Latest news with #TomMcKibbin
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
'Frustrated' McKibbin set for early Open exit
Northern Ireland's Tom McKibbin said he was frustrated with "silly mistakes" as looks set to miss the cut at the Open. After an opening round of one over at Royal Portrush, McKibbin birdied the opening hole on Friday but bogeyed the eighth, 11th and 14th to move to four over. A birdie on the 15th gave him hope of making the cut, which had fluctuated between one and two over par, but three closing pars left him on three over for the tournament. "It's been a frustrating last two days. I've played some really nice golf," McKibbin told BBC Sport NI. "I think it's the best I've played in the four majors I've played in. There was just a few silly mistakes." McKibbin, 22, said he made a "silly mistake" on the eighth hole when he overshot the green and his round never really recovered from that mistake. "It's very frustrating with the way I think I've been playing. I birdied the first and made some really nice chances, and to drop those shots that I didn't think were too poor of a shot, they were more of a mistake, that's what more frustrating than anything. "It was a great week, the whole way through with the crowds and everything but it wasn't meant to be."
BBC News
4 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
'Frustrated' McKibbin set for early Open exit
Northern Ireland's Tom McKibbin said he was frustrated with "silly mistakes" as looks set to miss the cut at the an opening round of one over at Royal Portrush, McKibbin birdied the opening hole on Friday but bogeyed the eighth, 11th and 14th to move to four over. A birdie on the 15th gave him hope of making the cut, which had fluctuated between one and two over par, but three closing pars left him on three over for the tournament."It's been a frustrating last two days. I've played some really nice golf," McKibbin told BBC Sport NI."I think it's the best I've played in the four majors I've played in. There was just a few silly mistakes."McKibbin, 22, said he made a "silly mistake" on the eighth hole when he overshot the green and his round never really recovered from that mistake. "It's very frustrating with the way I think I've been playing. I birdied the first and made some really nice chances, and to drop those shots that I didn't think were too poor of a shot, they were more of a mistake, that's what more frustrating than anything. "It was a great week, the whole way through with the crowds and everything but it wasn't meant to be."
Irish Daily Mirror
4 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Tom McKibbin 'p***ed off' not to make Portrush cut in The Open
Local favourite Tom McKibbin is likely to miss out on the weekend in Portrush by just one shot. Not surprisingly, the 22-year-old is unhappy not to make the cut for the first time in a major championship, although this was just his third one. McKibbin, who hails from Newtownabbey, had high hopes coming into the championship with the backing of the home support and with a lucrative start to his LIV career already banked. Getting his second round underway on 1-over par, McKibbin birdied the first to get off to a great start but a double bogey on 9 derailed him and dropped shots followed on 11 and 14. He did battle back with a birdie on 15, but he couldn't find another over his closing holes and a 73 is now expected to leave him just on the wrong side of the cut mark. "Not great," he remarked afterwards. "A little bit annoyed. Yeah, a little bit p***ed off. I think that's what's probably most annoying (to lose out by one shot). "This is probably the best I've played out of them all, just so many like stupid errors, just pins at the back of the green, hitting over the green. It's just where there's nothing really wrong with the shot. So I think that's what's a little bit frustrating. "The crowd supporting me the whole way round was amazing. The whole week was good, sort of positive. I thought I played all right, just a few sort of stupid mistakes that looking back, I wouldn't really hit different. The shot was fine, just sort of missed in the wrong spot or got the club slightly wrong. "Overall, I actually thought I played quite nicely, just a few silly mistakes. It's very hard obviously when you don't really play much links golf, and then you start playing it two days or three days before a tournament. Besides that, all good. I felt like I've been playing nicely." If he takes anything from the two rounds it is hitting those tee shots on the first. He was with Padraig Harrington in the first group out on Thursday. Along with Darren Clarke, McKibbin and Harrington will put the feet up to watch the weekend action. "I've hit two decent ones down there that I think now going forward," said McKibbin. "I don't think there will be many harder tee shots going forward from that. After that, nothing really too much." He only has three tournaments left on the LIV tour this season. "I'll give those all I have," he said, having already earned over €4m in prize money having decided to join the Saudi-backed tour rather than the PGA Tour. "I'll play a little bit of DP as well coming towards the end of the year as well. Gearing up for them." Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email alerts.
