Ep 194 | Penge for Augusta, McKibbin motors on + crunch time for card hopefuls

On this week’s edition of the podcast, Peter and Ronan laud Tom McKibbin’s consistency after a fourth-place finish at the Spanish Open, highlighting the consistency he has shown over the last two seasons and why a win surely can’t be too far away.

It’s also crunch time this week for Conor Purcell, Liam Nolan and Max Kennedy with promotion to the DP World Tour and survival on the agenda.

[Music] Hey everybody and welcome along to this week’s edition of the Irish Golfer Podcast. Peter Finnen here and joined as always by Rona McNamara. How are we? Not too bad, Rona. Not too bad. Bit worse for wear this week now. You’re just fresh back from Dublin airport. hanging off you. What? What? Where were you or what we up to? I’m only back a matter of hours. H I’m not hung over. I’d like to clarify, but I am exhausted. The voice The voice is definitely worse for wear. I was in a packed away end in Lisbon on on Saturday night. H still heartbroken over the result. But look, h it was a playful Portugal score, so I’m going to have to accept that. Was it a good atmosphere though? It was good traveling over. Yeah. Oh, it was some crack. Yeah, it was brilliant. Brilliant weekend. H just night before everyone’s singing songs like Pink Pony Club is the best song in the world now, I think. Uh and then just the whole atmosphere in the away end as well was absolutely sensational. I mean, at Halime getting loads of text saying the the roar at Halime was like we scored a goal just cuz it was scoreless. And then like the penalty save we we want like we were all kind of half joking that we we just wanted to have a moment like imagine we scored first or imagine we get a corner or imagine we get like a long throw in front of the away end or something and we got the penalty save and then when the 90 comes we’re like oh my god like Jesus we’re so close seven minutes goes up and my god the groans were absolutely ridiculous and then the goal goes in and we were held back then for 52 minutes afterwards and I didn’t speak to anybody at all. I just stared into space for those 52 minutes. I was ready to just die. And was the penalty the opposite end to where you were or the same end? No, the opposite end which me which made it so weird because because you’re so far away and there’s a net like there was a big net in front of the away end as well. So we couldn’t really see down that end. So it looked like the penalty had gone in cuz Keter has obviously gone the wrong way and he just flicks a leg out at the last minute and ah Jesus like there was a couple of seats broken in that away end after the save full of hooligans netted in and everything. It must have been just full of Rovers hooligans was it? Yeah. Well the police had like those riot shields and everything and they like that’s mental. Even if you went over to like speak to them like I saw one lad go over and say like like what’s the story? Why can’t we leave? And he was just shoved back in. Like it was mental. Oh that’s mad. Yeah. Yeah, we nearly hung on for a famous nil all win, but yeah, next time it’s all all again Tuesday. Tomorrow night will be great. All again Tuesday. Yeah. God. Um, no. So, getting stuck into the golf. So, the energy is at an all-time low. That’s what you’re saying to me. Yeah, pretty much. Yeah, but my my voice has recovered well since yesterday, I have to say. I didn’t think I’d be able to talk. All right. No, that’s good. Well, sticking with energy. Energy test. The big three. You have to get it this week. Oh god. Gas, electricity, and solar. I was close last. I said gas, electricity, and something else. Yeah. So, gas, electricity, solar. So, uh, big shout out to Flow Gas who sponsor this podcast. Um, visit flow gas.e for all your gas, electricity, and solar needs. They do household commercial business plans as well. So, um, as we say every week on the podcast, they support Irish golf from every level. So, if you are up for renewal, uh, do give them a shout, give them a look. So, visit flow gas. Give them a chance to win your business. You will find that they are quite competitive on um some of their streams that they offer. So, gas, electricity, solar, visit flowast.ie. Right, where do we get stuck in this week? Um, Spanish Open seems to be the the one to get stuck into first. We’d uh it’s nice, I suppose, coming into this, it’s nice to see this new initiative uh with Augusta National and the RNA actually show the PGA Tour fall series like utter disdain in the same way as we do that. It’s just silly season over that side and to recognize national opens. First up being the Spanish open in Madrid this week that there was a bit of jeopardy in this tournament. They got a good field as well. They got a great winner. We’ll get stuck into all that. But I suppose to to offer the Masters places for legacy tournaments like this. It makes such a difference this side of the Atlantic. I know we’ve been calling for it for years. Yeah, it just gives the national opens a boost. And I think last week we touched on it as well. You know, things like the French Open just aren’t as big as they used to be. Spanish Open, Irish Open, all these brilliant events um should be prioritized going forward in like some sort of world tour in my opinion. But um yeah, like this is the first of them and like a really really good um leaderboard all week as well. the bit of Spanish interest up there as well with Angelora, great winner in in Marco Pen who’s just had a you know a sensational season. Dan Brown has become a bit of a cult figure on the DP World Tour now as well. He’s a really popular uh player with the fans. And then we have of course with Tom McKibben H went really well again for the second week in a row um closing in on return to the top 100 as well. So I think in terms of viewing for the European tour definitely I’m not sure what the figures were but I’d imagine this was one of the one of the better weeks of the year as well. Yeah. No, it was good. No, you hitting a lot of highlights there. I suppose starting off with the winner Marco Penge like two years ago he was on the challenge tour struggling and he’s gone on record about performance anxiety and stuff that was affecting him. Then he won the grand final two years ago. That’s coming up in a few weeks. You’ll be there. Uh you were probably at that event he won actually. Were you? I was. