Latest news with #Dunluce
Irish Times
4 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Times
Scottie Scheffler takes another giant stride into golfing pantheon after stunning Open success
Inevitable as it all proved to be, Scottie Scheffler – the world number one – stoically took further steps to embracing greatness in his own unemotional manner; with no airs or graces, just a series of sublimely struck shots and putts as the American added the Claret Jug to an ever-growing collection of Major championships. The step-by-step journey by Scheffler to this 153rd Open victory over the Dunluce links, played out in sunshine with the only the barest of breezes to the extent that flags at times stuck to the sticks, was smooth with only one speed bump – a double-bogey six on the eighth – that never truly had any element of danger. Scheffler's route to becoming the champion golfer of the year was devoid of tension, as deliverance came his way with a final-round 68 for a total of 17-under-par 267, four strokes clear of Harris English – who also finished runner-up to him in the US PGA at Quail Hollow – with Chris Gotterup completing a 1-2-3 for the United States. 'It's incredible,' said English of Scheffler's ability to slam doors shut in the faces of others. 'I wasn't playing professional golf when Tiger was at his peak, early 2000s, mid 2000s. But it's pretty incredible just how good of a front-runner he is. He's improved his putting. There's no stat that he's bad in. It's like, how do you beat this guy?' READ MORE England's Matt Fitzpatrick finished as leading European with two birdies in his closing three holes for a 69 for 273, where he joined Wyndham Clark and Haotong Li. Rory McIlroy acknowledges the crowd on the 18th green at the end of his final round at Royal Portrush. Photograph: Ben Brady/Inpho For Rory McIlroy , the pursuit of Scheffler never gained the necessary momentum to seriously trouble him and the Masters champion's 69 for 274 left him in a three-way share of seventh place. McIlroy hailed Scheffler's worthiness in becoming the latest custodian of the Claret Jug. 'None of us could hang with Scottie this week. He's been dominant this week. Honestly, he's been dominant for the last couple years. He is the bar that we're all trying to get to. In a historical context, you could argue that there's only maybe two or three players in the history of the game that have been on a run, the one that Scottie's been on here for the last 24 to 36 months. It's incredibly impressive.' The win gave Scheffler a fourth Major title, a roll-of-honour surely certain to have additions, and took him three-quarters of the way towards achieving the career Grand Slam. Only the US Open trophy is missing from a display cabinet at home in Dallas, Texas, which has two Masters and a Wanamaker from his US PGA Championship win in May. Scheffler was unshakeable in completing his mission. Barely displaying emotion until the very end, when wife Meredith and young son Bennett met him at the back of the 18th green, Scheffler's mental strength compared to the basalt columns of the Giant's Causeway a little way along the north Antrim coast. And his putting, once a potential weakness, was for the most part flawless, which is how it has become since hooking up with putting guru Phil Kenyon. Scottie Scheffler celebrates with the Claret Jug at Royal Portrush. Photograph: Mike Egerton/PA Wire Starting with a four strokes lead over China's Li, Scheffler's approach to the first-hole flag finished 12 inches away from the cup. A tap-in birdie to start proved ominous and further birdies on the fourth and fifth brought an inevitability about the outcome as the lead briefly stretched to eight shots, and then to seven. That was before a double-bogey six on the eight hole – where Scheffler got too greedy in attempting to escape a fairway bunker, clipped the top and saw it return to the sand – provided the blip. It didn't last for long, as normal service resumed on the ninth – where he hit a lob wedge to four feet – for Scheffler's fourth birdie of the front nine to turn in 32. The champion's only birdie of the homeward journey came on the par-5 12th where one par followed another in ensuring the door would not be opened to any potential challengers. Scheffler, as ever, was in control and, as he had done in his previous three Major wins, he closed out the carrying of a 54-hole lead into the final round to seal the deal. There was some great play from others. Bryson DeChambeau's recovery from that first-round 78 was completed with a bogey-free closing 64 for 275 in tied-10th. 'I like it when it's fair conditions, I can play well. I still have to crack the code when it's raining and windy. But I feel like we're getting close to some opportunities and solutions for that,' he said. US Open champion JJ Spaun – competing in his first Open – came home in 30 for a 68 for 278 in tied-23rd. This is Scheffler's time, and we are witnesses to greatness. Who knows, in truth, where it will end? For him, it's about living in the moment and not looking ahead. 'I have worked since I was two or three years old to have a chance to play professional golf for a living, and now I've been able to win tournaments I've just dreamed of playing in. It's an amazing feeling, and I'm so grateful to be able to live out my dreams. 'My faith and my family is what's most important to me. I try to live as normal of a life as possible because I feel like a normal guy. I have the same friends I had growing up. I don't think that I'm anything special just because some weeks I'm better at shooting a lower score than other guys are,' said Scheffler, a piece of understatement as glorious as his golf over the four days.
