Tag Archives: Rory mcilroy

Clarke Continues To Dominate The Headlines

Posted on July 19, 2011 by | Comments Off on Clarke Continues To Dominate The Headlines

British Open Winner Darren Clarke continues to dominate the headlines this morning on the front and back pages of the newspapers, as well as online and on TV.

He has jumped over 80 places in the world rankings to number 30, and as the third Northern-Irishman to win a major in the last year, (Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell are the other two) he is now calling for the Open to be held in Northern Ireland in the near future, which the R+A are investigating.

He conducted a series of interviews back at Royal St George’s yesterday, and in several interviews seemed to be a little the worse for wear too – who can blame him…!

There’s a great montage of his best shots from the tournament on the BBC Website, while Sky Sports reports that Clarke nearly quit the game just a few months ago…

 

 

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British Open Championship: Day Two Round-Up

Posted on July 16, 2011 by | Comments Off on British Open Championship: Day Two Round-Up

Darren Clarke and Lucas Glover are joint top of the leaderboard after day two of the British Open, carrying a one-shot lead into today’s action.

Clarke shot 68  and 2009 US Open champion Glover carded 70 to lead the field at four under on a beautiful day at Royal St George’s.

They pulled away from joint overnight leader Thomas Bjorn (72), Chad Campbell, Martin Kaymer and Miguel Angel Jimenez.

Luke Donald and Lee Westwood, the world number one and two respectively, both missed the cut.

Other big-name players getting the weekend off are former major champions Padraig Harrington, Graeme McDowell, Ernie Els and Angel Cabrera.

Ian Poulter (+7), Ernie Els (+8), world number eight Matt Kuchar and 2003 winner Ben Curtis (both +11) are also on their way home.

Masters champion Charl Schwartzel, 1996 Open winner Tom Lehman, US Ryder Cup captain Davis Love, American Dustin Johnson, Spain’s Pablo Larrazabal, Dane Anders Hansen and South African George Coetzee (one of my tips!) all finished on two under.

US Open champion Rory McIlroy had four birdies and three bogeys in a 69 to finish level par.

Watch today’s play live on the BBC – and checkout the leaderboard here.

The highlight of the day arguably came on the sixth hole when Tom Watson hit a hole-in-one, the second of the tournament so far.

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Open Championship Day One Review

Posted on July 15, 2011 by | Comments Off on Open Championship Day One Review

Tom Lewis, an amateur who had to come through qualifying, is the surprise leader of the British Open Championship after day one, sharing the lead with Danish veteran Thomas Bjorn after the first round.

Bjorn, who went out earlier in the day, shot a five-under 65 and was joined later on by the 20-year-old Lewis.

The pair lead by one from Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez, 2009 US Open champion Lucas Glover and American debutant Webb Simpson.

Northern Ireland’s 2010 US Open champion Graeme McDowell and countryman Darren Clarke (playing in his 20th Open!), England’s Simon Dyson (one of my Outside Bets) and Germany’s world number three Martin Kaymer were in a large group on two under.

World number one Luke Donald had a bad day with the putter, shooting 71, (+1), as did Lee Westwood and US Open champion Rory McIlroy, who got off to a shaky start, dropping two shots in his first three holes, fighting back to play the last 15 in one under.

The other star of the day was Dustin Johnson who shot a hole-in-one on the 16th during a roller-coaster round.

Remember you can keep-to-date with the latest leaderboard by clicking here.

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The British Open Championship Is Underway!

Posted on July 14, 2011 by | Comments Off on The British Open Championship Is Underway!

Just after 6.30am this morning American Jerry Kelly hit the opening shot of this year’s British Open Championship at Royal St George’s, Sandwich.

Kelly though it seems will be doing well to make the cut having started with a bogey, and followed that up with a double at the second.

There is plenty of coverage to choose from today but I would really recommend the BBC as it’s comprehensive.

Their Open mini-site has everything you could possibly need – however if you want to bookmark a live leaderboard then it seems that the easiest way to do this is at The Open’s Official Site.

On Twitter, @danwalkerbbc is providing some excellent coverage and analysis as is @robhodgetts .

At the time of writing, Ian Poulter is about to tee off, followed by that formidable trio of McIlroy, Els and Fowler.

Enjoy the golf and let me know what you think of today’s play over at my Facebook Page.

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Open Championship Preview

Posted on July 13, 2011 by | Comments Off on Open Championship Preview

Following my article yesterday on who I’m backing to win the British Open, it’s time to get excited as this time tomorrow we will be well underway.

There seems to be more interest than usual in this historic tournament and I would put that down to the amazing form of Rory McIlroy and also the absence of a certain Tiger Woods.

Should McIlroy repeat his amazing achievement at Congressional, the 22-year-old will become the youngest Open champion since 1893, only a few weeks after becoming the youngest winner of the US Open since 1923.

He has played in the tournament three times previously, in 2007 as an amateur, and then in 2009, and last year when he finished joint third.

The BBC will be providing some epic coverage of the tournament, showing over 40 hours live over the four days.

The coverage starts tomorrow at 0900 BST, a lot of the coverage will be via the red button and also freely available on the BBC website.

