Latest news with #IrishOpen
Irish Examiner
2 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Keegan Bradley busy finalising US Ryder Cup details - and pushing for a spot
Irish angles on the 2025 Open leaderboard aren't restricted to those born on this island. China Haotong Li, eight-under par after two 67s, has spoken before of the key role played in his development as a player in Shanghai by PGA pro Paul McLoughlin who was director of golf at a club outside the city. Tony Finau leapt into the top ten with a second-round 67 and on his bag for this week, and this week only, is the veteran Colin Byrne. Rasmus Hojgaard, three off the lead at the halfway stage, won last year's Irish Open at Royal County Down. Keegan Bradley, whose grandparents hailed from Cork, is just outside the top ten after a second-round 68 that leaves him on four-under par, and that raises again the question over what will happen should he continue his good recent form. USA team captain for September's Ryder Cup, Bradley sits ninth in the standings with the top six qualifying automatically. The last time there was a playing captain at the event was Arnold Palmer back in 1963. Bradley has been asked incessantly about this and he described it again on Friday as an 'everyday job' and one that he only ever steps away from when inside the ropes. So what if he sits seventh, say, in the standings come the cutoff point in mid-August? 'Nothing about picking whoever it is is going to be easy, but if I get to that position and I feel like I'm going to help the team then I'll consider playing. But I really get asked that question ten times a day, and I don't really have an answer.' Bradley has had numerous chats with Tiger Woods, who has served as a playing captain for the USA's President's Cup team in the past, about this theoretical dilemma but described the Ryder Cup as a very different animal. Other preparations for Bethpage are well advanced, including the order of play for the three days. 'We're very close. The home team usually plays a certain way. You can look it up. We're very close to signing the captain's agreement and getting the course of play set.' Team Europe captain Luke Donald will make his captain's picks after the Betfred British Masters is done on August 24th. Europe will also have six automatic qualifiers with Shane Lowry currently in the last of those.
Irish Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Jon Rahm doesn't hold back as he makes thoughts perfectly clear about Irish golf
LIV Golf star Jon Rahm may not have had the smoothest of starts to The Open at Royal Portrush, but the Spaniard has made no secret about his love for Ireland. Rahm finished Thursday tied for 19th alongside the likes of Rory McIlroy, who staged a strong recovery, and Shane Lowry, who also endured a tough start. Yet speaking ahead of the major, Rahm opened up on how he was left breathless by Portrush when playing there back in the 2014 Amateur Championship. The 30-year-old is a two-time Irish Open winner too, having won the 2019 title at Lahinch and the 2017 event at Portstewart. He also finished T11 when Lowry won the 2019 Open at Portrush, and he eulogised about his time spent on the links in this part of the world. "I don't know what it is. I think every week I've had in Ireland has been such a wonderful experience," said Rahm at LIV Golf Andalucia last week. "Whether it's the golf course, the tournament, the people, I don't know. "I really couldn't tell you exactly what it is. But every time I've gone it's been overwhelmingly positive, so I think that's led to me playing good. Or simply the fact that the first time I ever went to Ireland, to Portstewart in Northern Ireland, I played so good that I just kind of carried on. "But every experience I've had there has been great. The times we've gone, even if it's on time off with the family or tournaments, it's always been such a great one that whenever I go back, I think I feed off of that. When it comes to golf, I don't know if there's any secret to it, really." Rahm claimed that playing in Northern Ireland is a "wonderful experience" (Image: 2025 Getty Images) Despite his complimentary stance on Portrush, one fan did manage to rub Rahm up the wrong way on Thursday. After lining up to tee off in front of a hearty crowd, he appeared to be whistled at while shaping up for his backswing. After sending his drive into the long grass, the two-time major winner was then visibly frustrated as he held his arms out and faced fans to vent his anger. "Really? Whistling? Great timing. Right on my backstroke. Really clever, whoever that was," Rahm fumed. He is now hoping to taste victory in this competition for the first time after finishing as joint runner-up in 2023 - the same year he secured his maiden title at The Masters. Rahm took issue with a section of fans on Thursday (Image: R&A via Getty Images) While the 2021 US Open champion will be looking to make an impact at Portrush, it's etching his place in Luke Donald's Ryder Cup team that's very much in the back of his mind. The Ryder Cup begins on September 26 and Rahm gave a slightly irritated response when asked if he had been thinking about the event going into The Open, all too aware that he will need a solid performance if he wants to ensure automatic qualification. "I don't know how many times I can answer yes to that question," Rahm told reporters this week. "Yeah, it's been on my mind. It's been on my mind a year ago, and it will continue on my mind as long as I play golf in my career. "So the Ryder Cup is always there. Obviously when I wake up in the morning here, I'm thinking about this, but the Ryder Cup will always be on my mind."
