Latest news with #post-Masters
Irish Daily Mirror
20-07-2025
- Business
- Irish Daily Mirror
Rory McIlroy strikes it rich despite Portrush Open heartbreak
Rory McIlroy will have to settle with a single major and a Career Grand Slam for 2025 after falling short at the Open Championship in Portrush. McIlroy seemed reinvigorated coming into this one after some patchy form post-Masters. And although he hit it far from his best, the five-time major winner did enough to get himself into the penultimate group on the final day of the Open. Trying to chase down eventual winner and world number one Scottie Scheffler, McIlroy finished in a tie for seventh and seven shots off Scheffler. But he still struck it rich, earning a cool €388,600 to add to his net worth, while Shane Lowry earned a not-so-shabby €58,800 for his week's work. Here is how much each player earned. Full Open Pay Out 1 Scottie Scheffler -17 $3,100,000 (€2,666,000)2 Harris English -13 $1,759,000 (€1,513,000)3 Chris Gotterup -12 $1,128,000 (€970,100)T4 Wyndham Clark -11 $730,667 (€628,800)T4 Matt Fitzpatrick -11 $730,667 (€628,800)T4 Haotong Li -11 $730,667 (€628,800)T7 Robert MacIntyre -10 $451,834 (€388,600)T7 Xander Schauffele -10 $451,834 (€388,600) T7 Rory McIlroy -10 $451,834 (€388,600) T10 Bryson DeChambeau -9 $304,650 (€261,000)T10 Corey Conners -9 $304,650 (€261,000)T10 Brian Harman -9 $304,650 (€261,000)T10 Russell Henley -9 $304,650 (€261,000)T14 Rickie Fowler -8 $240,000 (€206,400)T14 Nicolai Hojgaard -8 $240,000 (€206,400)T16 Jesper Svensson -7 $185,258 (€159,300)T16 Hideki Matsuyama -7 $185,258 (€159,300)T16 Tommy Fleetwood -7 $185,258 (€159,300)T16 John Parry -7 $185,258 (€159,300)T16 Justin Rose -7 $185,258 (€159,300)T16 Rasmus Hojgaard -7 $185,258 (€159,300)T16 Tyrrell Hatton -7 $185,258 (€159,300)T23 Maverick McNealy -6 $138,040 (€118,700)T23 J.J. Spaun -6 $138,040 (€118,700)T23 Lucas Glover -6 $138,040 (€118,700)T23 Dustin Johnson -6 $138,040 (€118,700)T23 Ludvig Aberg -6 $138,040 (€118,700)T28 Harry Hall -5 $119,950 (€103,200)T28 Oliver Lindell -5 $119,950 (€103,200)T30 Daniel Berger -4 $104,850 (€90,200)T30 Akshay Bhatia -4 $104,850 (€90,200)T30 Keegan Bradley -4 $104,850 (€90,200)T30 Kristoffer Reitan -4 $104,850 (€90,200)T34 Sergio Garcia -3 $86,517 (€74,400)T34 Aaron Rai -3 $86,517 (€74,400)T34 Jon Rahm -3 $86,517 (€74,400)T34 Justin Thomas -3 $86,517 (€74,400)T34 Christiaan Bezuidenhout -3 $86,517 (€74,400)T34 Lee Westwood -3 $86,517 (€74,400) T40 Shane Lowry -2 $68,340 (€58,800) T40 Jordan Spieth -2 $68,340 (€58,800)T40 Jason Kokrak -2 $68,340 (€58,800)T40 Takumi Kanaya -2 $68,340 (€58,800)T40 Nathan Kimsey -2 $68,340 (€58,800)T45 Matt Wallace -1 $51,186 (€44,000)T45 Matthew Jordan -1 $51,186 (€44,000)T45 Thomas Detry -1 $51,186 (€44,000)T45 Henrik Stenson -1 $51,186 (€44,000)T45 Jordan Smith -1 $51,186 (€44,000)T45 Sam Burns -1 $51,186 (€44,000)T45 Thriston Lawrence -1 $51,186 (€44,000)T52 Adrien Saddier E $44,350 (€38,100)T52 Sepp Straka E $44,350 (€38,100)T52 Marc Leishman E $44,350 (€38,100)T52 Sungjae Im E $44,350 (€38,100)T56 Phil Mickelson 1 $42,334 (€36,400)T56 Jhonattan Vegas 1 $42,334 (€36,400)T56 Tony Finau 1 $42,334 (€36,400)T59 Antoine Rozner 2 $41,550 (€35,700)T59 Justin Leonard 2 $41,550 (€35,700)T61 Dean Burmester 3 $41,100 (€35,300)T61 Romain Langasque 3 $41,100 (€35,300)T63 Riki Kawamoto 4 $40,280 (€34,600)T63 Andrew Novak 4 $40,280 (€34,600)T63 Viktor Hovland 4 $40,280 (€34,600)T63 Ryggs Johnston 4 $40,280 (€34,600)T63 Francesco Molinari 4 $40,280 (€34,600)68 Jacob Skov Olesen 6 $39,400 (€33,900)69 Matti Schmid 8 $39,100 (€33,600) 70 Sebastian Soderberg 11 $38,900 (€33,500)
Irish Examiner
20-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
'He's the bar we're all trying to get to' - McIlroy salutes Scheffler after homecoming to savour
All week this Open had revolved around Rory McIlroy. Everyone knew it, plenty said it. His first tee shot at ten past three on Thursday afternoon was a drama six years in the making after his torturous experience on this same links back in 2019. McIlroy made it through to the weekend this time, and he did his damned best to give the galleries the dénouement they so badly wanted by making a run for what would have been a second victory at golf's oldest major. It wasn't to be. Momentum eluded him, his diminishing chances put to bed by a definitive double bogey at the start of the back nine. By the end, he had to doff his cap and vacate centre stage for a man of such understated genius. 'Yeah, none of us could hang with Scottie [Scheffler] this week. He's an incredible player. He's been dominant this week. Honestly, he's been dominant for the last couple years. He is the bar that we're all trying to get to," reflected McIlroy, who finished seven shots back. 