On this weeks podcast Ronan and Mark sit and recap the Horizon Irish Open. We may not have had the home winner we all wanted but we were served up plenty of drama as The K Club showed its teeth.
[Music] Hello. Hello. Welcome along to the Irish Golfer Podcast. No Peter Finn in here this week as he goes off gallivanting to the United States. Ronan McNamera here thrown into the hot seat and delighted to be joined by the Jim McInness loving and Michael Murphy enthusiast Mark McGawan. How’s the form? All the better now, Ron. Feel like I feel like I’ve walked into classroom here just to realize the substitute teacher end. So, yeah. It feels like the first day at school, doesn’t it? Yeah. I think we’re going to run wild today. Well, like one thing I hate when like I turn on one of my usual podcasts and it’s it’s first things first. You’re not hearing that usual voice presenting. So, then I kind of contemplate for two or three minutes whether this is worth listening to. And sometimes I I might shut off. So, hopefully the listeners think we’re worth listening to and they stick with us. Well, I think the two of us can kick on here and in and Pete’s absence. As Pete says, we’ll learn from this and we’ll kick on. Yeah, we’ll kick on. Yeah, he’s But in fairness to him now, he’s sitting on the plane for seven, eight hours with four kids, the misses and the and the mother-in-law. And after 20 minutes of getting in the air, the kids will be like, “Are we there yet, daddy?” Yeah, I’d say the Mrs. and the mother-in-law are carrying most of the weight there now, though. He’ll be he’ll be holed up at his iPad there watching, I don’t know, uh highlights of the Irish Open. Hopefully not highlights of the game last night. Wouldn’t want to depress himself too much, but like we had a busy a busy week. Like obviously I was at the Irish Open for three days, but you were there yesterday. You got to see the I suppose all the drama and a couple of collapses as well. Yeah, it was kind of kind of a strange day. Uh I mean what what started off with so much hope and so much uh optimism uh ended up kind of near the end coming into turning into a funeral procession at the end the stretch. It was I mean very disappointing from an Irish point of view that um the way Maroy collapsed and I mean Chen Larry uh had a you know had a good had a good run at it obviously just just came up a little bit short. Um so it was very disappointing from an Irish perspective that we didn’t get an Irish winner because that was a tournament that was very much there to be won. Um but overall it was I think it was a really great tournament. It was a it was a great week. It was a great advertisement for advertisement for Irish golf. Uh just unfortunately didn’t get the winner we were all hoping for. Yeah. I think before we kind of delve into, you know, players and such and such, we have to really give a shout out to the to the K club like Michael Federson, the owner, Pauly, GM, Nile Malloy, and all his golf team like and Jerry Burn as well. Like six mills of rain fell in probably under an hour there yesterday. And for the golf course to hold up the way it did, you know, really really was phenomenal. Like because obviously when play was suspended, if you’re watching on E, you would have seen the highlights from 2016, you can see the water on the greens after the torrential rain they had there all week. But like once the rain stopped, it looked like it hadn’t rained at all. The course was bone dry it seemed and it was really really like a serious advertisement for Irish golf and probably the best event you’re going to get on the DP World Tour. Like we went for coming up this week flagship event. Like it has a has a lot to follow. It does. Absolutely. Absolutely. And I mean I was so Yeah. during during the rain delay yesterday. It was 90 minutes we were stopped for and pretty much for the for 85 of the 90 minutes it bucketed down. Uh eased off towards the end of it, but it at its heaviest it was as heavy rain as as as I’ve ever seen in Ireland really. Uh it was just torrential and yeah, how how the course was was playable so quickly so quickly afterwards is yeah, as you said is testament to testament to the great ground work that’s been done there. Um, and it was when you were out walking walking the course afterwards, there was very little sign that that that amount of rain had fallen. Like it was still all the walkways where the spectators were walking was still still very dry. Never got churned up, never got mucky and boggy. Um, and the like yeah, the fairways, the greens were all, you know, all I mean, they were soft, of course. I mean, you’re going to it’s going to happen. It was soft anyway with the with the amount of rain we’ve had leading into this tournament. We got a couple of good days for the tournament, but I mean they weren’t going to dry out weren’t going to dry out two months of rain. Um but yeah, the c the course held up incredibly well. Um and full full credit to the team at the K Club. Yeah, I suppose the only complaint you could have was the 99s were 450, but I think that could you could do a podcast in itself on that one, but we’ll have to leave that for another day. But um we had plenty of Irish playing. Obviously Shane Larry was tied for third on 1200 par two behind the eventual winner Vincent Norman. H Rory Maroy was 16th on minus 9. And we all know we’ll get into him in in a couple of minutes time. Mark Power thoroughly impressed on his professional debut finishing 33rd on 700 power and picking up a lovely check for 40,000 euro. Tom Mc Gibbon 39th on minus 6. A solid week for him. Connor Pcel made the cut in the number on his Irish Open debut Friday night just as the sun was going down like he hadn’t much light left and he finished 