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Jon Rahm goes off on Open Championship fan for ‘whistling' during backswing
The post Jon Rahm goes off on Open Championship fan for 'whistling' during backswing appeared first on ClutchPoints. The Open Championship at Royal Portrush is underway on Thursday morning. Coming into the week, Jon Rahm was seen as one of the favorites. A two-time Irish Open Champion, he has had tremendous success on links golf courses. But, he has not won The Open. Things are off to a rough start for Jon Rahm at The Open Championship at Royal Portrush, a evidenced by this clip. Rahm hit his tee shot on the 11th hole Thursday morning and immediately turned to yell at a fan. 'Really? Whistling? Great timing,' Rahm said. In the clip posted by Golf Digest's Christopher Powers, the whistling comes through. But Rahm heard it and blamed it on his poor shot. The drive went only 249 yards and burrowed into the right rough. Rahm made a bogey. Rahm has three top-ten finishes in the Open Championship, all coming since 2021. He finished third, four shots behind Collin Morikawa, in 2021, a distant second in 2023, and tied for seventh in 2024. With wins already at The Masters and U.S. Open, the formula is there for the Spaniard to take home the Claret Jug. Unlike many players who left the PGA Tour for LIV Golf, Rahm's play in the majors has not deteriorated. He has finished in the top ten in three of his last four majors, with the lone exception being a T-14 at The Masters. All of that said, Rahm has had his issues with hot-headedness on the course throughout his career. If that comes back at Royal Portrush, he won't have much of a chance in a crowded field. Rahm ended up getting this stroke back by making a birdie on the 14th hole. Can he recover from a poor stretch in this round to scare the lead on Thursday morning? ClutchPoints has you covered on all things Open Championship all week long. Related: Scottie Scheffler shines in Open Championship opening round amid driver woes Related: Phil Mickelson snaps major funk with surprise Open Championship opening round
Belfast Telegraph
3 days ago
- Sport
- Belfast Telegraph
The Open: Weather warning comes into force as eagle takes leader clear at the top
No holding back from the LIV golfer, who won the Irish Open at Portstewart, as he launches his drive straight down the middle on the first. Makes it look easy. He's heading out alongside Xander Schauffele and JJ Spaun as we enter the feature group section, with Brooks Koepka up ahead (and -1 after a birdie at the first) and the combo of Shane Lowry, Collin Morikawa and Scottie Scheffler coming behind.
