate. Englishman Faldo's six major titles were made up of three Masters green jackets and three wins at The Open between 1989 and 1996, with five-time major winner McIlroy looking to join him on that number by winning this year's Open on home soil at Portrush this week.
The Herald Scotland
2 hours ago
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Stage is set as The Open swings into action at Portrush
But wait a minute. Not everything is going up. The Open prize fund, for instance, is remaining at its 2024 level of $17 million, which should just about be enough to a buy a three-course meal and a half-pint at one of Ramore's joints. The Open always provides plenty of food for thought, doesn't it? Mark Darbon, the new chief executive of the R&A, is overseeing his first championship this week having taken over the reins from Martin Slumbers at the tail end of 2024. The amiable Englishman came from a very different ball game of rugby. Anything, then, that has struck you about the world of golf, Mr Darbon? 'I've learnt pretty quickly that the golf industry loves a good lunch and a good dinner,' he said with a smile. Maybe not at bloomin' Portrush prices, though. Hopefully, we all get to feast on some fine golfing fare over the next four days as the 153rd Open finally gets cracking. The glorious, sweeping Dunluce links will provide a wonderfully robust examination. Poise and patience is demanded, driving accuracy will be at a premium while dunting the ball from tight lies to those elevated putting surfaces will call for guile, confidence and a strong nerve. When local hero, Rory McIlroy, takes to the tee to get his assault on the Claret Jug underway, it will be impossible for the mind not to zip back to 2019 and the jaw-dropping start he made to the championship here six years ago. With the kind of burdensome weight on his shoulders that would've buckled the legs of Atlas, it all went hideously wrong as McIlroy crashed to a debris-strewn 79. Royal Portrush has a 16th called Calamity and a 17th known as Purgatory and poor old Rory got a grim, bitter taste of both those things on the very first hole when he racked up a ruinous quadruple eight during an engrossingly appalling spectacle that really should've been held behind a police cordon. As he returns in 2025, there's something of a score to settle. But there's nothing to prove. His win in April's Masters ended his 11-year major drought and finally gave him the career grand slam. He didn't just get a monkey off his back. It was almost like an entire planet of the apes. 'How good would it be to bookend the major season; win the first one, win the last one?,' pondered McIlroy, who seems to be back in fine golfing fettle after a post-Masters malaise. Many will be backing him to do it this week. Ahead of a major, of course, all and sundry have a good stab at predicting the unpredictable. Pundits, punters, experts, analysts, past players, swing gurus, soothsayers, religious zealots? Even the golf writers have a go at it. Predictions, as we all know in this game of wildly fluctuating fortunes, tend to be a fool's errand. The high-profile thoroughbreds get saddled with the usual expectations while the field also features more dark horses than Zorro's stables. Xander Schauffele's triumph at Royal Troon 12 months ago extended the current streak of first-time winners of the Claret Jug to 11. Will we get another come Sunday night? The whole them and us palaver generated by the LIV Golf rebellion, meanwhile, seems to have slipped off into the background with no sign yet of any deal to bring everybody together. The ongoing schism could return to the fore, of course, should a LIV golfer triumph here on the Antrim coast. They have as good a chance as anyone. Jon Rahm has won two Irish Opens on links courses and relishes the competition and the cut-and-thrust in this neck of the golfing woods. The Spaniard claimed one of those Irish titles just along the road from Portrush at Portstewart. Scotland's hopes of a first champion since Paul Lawrie in 1999 rest with Robert McIntyre. England's wait is even longer. You have to go back to Nick Faldo in 1992. Many moons ago, another Englishman, the colourful Max Faulkner, won The Open the first time Portrush staged the championship in 1951. Sitting on a six-shot lead heading into the closing round, the story, told in many forms, suggests that Faulkner signed a ball for a young autograph hunter with the scribble, 'Max Faulkner, Open champion 1951'. Fortunately for Faulker, he didn't blow it. Some 8000 spectators watched the action unfold on that final day 74 years ago. In 2025, 1.2 million applications poured in for 280,000 tickets in the ballot. A mighty Open stage is set.