72nd on minus one. Horington 79th on level par disappointing weekend for him but overall it was great to see so many Irish players playing over the weekend as well. It was absolutely. I mean uh I mean Mark Power in particular I guess is your first your first professional start coming after the Walker Cup after everything that week entailed the you know the highs the lows of it. Um you know for him to to only find out on the Monday that he was that he was going to be playing in the Irish Open and then to turn up and put in and a really a really excellent performance. Um I mean the tied I think it was tied 32nd you said wasn’t it? Uh 33rd. 33rd. Um tied yeah tied for 33rd on your professional debut in a you know a high a high quality field like that and I mean he every he looked every bit to the manner bar. I followed I followed him for the first part of his round yesterday and he was actually playing along with Vincent Norman who went on to win it and I mean over the over the first few holes that I was that I was watching him like Par looked this the standout player in the group. He birdied the first he had a great shot into the second gave himself a good birdie look just put just slid by. Um you know looked every looked every bit the professional. Uh now he went to he he kind of struggled a little bit coming out after the coming out after the rain delay. Threw in a couple of bogeies but uh but he was he said he said afterwards you know that he that he he started thinking to himself he’s like you know I need to start thinking like a professional now you know this like these okay I’m not going to win this tournament but I’m losing money here. So, um, so he and he turned turned around, had finished off with two birdies, which probably probably saved him 15 grand maybe. You know, it’s, uh, like it’s a pretty it’s a pretty drastic change from from amateur golf where if you’re if you’re well down the field, you know, two shots, one shot, it’s not it doesn’t really make much difference to you. But once you’re playing as a professional, then every shot every shot counts. every shot is money and uh I mean yeah 40 40 grand is your is your first week’s wages like if if you were able to average that for your career that wouldn’t be too bad. Yeah, it’s not bad and you obviously spoke to him yesterday after his round and I was quite impressed with the I’m losing money here quote because suppose the reality of professional golf just hitting you right there and then and he really really did looked the part and he had a quiet confidence about him all week. Not so much a not so much a bullishness but you could tell he was really enjoying himself. He was loose as a goose and a few people came up to me and said he looks a bit like Jordan Speak with the under arour and the kind of the baby face and some of his mannerism on the golf course as well. But to chip in on Friday night on the 18th for an eagle as well to kind of put himself into contention like he’s had a lot of special memories over the last 8 n 10 days. Yeah, he I mean he every he every bit looks he looks like he’s been doing it for years. I mean, he just, as you said, he he carries himself with a calm assuredness on the on the golf course. And I mean, he he definitely wasn’t I mean, he said, “Yeah, it was a it was a good week, he would take it and everything, but having put himself into a position where I mean, it yeah, he he played with the guy who went out and won the tournament. So, I mean, it wasn’t outside the realms of possibility that he could have, you know, been properly challenging for the challenging for the title.” and he acknowledged that afterwards and he said he was a little bit a little bit disappointed because he thought he’d put himself in a position he was playing good enough golf just didn’t get a few puts to drop and I mean he definitely wasn’t just there to to make up the numbers you know he was you know he was he was there to play well he was there to have a go at it and I mean that’s a great mindset to carry into carry into professional golf you’re you know every every week’s an opportunity and he’s got he’s got another opportunity this week coming up now at um at the DP World Tour Tour Tour School. Uh we’ll get into that later on, but um yeah, he’s he’s definitely that’s a hell of a professional debut. Yeah, and you never know how you’re going to make the transition from amateur golf to pro golf, but the best luck to him. He’s had a great start. We’ll leave Maroy now for a couple of minutes because I think it’ll be doing Shane Larry disservice if we skip past him because he did come third. 12 under par, two behind Norman. It was a charge, a late charge, but the 72 on Saturday kind of really ended his chances, didn’t it? Yeah. I mean, he was even after the after the round yesterday, he was, you know, he he mentioned Saturday and said that Saturday was very disappointing and Saturday was effectively where he where he lost the tournament. Uh missed missed a couple of chances coming in on on Saturday and he was very he was very disappointed afterwards. He he got off like he played he played well yesterday. I mean, it was kind of one of those weird days where it looked like nobody wanted to win the tournament and I mean, we all kind of on there at the golf course had kind of thought that Larry was out of it and next thing he put in uh three birdies in his four hole stretch there on the on the back nine and suddenly he was very much very much back in the tournament. Um I mean he he he eagled the heagled the fourth. It was I mean could could so easily have been an albatross. was very very close to great I think he had a great four iron from 229 yards and that really like we thought that was going to be the spark to get him going