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. No, it’s gas. But he he started off the season I think outside the top 400 in the world. Yeah. Like you look at his his trend of how he’s gone. It just goes to show how these pathways are so important. Like like yeah, he’s now won three times on the DP World Tour. I think he’s won three times in the last 16 starts, which is a serious serious turn of events. But like you go back two years ago, like we’re saying he’s on the challenge tour. Last year he struggled to keep his card. Like he just about snuck in. He missed the cut in this event last year and was going away thinking that’s that’s me done. You know, he was in a very similar position that um maybe a little bit closer to the top 115, but very similar to what Connor Pel’s facing into now. He was in that spot this time last year. And if ever Connor Pcel can take a bit of I suppose comfort from where he is and what he can do and how quick things can turn around. Uh definitely looking at Marco Penge or Pangi as we call him. Pangi from Port Rush. R from Port Rush. Yeah. But it was it’s just great to see that he’s so good. Like I say, he missed the cut. Shot 79 round two this time last year. Now he’s into the world’s top 50. He’ll get into all the majors probably. H he guarantees his masters and his open spot for this. But it’s just great to see and he’s been through a lot like even a year ago like he was banned. You forget he was banned for the betting stuff as well. Like he wasn’t betting on himself but he was do you remember all that? Yeah. Yeah. I mean that’s what he had become known for and that just seems to have been completely swept under the carpet and it doesn’t seem like it was it was just last year, wasn’t it? Or even the start of this year. Yeah, it was the tail end of last year. last year that feels like it was five or six years ago considering how much he’s done. But like if you look at the leaderboard, you spoke about pathways like Marco obviously came through the challenge tour two years ago. McKibbons come through the challenge tour. H Rasmus near Guy Peterson came through the challenge tour last year as did Angela Yora. Alex FPatrick has played challenge tour. Alex Levie won back his card via the challenge tour last year. Uh Todd Clemens came through challenge tour. H there’s loads of players and that’s just mentioned the top 16 players in the leaderboard last week as well. So and there’s a great success rate of players coming through. It’s called the hotel planner tour now. But with players actually retaining their cards first time round. So it just shows there is that pathway there and for next year obviously we discussed they’re trimming that down a little bit which is obviously terrible but the quality of the of the players coming through the lower tiers is is really really good in Europe. No it is really really good now like Pangi’s done really well in the last obviously we’re saying three wins in 16 events. He he struggled to close this one out. I know you didn’t catch all of it. Like I watched it live back to back. He really tried to overpower this golf course. Like it was questionable his approach. He said in the interview afterwards he felt like the golfing gods were against him. Um he was kind of against himself like taking driver everywhere. Just took it everywhere he could pull the big stick. He did. I he only hit three fairways. Um and he got away with it. Just about got away with it. Um, but like you can’t question he put himself into a great position when you’re like I think he’s he’s pretty much led from the start here and uh took it the whole way through. But yeah, like that just that sort of winning mentality to win it the way he did as well. So Dan Brown that he was up against Dan Brown done really well to get to a playoff. anyone that didn’t watch this, like he was down on the ground getting treatment from the 11th or the 12th hole on like had like an upper back, shoulder, neck injury that he just couldn’t shake. He looked wobbly. He was down, had a couple of bogeies mid round. And then in between getting treatment on pretty much every shot he hit, he just started to find the groove, finish like a train, sort of smelled the weakness that uh Pangi was leaking a few shots coming down uh the stretch and lo and behold finds himself in a playoff uh after birdie in the last and Marco Pench doesn’t um doesn’t get it done on the 72nd hole. But I did like my kind of when you get to a situation like that, you expect like the K club highlighted this as well with the Irish Open. You need a strong playoff hole. Yeah. And I’d question whether the 18th it was different. The 18th and the K club was it was a good playoff hole because there’s two shots uh before guys are coming into the green. There’s riskreward involved on what line you take off the tea. there’s jeopardy on the approach as we seen with Lagan pulling his third approach into the water and stuff like that. This was a bit of an anti-limax that it’s a drivable par four for the playoff hole. So, it’s like just shy of 300 yards now. You’re playing up a slight hill and stuff like that, but the boys are pumping drivers up in around the green or on the green. It’s just not it’s not the same spectacle. And Penge to me was always favorite going into a drivable par four cuz he rips the ball. He absolutely hammers it. And Driver was near it was too much. It like Driver was too much for him. It was nearly he should have been laying back for mini driver like cuz he he went kind of long with his uh approach but then it turned into a chip in competition. Bit of a danceoff and um he ends up holding a 12-footer to win. But yeah, it was just a bit of an antilimax having a drivable par4 as a playoff hole. But in all the course, I like the look of the course. It’s nice to see these old school type courses still get played on the uh DP World Tour week in week out. But yeah, I would have questioned where they put the playoff hole. Yeah, I I didn’t see the playoff obviously, but I I disagree with you on the the par five and the K club. I didn’t think that was a great playoff hole as well. It was brilliant scene and brilliant atmosphere and it’s a great stadium hole and lends itself to, you know, moments like Marroy’s Eagle. But as a playoff, I mean, we are waiting for someone to make a mistake and I don’t think that’s right either. I mean, if you if you make a birdie on the playoff, you’re not going to lose. Um, but yeah, driveable par four is a bit of an anti-limax as you said, it does. Um, played a Marco Pen’s strengths obviously, but I think he was going to be taking driver off every T box anyway, regardless of what hole they played. And yeah, I think I for me anyway, the best playoff of the year was the Justin Rose JJ Spawn one. Um, and I think I think since watching the Canadian Open, was it two, three months ago or it was Fox and Burns again? It was a it was a par five that neither of them could reach. So, they’re just laying up and hitting wedges. H sometimes par fives are don’t lend themselves to be the greatest playoff holes at all. But maybe a driveable par four doesn’t doesn’t either because it’s the same thing every single time. Yeah, I just I’d be more in favor to bring in a rule. I know they can’t do three playoff holes everywhere, but they do it in some tournaments. I’d like to see two playoff holes that you can finish on the 18th, but you have something else before it as well that it’s just a bit more I just I don’t know. There’s a bit more juice in it when you have more shots and a little bit more. And I know they struggle with light a lot of times and they don’t want to do that. But a two-hole playoff and then into sudden death I think is the best of both worlds because some of the three I know like even thinking back JJ Spawn again with Rory um earlier on like three holes of a playoff. Now I know they have the drama at um at TPC that they’ll get a finish like that on those finishing three holes but still I I just think a two or three hole playoff would be better. we but like you can argue that the playoff was over going up the the 18th after what JJ did on 17, you know. So there’s there’s I suppose hindsight is is a great thing and there’s a bit of recency bias to it and I’m sure there’s been playoffs going down par fives that have been absolutely sensational that we just haven’t brought up. So I think um I don’t think there’s any straight structure or right answer to I think it might just be the look of the draw and actually what you get