Irish Times
4 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Times
Scheffler basks in Open glory but McIlroy thrills Portrush fans
Sunday was no different from the previous three days at Portrush. A little warmer, a little louder and a little more hopeful, the noise rumbled in the distance before Rory McIlroy even appeared at the first tee for his final round of the 153rd Open . The cheering began as he left the putting green close to the clubhouse. Rory! Rory! Rory! It continued with another group of fans as he walked across the footbridge to the side of the first tee and grew louder when he stepped out into the three-sided stand that wrapped around the tee box. More like a raucous Ryder Cup greeting than the Open, McIlroy must have known that the outcome of the next five hours was probably out of his hands. It wasn't all about him. His challenge was to try to eat into the lead of Scottie Scheffler in the expectation that the American would continue to pick up birdies over the course of a perfect day at the Dunluce links. READ MORE In the end, he fell short of the sort of numbers that earned him a course record 61 when he was 16. 'I tried as best as I could to keep my emotions in check, especially walking up the last there and that reception,' said McIlroy afterwards. 'Yeah, look, it's been an awesome week. I've gotten everything I wanted out of this week, apart from a Claret Jug, and that's just because one person was just a little bit better than the rest of us.' For McIlroy to succeed, the world number one would have had to blow a four-shot lead on the field and six shots on him and go into the history books as one of the biggest final-day implosions in golf. It looked unlikely and even as McIlroy sped off to birdie the Par-5 second hole, word filtered through just as he was sinking the short putt that the American had made birdie on the first, having hit an approach to 16in. Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy's body language was positive throughout the day. Photograph: Mike Egerton/PA That sucked some air out of the early round buoyancy of the crowd that lived every shot. But throughout, McIlroy's body language was hugely positive and the enormous galleries, 20 or 30 people deep around some of the tee boxes and greens, seemed to nudge him forward. He had two more birdies to make the turn in 34, but by then the word he had used during the week to describe Scheffler – 'inevitable' – seemed to be following him around. When he duffed a wedge at the 10th hole, he stared intently at the blade as if it had taken on a mind of its own. Then a wry smile. Had he been watching the scoreboard leading up to the turn, he would have seen Scheffler had opened the door on eight with a double bogey before slamming it closed with a birdie on nine to also turn in 34. But the wedge blooper was costly for McIlroy, a double bogey six and sent him into an animated conversation with caddie Harry Diamond. It was becoming one of those days when the elevated goals and aspirations for the day, standing on the first tee with the crowd chanting his name, were turning into something more prosaic. A missed eagle putt on 12 gifted him an easy birdie and as he walked between green and tee to 13, he high-fived some children, who had their arms outstretched. The electric charge, the championship-winning vitality, had dimmed. Playing for place, an entirely different energy, had seeped in. 'I think there's a lot of gratitude, and yeah, a lot of pride,' said McIlroy. 'A lot of pride that I am from these shores, and in part with the way I've played and advocated for this little country, the Open has returned here and it's been an amazing venue. Hopefully, the R&A keep coming back.' The home crowd hung with him to the end because, well, it was McIlroy. He birdied 15 after an approach to 13 feet to come home in 35 for an overall 69 and tied for seventh. McIlroy didn't give them what they wanted, but he gave them plenty and as he walked up into the giant stadium finish at 18, it ended just as it had started: Rory! Rory! Rory!
