Rory McIlroy Open day one tee time as home favourite is put in stellar group
The competition begins on Thursday morning and the tee times have been confirmed with Padraig Harrington, twice an Open champion, kicking things off on the first tee at 6.35am alongside local star Tom McKibbin and Nicolai Hojgaard.
Grand Slam champion and local hero Rory McIlroy is sure to receive a rapturous welcome when he tees off alongside Justin Thomas and Tommy Fleetwood at 3.10pm.
Another fans' favourite and the winner the last time the Championship was played on the Dunluce Links, Shane Lowry, gets his challenge underway at 10.09am alongside Collin Morikawa and Scottie Scheffler.
Royal Portrush member and former Open winner, Darren Clarke, has an early start as he heads out at 7.52am along with Davis Riley and Lucas Herbert.
Reigning Open champion Xander Schauffele gets his title defence underway at 9.58am as he plays with JJ Spaun and Jon Rahm.
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Irish Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
What time do Harrington, McKibbin and Clarke tee off on Round One of the Open?
There is a strong Irish contingent for this year's Open Championship with five players in the field in total. All eyes understandably will be on Shane Lowry and Rory McIlroy while the opening tee shot will be taken by none other than two-time champion Padraig Harrington. Also in the field is golfing legend and Portrush member Darren Clarke, while Tom McKibbin offers plenty of intrigue. McKibbin decided to move to LIV Golf instead of pursuing a career on the PGA Tour. It has been a lucrative venture for McKibbin, who won over $1.5m last week at Andalucia. The Open is only McKibbin's fourth-ever major and he has not missed a cut at them as of yet. He'll be looking to build on his major career and could be a dark horse given his history growing up in Ireland. Here are a look at the Irish tee times. Irish Tee Times 6.35 am - Padraig Harrington, Tom McKibbin, Nicolai Hojgaard 7.52 am - Darren Clarke, David Riley, Lucas Herbert 10.09 am - Shane Lowry, Collin Morikawa, Scottie Scheffler 3.10 pm - Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas Tommy Fleetwood Jon Rahm praise for McKibbin Jon Rahm, who is a teammate of Tom McKibbin on LIV, was full of praise for the Northern Irish golfer "He's a fantastic young man. To be as calm and collected as he is is quite phenomenal. He's quiet by nature, but even in competition when things go wrong, he stays quite calm, and it's just remarkable and an incredible gift to have for a young player. "I don't think I can relate to that whatsoever, so I'm a little bit jealous of that. I think it's going to serve him very well in the long run. "He's obviously internally processing the same emotions that all of us are but outwardly he stays really, really calm and that helps him quite a bit, on top of having a fantastic golf swing. "I don't know what it is about Northern Ireland, but they have two of the most beautiful golf swings ever produced in golf. He's a fantastic golfer in general. "He's got all the tools he needs to succeed and so far in his early career, he's done so."
Irish Times
an hour ago
- Irish Times
Dillon Quirke in the minds of Tipp before final
When the final whistle blew in Croke Park a fortnight ago, Dan and Hazel Quirke 'turned to each other and cried' . 'How could they not,' writes Malachy Clerkin. 'Tipperary had made it to an All-Ireland final and it was only natural that their first thought was for their son Dillon,' the Tipperary hurler who died from Sudden Adult Death Syndrome three years ago. Malachy talks to Dan about Dillon and the foundation he and Hazel set up in his honour. Dillon won't be far from the Tipp players' thoughts on Sunday when they take on Cork in the final, Seán Moran reflecting on a championship season that has seen Liam Cahill's team bounce back in style having reached rock bottom 14 months ago when Cork beat them by 18 points. Conor Lehane has bounced back too, the Cork man having previously been dropped from the panel while also battling a string of injuries. Stephen Barry hears from him ahead of his first appearance in an All Ireland final in 12 years. Darragh Ó Sé, meanwhile, looks back at the football semi-finals and has no doubt that the two best teams in the country won through , Kerry and Donegal having 'sprinted away from the pack over the past couple of weeks'. Paul O'Brien analyses the two games , Tyrone and Meath's failure to take their chances resulting in Kerry and Donegal being 'treated to armchair victories'. READ MORE Down in Australia, the Lions are enduring their fair share of injury woes in the build-up to Saturday's first test, Gerry Thornley updating us on the walking wounded . He takes a stab at predicting Andy Farrell's starting XV, Jack Conan among his picks. ' This has been an incredible joy and the best few weeks of my career ,' the Leinster man tells him. Gordon D'Arcy looks at both coaches' options too, reckoning the Lions have yet to show their best on a tour that has been largely 'meh' to date . And Robert Kitson picks out the five areas where the series will be won and lost , the chief challenge for Andy Farrell and Joe Schmidt getting 'their key chess pieces in the correct places'. In golf, Philip Reid continues his build-up to the Open Championship in Portrush, few enjoying the week as much as Tom McKibbin who is back on home soil . And Johnny Watterson heard from Rory McIlroy's best buddy Bryson DeChambeau who said recently that he'd love nothing more than to beat McIlroy, 'especially in front of his own crowd'. Salty. The Tour de France resumes today after Tuesday's rest day, and a certain Ben Healy will be donning the yellow jersey . He is, Shane Stokes discovered, on cloud nine. 'I just want to honour the jersey the best I possibly can do,' he said. 'I know what I'm up against, but I'll give it my all.' In football, Gavin Cummiskey previews the return leg of Shelbourne and Linfield's Champions League qualifier at Windsor Park this evening, Shels winning the first leg 1-0 at Tolka Park last week. A lucrative game it is too, the winners picking up €750,000 for advancing to the second qualifying round. Alas, it's not on TV. TV Watch : The Tour de France gets going again today after Tuesday's breather, TG4 and TNT Sports 1 bringing live coverage of stage 11 from noon. And at 8pm this evening, Norway play Italy in the quarter-finals of Euro 2025 (RTÉ 2, BBC 1 and UTV).
