Written by Michael Catling on Monday 22 July 2019
Rory McIlroy has paid tribute to Shane Lowry, and his hometown of Northern Ireland for the “overwhelming” support he received during The Open. McIlroy, who was bidding to win his fifth major title, missed the cut by just one shot at Royal Portrush to extend his winless streak in majors to 19. But the despite his own disappointment, he lavished praise on...
Written by Michael Catling on Sunday 21 July 2019
Sell-out crowds, spectacular views and a course which ‘ticked every box’. Why Royal Portrush is a new jewel in The Open’s crown. As far as second round auditons go, Royal Portrush delivered a spectacle that left Tiger Woods and many others asking why it had taken The R&A so long to bring The Open back to Northern Ireland. It was a valid...
Written by Michael Catling on Sunday 21 July 2019
All the facts, figures and record-breaking feats from the final round of the 148th Open Championship at Royal Portrush. ONE Shane Lowry won by six shots to claim his first major win and the title of Champion Golfer of the Year. He’s the only man in history to win his first two PGA Tour titles in a major and WGC, and the...
Written by Michael Catling on Sunday 21 July 2019
Koepka misses out on history Were it not for four consecutive bogeys to start his final round, Brooks Koepka might have departed Royal Portrush as the first player in the modern era to finish third or better in all four majors in a season. Instead, he fell one shot short of history, albeit with an incredible record that now reads second, first,...
Written by Michael Catling on Saturday 20 July 2019
All the facts and figures from Saturday at The Open, including Lowry’s record-breaking stats and a bad omen for Fleetwood & Co. ONE The number of birdies made on the par-3 6th, the lowest on any hole. Nearly a quarter of the field hit the green in regulation, but averaged 1.92 putts. THREE Sixteen of the previous 19 Open champions were at/within...
Written by Camilla Tait on Sunday 21 July 2019
2019 Open Champion Shane Lowry will receive $1.935 million from a total prize fund of $10.75 million for winning the Claret Jug The total purse ($10.750 million) for this year’s Open at Portrush has increased by $250,000 from last year, with the Shane Lowry’s winner’s share also increasing to $1.935 – $45,000 more than Francesco Molinari took home after being crowned...
Written by Camilla Tait on Sunday 21 July 2019
What Open Champion Shane Lowry said after his first major victory at Royal Portrush Shane Lowry was full of elation as he celebrated winning his first major championship at Royal Portrush – and it’s hard to believe he was the same man who cried in the car park at Carnoustie about the state of his golf game just twelve months ago. Lowry,...
Written by Camilla Tait on Sunday 21 July 2019
Tommy Fleetwood said he was disappointed and a ‘bit low’ after finishing runner-up to Open Champion Shane Lowry, but hopes his time to win a major ‘will come eventually’ It was always going to be a big ask to overturn a four shot advantage and beat Shane Lowry to the Claret Jug on Sunday, but Tommy Fleetwood was left disappointed after...
Saturday 20 July 2019
World No. 1 Brooks Koepka says he has hit the ball as good as he ‘could possibly imagine’ this week but ‘really bad’ putting has left him needing a lot of help if he wants to win the Open on Sunday Brooks Koepka was frustrated after he failed to capitalise on the greens at Royal Portrush for a third day in...
Written by Michael Catling, Camilla Tait on Saturday 20 July 2019
All the big talking points from the third round of the Open as Shane Lowry leads by four, Xander Schauffele takes a swipe at The R&A, and Robert MacIntyre’s war of words with Kyle Stanley takes another twist… The atmosphere was electric around the 18th green as Shane Lowry two-putted his way to a course record of 63, and will head...
Written by Michael Catling on Saturday 20 July 2019
What the players said: From Schauffele’s swipe at The R&A and Fowler’s love of movies to Koepka’s frustrations and Finau’s new putting grip… J.B Holmes still didn’t feel great after shooting a two-under, 69 “When you’re playing with a guy making everything, it feels like you shot a million.” Shane Lowry felt a million dollars after his record-breaking round “That’s the most...
Saturday 20 July 2019
Tommy Fleetwood said he is ‘very happy to have that challenge’ of a final round pairing with Shane Lowry as he heads in to the final round at Royal Portrush four-shots behind Tommy Fleetwood is relishing the challenge of a final round pairing with third-round leader Shane Lowry as he searches for his maiden major title at the Open Championship on...
Written by Michael Catling on Saturday 20 July 2019
The 148th Open: Final round tee times Note: Sunday’s tee times have been moved forward to 7:32am due to the predicted bad weather, with the leaders going out at 1.47pm 07.32: Ashton Turner +7 07.42: Shubhankar Sharma +6, Kiradech Aphibarnrat +5 07.52: Eddie Pepperell +5, Nino Bertasio +5 08.02: Paul Waring +5, Thorbjorn Olesen +4 08.12: Jason Kokrak +4, Branden Grace +3...
Written by Camilla Tait on Saturday 20 July 2019
Shane Lowry set a course record of 63 and will take a four shot lead in to the final round of the 148th Open Championship The atmosphere was a level about europhic when Shane Lowry walked down the 18th fairway to chants of ‘ole, ole, ole’, and the celebrations continued long after he put the finishing touches on an eight-under par...
Written by Camilla Tait on Saturday 20 July 2019
Xander Schauffele is ‘pissed off’ with governing body after he became first person to have their driver deemed ‘non-conforming’ in R&A’s random testing at Royal Portrush. And it turns out his wasn’t the only one Xander Schauffele had a ‘run in’ with the governing body after he became the first person to fail the R&A’s random driver testing, having been selected...
Written by Camilla Tait on Saturday 20 July 2019
Kyle Stanley has fired back after Robert MacIntyre criticsed him for not shouting ‘fore’: “he left out quite a few details. I wouldn’t really say that was an accurate description of what happened.” Kyle Stanley has said he was ‘surprised’ by comments made by Robert MacIntyre after the pair were involved in a discussion about shouting ‘fore’ on Friday, stating that the...
Written by Michael Catling on Saturday 20 July 2019
A furious Robert MacIntyre confronted playing partner Kyle Stanley during the second round of The Open at Royal Portrush after the American twice hit people in the crowds without shouting ‘fore’, including his caddie’s mother. The Scot, who is making his Open debut this week, was angered when the two-time PGA Tour winner first hit a marshal on the shin with...
Written by Michael Catling on Friday 19 July 2019
All the facts and figures from the second round of The Open at Royal Portrush, including an unwanted first for Tiger and Phil, a new personal record for Fleetwood, and some good news for David Duval. 1ST This is the first major championship in which Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson both played and both missed the cut. TWO The number of Irishman...
Written by Michael Catling on Friday 19 July 2019
Internal out of bounds: What is it and why did it penalise Rory McIlroy in the first round of The Open at Royal Portrush? The first round of the 148th Open Championship at Royal Portrush will always be remembered for what happened to Rory McIlroy. It wasn’t a pretty start for the hometown hero. After pulling his tee shot on the par-4...
Friday 19 July 2019
The 148th Open: Third Round tee times 9.35 am: Paul Waring (+1) 9.45 am: Francesco Molinari (+1), Jason Kokrak (+1) 9.55 am: Graeme McDowell (+1), Bubba Watson (+1) 10.05 am: Charley Hoffman (+1), Ashton Turner (+1) 10.15 am: Yosuke Asaji (+1), Andrew Wilson (+1) 10.25 am: Yuki Inamori (+1), Matthew Wallace (+1) 10.35 am: Nino Bertasio (+1), Tom Lewis (+1) 10.45...