Irish Times
5 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Times
Open Championship: Rory McIlroy launches his pursuit but Scottie Scheffler a cut above the rest on day three
Rory McIlroy , cast in the role of pursuer, could hardly have a tougher assignment in golf than that of trying to chase down Scottie Scheffler , the world number one who was a cut above everyone in tightening his hold on this 153rd Open Championship on the sun-kissed Dunluce links. 'I've got more than half a chance. I've got a chance,' insisted McIlroy, even though trailing Scheffler by six strokes through 54 holes. Scheffler, looking for a breakthrough Claret Jug to add to his Masters and US PGA career Major wins, strode around the famed north Antrim links as if it were his own, signing for a 67 for a total of 14-under-par 199, four shots clear of China's Haotong Li. For McIlroy, a brilliant start – birdies in three of his opening four holes – had electricity charging through the air, from the packed grandstands to the sand hills and in the large spectator villages where giant jumbotron screens created its own atmosphere, so that he signed for a 66 for 205 to move to tied-fourth. McIlroy's round featured so much that was good – an eagle on the 12th to go with four birdies – but also the weirdest incident that had probably ever came his way on a course, which led to his only bogey on the 11th. There, his approach from the rough saw not one ball but two emerge, discovering only after he hit the shot that his ball was over another embedded ball. [ Shane Lowry suffers stomach virus to compound Open woes Opens in new window ] 'That is the most weird, ridiculous thing I've ever seen. Then my ball came out really weird and spinny, just so strange ... making bogey on 11 is not the end of the world. It's a tough hole. 'The eagle on 12 was one of the coolest moments, it's one of the largest roars I've ever heard on a golf course. To get those shots back straight away was nice,' said McIlroy, who'd spent the morning watching the Lions match and with plans to view the movie Oppenheimer ahead of the final round. Yet, he, more than anyone as the occupier of the world number two ranking, was aware of what chasing down Scheffler would require. 'I need to get off to a great start like I did today, and if I can do that, anything can happen. I've come from a few shots behind before at big tournaments and was able to win. If I can get off to one of those hot starts again, maybe Scottie feels a little bit of that a couple of groups behind, and you never know. 'Scottie is the best player in the world right now. I think it's clear for everyone to see. He's just consistently so good each and every week he tees it up, so it's going to be a tall order to be able to catch him tomorrow. But I'm going to look forward to the challenge,' said McIlroy, so appreciative too of the huge galleries who roared every one of those 66 shots in the third round as if adding fuel to his desire. This was an ideal day for links golf, with only sunshine and none of the heavy downpours of Friday, while the breeze was consistent. Scheffler had a slow start, six straight pars, but once he clicked into gear with a birdie on the Par 5 seventh there was an ominous move further and further away from everyone so that he had those four shots over Li when his round finally ended in the giant horseshoe of a grandstand looped around the 18th green and down the fairway. 'I feel good and I did some good stuff. I was pretty patient most of the day but felt like I was hitting it really nice, just sometimes in championships it can be tough to make birdies, and today was one of those days where I just had to give myself some looks and was able to hole a few, ' said Scheffler. 'I'm just trying to execute, not overthinking things. I feel like I've been doing the right thing so far, and I'm looking forward to the challenge of tomorrow.'
ABC News
6 days ago
- Sport
- ABC News
Marc Leishman leads Australian contingent at British Open as Adam Scott suffers after worst round in over two decades
Marc Leishman has shrugged off his frustrations surrounding the slow pace of play at the British Open to register the best round yet by any of the nine-strong Australian contingent at Royal Portrush. While his veteran compatriot Adam Scott was doomed to an early exit after three double bogeys in his worst Open round in more than two decades, Leishman rose at 4am, local time, teed off at 6.35am and enjoyed firing a second-round, three-under-par 68. The 41-year-old Victorian had bemoaned the snail-like crawl during an interminable first round in Northern Ireland, complaining he felt like he'd been on the Dunluce links "for about 12 hours" amid constant snarl-ups through slow play. But freed up among Friday's very first group out, the LIV Golf veteran, who'd been two-over-par overnight, enjoyed a dazzling run of five birdies in the first dozen holes to move momentarily to within a shot of the lead. Two bogeys at the next two holes, including a horrid shank off the tee at 13, checked his magisterial progress, but he still became the first Australian to shoot in the red at this 153rd Open. A decade on from his 2015 St Andrews near-miss when beaten in a play-off, Leishman was one under for the tournament, up into the top 20, having shot up over 50 places from his overnight position. And he ended much cheerier than on Thursday when he'd finished with a bogey. "I was obviously pretty frustrated last night when I came in here," he told reporters. "I always say to my wife, 'If I've had a bad day on the course, just give me 10 minutes, and I'll be good' … I think you got me about the eight-minute