The National
3 hours ago
- Business
- The National
Stage is set as The Open swings into action at Portrush
The Ramore Group, which runs a number of well-kent eateries and drinking establishments in the town, suffered withering criticism and biting ridicule after increasing the cost of a chicken pasta dish from £14.95 to £27.95 during the championship. But wait a minute. Not everything is going up. The Open prize fund, for instance, is remaining at its 2024 level of $17 million, which should just about be enough to a buy a three-course meal and a half-pint at one of Ramore's joints. The Open always provides plenty of food for thought, doesn't it? Mark Darbon, the new chief executive of the R&A, is overseeing his first championship this week having taken over the reins from Martin Slumbers at the tail end of 2024. The amiable Englishman came from a very different ball game of rugby. Anything, then, that has struck you about the world of golf, Mr Darbon? 'I've learnt pretty quickly that the golf industry loves a good lunch and a good dinner,' he said with a smile. Maybe not at bloomin' Portrush prices, though. Hopefully, we all get to feast on some fine golfing fare over the next four days as the 153rd Open finally gets cracking. The glorious, sweeping Dunluce links will provide a wonderfully robust examination. Poise and patience is demanded, driving accuracy will be at a premium while dunting the ball from tight lies to those elevated putting surfaces will call for guile, confidence and a strong nerve. When local hero, Rory McIlroy, takes to the tee to get his assault on the Claret Jug underway, it will be impossible for the mind not to zip back to 2019 and the jaw-dropping start he made to the championship here six years ago. With the kind of burdensome weight on his shoulders that would've buckled the legs of Atlas, it all went hideously wrong as McIlroy crashed to a debris-strewn 79. Royal Portrush has a 16th called Calamity and a 17th known as Purgatory and poor old Rory got a grim, bitter taste of both those things on the very first hole when he racked up a ruinous quadruple eight during an engrossingly appalling spectacle that really should've been held behind a police cordon. As he returns in 2025, there's something of a score to settle. But there's nothing to prove. His win in April's Masters ended his 11-year major drought and finally gave him the career grand slam. He didn't just get a monkey off his back. It was almost like an entire planet of the apes. 'How good would it be to bookend the major season; win the first one, win the last one?,' pondered McIlroy, who seems to be back in fine golfing fettle after a post-Masters malaise. Many will be backing him to do it this week. Ahead of a major, of course, all and sundry have a good stab at predicting the unpredictable. Pundits, punters, experts, analysts, past players, swing gurus, soothsayers, religious zealots? Even the golf writers have a go at it. Predictions, as we all know in this game of wildly fluctuating fortunes, tend to be a fool's errand. The high-profile thoroughbreds get saddled with the usual expectations while the field also features more dark horses than Zorro's stables. Xander Schauffele's triumph at Royal Troon 12 months ago extended the current streak of first-time winners of the Claret Jug to 11. Will we get another come Sunday night? The whole them and us palaver generated by the LIV Golf rebellion, meanwhile, seems to have slipped off into the background with no sign yet of any deal to bring everybody together. The ongoing schism could return to the fore, of course, should a LIV golfer triumph here on the Antrim coast. They have as good a chance as anyone. Jon Rahm has won two Irish Opens on links courses and relishes the competition and the cut-and-thrust in this neck of the golfing woods. The Spaniard claimed one of those Irish titles just along the road from Portrush at Portstewart. Scotland's hopes of a first champion since Paul Lawrie in 1999 rest with Robert McIntyre. England's wait is even longer. You have to go back to Nick Faldo in 1992. Many moons ago, another Englishman, the colourful Max Faulkner, won The Open the first time Portrush staged the championship in 1951. Sitting on a six-shot lead heading into the closing round, the story, told in many forms, suggests that Faulkner signed a ball for a young autograph hunter with the scribble, 'Max Faulkner, Open champion 1951'. Fortunately for Faulker, he didn't blow it. Some 8000 spectators watched the action unfold on that final day 74 years ago. In 2025, 1.2 million applications poured in for 280,000 tickets in the ballot. A mighty Open stage is set.