on the day. Yeah. Yeah. No, looking a bit further down the field. Not very far down the field though. You mentioned Tom McKibben. He kind of stalled in the final round. Um but finished strong and did exactly what he needed to do here. Bar win like he three three puts early in the round that really cost him. He’s only finished a couple of shots back. He’s birdie the last to finish in solo fourth. Um he’s jumped right up. We were talking about like getting into that top 50 on the race to Dubai was a goal of his coming back. He’s move like he’s leapt up 18 spots. He’s up to 38th now overall. So that’s him locked in for Dubai. Um gives him a couple of weeks off. He’s not going to India this week. He was going to go if he needed to go cuz a goal of his was but that solo fourth made that like he’s guaranteed to get into Dubai now. So, he takes a couple of weeks off. His next outing isn’t going to be until the Hong Kong Open. He has to play on the International Series a week before the first playoff event uh end of season on DP World Tour, which is the Abu Dhabi Championship, and then into the DP World Tour Championship. So, really good finish to the season for Tom. Like I’ve been so impressed that he’s come back after his live golf season and you look at his results like 20th in the Irish Open probably the worst he could have finished um at the Irish Open just he played solid golf really good finish then 10th at the BMW and Wentworth 15th at the Dunhill and now fourth at the Spanish Open like he’s such a quality quality player you forget how good these results are back to back to back like this that he’s just going and the more reps he gets in it’s just better better better. Yeah, I mean the consistency was there last year as well when he was he top 10 in the race to Dubai um last season and the consistency has been there on Liv as well. All he’s been missing really is the win and and that 15th at the Dunhill. I mean, he was a couple of shots off the lead playing his last hole in the second round and makes it quadruple and then the thing is reduced to 54 holes. So, you do wonder there. Absolutely. He got done in by the refs at that event. Like, absolutely. I know we didn’t go into detail on it last week, but like he didn’t even have like So, the wind was that bad he couldn’t get the ball on the tee on the 18th. Like, couldn’t get it teeded up and they wouldn’t call play. And they waited until literally 20 seconds after he’d hit the T-shot, then teed it up again, hit another T-shot, then they called play and he’d come back out to play two shots the next day. It was an absolute like this was in the middle of that storm a few weeks ago. And if he if the referee would have allowed him like 30 seconds to just sit on it knowing they were going to call play, which they do a lot of time, he just he got totally done in that week. Yeah, he did. But like last week was really impressive considering he was lingering on the cut line after an opening 71 and then the 65 67 was brilliant golf put him right into contention. Uh the only thing was just Pen was just um too good in in round three leaving Tom like six shots off the pace going into the final day. H tough to win from there but as you said like he’s 111th in the world now. big ranking events coming up in those DV World Tour playoffs. A chance then the week before in Hong Kong to, you know, get a win. I I think he’s right on the cuff cusp of winning again. Hasn’t won a couple of years, but with that would come an open place and a debut in the Masters. So, like there’s so much on the line for McKibben over the next month or so. Even though, you know, he’s had a brilliant season already with Liv and everything, there’s um real real chance of, you know, getting a couple of Brucey bonuses over the next month. Yeah. No, I win. I do fancy I do fancy him to win something big between now and the end of the calendar year. Like I like he will be fully primed to come out in Abu Dhabi and do some serious damage, I think. And Dubai, you know, he’s based out there as well a good bit of the year. Um, yeah. I I just He’s done everything Barin. His stats all point towards someone that’s really at the peak of his powers. He’s learned so much. It’s great freedom as well. Like, you know, to cut to the brass tax of it, like he’s made he’s made over 5 million quid this year playing on Live plus whatever sort of signing on bonus they got before for for joining in. So, now he’s not playing for money anymore. He’s playing for championships and he’s taking advantage of the loophole that exists on the court case that the Liv guys are going through with DP World Tour and he’s playing as many of these events improving his world ranking on top of that. I I think he’s going to win one of those big two either Abu Dhabi or the DP World Championship. I think he’s going to win one of them. Yeah. Well, he’s a good he’s a good record at the DP World Tour Championship. Secured his his PJ tour card there last year. So, um I think it’s a real it’s a real horses for courses type of golf course as well as as we’ve seen over the years. So, um yeah, hopefully he can get a win because it’d be absolutely massive like that. Winning there would put him in and around, you know, in touching distance of the top 50 again heading into next year. It would give him such a springboard. Yeah. and give him a gap as well that he can focus on live again. And then depending on like it’s just getting the tourists to sort out all the political in the background like and I’m not over exaggerating when I say it like if all the political crap was sorted out between now and the start of 2026 and or before the Royal Cup qualifying kicked in. Tom McKibben will give a really good tilt at qualifying for the Ryder Cup team in there. I think if if he was still a full-time member of the tour, he he fancies himself to do it and I I think he’s good enough. Yeah. And like he’ll come out and play those uh Desert Swing events at the start of next year as well, which would obviously give him a real chance of stamping a mark early on. And like you you feel with his age being 22, Rder Cup’s in two years now in a daring manner. I mean, this is this is the one. He’s spoken about it before, how cool it would be to play there. And yeah, this seems like the time to really, as you as you always say, kick on and and now start cementing yourself as a top player because we all know he is. We all know, you know, his world ranking of 111 is is not a true reflection of his ability. It’s a joke. It’s an absolute joke. like he is a he is a top 70 player at the at the very least in my opinion. Ah listen he I yeah I I think he’s I think he’s comfortably in the top 30 in the world. His stats and where he is. I think he’s comfortably in there. Like he’s he’s on the same level now gamewise. He’s not far off where Shane Larry is. Oh definitely not. I feel like every week on the podcast we we look at the world rankings and we say he’s not better than Tommy McKib. Yeah. But he’s kind of the benchmark for me a lot of times because we track him so much and you see that Yeah. It’s like Yeah, it is. It’s just bonkers. I can’t get my head around. But if they do sort it out, um yeah, fingers crossed they do. Um because he’s a dangerous man now with no money issues. He’s set up now. He’s done the right thing by him for the last year and he’s proved correct. Like if he didn’t go to live, yeah, he would be accumulating points and he’d still wouldn’t, you