‘Perfect’ Rory will skin them
Players up for games in midweek
A TOILET roll, a rugby ball and a basketball hoop, plus some amazing skill, have turned Marc Sneyd into a global star.
RORY MCILORY is ‘perfectly equipped’ to end his Majors drought when the sport lockdown finally lifts.
That’s the view of longtime admirer and Sky Sports Golf pundit Paul Mcginley, who believes world No.1 Mcilroy will beat the pressure after a six-year hiatus.
Mcilroy heads a stellar invitational quartet at a charity skins event at Seminole, Florida, today as the game takes tentative first steps at a return following a two-month pandemic break.
The 31-year-old Ulsterman partners Dustin Johnson against Rickie Fowler and exciting new talent Matthew Wolff, with $4million (£3.3m) being handed over to charity.
And former Ryder Cup captain Mcginley believes that when Mcilroy finally lands his next Major, the trickle will turn into a flood.
He said: “Before this lockdown, Rory was playing the best golf in the world, by quite a distance.
“I’ve been an avid watcher
MIDWEEK rugby is set to form part of the Gallagher Premiership’s planned summer comeback.
The Rugby Players’ Association have dropped their long-held no-go position with regards to three games per week – as long as the Premiership clubs agree to rotate their squads.
Player welfare remains the RPA’S priority but they accept the need to try to claw back some vital TV revenue by shoehorning in as many games as possible.
Their hope is that with Saracens having already been relegated for persistent salary cap breaches, clubs will be of his career since he turned 16, and in the past couple of years his putting has improved, as has his wedge game. Technically, he’s better than ever. He’s perfectly equipped.
“So the fact that he’s not won a Major for six years brings a lot of expectation and pressure. He’s also asked about it constantly, which only adds to it.
“He knows that he is going to be defined as a golfer by how many Majors he has won. That brings its own pressures.
“When you are in the upper reaches of the game, the great players are going to be judged by that, and that’s the pressure he is under now.
“Rory is a player who relies on confidence and there’s no reason – given where he is at the moment – that he should be anything other than very confident in himself and his own game.”
Tune in to Sky Sports Golf tonight from 7pm for the first live action since The Players Championship in March. ready to interchange players without the fear of going down.
RPA chief Damian Hopley (above) said: “We need an understanding of what midweek rugby would mean from a player point of view, and to make sure it wasn’t counter-productive.
“But the fact that we know who has been relegated already may have an impact on that.
“We’ve also got the best insurance policy in world rugby that we worked hard with Premiership Rugby and the RFU to put in place, so we have to make sure that cover is there.”
The Premiership hopes to restart behind closed doors on July 3, with nine rounds left to play, plus the play-offs.