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Real Madrid star to be sidelined until October
Real Madrid star to be sidelined until October La Liga giants Real Madrid are expected to be without the services of midfield standout Jude Bellingham until this coming October. That's according to Blancos insider Guillermo Rai of The Athletic, who has on Wednesday provided an update on the Englishman's situation. Advertisement Bellingham is for his part set to go under the knife later today. Following the conclusion of Real Madrid's campaign at the Club World Cup, the 21-year-old has been pencilled in for a long overdue surgical procedure. As much comes with a view to correcting a shoulder concern which has been hampering Bellingham throughout his time in Spain's capital. Xabi Alonso and his staff have long been aware that they will therefore be unable to count on a key figure in Real's squad for the early weeks of the campaign. And as alluded to above, this week, an insight into just how long Bellingham is likely to be sidelined has been provided. As per a report from The Athletic: 'Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham is aiming to return to action in October following shoulder surgery.' Conor Laird – GSFN
New York Post
5 hours ago
- Sport
- New York Post
2025 Open Championship picks, odds: Three prop bets for Royal Portrush
Gambling content 21+. The New York Post may receive an affiliate commission if you sign up through our links. Read our editorial standards for more information. The Open Championship is one of the great betting events on the sporting calendar. Played on a picturesque course in challenging conditions, the British Open is always full of surprises. The unique setup of the Open makes it a bettor's delight, especially for value-hunters who like to play plus-money props. There's a full menu of them to choose from, but we've whittled that list down to our three favorites, all of which are sitting at 8/1 or longer. 2025 Open Championship prop bets Marco Penge top-10 finish (+800, bet365) Penge is going to be a popular pick in betting markets, pools and DFS, but his form is pretty tough to ignore. The Englishman won the Hainan Classic at the end of April, and he's kept that form of late with a T11 at the BMW International Open two weeks ago and then a T2 at the Scottish Open last weekend. This seems like a savvy way to get in on Penge. Marco Penge finished T2 at the 2025 Scottish Open. Getty Images Taylor Pendrith top debutant (+900, bet365) There's a deep group of players making their debuts at the Open Championship, but Pendrith stands out after his T13 at the Scottish Open. Pendrith's toughest competition in this market will be Chris Gotterup, Harry Hall and JJ Spaun, but he's being offered at better prices than those four, and his form makes him a worthy play. The Canadian has finished 15th or better in three of his last six outings. Get the lowdown on the Best USA Sports Betting Sites and Apps Miss-the-cut parlay: Rory McIlroy/Bryson DeChambeau/Jordan Spieth/Sepp Straka (164/1) The Open Championship will always humble plenty of players, so it's a good tournament for a big-ticket miss-the-cut parlay. This one comes out to 164/1 with the prices at bet365. McIlroy has been money for most of 2025 and has a serious claim to be the best golfer in the world this season, but he's had some swings and misses at the Open in recent years. The Northern Irishman missed the cut at Royal Portrush in 2019, finished T46 in 2021, third in 2022, T6 in 2023 and then missed the weekend again in 2024. That's two MCs in his last five starts in this event, not bad for the 5/1 price on him to make it 3-in-6. As for DeChambeau, his biggest weapon gets muted in these conditions, and Spieth is such a volatile player at this point that the +162 price on this prop is worth the risk. Straka has been ascendant over the past few years and is now the No. 8 golfer in the world per OWGR, but he's missed the cut in all three majors this season. Why Trust New York Post Betting Michael Leboff is a long-suffering Islanders fan, but a long-profiting sports bettor with 10 years of experience in the gambling industry. He loves using game theory to help punters win bracket pools, find long shots, and learn how to beat the market in mainstream and niche sports.