know, with playing DP World Tour events, I don’t know how it would have went in the States with him on the PGA tour, but like yeah, he wouldn’t have the comfort in his life and the actual um he wouldn’t have the schedule that he has now. But yeah, no, I was thinking about this this this morning like imagine Europe had like a B team for the RER Cup considering like they left out the likes of uh Penge obviously Alex Nin, Harry Hall, Matt Wallace, Tom McKibben, H Nikolai Hogard, Dan Brown. I mean that’s that’s a that’s a quality quality team like Lorie Caner as well was going well too. So there’s serious serious depth in in Europe at the moment. Yeah. No, we do. We definitely do. Um yeah, the writing’s on the wall for it there. We win the next one. Win the next two for the next one. But um yeah, other players in the field, John Ram uh shot a final round 65 in front of his home fans to um yeah, give them something to cheer home about. Lowry missed a cut. Played with John Ram the first two days. Just looked tired. Totally understandable. He’s off to India this week as well. First time since 2010. I seen him boarding an airplane last night or early this morning. Um yeah, good. There’s a good field assembling out in India as well. Yeah, there is. Again, you know, National Open, you want the best field you can you can possibly get. And just on Larry, like no reason for him to be playing. I mean, he’s had like the moment of the year as far as he’s he’s concerned, but you could tell he was really really trying to make that cut. Um because in the first day like he looked like just one of the worst rounds of hung over golf you’re ever going to see and then on the on the Friday he just lights it up and a late bogey was what eventually cost them. But you could say like the crowds that were following that group. I mean I don’t know like the powers that be who looks at this and looks at the fall season on the PJ tour and thinks like that’s that’s the way forward. I mean god I just I don’t know where soulless it is. like this was brilliant and again we’re talking about a fella just trying to make the cut and he’s living it. He’s bang into it as well and yeah I think um Larry obviously has his own agenda trying to make those those playoffs as well so needs a a big week in India but again got a brilliant field with Maroy playing there as well. So um yeah look Larry’s had a great year and the year now it’s it’s been a brilliant year for him because of what he did a couple of weeks ago. I wouldn’t be overly concerned with his form between now and the end of the year. Oh, not at all. No, not at all. No, but it’ll be it’ll be interesting to see cuz again like we’re spoiled for choice. We’re biging up McKibben. Larry also goes to Abu Dhabi and Dubai, two courses, big golf courses that he plays well, knows well, has done damage on in the past. So, yeah, it’ll be a good end of the season to him as well. But, um, yeah, Connor Pcel, uh, it was a tough week. He withdrew from the Spanish Open. Um had a bit of a thumb injury. I caught up with him this morning just before he was boarding a plane. Got a quick voice memo off him. So here we’ll we’ll play that now. How’s it going, Peter? Um hope you can hear this. Okay, I’m just in the airport traveling to India. Um yeah, it’s just a I’ve I get a bit of a sore thumb sometimes. My hand tends to get a bit weak. left hand tends to get a bit weak on the club and just if I’ve done a lot of practice it gets a bit sore and um last week just got to the point where I couldn’t continue. So couple days resting and taking the start of this week early. Hopefully we can um be ready to go come Thursday here in India. And yeah, been playing nicely the last few weeks actually. Had a nice run at Dunh Hill. Bit bit frustrated in a way that it was reduced to three rounds cuz I felt like the game was actually in a lovely spot and had a a good chance for a high finish that week after starting really well. Um but yeah, it’s been it’s been tricky results wise this year. It obviously hasn’t been what I’ve wanted and coming to the end of the year now it’s crunch time looking like this potentially might be my last start. So we’ll try and make the most of this week and if not we’ll we’ll head to to Q school and and go from there. But yeah it’s been a lot of learning a lot of new new courses and just getting used to things again. But um enjoyed it as a whole and uh all part of it. So yeah, interesting I suppose to get a bit of insight just before he’s getting out to India a bit earlier. Uh tongue injury on his left hand sounds like it’s something that he’s just had a while and uh just wasn’t feeling it last week. But yeah, to be heading out to India into such a big field with so many big names in it, knowing that he you need to finish in the top two probably to lock up your card. It’s a it’s a tough space for him to be in, but it’s an opportunity still at the same time that he needs to like he he highlighted himself. Uh he was playing very well at the Dunhill. He felt a bit hard done by like he was unlucky that it was reduced to three rounds. a lot of players are in that bracket, but him more so than anything that he just clicked that week and he had a a good week, but could have been a lot better and it would have made a massive difference to his ranking as well. Yeah, like it sounded there like he sort of half accepts that the writing is on the wall at the moment and he he’s going to go back to Q school, but like the Donhill performance was was very encouraging. um he was unlucky with the weather as so many were but like at least having confirmed that he withdrew because of an injury I mean you see him shoot 81 last week in the first round you think he’s withdrawn just because you know mentally he’s he might be on the floor so hearing that it was precaution because of an injury and probably takes some of the concern away but again yeah this week is a is a big week for him played in India before though so he’s he’s used to the area which which might play into his favor. But I think he probably knows the back of his mind. It’s very much the last last roll of the dice because he’s not in next week at the moment the Genesis Championship in in Korea which is the last regular event for those playoffs. So um probably his or bust this week. But again, if he plays well and has a good finish and it’s not enough, at least you’re you he probably will say, “I’m taking some good form into Q school,” which is obviously very important. And that’s the most important thing is just momentum, isn’t it? Just you just got to get that momentum going, which he probably felt he was building up at the Dunhill. Disappointing to have to pull out then in Madrid, but yeah, you just got to continue that mindset and that momentum into India. And yeah, top 10 locks him into next week no matter what happens uh fieldwise. So, he’s he’s well capable of that and he seems to be in the right mindset of um his game seems to be in a decent place. He just needs to strap four rounds together and that’s something that hasn’t quite been there this season. Uh that really will disappoint him. But yeah, listen, he he’s learned a lot this year. He still has uh a bit of gas left in the tank now to finish it strong. But um second time round if he can get his uh status locked in for next year, it’ll be a much much different uh headsp space for Connor Pcel going in when he’s seen everything for the second time and has a bit more experience on it. Yeah, I