Irish Times
an hour ago
- Irish Times
Darren Clarke: ‘Rory winning the Masters was like watching one of my boys win. I was that emotional'
The 7am tee-time practice trio on Tuesday at Royal Portrush : Darren Clarke, Rory McIlroy , Tom McKibbin. The galleries grew and grew. The venue for the Open this week was the site of a starsstar-struckroy meeting Clarke on his 10th birthday in 1999. Clarke's foundation played a key role in the early development of McIlroy. McKibbin, as a 13-year-old playing at McIlroy's home club in Holywood, was invited by him to play in the Irish Open's pro-am in 2016. The connections are as uplifting as they are strong. Clarke's description of seeing McIlroy win the Masters in April, completing his set of majors, is therefore understandable. 'I watched every shot,' Clarke says. 'I couldn't take my eyes off it. Rory winning there was almost like watching my two boys, Tyrone and Conor, win. I was that emotional. 'I have known Rory for so long, I know his talent and his journey. To get over the line and do it, in true Rory fashion keeping us on the edge of our seats until the very end ... It was destiny for Rory to join that exalted company. I was very proud just watching it. If I gave a 0.0001 per cent help in his journey then brilliant but it was more pride, knowing him as I do. It isn't often you will watch something and feel like you are watching your own two boys play.' Clarke has never claimed any credit for McIlroy's achievements. That will not change. McKibbin and Shane Lowry also had involvement with Clarke's foundation. 'I was just trying to help,' he says. 'I don't seek publicity for it because that isn't why I do it. Half of my foundation is to support breast cancer research [his first wife, Heather, died of the disease in 2006], half is to help the development of junior golf in Ireland, so that is all close to my heart.' READ MORE The 56-year-old recalls not only that 1999 meeting but the early buzz around McIlroy. 'I am not saying this to be all 'I told you so' but you could see back then how good he was, how much potential he had,' Clarke says. 'Now, potential and turning into the player that he has become are two different things but the talent he showed even from that age was just incredible. He was gifted, totally gifted.' Darren Clarke, Rory McIlroy and Tom McKibbin on the 18th at Portrush. Photograph: Ben Brady/Inpho All evidence suggests McIlroy has rediscovered his mojo after a brief post-Masters lull. Clarke knows the scenario; his life was hugely altered by lifting the Claret Jug in 2011. 'I'm not in any shape or form comparing what I did with Rory but when you search and go for so long trying to achieve your goals, sometimes it is hard to have a reset afterwards,' Clarke says. 'He has achieved what only five other people in the history of our game have, so it's no wonder there is a reset for him. The reception he will get at Portrush will be unbelievable.' Clarke's own situation is fascinating on two fronts. He was on course to make the cut in 2019 before a nightmarish triple-bogey seven on his 36th hole. Clarke returns to the Dunluce Links, where the 9th hole has been named after him, knowing this could be his final Open. Motivation stems in part from events of six years ago. 'I was fuming,' he admits. 'All my years of experience and to do that on the last hole ... I had played so nicely. It wasn't steam coming out of my ears, it was lava. The 'new me' as I get older? Bollocks to that! That irritated me a lot. It hurt me. I have never played tournaments just to make that cut but I was comfortably inside the line and to do that was beyond frustrating.' Clarke is undecided on whether this Open will mean goodbye. He remains not only hugely competitive on the Champions Tour in the US but a prodigious worker. 'I had gone through a spell of missing the Open cut too many times in a row but last year I actually played okay without having a great weekend. This year I have been playing really nicely without putting well. So I will see, I don't know. I really haven't made my mind up. If it gets to the stage where I think I have no chance of having a semi decent week, of making the cut, then I definitely won't play. 'I love Portrush, that goes without saying. It is just a very special place for me. If this is to be my last one, there isn't a better place. I am determined to really enjoy this one. Sometimes, I have tried so hard that I haven't been able to enjoy where I am.' Darren Clarke was victorious at Royal St George's in 2011. Photograph: Inpho Clarke was a staunch advocate of the Open's return to Portrush after a 68-year hiatus. Peter Dawson, the former chief executive of the R&A, took on the case. 'I kept chirping at Peter's ear,' Clarke says. 'I think he ended up trying to avoid me at all costs. It was a bold move on his behalf to commit to bringing the Open to Portrush. It was great the last time; this one will be even better. They could easily just have come back for one but they didn't, they committed.' Clarke encountered the Troubles. He comprehends what it means for Northern Ireland to showcase itself now on a global sporting stage. 'Bombs and shootings became part and parcel of life,' Clarke says. 'You were always wary. I think playing golf and playing in tournaments all over Ireland from a young age got me thinking there was more going on, about what was happening back home not making any sense. We have come an awful long way from that. 'That's not at all to say other places in the world haven't had bad times but you grew up in a tough time. I was fortunate my parents gave me everything to allow me to play golf, which in turn let me see what opportunity was possible back in those days.' The final words, and intriguing ones, are for McKibbin. 'I have spent a lot of time with Tom, we have the same coach,' Clarke says. 'He is the real deal. He just flushes the ball. He is eager, he wants to learn so much.' It feels sensible to take note. – Guardian