'In a historical context, you could argue that there's only maybe two or three players in the history of the game that have been on a run, the one that Scottie's been on here for the last 24 to 36 months. Incredibly impressive.' McIlroy's year has hardly been shabby. The Masters was the apex but there were two other wins as well and, if all three came 'when Scottie wasn't quite on his game', then this tie for seventh is more proof of his return to form after a post-Masters slump. He decided to embrace this home Open having isolated himself when it came to Northern Ireland last time. There was a feeling of pride that stirred in him as he walked up 18 on Sunday and tried to keep his emotions in some kind of check before carding a last round of 69. 'I feel good. I feel like being back in Europe for a bit was a nice reset. Yeah, I feel like I'm getting back to where I want to be, and we've still got a lot of golf left this year with obviously Ryder Cup being the big one in there in September. 'I don't want to play too much leading up to that because I want to be fresh. So I'm looking forward to a few weeks off here. I'll reflect on what's been already a good year and start to get myself ready for that run up to the Ryder Cup.'
Qatar Tribune
16-07-2025
- Sport
- Qatar Tribune
The Open: McIlroy prioritized Royal Portrush return over Grand Slam
PA Media/DPA London Rory McIlroy may have begun another year with the ambition of completing a career Grand Slam but a return to his home Open at Royal Portrush was the one week he was really looking forward to. The 36-year-old did duly end an 11-year wait to add a Masters green jacket to his collection, however, it was the thought of returning to the course where he shot 61 as a 16-year-old but badly let down himself - and the huge support he had - by failing to make the cut here in 2019 which had his attention. He spoke about learning from that experience, having allowed emotion to get the better of him and promptly hitting his opening tee shot out of bounds, and appears to have emerged from his post-Masters comedown. 'When I was looking at the calendar for 2025, this was the tournament that was probably circled even more so than the Masters, for different reasons,' said the Northern Irishman, who grew up an hour's drive away in Holywood. 'It's lovely to be coming in here already with a major and everything else that's happened this year. 'I'm certainly encouraged by how I've played the last two starts, especially last week in Scotland (he finished joint-second at the Scottish Open).' McIlroy, who tees off alongside Ryder Cup team-mate Tommy Fleetwood and American rival Justin Thomas in potentially the worst of the weather with thunderstorms forecast early evening, said of completing the Grand Slam: 'I probably just didn't give myself enough time to let it all sink in. 'I learned pretty quickly that one of my challenges, especially in a week like this, is controlling myself and controlling that battle. 'The battle on that (Masters) last day wasn't with Augusta National, it wasn't with Bryson (DeChambeau), it wasn't with Justin Rose. The battle that day was with myself. 'It's you trying to overcome your mind and trying to give yourself that clarity to give yourself the best chance to put together a really good performance.' McIlroy is not the only top player at Portrush with a major in the bag this year. His main rival Scottie Scheffler, the only man ahead of him in the world rankings, won the US PGA Championship in May. The three-time major champion remains the one to beat according to bookmakers despite The Open being his weakest of the four premier events, with last year's joint-seventh at Royal Troon only his second top-10 in four starts. 'I could not care any less about being the favourite or not being the favourite. We all start even par on Thursday. That's pretty much all that matters,' said the American, who is out in the morning alongisde Irishman and 2019 champion Shane Lowry and 2021 winner Collin Morikawa. 'I think it (links golf) fits my strengths because I like to do things very creatively. I guess one of the weaknesses would just be it's a little bit fresh. 'My first time playing links golf was when I was a professional, I never came over and played as an amateur. I feel like I'm learning more and more each time I come over here.' Spain's Jon Rahm has a better Open record, with second and third-place finishes to add to his seventh alongside Scheffler last year since 2021. Top-10s in his last two majors is why he is third favourite for the Claret Jug despite the majority of his play being on the LIV Golf tour. 'In a weird way, I always feel close,' said the former Masters and US Open champion. 'Last week, especially on Sunday, it was very nice. It was a very good round of golf. It was by far my best round at Valderrama and to play it bogey-free and, besides the last hole, never really being in danger of a making a mistake I'm feeling confident.' Xander Schauffele, whose major breakthrough came last year with US PGA and Open wins, does not class Portrush as a title defence as it is a completely different course to Troon. 'I think a blank canvas is a great place to start. You can paint many different pictures to win a tournament. You've just got to do the right one,' he said.