think so. like we spoke there at the start and about Marco Penge if he could just somehow cling on and and either keep his card this week or um get it back next month at Q school. There is, you know, real scope for being able to establish yourself on tour and and have a good season because we know how good a player Connor is and it’s not been easy for him. Like he’s going on to that tour in pretty pretty grim circumstances. Yeah. He’s on his own. Yeah. um like he’s been dialing in and out with Harrington and just to you know have someone to lean on because he’s learning from himself. He’s not turning around like Larry’s not there and Mroy is not there. Even like your stalwart players like a McGrain isn’t there anymore and so he’s got nowhere really to turn in terms of just having that arm around the shoulder. So it’s it’s it’s been difficult. It’s been a unique experience, I’d say, compared to what he might have, you know, dreamt of what it was going to be like on the DP World Tour when he was playing, you know, 10, 15 years ago. Yeah. Yeah. No, definitely. Definitely. Right. Uh, moving on from Madrid then to the Challenge Tour. Um, yeah, not not the week the lads. Now, in fairness to Liam Nolan, he pushed hard on Sunday to leave himself in a good spot going into the next week, but um yeah, not the week both uh Liam and Max Kennedy really looked at more so Max, not the week he wanted. Yeah, miscuff Max at the Hainan Open was not fatal, but very damaging. Definitely needs to make the cut at a minimum um in China again this week. He’s 45th in the road to Morca and the top 45 make next month’s grand finals. It’s a horrible spot to be in. It is just targeting your back. In many ways though, you just you can channel it in a way that you know what you need to do and Max would be that type of guy where he’d he’d embrace that situation and because he knows he needs one good week at one good week here to give himself a chance. He probably knows he needs two top 10s maybe essentially to get that DP World Tour card and one of those 20 cards. And Liam in 37th has a bit more wiggle room again. Probably can’t afford a poor week just in terms of setting himself up for the grand final. But at 37th he pushes himself into the top 30 heading into into New York. I mean it’s it’s play for then like you know. So there’s still big opportunity there. But as we said last week, I mean like Liam didn’t even have status on the hotel plan starting off the year. So to be in with a chance to to get your DP rotor card in your first season as a pro, you was really really good. And they’re both exempt into final stage of Q school as well. So there is big opportunity coming over over the next month. Like it’s just it has been a really really good season for the pair of them. It’s just tailed off a little bit and maybe won’t end in the way that we were all hoping it would have ended maybe two or three months ago, but like it’s still been a really really good learning curve for the two of them. Yeah. Yeah. And the winner of this event as well, uh, Renato Parador, uh, Paroreé or whatever you how do you pronounce his surname? Parator. Parore. Uh, so he secured automatic promotion back to the DP World Tour after earning his third win at the Hean Open down there. So yeah, a big week for the two lads, but hopefully uh they can get stuff done. We you’ll be covering it to death on the website as well. H hopefully you get a chance to catch up with the two boys as well before just to see how they’re uh how they’re getting on in their prep for this week. Yeah, it is it is a big week and I’ll be out there in Morca then for the final and just be great to actually chat to them in general about their first years as a pro. Um sometimes I think we’ve put a little bit too much pressure on them this year because we are starved of Irish players doing well in Europe where when you actually do strip it back they’ve done pretty well this year h to be in contention and you know what will come will come. Whether we’ve no players in on the deep world tour next year is a distinct possibility but we won’t be at the fault of Max Kenny and Liam Nolan that’s for sure. Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. Right. Moving on to PJ Tour. They were down in Japan. The Bay Current Classic. We used to be the Zozo Championship. It’s the most American sounding name for a tournament. God’s sake. I’m sick. I’m sick of this now. It is. It’s down there. It is like It’s tokenism at its finest from the PGA Tour. Let’s just cram as much international crap into the like this stupid silly time of the year. Let’s go down to Japan for a week and and just show that we’re a global tour. Like pretend we’re a global tour. Um like the field wasn’t great going down here. No shameless power either. H taking a few weeks off getting ready for what’s next up in the PGA tour? Oh, the Bank of Utah uh next week. Another event I’ve never heard of before, but yeah. Um they got they kind of got the winner they wanted down in Japan as well on the PJ tour uh in Xander Scha like his uh grandparents live in Japan. He his mother grew up there. He shot a final round 64 uh to win by a stroke ahead of Max Griezmann. Uh it’s his 10th overall PGA Tour win, but really glosses over the cracks of what was after two major wins last year and how good he was. Like this is his first win in this year. He failed to qualify for um the Tour Championship this year. First time in his career as well. I know injury got in his way and stuff like that, but still he it just hasn’t been good enough from Xander. It was nice for him to win down there. This golf course actually looked really good. It was interesting the bits I seen of it. Uh Yokohama Country Club. They got nice like they got testing weather for it as well. It was it was set up in a really good way. But like yeah, Xander he he put it well. It was nice to for him to win in front of his family. Like he had a lot of family there, friends there, his 81year-old grandmother following him around on the fairways as well. So big week for him. Nice for him to get back in the winning circle. But like such a nothing week on the PJ tour. Yeah, I mean we’re into this spell on the PJ tour where you don’t even know that there’s PJ tour golf on. But yeah, Xander I mean probably too a little too late in terms of his season and it’s just yeah injury he has never really got over that rib injury that he got at the back end of last year, start of this year but even then like his results leading into this were pretty poor. for I know he was he did he had a good link swing eighth of the Scottish seventh the open but um FedEx Cup was pretty mediocre and RDER Cup he was he was okay I mean it’s just been a very forgettable season for him and considering that you know within backto-back majors last year you think he would have added one to his to his list this year maybe would have had a tilt of becoming world number one in challenging Scotty but it never materialized but you never know if he That win might spur him on to big things next year. He could be fully over that injury. We we don’t know where he’s at. So, they got the winner they wanted, but nobody will will remember that he won this tournament in about two weeks time. No, exactly. Exactly. And no master spot rightfully so far. Not that it would have made a difference because he’s exempt into it anyway. But still, at the same time, uh stuff that happened further down the field in this event, you