mark!" Having got up at 4am — "I set the alarm as late as possible, I love my sleep," he sighed — Leishman could at least enjoy an afternoon treat with conditions forecast to be trickier. "Happy to be watching it on TV. I'll probably have a pint or two of Guinness and enjoy my afternoon," he smiled. But while the swiftly changeable conditions on the County Antrim coast were at their mildest with 16-24kph winds, Portrush still proved fiendish for Scott, who'll miss the cut in his 25th successive British Open and 97th straight major appearance. Having started out as joint-leading Aussie alongside Cam Smith, after a first-round 72, Scott had been hoping to celebrate his eve-of-tournament 45th birthday with another stirring crack at winning the Claret Jug. But as soon as he made double-bogey on the short third, having struggled to extricate himself from the wet rough, he was on the back foot. He dropped four more shots in three holes around the turn, including another double-bogey six at 11 after driving into some bushes. His misery was compounded with a third double at the par-3 16th and a bogey at the last as he finished with an eight-over 79 — his worst round at the British Open since his 82 at Royal St George's 22 years ago — and a tournament total of nine over. Meanwhile, World No.1 Scottie Scheffler rose to the top of the British Open leaderboard at halfway, looking every inch a champion-in-waiting at Royal Portrush with a majestic round of 64. The American superstar cruised into pole position late on Friday evening on the Dunluce links at 10-under par, one shot clear of English hope Matt Fitzpatrick, the 2022 US Open champion, who got to nine under with a terrific 24ft par-saving putt at the last, earning him a 66. Fitzpatrick was in turn just a shot clear of a third major champ, 2023 Claret Jug winner Brian Harman, the famed deer-hunting "Butcher of Hoylake" who is back with his "very boring" assault on a second title, and China's Li Haotong, who's quietly dropped just one shot in 36 holes. The quartet have opened up a gap over their pursuers, but they include two other on-song British hopes, Bob MacIntyre and Tyrrell Hatton, who are in a five-way tie for fifth at five under, while home superstar Rory McIlroy is an ominous presence a couple of shots further back. AAP
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Supreme Scheffler being hunted by Harman at Portrush
World No.1 Scottie Scheffler has risen inexorably to the top of the British Open leaderboard at halfway, looking every inch a British Open champion-in-waiting at Royal Portrush with a majestic round of 64. The American superstar cruised into pole position late on Friday evening on the Dunluce links at 10-under par, one shot clear of English hope Matt Fitzpatrick, the 2022 US Open champion, who got to nine under with a terrific 24ft par-saving putt at the last earning him a 66. Fitzpatrick was in turn just a shot clear of a third major champ, 2023 Claret Jug winner Brian Harman, the famed deer-hunting 'Butcher of Hoylake' who is back with his "very boring" assault on a second title, and China's Li Haotong, who's quietly dropped just one shot in 36 holes. Making his Scheffler is into the joint lead. — The Open (@TheOpen) July 18, 2025 The quartet have opened up a gap over their pursuers, but they include two other on-song British hopes, Bob MacIntyre and Tyrrell Hatton, who are in a five-way tie for fifth at five under, while home superstar Rory McIlroy is an ominous presence a couple of shots further back. Milder conditions on the challenging Dunluce links led to plenty of low scoring, with no-one going lower than the remarkable Scheffler, with it seeming almost inevitable in the calmer evening weather that he would take control with his seven-under-par masterclass. Scheffler teed it up in rainy conditions but once it began to ease, he looked in a serene class of his own, reeling off eight birdies while suffering just a lone bogey at the 11th. Left-hander Harman reckoned he was taking a leaf from his Hoylake book, where he raced to a six-stroke victory while entertaining the UK press with tales of his alligator-hunting prowess and Australian media with his jokes about his "handsome" lookalike Ricky Ponting. He shot a 65, and was buoyed by some happy memories of Royal Liverpool, where his steady approach with few fireworks and rock-solid putting worked wonders. Now he reckons he'll tackle the weekend in the same way. "The only thing I'm really worried about is the first tee ball tomorrow and then I'll try to hit the next one up there close to the flag," he said. "If not, go to the second hole. It's a very boring approach that I take. I'm not trying to be heroic or do anything crazy. But I know that I've got the game to do it." World No.111 Li, third in 2017 at Royal Birkdale, can't be ruled out after going 32 holes before his only dropped shot. No-one can forget McIlroy, of course, after a mixed bag of a 69 left him at three under. "I maybe could be a couple closer to the lead but overall in a decent position heading into the weekend," he said. "I didn't have this opportunity six years ago (at Portrush), so to play an extra two days in this atmosphere in front of these crowds, I'm very excited. "I feel like my game's definitely good enough to make a run. I'm excited for the weekend." Also at five under alongside Tyrrell and McIntyre are American Harris English, on-song Scottish Open winner Chris Gotterup and Denmark's Rasmus Hojgaard, whose identical twin Nicolai was also inside the top-10. Rasmus, younger by a couple of minutes, carded a 68 which was one better than his sibling, who's one back in a tie for 10th.