Irish Examiner
16-07-2025
- 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
South Wales Guardian
16-07-2025
- Sport
- South Wales Guardian
Rory McIlroy admits he prioritised Royal Portrush return over career Grand Slam
The 36-year-old did duly end an 11-year wait to add a Masters green jacket to his collection, however, it was the thought of returning to the course where he shot 61 as a 16-year-old but badly let down himself – and the huge support he had – by failing to make the cut here in 2019 which had his attention. He spoke about learning from that experience, having allowed emotion to get the better of him and promptly hitting his opening tee shot out of bounds, and appears to have emerged from his post-Masters comedown. Rory's on the range. Tune in: | #liveattherange — The Open (@TheOpen) July 16, 2025 'When I was looking at the calendar for 2025, this was the tournament that was probably circled even more so than the Masters, for different reasons,' said the Northern Irishman, who grew up an hour's drive away in Holywood. 'It's lovely to be coming in here already with a major and everything else that's happened this year.' He told Sky Sports: 'How good would it be to bookend the major season: win the first one, win the last one?' McIlroy, who tees off at 3.10pm alongside Ryder Cup team-mate Tommy Fleetwood and American rival Justin Thomas in potentially the worst of the weather with thunderstorms forecast early evening, said of completing the Grand Slam: 'I probably just didn't give myself enough time to let it all sink in. 'I learned pretty quickly that one of my challenges, especially in a week like this, is controlling myself and controlling that battle. 'The battle on that (Masters) last day wasn't with Augusta National, it wasn't with Bryson (DeChambeau), it wasn't with Justin Rose. The battle that day was with myself. 'It's you trying to overcome your mind and trying to give yourself that clarity to give yourself the best chance to put together a really good performance.' McIlroy is not the only top player at Portrush with a major in the bag this year. His main rival Scottie Scheffler, the only man ahead of him in the world rankings, won the US PGA Championship in May. The three-time major champion remains the one to beat according to bookmakers despite The Open being his weakest of the four premier events, with last year's joint-seventh at Royal Troon only his second top-10 in four starts. 'I could not care any less about being the favourite or not being the favourite. We all start even par on Thursday. That's pretty much all that matters,' said the American, who is out in the morning alongisde Irishman and 2019 champion Shane Lowry and 2021 winner Collin Morikawa. 'I think it (links golf) fits my strengths because I like to do things very creatively. I guess one of the weaknesses would just be it's a little bit fresh. 'My first time playing links golf was when I was a professional, I never came over and played as an amateur. I feel like I'm learning more and more each time I come over here.' Spain's Jon Rahm has a better Open record, with second and third-place finishes to add to his seventh alongside Scheffler last year since 2021. Top-10s in his last two majors is why he is third favourite for the Claret Jug despite the majority of his play being on the LIV Golf tour. Xander's back. — The Open (@TheOpen) July 14, 2025 'In a weird way, I always feel close,' said the former Masters and US Open champion. 'Last week, especially on Sunday, it was very nice. It was a very good round of golf. It was by far my best round at Valderrama and to play it bogey-free and, besides the last hole, never really being in danger of a making a mistake I'm feeling confident.' Xander Schauffele, whose major breakthrough came last year with US PGA and Open wins, does not class Portrush as a title defence as it is a completely different course to Troon. 'I think a blank canvas is a great place to start. You can paint many different pictures to win a tournament. You've just got to do the right one,' he said.