might have missed this or not have seen it. Matt McCarthy, did you see this? The lefty. He’s I think he’s 29 30 years of age. So um in the third round he made the turn uh bogey free 31. He was four under par before on holes one to eight which was his back nine. He reeled off eight birdies in a row. Right. Oh this was for the 58, wasn’t it? Yeah. So he’s I did see this. He’s on the final hole. If he makes a par, he has a 59 now. He shot a 59 before in competition as well back in the cornfair tour or a birdie for a 58 which would have tied Jim Furick’s lowest score in PJ tour history. Uh he was also going for the streak of most consecutive birdies which uh would have been nine which but what unfolded on his last hole was a tough tough watch. This so he’s left-handed. He blocked the absolute shite out of his drive into this native area. Couldn’t find the ball. Reloaded. Mills a drive down the middle like 306 or seven yards. And then he absolutely spot welded his what was his fourth shot. He was left like 105 yards. Stuck it stone dead and rolled the put in from like five or six feet for a bogey. And it just made it impossible to say, “Oh my god.” like if just whatever sort of a brain fart he had in the tea, I just felt so sorry for him. But it was still a great round. Like you shoot 60 and you come off absolutely devastated. It’s just the way it transpired. Like to have a shot at a 58 is so unusual on the PGA Tour especially uh with the way they set up golf course and this was no easy golf course but um yeah, it was just a brutal way for him to finish. I just I felt for him. Yeah, I know. I actually I saw that there over over the weekend. It just shows you like there is such pressure trying to trying to break 60 in any event. Like it’s only been done once on the European tour. Probably done too frequently on the PJ tour now in fairness. But um I think Jim Furk is the only player with a 58 in in PJ tour history. But as you said like it wasn’t like having a chance to 58 wasn’t you know reflective in terms of like the overall scoring for the tournament. only only 1900 par won this on what was a very very soft golf course as well. So and but yeah it was it it was funny. It could have been it could have been a real disaster though for him like he could have been looking at a double or a triple there. So at least he managed to regain his composure. He deserves a bit of credit for that. Yeah. No 100%. Yeah it would have been he he was in my he was in my short list for villains but I said that would have been way too harsh like giving some lad a villain of the week for shooting 60 with a chance of a 58. So I I gave him his ups and just moved them up up up the the schedule of uh talking about things. So um moving into roundup then uh loads of things going on here there and everywhere I suppose. Uh quick um run through the other tours. Uh Leona tied 54th as uh Title earns her second win of the season. H that was out in Shanghai. So, no movement really for Leona on her ranking. Still looking over her shoulder as we were talking about from last week. Sticking with the women, uh there was a top 10 finish for Anna Foster um as Shannon Tan secured her third le title. You covered a bit of this. Yeah, so Anna Foster came seventh uh 67 69 over in India. Annabelle Wilson was 30th. Sarah Burn 34th and Kenny Screen made the cut as well. Foster’s 40th now and those le rankings. Um but probably more importantly Sarah Burns up to 62nd now and the top 60 keep their L cards. Annabelle Wilson 79th with three events remaining. So, you know, there’s looks like Sarah Burn is hitting finding some a groove at the right time finally and she is into the last three events of the season which includes the andaluchia grand final which I think has like extra points available and and a bigger prize spot. So, that’s obviously encouraging but even even so like Annabelle Wilson will have some sort of status on the LE next year as well. she’ll do enough to stay inside the top 100s and Kenya screen will probably have to go to Q school probably looks too far outside the top 101 at the moment but yeah no this was really good from from Foster she’s kind of gone off the boil since since the Irish Open really to be to be truthful so this was this was encouraging again heading into the last three events where I’m sure herself and Lauren Walsh will want to be knocking on the door and try cap off two great seasons with victories I’d imagine. Yeah. Yeah. No, we’re going to be blessed just if we have like three events left if if the ball rolls the right way and we get a good rub of the green. You know, you could have five or six of them with cards uh locked in for next year by the end of this year, which would be an unbelievable achievement. Yeah. And Donigan will be going to Q school as well in the winter. So, like it all it all bodess well. Um if we can get another couple of players coming through. I mean, we’re going to be paying attention to the le for for a long long time there. And obviously then I’m sure Anna and Lauren and a couple of others will be going and trying their hand at LPGA Q school as well. It’s just a shame that for Lauren, I think she’s 11th on the le order of merit. If she finishes the top 10, all she does is get her place in the final stage of LPJQ school. There’s no real reward for that, unfortunately. So, in terms of career progression, you do want to be getting yourself over to the States. And just on the LPGA, I think Titico is the woman. She’s the first first multiple winner on the LPGA this year. So, she’s broken the broken the curse. Yeah, it’s good. I thought Yeah, it’s I think they wanted to hang it on to someone a bit more fashionable than her, but like Yeah, you got to you got to take it where you’re getting it. So, we’re number one doesn’t get more I know. I know. But like would you know you know we’re in she’s just she’s a really really good player and a really solid player but the LPGA the different feeling when Nelly got to world number one last year and was doing what she was doing and you thought it was like the next coming of Tiger Woods or something like that on and then just to disappear is just it’s bonkers. Yeah. Well Tet’s come through the le as well. She hasn’t sort of had the destined for stardom career that maybe Anelli Cord has had. She’s had to really earn her way up as well, but she’s been just sensational over the last two or three years. Yeah, she’s top sevens in all the majors as well since 2022. So, h she’s a class player pro, but again, probably doesn’t move the needle like an Ellie Cord or I don’t know a Charlie Hallwood as well or Michelle Wei, those kind of players. Yeah. No, no. Um, sticking with the last couple of the pro ranks as well. We had a tie 25th for Rowan Leester on the Sunshine Tour and then a strong finish for Rowan Milani. I think he shot 67 in the last round to hold on to fourth on the Alps tour merit just before they go into their final with I think five cards isn’t it for the challenge. Five cards available. Yeah. So, Milani’s done well. really struggled last year on the Hotel Planet Tour, but seems to be a bit of a specialist at this level to be fair. So, um he looks like he’s going to do enough to get back on the Hotel Planet Tour next year, which which obviously be it will be massive as well for him. And uh look, if Rob Morren can maybe get a win and the rankings fall for him, he might join him as well. So, it’s been good season with the two lads. All to play