Latest news with #Royal Portrush
Yahoo
a day ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
British Open: A bat invaded the NBC broadcast booth, hilariously sending Kevin Kisner and Dan Hicks into a panic
Kevin Ksiner didn't hesitate to take cover on Friday afternoon inside the NBC broadcast booth. The PGA Tour star and "proud hunter" wanted absolutely nothing to do with an errant bat that found its way into their tower during the second round of the British Open on Friday at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland. Kisner dove down under the table and whipped his jacket over his head in an apparent effort to just wait out the invasion. Kisner's broadcast partner, Dan Hicks, wasn't much help either. He just started waving his hands around frantically. Thankfully, Mike Tirico was there to describe the entire scene. "I'm telling you Mike ... just when you think you've seen it all," Hicks said after things had settled, adding that the bat did 20 laps around the tower they were sitting in. "I saw the feet up looking to land, I was ducking out," Kisner added. Honestly, it's hard to blame him. Kisner is on the call this week as part of his role as NBC's lead golf analyst, which he does while still competing on the PGA Tour. The four-time winner finished T8 at the ISCO Championship earlier this month, which actually marked his first made cut after missing nine straight and only his second of the season. While the duo aren't even to the midway point of the tournament, a bat making its way into the booth is about the last thing you'd expect while covering a major championship. Hopefully, the rest of the weekend is easier on them.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
2025 British Open: There's a Buddhist monk at the top of the leaderboard
For some, golf is a path to spiritual enlightenment. For Sadom Kaewkanjana, spiritual enlightenment is a path to golf. Kaewkanjana, of Thailand, isn't just an accomplished professional golfer; he's an ordained Buddhist monk. And after one round of the 2025 British Open at Royal Portrush, he's one stroke off the clubhouse lead at -3. "Honestly, I play in my country, have no like links course before," he said after his round. "So when I play links course, it's a new experience for me. I really enjoy to play a links course. It's fun to play with a windy course and tough conditions. So very enjoy to play on a links course." A three-time winner on the Asian Tour, Kaewkanjana missed the cut in the two PGA Championships he's played, and finished at T11 in the 2022 British. After that major, he stepped away from the game "I was ordained because I wanted to return the greatest merit and repay my parents," he said at the time. "I was cut off from the rest of the world when I was ordained,' he added. 'That made me feel more calm. I was able to concentrate more, which will help me improve my game of golf." He qualified for this year's Open by winning the Kolon Korea Open on the Asian Tour, and after his round, he discussed how his new calling has helped him prepare for these tournaments. "It's a new experience being a monk," he said. "They help like more concentrate on the golf course or outside the golf course. It's made me a lot of focus. Forget everything outside, just live in the present. So I really enjoy being a monk." "Forget everything outside, just live in the present" is pretty much the most perfect advice possible for playing golf, but especially in a tournament of rain and wind like the Open. Kaewkanjana's round included two birdies and an eagle against just one bogey. While the calm and serenity that comes from his ordination has helped him get to this point, Kaewkanjana has some higher ambitions. "My goal is like I want to play in the Masters my whole life," he said. "I want to play one time. So to get in the world ranking into the top 50, that's my goal." Calm, serenity ... and a tee time at Augusta National. That's the secret to a full life right there.
Telegraph
2 days ago
- Sport
- Telegraph
Meet the Buddhist monk in contention at the Open
In one of the ultimate individual pressure championships in sport, golf's famous Open is a battle of nerves where only the unflappable can thrive. Who, then, could be better equipped for such tests of mental fortitude than an official master of Zen? Meet Sadom Kaewkanjana, an ordained monk who has got off to a flyer at Royal Portrush, the spectacular Northern Ireland course. While rivals live, breathe and sleep golf to compete at the top of the ruthless sport, Kaewkanjana's entirely different approach appears to be paying off. He scored 68 in his opening round, to leave him three-under and in contention with the leading pack. Questioned by Telegraph Sport afterwards, he recognised his role as a monk was helping him 'forget everything outside' and 'just live in the present' at Portrush. 'It's a new experience being a monk', he explained, that helps him 'concentrate more on the golf course or outside the golf course'. 'It's made me a lot of focus [sic],' he added. 'Forget everything outside, just live in the present. I really enjoy being a monk.' The 27-year-old Thai first took a hiatus from golf in 2023 to live for several weeks as an entirely dedicated Buddhist monk spending endless hours meditating. 'I was ordained because I wanted to return the greatest merit and repay my parents,' he said at the time. 'I was cut off from the rest of the world when I was ordained,' he added. 'That made me feel more calm. I was able to concentrate more, which will help me improve my game of golf.' Kaewkanjana had previously qualified for the Open at St Andrews in 2022, where he finished impressively tied for 11th. But having qualified for Royal Portrush via his victory in the Kolon Korea Open, a qualifying event on the Asian Tour, nobody predicted he would leave rivals trailing again. The monk was in miracle form as he made the turn in three-under 33, one off the clubhouse lead. A birdie on the par-five second and an eagle-two at the par-four fifth will linger long in the memory. On the latter, he hit his tee shot on the 361-yard hole to 23 feet before making the putt. He said on Thursday night that his ordination as a monk does not put a limit on his golf ambitions. His state of mind will have helped even before the golf, however, as his luggage went missing when he landed in the UK earlier this week. 'Stay in the present, just stay in my mind,' he said when asked whether a Zen approach to the game was helping. 'My goal is I want to play in the Masters,' he added. 'I want to play one time. So to get in the world ranking into the top 50, that's my goal.' Becoming an ordained monk is a rite of passage that is not uncommon for Thai men in their 20s. Kaewkanjana initially took a two-week hiatus from the sport to take vows to formally be recognised as a member of the monastic community. Duties for the in-form player include meditation, study of Buddhist teachings, upholding ethical precepts and adopting a role as a 'spiritual leader' within the community. He returned to the sport at the 2023 PGA Championship at Oak Hill but his outing at Portrush has been his biggest stage since becoming a monk. One man who may have benefitted from Kaewkanjana's Buddhist state of mind on Thursday was the two-time major winner Jon Rahm, who lambasted a fan midway through his first Open round for whistling. The Spaniard had just carded his first bogey of the day, having reached the turn at two under par, so was not in the best of moods when someone in the crowd whistled as he was teeing it up on the 11th. 'Whistling? Great timing… in the backswing,' said an angry Rahm as his drive sailed into the right deep rough on one of Royal Portrush's toughest holes, from where he had to hack out for another dropped shot. He recovered his composure to birdie the 14th and finish one under, three shots off the lead.