but he bogeied I think he it could have been bogeied six maybe and didn’t um didn’t pick up any more shots then in the front so I kind of thought that was his chance gone but then you those three birdies in the four hole stretch and with nobody else really pulling away he was very much back in it but he funny he he wasn’t actually aware of where he was really standing in the tournament. Uh cuz he said afterwards that there was there weren’t there weren’t that many leaderboards on course. Now this is we’ve we’ve been very um complimentary about the K to the K club. Maybe that’s the one thing that maybe it was lacking a little bit because I thought that myself out in the course. There weren’t there weren’t many leaderboards out there. So you were constantly checking your phone to to see what else was going on. Um but so Shane got to the six was on the 16th green before he actually saw a leaderboard and realized that um that I think was it 13 under was winning it at that point and he was shocked at that cuz he thought that he was a few a good few off the pace. Uh cuz he was 11 11 under playing 16 and he’d laid up. He was a long he was a long way out. It would have taken like his absolute Sunday best to reach the green but he was thinking about going for it. Um but laid up and then uh it was a it was a difficult pen a difficult pen to get close even with a even with a wedge. Um so he ended up he ended up making par there but he but he only realized on the green that he was only two back and if he’d have if he’d have maybe been aware of where he was he might have taken a different option you know so but it look it was it was a good week for Shane. I mean, he played he played excellent golf all week and the couple of shots that he dropped on Saturday or that he didn’t the shots that he didn’t pick up on Saturday, I should say, sort of cost him in the end. And although he was he was disappointed that he didn’t win cuz he said, you know, he he came here to win like a third place or a seventh place or a 15th place is, you know, there’s not much difference in those. It’s probably the only week of the year that he actually thinks that probably. Yeah, probably. Um, but I mean, look, he’s look, he’s he’s playing he’s playing on tour enough years now. He’s put in he has so many top 10 finishes, you know, across across both tours and everything. The wins are really what’s going to separate, you know, what’s what’s going to take his career to the next level. I mean, he’s that’s talking about somebody that’s won a major championship, won a world golf championship, won the biggest event in the DP World Tour, won the Irish Open as an amateur. But, you know, maybe going from like a six, seven time winner to an 10, 12 time winner is what takes him, you know, takes his career sort of like to the next level or puts him on that higher pedestal. So, it’s it was good to hear him talking that way that, you know, wins are what wins are what matters to him, not top 10s, not top 20s. Yeah. And leading into the week obviously there was a not so much from the Irish media but there was a lot of stick thrown towards him for his ob his wider cup inclusion ahead of Major [ __ ] saw a lot of comparisons with that. So I think to have a good week and stand up and perform like sort of justifies his selection as well. So that that was important I feel. Yeah absolutely. I mean absolutely and yeah he was he he talked about the pressure of an Irish Open anyway that is like there’s much more intense pressure playing in an Irish Open than your average your average event week to week because of all the expectation that’s heaped on him and then yeah he had the added pressure on of you know being selected he he was he was the European that hasn’t had the best form over the last couple of weeks of the of the six Europeans that that um that got the wild card picks. His form has probably been the the most suspect of late f 100% would have picked him if I was Luke Donald because we all know he’s a big he’s a big time player and he’s like pressure pressurized systems get the get the best out of him. So, I have absolutely no worries about his pick or no um hesitations about it, but that’s that didn’t go for all the world’s media. And yeah, as you said, he was he was being criticized in some circles. So, I I definitely think he came out and answered a lot of those critics this week. Yeah, he absolutely did. And we’re going to get on to Rory. I suppose we could spend nearly half an hour talking about Rory Maroy on the 16th hole in the K club, especially after what happened this week. Eagle. He hit the rocks twice then on Saturday and he had a unfortunate triple bogey on Sunday which I suppose his already slim chances were died in a watery grave I suppose. Yeah, but I guess by the time he he reached 16 I mean yeah he was he was going for broke there. Um once he hit the water the first time on 16 that was you know that was his tournament truly truly over. though the fact that he went in the second time was kind of largely inconsequential. I mean we we talk about for with Shane Larry top top 10’s top 20s not really mattering for Rory it was the same. It was win or it was win or lose yesterday. So it didn’t matter whether he lost by two or whether he lost by six. Um but yeah the damage the damage was done prior to the 16th hole really. um two two previous visits to the water on seven and on 11 and both of those were bad were bad. Um the first on seven led to a double bogey and on 11 led he just um he managed to get up and down afterwards but they were they were very disappointing shots and very uncharacteristic shots. Uh the one on the one on seven um I think he had a nine iron from about 160 yards. Just he just didn’t really get through it. Um kind