for, lots of consequence over these next couple of weeks. Um on the amateur side, then two things of note. So disappointing showing at the Eisenhower for Ireland. Uh I know we’re setting down with Raph uh later on this week uh just after he lands in from Singapore, but they’ll be well disappointed with this as a result uh to finish off the year. Yeah. Well, they were going okay and then I went to Portugal and passed the reporting duties on to Mark. So there’s someone to blame if you want to look outside of outside of um outside of the house. But yeah, no, this was disappointing. um tied 21st for Ireland at the World Amateur Team Championships, the Eisenhower Trophy. Stuart Gretton, I suppose in a personal level, had a decent week, was finished 17th. Yeah. Um probably might be disappointing not to get a top 10, but this was won by South Africa 29 under par. They really ran away with it. I mean, Christian Mass, world number six, was 22 under par for his own score. So, um I don’t know. Do the other South Africans even deserve medals? I’m not sure. just give him all four give him the captaincy medal as well. But no, if you’re if you’re going to be brutal about it, um look at who Ireland finished below. Um Thailand, uh Thailand, Paraguay, Czech Republic, Singapore, Morocco, and then they were level with the People’s Republic of China and Guatemala. So, you wouldn’t say they’re golfing powerhouses, which is a bit of a concern. But even um speaking to a player last week, we were saying like a lot of our top amateurs are north of 28. I mean, do you really want two lad two of the three players on this team being in their 30s? Obviously, not their fault, but probably not what you not what you want to be seeing to be honest. Yeah, the conveyor belt is, you know, I doubt Stuart Grean thought when he turned back into the amateur game at the start of this year, if you were to lay out everything he was a part of, including the Walker Cup, he would have loved it all, but he would have been shocked when we sat down with him at the start of this season and went through, there’s no way any of this was on his radar. No, I wouldn’t have thought so. I certainly would have thought winning championships and putting himself in the World Cup conversation would have been, but to be the main man for Ireland this year is obviously brilliant for him. I mean, he he he deserves it and all, but you know, you’d want to be seeing some of the lads who are in their early 20s coming through, but it’s probably case and point of we made the we made the argument at the start of the year that a lot of lads have turned pro over the last couple of years. So, we probably are waiting to replenish some of that talent. But yeah, I mean, you know, Raph definitely wouldn’t have been expecting to be on to be on this team. I mean, um, but he’s a classic scorecard type of golfer. I mean, doesn’t look like he’s working working enough or practicing hard and then he puts a scorecard in his hand and he’s a different type of player. Yeah. And he type of player you wouldn’t want to play in match play either. No, no, 100%. Um, on the amateur side then, Joe Lions, another win out in the States. Yeah. So he he um went traveling there. He’s been on the road for the last few weeks. Won the individual um championship of this um what was it called? The international championship. Yeah, the senior international like golf week magazine in the states run it I think or get behind it. But yeah, it’s the second time in three years he’s won this. Yeah, like he’s he’s becoming really prolific in international events at senior level. He wins that Spanish Open it seems to me every other year and like he closing birdie secured the victory at Carterville Country Club um in Georgia uh 7168 in on days one and two beat Michael McCoy of Iowa and Shane McMillan um so gave him the club as lead at 700 par which is obviously really good. Uh Carl Borman at level par 72 and Lions round at two under as well were the best scorers for the Irish team. Gave them a one under one over par total for the three rounds and they finished fifth overall on the team leaderboard. So overall quite a successful week all round and nice for Joe to to come away with the with the trophy. Yeah. Yeah. Um couple of other things to hit on then. Tiger Woods uh more back surgeries than majors at this time. Uh he’s just pushed his body beyond the limit of its capacity now. He’s just call it a day. Yeah. He’s he’s he like he had he’s kind of half ruled out playing golf in 2026. He hasn’t put a he refused to confirm whether he’d play. Yeah. I mean TGL broken. That’s it. Don’t. You’d wonder where he’d be then in terms of the RER Cup captaincy in 2027 because if he’s not getting out there and I suppose immersing himself in, you know, the players who are going to be in contention, he you can become sort of disillusioned with everything and your relationship won’t be the same as it would have been two or three years ago. So I I question whether he’d be in um a good place to captain USA in two years time. Yeah, I know what you mean. like he hasn’t played since the open in 2024. Yeah, he’ll still win the pit this year. Like he sticks out two tweets or something like this tweet would have got him well up there in the human. Yeah, he’s flying. It’s mad. But um yeah, listen, I hope he recovers and I I I hope we do see him even if it’s just a token appearance at the Masters in the Open every year. But it’s just such a pity it’s ended up like this. Like when you seen it’s not that long ago. Oh, you go back to 2019, 2020 when he was uh the boom was back like and then gone. Yeah. This this isn’t how this isn’t how it was supposed to go at all. No, it isn’t. Um I suppose wrapping up roundup then. Uh you might have missed this while you were away. The European club set to close. though they’re under new ownership uh there for the last uh sort of four or five months ago when the Conlands uh bought it off of Pat Ruddy. H they issued a communication out to members over the weekend basically saying that uh dear member we’re writing to let you know that effective of the 8th of December 2025 the current operations of the European club the club will cease to exist. the club will come to an end and of course uh will allow for major redevelopment of the ground and all its facilities. So it’s a significant investment uh goes on to see uh all existing membership arrange arrangements will conclude on the date of the 8th of December and they hope to have it open again in the spring of 2027. Um yeah big big moves. they were always going to go and make this their own. Like the potential is massive for the European club. Um, you know, on a personal preference, I’m hoping they’re just going in taking out all those sleepers and making Yes. Make a big pile of firewood and just burn. Not a chance. Revet all them bunkers. Change a few angles. Build a nice clubhouse. Revetting is woke. Keep the sleepers. Stop. No. The sleepers are gone. Burn them. Burn them. That’s it. Creo all over them. Burn them. They’ll burn really quick. They’ll be dry out. Be great. I’ll go to the bomb for That’s terrible. No, keep the sleepers. If Pat Ruddy’s re listening to this now, which I don’t think he’s a big fan of podcast anyway. Yeah, he won’t be happy with those takes. But yeah, no, this listen, if they do a good job in this, this this golf course can be one of the best courses in the world. It’s that good and tough of a design. They soften this out a