Associated Press
4 days ago
- Sport
- Associated Press
Spidercam technology brings golf's oldest major into the modern world
Updated [hour]:[minute] [AMPM] [timezone], [monthFull] [day], [year] PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland (AP) — The oldest major championship has taken a step into the modern world by using a technological feature that British Open organizers hope will bring to life one of the most storied walks in golf. Spidercam — that's a camera, not a superhero — was used in golf for the first time at Royal Portrush on Thursday. It's a camera suspended above the 18th green using four pylons about 25 meters high, giving TV viewers unique views of the closing hole and its undulations. Held in a resting position high to the back of the green for approach shots, Spidercam swoops down as the players make their walk to the green and hovers just above them as they make their putts. 'It's pretty cool the way it can move and do all those swings,' said Northern Irish golfer Tom McKibbin, who went out at 6:35 a.m. local time in the first group of the day with Nicolai Hojgaard and Padraig Harrington. They were the first players to experience in competition the technology which reportedly cost the R&A 300,000 pounds ($400,000) to install. 'It was a little bit different,' McKibbin said. 'I'd never seen it before.' That's because the R&A is using the technology before any of the professional tours in golf. Spidercam has, though, operated widely in TV coverage of other major sports including soccer, rugby and cricket — and has occasionally gotten in the way. In 2017, India star MS Dhoni hit a shot in a cricket match against England that smashed into the hovering camera and broke it. In 2022, South Africa cricketer Anrich Nortje was knocked to the ground when he collided with a low-swinging Spidercam as he walked to his place in the field in a test against Australia. The camera operator responsible was stood down for the remainder of the match. 'I didn't know what hit me,' Nortje said at the time. 'I don't think it should be traveling at head height.' At Royal Portrush, Spidercam will complement existing technology such as a plane camera, aerial drones and bunker cameras to enhance TV coverage. According to the Guardian newspaper, players were briefed last week about plans to use Spidercam at Royal Portrush and there were no complaints despite the potential for getting distracted while preparing to make a shot. As Hojgaard and Harrington walked alongside each other to the 18th green, Spidercam swung down and over them. As Harrington made his two putts, the camera almost circled him. Hojgaard said he didn't notice Spidercam. With Royal Portrush not having a clubhouse on the 18th green, there has been space to install the technology. Other venues on the Open rotation won't have that luxury, notably Royal Lytham St. Anne's, Royal Troon and Hoylake. Next year's Open is at Royal Birkdale , which has its clubhouse near the 18th green but should still have room for the Spidercam technology. 'We ... believe that Spidercam will bring millions of fans a new perspective of the action from Royal Portrush,' said Neil Armit, chief commercial officer at the R&A, 'with incredible detail and accessibility wherever they are in the world.' ___ AP golf:
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Inside Royal Portrush: Pints cost £8 and staying nearby is £4,500
High above the stands that surround the 18th green at Royal Portrush, four skeletal metal towers stretch 82ft into the sky above County Antrim. Wires extend from the top of them, high above the putting surface, running into a giant black camera at the centre of them. Spidercam, as it's known, has long been used in football and cricket to give television spectators a fresh view on the sporting action below but is being used this week for the first time in Open history. The camera swoops down from its position at the back of the green as players approach and hovers just above them as they make their putts. 'It's pretty cool the way it can move and do all those swings,' said Northern Irishman Tom McKibbin, from Rory McIlroy 's hometown of Holywood, who went out in the first group of the day. It cost about £300,000 and is just the latest way that golf's oldest major has taken another step into the modern world. More than 250,000 spectators will descend on Royal Portrush this week but millions more will be watching from the comfort of their living rooms. That's why more than 100 television cameras and 80 miles of cables — about as far as the crow flies from here to the previous Open venue at Royal Troon in Scotland — will provide footage for broadcasters around the world. Giant double-decker trucks belonging to golf's biggest club manufacturers are also dotted around the course, packed full of club heads, grips, driver heads and beyond for the players to go and get equipment tweaked and changed during the week. 'They are all in quite a bit,' Callaway's head technician Paul Monks tells Mail Sport. 'It's a bit of a sanctuary for them. If you're not playing well you will try anything to get the scoring down so generally it's the players that are struggling.' A superstitious world No 1 Scottie Scheffler likes to watch as the Taylormade technicians put grips on his clubs and spent much of last year's championship at Royal Troon standing over the guys in the truck on his way to another top-10 finish. Giant double-decker trucks belonging to golf's biggest club manufacturers are also dotted around the course, packed full of club heads, grips, driver heads and beyond for the players to go and get equipment tweaked and changed during the week. 'They are all in quite a bit,' Callaway's head technician Paul Monks tells Mail Sport. 'It's a bit of a sanctuary for them. If you're not playing well you will try anything to get the scoring down so generally it's the players that are struggling.' A superstitious world No 1 Scottie Scheffler likes to watch as the Taylormade technicians put grips on his clubs and spent much of last year's championship at Royal Troon standing over the guys in the truck on his way to another top-10 finish. It's not just the technology that's moving with the times but also the town itself. The Open is expected to add more than £213million to the local economy. At the current prices around Portrush, that's no surprise. The only remaining accommodation left on booking website when Mail Sport checked on Thursday was a self-catering apartment five miles away costing £4,500 for a three-night stay until Sunday. That's why the chap in the queue for the megastore who had flown in from Boston was staying in Ballycastle — some 18 miles from Portrush — or why Alex, the young lad from Indianapolis in dungarees in the colours of the American flag, is renting an AirBnB near Lough Neagh and driving an hour to the park and ride. It's also why nearly 5,000 spectators, from more than 30 countries, have opted to sleep in the great outdoors at the nearby Open camping village. An Australian called Ryan, who is staying there, describes it as like being at a 'civilised festival'. Those who booked are paying as little as £55 a night. Yes, having just a tent and a sleeping bag to guard you against the onslaught of rain that struck Portrush on Thursday may not be the most glamorous way to spend a week but at least you'll have a bit more cash to spend. If you could stretch to £80 a night, you could stay in the more high-brow 'glamping' tee-pees. Either way, you'll have more in your pocket to splash on food, drink and merchandise because, boy, you'll need it. That's after paying between £100 and £345 a day on an adult ticket. Organisers predict around 180,000 pints will be served this week. Meanwhile, a burger and chips on course starts at £14.50. Still, even that's cheaper than some places outside the grounds who have been trying to cash in more than others. As the rain beat down on Portrush on Thursday afternoon, many felt it was a good time to have a browse in the spectator village shop. Mail Sport joined them as patrons queued for half an hour to get inside the welcome shelter of the Open treasure trove — £45 for an umbrella (needs must), £20 for a towel, £15 for a pack of three ball markers and £12 for a pitch-mark repairer. If you really want to look the part, it's £160 for a fancy quilted zip-up golf top and £695 for an Open tour golf bag. For those on a budget, maybe just stick to a pack of tees for £7 — about the only thing still cheaper than a pint around here.
