Latest news with #MaxKennedy
Khaleej Times
23-06-2025
- Sport
- Khaleej Times
Morrison feels ‘amazing' after battling mental struggles to end 10-year drought in France
James Morrison secured a memorable victory at the €300,000 Blot Play9 at Golf Bluegreen de Pléneuf Val André on the HotelPlanner Tour, marking his first tournament win in over a decade. The Englishman, a two-time DP World Tour winner, posted a level-par 70 in the final round to finish six-under-par for the tournament, tied with Irish rising star Max Kennedy. Morrison held his nerve in a playoff, parring the first extra hole to claim his maiden HotelPlanner Tour title. This win marks a long-awaited return to the winner's circle, with Morrison's previous victories coming at the 2015 Open de España and the 2010 Madeira Islands Open BPI – Portugal. He takes home the €48,000 top prize and, perhaps more importantly, a renewed sense of belief. 'I feel amazing right now and I'm very proud,' said Morrison. 'I didn't play my best today, but I hung in there the best I could. I battled all the way through and hit some good shots at the right time.' The final day posed plenty of challenges, with swirling winds and firm conditions testing the field on the tricky coastal layout. 'You can't relax until the very end,' Morrison added. 'Max Kennedy played some great golf, and my journey to this point has been very different to his - I know his time will come.' Perseverance Rewarded Morrison's perseverance paid off. Having lost his DP World Tour card last year, the Englishman returned to the HotelPlanner Tour with quiet determination. His victory now propels him 153 places up the Road to Mallorca Rankings to 19th. With the top 20 at the season's end earning promotion, Morrison is suddenly well positioned for a return to the big stage. 'This win puts me in great stead for the rest of the season," he said. "The golf hasn't been the problem, it's been a mental battle these past few years. It's been so hard for me and my family, and I'm just proud to have made it back.' Morrison has been open about those mental health struggles during the week, and this breakthrough win may well give him the boost needed to carry that momentum through the rest of 2025. Elsewhere, Scotland's Daniel Young produced a stunning final-round 60 to equal the course record and finish one shot behind the leaders in solo third. Remarkably, Young admitted he wasn't even thinking about a sub-60 score, having forgotten the course was a par 70. John Gough of England fired a 63 to finish fourth at four-under, with Frenchman Oihan Guillamoundeguy and Belgian Matthis Besard tied for fifth, one stroke further back. The Road to Mallorca remains in France next week, with the Le Vaudreuil Golf Challenge at Golf PGA France du Vaudreuil from June 26–29. Italy's Renato Paratore, with his back-to-back wins in the UAE earlier this season, continues to lead the standings. J. Morrison (Eng): 64, 66, 74, 70 – 274 M. Kennedy (Ire): 60, 76, 68, 70 – 274 D. Young (Sco): 69, 71, 75, 60 – 275 J. Gough (Eng): 67, 71, 75, 63 – 276
Irish Times
22-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Max Kennedy loses in playoff in bid for breakthrough win
Max Kennedy's bid for a breakthrough win on the hotelplanner Tour came up narrowly short after the 23-year-old Dubliner lost out to England's James Morrison in a playoff at the Blot Play9 tournament at Golf Bluegreen de Pléneuf Val André in Brittany. Kennedy – in his first full season as a professional after graduating from the University of Louisville – shared the 54-holes lead with Morrison and held a one-shot advantage playing the 18th, only to incur a double-bogey six for a 70 to Morrison's bogey as both finished on six-under 274. In the playoff, Morrison – a 40-year-old veteran with two wins on the DP World Tour in his career, including the Spanish Open in 2015 – won with a par on the first hole of sudden death. Kennedy moved 52 places from 72nd up to the 20th in the updated Race to Mallorca season-long rankings, from which the leading 20 players will earn DP World Tour cards for next season. READ MORE 'Max played some great golf and my journey to this point has been very different to his and I know his time will come,' said Morrison, who moved to 19th in the R2M standings in his own bid to secure a full European Tour card again.
RTÉ News
19-06-2025
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Max Kennedy shoots 60 to take the lead in European Challenge Tour event
Dubliner Max Kennedy shot a sensational 10-under-par 60 to storm into the lead after the first round of the Blot Play9 tournament on the European Challenge Tour. Kennedy, 23, was within a whisker of getting home in 59 at Golf Blue Green de Pléneuf Val André in northern France. The Royal Dublin golfer needed one more birdie on the 18th to do it, but he had to settle for par and a four-shot lead ahead of England's James Morrison. Kennedy's card was dotted with six birdies and, remarkably, two eagles, which came on the par-five seventh and 11th. Another Irishman, 24-year-old Mark Power, is in the mix too. The Kilkenny native is four-under after starting with a 66.