little bit, add worldass facilities outside the golf course. this is going to be up there like, you know, there’s no reason it’s uh not up there ahead of a hog’s head and stuff like that for a an actual destination of where people want to come uh from a hospitality point of view cuz the golf course product is second to none. And if they can add the hospitality side of things into what’s already there and maybe soften out a few of the uh quirks will be kind to Pat Rok short of the 18th. Yeah, the Yeah, exactly. No, a few little things like that. Um yeah, fair play to uh Raymond and Nikki Conland for doing what they’re doing. I know Connor Russell’s down there steering the ship from a golf point of view as well. So yeah, no, best of luck to them and looking forward. We’ll get out and get a game before it closes down and then look forward to 2027. Well, we’ll have to go and go and play their winter series that’s running up until they close in December. Exactly. If you do want to Great to see uh golf clubs running a winter series. I mean, the Gem one was so popular um a couple of years ago, but I know the K Club are running one on the on the South Course. Now the European Club are running one, too. Like it’s just brilliant and they’re really I I always find them really good to keep your game ticking over in the winter. Yeah. So they do have two so every Tuesday and every Thursday between now and the end of the year they are doing an open series of events. So I think the Tuesday event is like pro and single digit players uh below nine there’s a competition on and then every Thursday they have an alliance on and that’s just straightforward open. You can play the course for 80 quid. Like it’s as good as anything else out there. And we’re looking to get a good stretch of weather over the next couple of weeks. So yeah, get your get your bums down to the European Club and enjoy it before they blow it up. Yeah, but keep the sleepers. But keep No, no sleepers. Oh, you nearly said it. Done. No, no. Yeah, you’re trying to catch me out. Right. Uh, moving to that time of the week, heroes and villains. Uh, not sure. I’m hoping you have your notes done on this now. I’m hoping the Irish uh trip hasn’t uh got you done. I’m gonna start off with my villain first. Go for it. We’ll do villains first. So, I’m calling out Colt Nost as my villain of the week. uh he’s close pals with JJ Spawn and he decided to go on a podcast last week and further rat out Keegan Bradley uh on the Rder Cup Forsomes and uh JJ’s lack of involvement in this. Apparently JJ knew like a month before he was getting no Forsomes action because he was the only player on the team gaming a Shrix and Zed star ball. they couldn’t match him up um even though he’s one of the best ball strikers on tour and has had such an unbelievable season. H yeah, they didn’t flip it going into the next day. So yeah, he was there’s just no need for it, you know, uh of these sort of guys Colton Nos coming out and uh backing his buddy and stuff like that. So yeah, I’m calling him out. You know, we all know what sort of a clown Keegan Bradley made of himself, but yeah, there’s no need for external guys like Colt Nos coming out and sticking his ore in. Fair. Who’s your hero? Oh, no. You have to do your uh villain first. I don’t have a golf villain now, unfortunately. I have a golf. Go on. Go on. My villain is referee Kroger. An absolute disgraceful performance from him. God’s sake. in the play till Portugal score match. Oh, play till Portugal score. Get Ronaldo’s jersey after the game. H like not a feral was given from an Irish point of view. It was absolutely disgraceful. All right, I’ll let you try to write Colton is getting it though. We’re not giving it to a golf podcast. We’re not giving it to a football referee. But no, I get you right. Um, heroes, go on. You lead out with hero. I went for Dan Brown. Okay. just ah he’s he’s such a f like he’s a good follow on social walking in the inside the robes with him at the Irish Open really made me made me love him and he as I said he’s great on social but I think fair play like going down with looked like a pretty painful injury and again I think his mindset must have just shifted all right I’m injured don’t give a shy just hit the ball and see what happens because that would be Dan Brown’s type of character and to get get into a playoff and and nearly win it would have been would have been some crack if he done it so I’m going to I’m going to give to him. All right. No, perfect. I’m going to go for a 21-year-old Aussie Jeffrey Guan. I think we called him out. We might have called him out last year. Is this Oh, I think I know. The year before. One eye Jeffrey. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So, he’s like one of the best players Australia have produced over the last number of years. So his career was halted uh after a proam partner just over a year ago uh hit a T-shot that literally hit him in the face and he lost an eye. He was in and around the PGA tour at the time. So after a year of recovery uh he was playing at the WA PGA Championship on the PGA Tour of Australia this week, one of his first tournaments back. uh four tournament or four round tournament. He cared 72 69 74 and then rallied for 66 to come home for a tied for 10th in one of us. It’s just a remarkable comeback story and I really hope he keeps progressing as is. Like golf is such a visual game and you talk to someone like Harrington about like right eye, left eye dominance, how that forms such a massive part of your feel, your balance, your swing. And to to come true till you’re like 19, 20 years of age with two eyes, seeing the world as you should, and then to lose one right at the start of your professional career and to actually um build up the courage and and and to play your way back. This is a phenomenal story and I hope he keeps going. I’m going to keep an eye on his results and hopefully he um forges his way back to the States and gets as close to the PGA tour as he can. So he gets he not only does he get the Poric Harrington hero of the week, he gets the Peter Finn and kicking on award as well. The kicking on award. Exactly. Exactly. So um yeah, it has to go to him. I don’t know. Are you going to you going to push for your man to win hero of the week? No, I’m not. Not against One Eye Jeffrey. No. Right. Um, I think that’s the Archie Golf. [Laughter] He’s a chance to shen their front lawn with this one. I love that. That was We got good feedback in that at the start of the podcast a few weeks ago. But, um, yeah, I think that’s a wrap, is it? I think so. Yeah. My voice can’t take any more of this. So, we’re off on Wednesday to sit down with uh Raph, uh, go through a few bits that we’re working on for the next print magazine. I’m off now to an Aliance final that I get to spend the evening now with Paul McInley and quiz him up on all things Ryder Cup. So, we’ll have plenty of stuff coming on from that. Uh big shout out again as always to Flow Gas. Uh visit flow gas.e for all of your gas, electricity, and solar needs. Um as we say, they support every level. So, if you are up for renewal, do give them a shout. And yeah, that’s a wrap for this week. Keep an eye out on Irishgolfer.e for all the news of all the events we’ve checked coming through, players moving, pulling and dragging up uh leaderboards all over the place. So, we’ll be covering it all. So, yeah, cheers for tuning in and we’ll talk to you again next week. Bye. [Music]