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Graeme McDowell believes Scottie Scheffler is 'BORED of winning' after the two-time Masters champion's stunning outburst at The Open
Graeme McDowell believes Scottie Scheffler is 'bored of winning'. Scheffler stunned members of the media on Tuesday at Royal Portrush by delivering an emotional monologue where he explained that winning titles on the PGA Tour was 'not a fulfilling life.' It's been a rollercoaster 18 months for the 29-year-old, who won seven times on the PGA Tour in 2024, picked up his second Green Jacket, won the FedEx Cup and also became a new dad. But Scheffler, who has banked a whopping £65million on the PGA Tour since gaining his card, caused a stir, as he revealed he was 'wrestling' thoughts of why he wanted to win so badly. Reflecting on the world No 1's comments, McDowell explained that while he understood where the American was coming from, he added that he would love to be in the two-time Masters champion's shoes. 'I empathised on some levels, you know, but it just came across to me like he's a bit bored winning, like I'd love to be bored of winning,' McDowell told Mail Sport. 'I'd love to have a go at how he feels. Listen, he's a very philosophical guy and he's a very spiritual guy as well. So I guess some of it came over a little bit like, devaluing sport and kind of like: "What's it all about?".' McDowell returns to his hometown of Royal Portrush this week but will not be in the field, after the LIV Golf star failed to qualify for the event. Instead he'll be making his punditry debut as an analyst on Sky Sports Golf. The Northern Irishman described Scheffler as an 'interesting superstar' and praised the 16-time PGA Tour winner for being 'such a good role model'. 'I do empathise with his comments a little bit. It nearly comes across a bit wrong, because he nearly contradicts himself as well, when he says he loves it. 'He loves the practice, he loves the grind.' McDowell, who won the US Open back in 2010, opened up on just how gruelling trying to win on the professional tours can be. 'You do work your a** off, it does hurt, and it is hard to achieve things, and then you hold a trophy, and then you kind of sit back,' he said. 'I remember when I won the US Open, and being back here in the town about five days later, and it hit me. 'I started crying at about 3am after too many beverages. Because, you know, the emotions of it all is nearly like was just the emotional release and the adrenaline. 'And then one day you're sitting around going: "Jesus, that was a bit mad there".' 'But very interesting, he's an interesting guy. My main takeaway from it is he's an interesting superstar.' Graeme McDowell will feature on The Open exclusively live on Sky Sports as a golf analyst. Watch live coverage of The 153rd Open from Royal Portrush exclusively on Sky Sports and NOW from Thursday 17 July, with wall-to-wall preview coverage available from Monday 15 July on Sky
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
How to watch The Open 2025 in the UK: TV channel, live stream and times for first round
The Open is back on our screens for another year as the golf calendar reaches its pinnacle. The final major tournament of the season is upon us, with the sport's top players converging on Northern Ireland to battle it out for golf's oldest prize. The coveted Claret Jug is up for grabs at Royal Portrush, with play teeing off this morning and running through Sunday, July 20. Masters champion Rory McIlroy was narrowly edged out by Chris Gotterup at the Scottish Open last week, and the Northern Irishman is searching for a second Open title on home soil this time around. He previously won the tournament at the Royal Liverpool back in 2014. The reigning champion is Xander Schauffele, who won by two shots to defeat Justin Rose and Billy Horschel at the Royal Troon. Play gets underway on Thursday morning from 6:35am. with defending champion Schauffele teeing off at 9:58am alongside JJ Spaun, the US Open champion, and Jon Rahm, who is among the favourites for this year's competition. McIlroy goes off at 3:10pm along with Justin Thomas and Tommy Fleetwood. You can view all the tee times and groupings for the first round here. How to watch The Open 2025 TV channel: In the UK, live coverage of The Open is provided by Sky Sports. The broadcasts begin at 6:30am BST on Thursday morning on both Sky Sports Golf and Sky Sports Main Event. Live stream: Sky Sports subscribers can also watch the action live online via the Sky Go app. It's also available to stream via NOW.
