Serena starts to believe again after winning return to Wimbledon
AS HE left the putting green in Ballyliffin yesterday, Rory McIlroy stopped briefly for a photo with the Lady Captain, Marlene O’Kane, and thanked her ‘for allowing us to play here this week’.
McIlroy had just finished a session in the company of caddy Harry Diamond and coach Michael Bannon. He dabbled with two putters and concentrated on putts of middle distance, and longer.
Most were rolled to the lip, a few were drained, and McIlroy seemed content with his work.
The world number eight takes a break from hosting duties at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open today as he flies to London for a Nike gig with Tiger Woods but will be back in harness for the Pro-Am tomorrow where he plays with JP McManus, Dermot Desmond and AP McCoy.
This is McIlroy’s fourth tournament as compere and he will leave a fine legacy to his fellow Irish professionals as Ballyliffin follows Royal County Down (2015), The K Club (2016) and Portstewart (2017).
Curiously, McIlroy has missed the cut in two of his last three Irish Opens, both on links, and he will be eager to avoid a hat-trick, especially with The Open at Carnoustie around the corner.
Watching McIlroy from a discrete distance yesterday was John Farren, the Ballyliffin general manager, who has driven the links as a worthy Irish Open venue ‘since the Irish Senior Open was here ten years ago.’
For Farren, the bulk of the preparation is over. All he needs now are blue skies, decent crowds and hot scoring through Sunday.
If Ballyliffin passes with flying colours, Donegal could become a regular staging post for the Irish Open, rather than a one-hit wonder.
The six players here from the world’s top 50, McIlroy, holder Jon Rahm, Rafa Cabrera Bello, Matthew Fitzpatrick, Kiradech Aphibarnrat and Haotong Li bring a global aspect to the tournament.
Even so, it’s a pity only two of the eight players holding down qualifying places on Europe’s Ryder Cup team, McIlroy and Rahm, are contesting the latest Rolex Series events which carries a first prize of $1.166m.
When the Tour put together the package of ‘eight premium tournaments’, they expected their elite players to turn up.
Perhaps the timing, a fortnight before The Open doesn’t suit everyone’s schedule. For example, Tommy Fleetwood, Alex Noren, Sergio Garcia and Tyrrell Hatton all played in France, but are taking this week off.
Ahead of battle, the flags of the competing nations were billowing in the breeze which swept across the burnished links.
The first hole, a strong par-four measuring 422 yards, was a beast but Gavin Moynihan found the fairway with a ripper as he trod the Donegal turf for the first time.
Moynihan, who grew up on links terrain at The Island in Dublin, got an email last Friday evening with notice of a sponsor’s invite.
If the call was late, it was most welcome for the 23-year-old has struggled to make his mark on the main tour this season, with nine missed cuts, but there was the encouragement of sixth place on the Challenge Tour in Scotland recently.
Moynihan also has a 2018 title on his CV, the GolfSixes, with Paul Dunne, but the €100,000 first prize he won at St Alban’s in May didn’t count on the Road To Dubai.
This is his sixth successive Irish Open, his third as a professional and he would love to pick up where he left off at Portstewart, where he finished with a 64.
‘I was chatting on the range to Matteo Manassero, who I played with that Sunday,’ he said.
‘It’s great to be back and I hope to make the most of this opportunity.’
So too does Graeme McDowell, who is one of the 12 players plastered on large posters on the walk to the first tee.
The 2010 US Open champion was forced to pull out of a 36-hole Open qualifier in Lancashire today after his clubs went missing after a Sunday night flight between Paris and Manchester.
‘I have officially withdrawn from @TheOpen qualifying tomorrow at St Anne’s Old Links. I cannot give 100% without my own equipment which has been mishandled by @AirFrance and must turn my attention to @DDFIrishOpen this weekend. Thanks for all the support,’ he tweeted.
McDowell, who has finished fifth and ninth in The Open, will instead try to qualify with good results in Ballyliffin or next week at the Scottish Open.