Talking of the BBC website – there’s a great article here called ‘The A-Z Of The British Open‘ – well worth a read if you’ve got five minutes!

I’ll be providing my own round-up and views across the next four days so stay tuned and look out for my updates on Facebook and Twitter too.

 

 

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My Tips For The British Open

Posted on July 12, 2011 by | Comments Off on My Tips For The British Open

In just 48 hours the British Open at Royal St George’s in Sandwich will be well underway, with American Jerry Kelly hitting the first shot of the historic tournament at around 6.30am on Thursday morning.

All eyes are of course on Rory McIlroy, who has been teamed up veteran Ernie Els and rising American star Rickie Fowler for his first round, to see if he can repeat his success of last month at the US Open.

However in terms of the betting – I’m heading for value elsewhere!

Here are my tips:

Lee Westwood – has been paired with Masters champion Charl Schwartzel and American Steve Stricker in his first round. He looks good value at around 11/1.

Ricky Fowler – As above, he’s a rising star and expected to perform well at this tournament – he’s tremendous each value at around 90/1,

Simon Dyson – I like to back an outsider each way, and this year I’ve got my eye on this guy at 150/1 – he’s got the ability to produce a shock.

George Coetzee – Talking of outsiders, there’s a chance you may not have heard of this 24 year old South African, but he’s on form and has a tournament win to his name this year – I’ve had a cheeky couple of quid on him each-way at 200/1.

Let me know who you’re backing!

 

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McIlroy Named European Tour Golfer Of The Month

Posted on July 5, 2011 by | Comments Off on McIlroy Named European Tour Golfer Of The Month

Rory McIlroy’s runaway win at the US Open has made him the obvious choice for the European Tour’s Golfer of the Month award.

The 22-year-old from Holywood won his first major by eight shots with a championship record 16 under par total at the Congressional Club in Maryland.

McIlroy became the youngest winner of the title since Bobby Jones in 1923.

He returns to action in The Open at Sandwich on 14 July.

Now number four in the world, McIlroy decided to take three weeks off after his amazing victory.

 

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A Week In Golf: Round-Up

Posted on July 1, 2011 by | Comments Off on A Week In Golf: Round-Up

It’s been a week of mixed weather but great to see so many golfers practising and playing, also great to see so many youngsters out there too, hopefully inspired by Rory McIlroy’s US Open win which is still dominating the golf headlines nearly two weeks on!

Here are some links to some decent articles summarising the week’s golfing news, starting with a really good CNN interview by Piers Morgan with Rory himself.

Have a great weekend!

AT+ T National Leaderboard

PGA European Tour – French Open – Le Golf National – Leaderboard

Justin Rose Targets Return To Form

 

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British Golfers Hold Top Three World Ranking Places

Posted on June 28, 2011 by | Comments Off on British Golfers Hold Top Three World Ranking Places

British golfers currently hold the top three spots in the world ranking, the first time that’s happened in the 25-year history of the ranking.

Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland rose to third on Monday following his triumph at the U.S. Open last week.  Luke Donald remains top, with fellow Englishman Lee Westwood in second place.

“We’ve fed off each other’s success,” McIlroy told Sky Sports. “We saw Lee get to No. 1 in the world and Luke has been very consistent for the last two years. We’re working hard to beat one another and strive to be better than everyone else.”

Having started the year at No. 10, McIlroy overtook PGA champion Martin Kaymer without playing last weekend because of the German’s poor showing at the BMW International Open.

McIlroy,who won the U.S. Open by a record score, is next scheduled to play at the British Open at Royal St. George’s – starting in just over a fortnight.

McIlroy says he wants to keep playing well while Tiger Woods continues his recovery from an injured left leg.

“It’s a good time for me to win things when he’s not playing his best,” McIlroy said. “The first thing for Tiger is to get healthy and see what happens from there. I don’t know if anyone can answer if he’ll get back to where he was 10 years ago, but a lot of people would like to see him back on the course.”

Woods hasn’t won a title since the Australian Masters in November 2009. The 14-time major champion has plunged to No. 17 in the world rankings, his lowest spot since 1997. He is yet to announce whether he will be healthy enough to play in the British Open.

 

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Golfers On Twitter

Posted on June 24, 2011 by | Comments Off on Golfers On Twitter

Rory McIlroy’s famous win at last week’s US Open had an extra dimension that is becoming more and more prominent in the world of golf – he was able to receive hundreds of goodwill messages on Twitter from his near half a million followers, and they were able to receive updates from him after the event – he even posted this picture of the trophy on his kitchen table!

US Open Trophy | James Irons Golf

Must be a nice feeling!

Of course Rory isn’t the only golfer on Twitter – far from it – and it’s great to be able to see what’s going through the minds of these great players as they embark on these huge tournaments. It’s also amazing to be able to communicate with these guys – and if you’re lucky they might even send you a message back!

Here are some of the more active golfers on Twitter and where you can find them…

Rory McIlroy – www.twitter.com/mcilroyrory

Notah Begay III – www.twitter.com/notahbegay3

Ian Poulter – www.twitter.com/ianjamespoulter

Nick Faldo – www.twitter.com/thesirnickfaldo

You can find an expansive list, plus all the latest tweets by clicking here.

Rory McIlroy Twitter | James Irons Golf

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