Irish Examiner
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Examiner
Darren Clarke back at Royal Portrush with high hopes for McIlroy
The 7am tee-time practice trio on Tuesday at Royal Portrush: Darren Clarke, Rory McIlroy, Tom McKibbin. The galleries grew and grew. The venue for the Open this week was the site of a starstruck McIlroy meeting Clarke on his 10th birthday in 1999. Clarke's foundation played a key role in the early development of McIlroy. McKibbin, as a 13-year-old playing at McIlroy's home club in Holywood, was invited by him to play in the Irish Open's pro-am in 2016. The connections are as uplifting as they are strong. Clarke's description of seeing McIlroy win the Masters in April, completing his set of majors, is therefore understandable. 'I watched every shot,' Clarke says. 'I couldn't take my eyes off it. Rory winning there was almost like watching my two boys, Tyrone and Conor, win. I was that emotional. 'I have known Rory for so long, I know his talent and his journey. To get over the line and do it, in true Rory fashion keeping us on the edge of our seats until the very end … It was destiny for Rory to join that exalted company. I was very proud just watching it. If I gave a 0.0001% help in his journey then brilliant but it was more pride, knowing him as I do. It isn't often you will watch something and feel like you are watching your own two boys play.' Clarke has never claimed any credit for McIlroy's achievements. That will not change. McKibbin and Shane Lowry also had involvement with Clarke's foundation. 'I was just trying to help,' he says. 'I don't seek publicity for it because that isn't why I do it. Half of my foundation is to support breast cancer research [his first wife, Heather, died of the disease in 2006], half is to help the development of junior golf in Ireland, so that is all close to my heart.' The 56-year-old recalls not only that 1999 meeting but the early buzz around McIlroy. 'I am not saying this to be all 'I told you so' but you could see back then how good he was, how much potential he had,' Clarke says. 'Now, potential and turning into the player that he has become are two different things but the talent he showed even from that age was just incredible. He was gifted, totally gifted.' All evidence suggests McIlroy has rediscovered his mojo after a brief post-Masters lull. Clarke knows the scenario; his life was hugely altered by lifting the Claret Jug in 2011. 'I'm not in any shape or form comparing what I did with Rory but when you search and go for so long trying to achieve your goals, sometimes it is hard to have a reset afterwards,' Clarke says. 'He has achieved what only five other people in the history of our game have, so it's no wonder there is a reset for him. The reception he will get at Portrush will be unbelievable.' Darren Clarke holds the Claret Jug after winning the 2011 Open at Royal St George's in Sandwich, Kent. File picture: Ross Kinnaird/Getty Clarke's own situation is fascinating on two fronts. He was on course to make the cut in 2019 before a nightmarish triple-bogey seven on his 36th hole. Clarke returns to the Dunluce Links, where the 9th hole has been named after him, knowing this could be his final Open. Motivation stems in part from events of six years ago. 'I was fuming,' he admits. 'All my years of experience and to do that on the last hole … I had played so nicely. It wasn't steam coming out of my ears, it was lava. The 'new me' as I get older? Bollocks to that! That irritated me a lot. It hurt me. I have never played tournaments just to make that cut but I was comfortably inside the line and to do that was beyond frustrating.' Clarke is undecided on whether this Open will mean goodbye. He remains not only hugely competitive on the Champions Tour in the US but a prodigious worker. 'I had gone through a spell of missing the Open cut too many times in a row but last year I actually played OK without having a great weekend. This year I have been playing really nicely without putting well. So I will see, I don't know. I really haven't made my mind up. If it gets to the stage where I think I have no chance of having a semi decent week, of making the cut, then I definitely won't play. 'I love Portrush, that goes without saying. It is just a very special place for me. If this is to be my last one, there isn't a better place. I am determined to really enjoy this one. Sometimes, I have tried so hard that I haven't been able to enjoy where I am.' Clarke was a staunch advocate of the Open's return to Portrush after a 68-year hiatus. Peter Dawson, the former chief executive of the R&A, took on the case. 'I kept chirping at Peter's ear,' Clarke says. 'I think he ended up trying to avoid me at all costs. It was a bold move on his behalf to commit to bringing the Open to Portrush. It was great the last time; this one will be even better. They could easily just have come back for one but they didn't, they committed.' Darren Clarke, Rory McIlroy and Tom McKibbin played a practice round together this week. Picture: Ben Brady/Inpho Clarke encountered the Troubles. He comprehends what it means for Northern Ireland to showcase itself now on a global sporting stage. 'Bombs and shootings became part and parcel of life,' Clarke says. 'You were always wary. I think playing golf and playing in tournaments all over Ireland from a young age got me thinking there was more going on, about what was happening back home not making any sense. We have come an awful long way from that. 'That's not at all to say other places in the world haven't had bad times but you grew up in a tough time. I was fortunate my parents gave me everything to allow me to play golf, which in turn let me see what opportunity was possible back in those days.' The final words, and intriguing ones, are for McKibbin. 'I have spent a lot of time with Tom, we have the same coach,' Clarke says. 'He is the real deal. He just flushes the ball. He is eager, he wants to learn so much.' It feels sensible to take note. - The Guardian
