Thursday 18 July 2019
J.B Holmes carded a five-under 66 to lead Shane Lowry by a shot after the opening round at Royal Portrush. Shane Lowry held the clubhouse lead for most of the afternoon at four-under-par, but a final-hole birdie put J.B. Holmes one shot ahead of the Irishman after 18 holes of the 148th Open Championship. “I hit it great,” Holmes said after an...
Written by Camilla Tait on Thursday 18 July 2019
Ryan Fox became the first person in Open history to score a back-nine of 29 as he fired a three-under 68 at Royal Portrush Ryan Fox made six birdies in his final seven holes at Royal Portrush on Thursday to earn himself a spot in the record books as the first person ever to break 30 on the back-nine of an...
Thursday 18 July 2019
Second round tee times for the 148th Open Championship at Portrush 0635 Tom Lehman (USA), Joaquinn Niemann (Chl), Miguel Angel Jimenez (Esp) 0646 Byeong Hun An (Kor), Jorge Campillo (Esp), Chris Wood 0657 Joel Dahmen (USA), Adri Arnaus (Esp), Dimitrios Papadatos (Aus) 0708 Stewart Cink (USA), Rory Sabbatini (Svk), Innchoon Hwang (Kor) 0719 Erik Van Rooyen (Rsa), Kurt Kitayama (USA), Jake McLeod (Aus) 0730 Ryan Fox...
Written by Camilla Tait on Thursday 18 July 2019
Rory McIlroy: ‘I let myself down’ and want to ‘punch myself’ after disastrous eight-over 79 during the first round of the Open championship that included a quadruple AND a triple bogey This was not how it was supposed to go. The focus on Rory McIlroy as the pre-tournament favourite was more than justified by a season that has been punctuated with two...
Written by Michael Catling on Thursday 18 July 2019
What the players said: From Shane Lowry’s pub pep-talk to Eddie Pepperell comparing himself to Brooks Koepka… Rory was fighting his game, and now he wants to fight himself “I would like to punch myself. I made a couple of stupid mistakes. I let myself down more than anyone else and need to pick myself back up.” *You can read more about...
Thursday 18 July 2019
Shane Lowry said he was ‘fairly happy’ with a four-under 67 as he set the early scoring target on the opening day of the 148th Open Championship Shane Lowry was as nervous as he’s been ‘almost ever’ on the first tee of a golf tournament, but he needn’t have worried as he worked that anticipation to his advantage to post a...
Written by Michael Catling on Thursday 18 July 2019
All the numbers and stats from the first round of The Open Championship at Royal Portrush. ONE Argentine Emiliano Grillo got the drinks in after a hole-in-one on the par-3 13th from 200 yards. It was the first ace at the Open Championship since Louis Oosthuizen on the 14th hole of Royal Troon in 2016. TWO The number of players who have...
Thursday 18 July 2019
Recapping the first round of the Open: From a tough start for Rory and Tiger to Ryan Fox’s record, a 91 for David Duval and Justin Harding’s tumble in the bunker It was a dramatic opening round at Royal Portrush on Thursday as some of the favourites unexpectedly sruggled while J.B. Holmes grabbed the outright lead. Here, we recap McIlroy’s nightmare start...
Thursday 18 July 2019
Home favourite Rory McIlroy suffers nightmare start at the 148th Open Championship Rory McIlroy was the bookies favourite heading in to the Open this year, but his hopes of contending for his fifth major title took a serious knock after a quadruple bogey eight on the first hole at Royal Portrush on Thursday. The World No.3 received a roar of applause on...
Written by Michael Catling on Wednesday 17 July 2019
All the big talking points from the final practice day of The Open at Royal Portrush, including Pete Cowen’s outburst, Tiger’s late range session and Rory’s new logo… Cowen calling Wallace ‘a complete idiot’ Don’t count on Pete Cowen coaching Matt Wallace anytime soon. In an interview published in The Times, the Yorkshireman, who works with Brooks Koepka and Gary Woodland,...
Written by Camilla Tait on Wednesday 17 July 2019
Rory McIlroy says this season has been the ‘most consistent period of golf’ he’s ever played but is trying to treat the Open at Portrush ‘like any other’ as he targets his fifth major championship This week marks the first Open Championship to be played in Northern Ireland since 1951, and it happens to be at Royal Portrush – the place...
Written by Michael Catling on Wednesday 17 July 2019
Keep up to date with the weather forecast for The Open Championship Maximum temperature: 19 Celsius Minimum temperature: 13 Celsius Friday 1800 to 2400: • Cloudy with outbreaks of mainly light rain or drizzle. Very low chance (<10%) of shortlived heavier bursts • Wind: N to NE 7-10 mph • Rain: 1-3mm Saturday 0000 to 0600: • Cloudy with some further light rain or drizzle at...
Written by Michael Catling on Wednesday 17 July 2019
Matt Wallace’s camp has hit back at coach Pete Cowen after he branded the four-time European Tour winner a “complete idiot” on the eve of The Open Championship at Royal Portrush. Cowen, who works with the likes of Brooks Koepka, Gary Woodland and Henrik Stenson, launched a scathing attack in an interview published by The Times, and even called for the...
Written by Michael Catling on Tuesday 16 July 2019
What you missed from Tuesday at The Open: From Tiger getting snubbed to Justin Rose leading a player’s revolt against the PGA Tour schedule… The R&A’s ingenious solution to stop players bending the rules You’ve probably heard of backstopping, but what about grandstopping? It’s a big thing at tournaments when players hit their approach into the grandstand, take a free drop...
Written by Camilla Tait on Tuesday 16 July 2019
Justin Rose has been speaking out against the change in this year’s schedule for major championships as he claimed the ‘too condensed’ line-up has been ‘driven’ by the FedEx Cup The 148th Open Championship at Portrush will mark the end of the 2019 major season a month earlier than the golf world has become accustomed to for the last few decades,...
Written by Camilla Tait on Tuesday 16 July 2019
Tiger Woods laughs off Brooks Koepka snub as he reveals his game isn’t ‘quite as sharp’ as he’d like heading in to The Open. When Tiger was at the peak of his powers he was known for giving very little away when it comes to advice for other players, but the tables turned on him when he reached out to Brooks...
Written by Michael Catling on Tuesday 16 July 2019
Ever wondered why Brooks Koepka struggles to replicate his form in Majors in regular PGA Tour events? Well, now we have the answer. Brooks Koepka’s dominance and ability to replicate the best of his game in the biggest events of the year has been well documented, and deservedly so. This year alone, Koepka broke records with his PGA Championship win, and...
Written by Brian Wacker on Monday 15 July 2019
Fourteen years after bringing the Dunluce course to its knees as a 16-year-old amateur, Rory McIlroy returns with dreams and expectations of adding to his four majors with another Open victory. On the tournament’s eve, Brian Wacker met with the older, wiser and experienced Northern Irishman to discuss a very emotional homecoming for our sister magazine, Golf World. The first bogey-free round...
Monday 15 July 2019
Royal Portrush: Your guide by local Graeme McDowell Few know Royal Portrush better than Graeme McDowell. He grew up playing the course, his brother works there as a greenkeeper and most of his family still live in the town. “Having grown up in the town and lived there for most of my life, it would be one of my proudest moments to play...
Written by Michael Catling on Monday 15 July 2019
Home favourite Darren Clarke will hit the opening tee shot of the 148th Open Championship at Royal Portrush, with Rory McIlroy among the early starters. Clarke, who has a house overlooking the Dunluce course, gets play underway at 06:35 on Thursday, just five minutes after Sky Sports go on air with their live coverage. McIlroy is off at 10:09 with US Open...