of hung it up a little bit. Uh pushed it a little bit right and came down, caught the rocks just just short of the just short of the green, but um bounced back into the water. Then didn’t get up and down from the drop zone. And then on the 11th um I think he he just hit a wedge. He just didn’t hit it anywhere near hard enough. Came down short, spun spun off the green, back down into the water. And that was from at that at that point. Um, we all like that looked like it was tournament over for him. Now, as it happened, everybody else tried to tried to throw up on themselves coming in as well. So in hindsight, he was still very much in the tournament after that bogey 11, but he probably didn’t think so. And nobody nobody watching really thought so. Everybody thought that this is, you know, he’s too far back now. Um, but it proved it turned out that he wasn’t, but nobody was to know that at the time. Yeah. It’s funny you mentioned there everyone kind of throwing it away like before the rain delay came. You had Maroy, Larry, Ryan Fox, Minwi, Billy Horsch, all up there and it just fel felt like in the as the afternoon wore on, the big names never really got going after the rain delay. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. That was that was it. I mean um I think during during the rain delay when you think Mroy was one under through so one under through three in the middle of the fourth fairway the par five with 20 I think he had 206 yards in for his second shot which is probably going to be an eight iron for maybe a seven. Um you think look this is he’s tied he’s tied for the lead. He’s playing well this he’s going to come out now to a to a much wetter golf course. this is, you know, where his length is going to play, you know, being so such a bigger advantage. He thought this is just tailor made for him. You know, it’s it’s as if the gods have written the script for for Rory today. And it’s kind of baffling how how poorly he and all the other big names played from that point on. Yeah, it really was. And just looking at his card here, he two doubles and a triple. Like it’s And then Eagle as well. He went eagle double birdie on on Friday afternoon. Like it really was it felt like he didn’t he never really had his agame, but yet again he was there. Even on Saturday he finished too early for the crowd to kind of get into a frenzy. But as the afternoon wore on on Saturday, the leaders kept falling back and back and all of a sudden he was in the final group. So like it does raise a couple of questions towards his suppose his mental state cuz this year he really has struggled to get over the line even though his consistency is remarkable. It is. Yeah. I mean if you it’s it’s kind of strange when you look back to the to his previous his last win at the Scottish Open. um when you realize like how he didn’t necessarily have his agame for for the whole week but how clutch he was coming down the stretch there and you know when you contrast that to this week I mean obviously we’re talking a different golf course different conditions different you know there’s so many different variables in it the the one constant in in it is Rory Mroy but the Rory Mroy we saw was wildly different from the Rory Maroy that played at the at the Scottish. It was it was kind of it’s really hard to comprehend quite how poorly he played yesterday. Um look afterwards he just said he was a little bit disappointed. A couple of couple of loose shot couple of loose shots cost him but I think he has to be there has to be more than just disappointment there. He has to be like he had to be absolutely kicking himself yesterday evening. Like that’s you don’t get you don’t get too many chances to win your home open. I mean Rory’s been since he turned pro he’s been one of the best players in the world. I mean he came is immediately after turning pro everybody could see the potential in this guy and realistically if we look at he’s he’s only really had two good opportunities to win the Irish Open. I mean, he’s kind of, you know, he’s he’s had sort of like backdoor top 10s and and things like that, but the one in the K club in 2016 and yesterday, I think the only the only two times he’s really sort of been in the position where he could and should go on to win it at at an Irish Open. And that’s in nearly 15 years as a 15 years as a professional and a dozen years at the very top of the game. So these chances don’t come around too often and he will be absolutely kicking himself. Yeah, they don’t come around too often and from what he said on Tuesday, he mightn’t be around too often either. He was very non-committal at the start of the week, but it really does show you that the Irish Open needs him. Like he he’s the pi piper. He controls things. It really is played out to his narrative every single week that he does show up. I know he he hasn’t he hasn’t really guaranteed he’s going to show up next year, but you know, who knows? was Royal County down Link’s course. He played there before, hosted the tournament there, so that place holds special memories. Just going to ask you on Mroy and Larry. Obviously, we know Larry was bitterly disappointed. You can see how much it means to him. Do you think yesterday, you know, the way Maroy finished Irish Open, National Open, he was quite excited about it on Saturday night. Do you think it hurts him? Oh, yeah. I think I think I think absolutely. I mean the crowds the crowds that were there just huge crowds and the reception that Mroy got when he walked onto the first tea was you know it was spine tingling like and I mean and that and that continued throughout. I mean, as soon as as soon as Rory would hit a shot, as soon as they were walking, like the crowds were just there was just people screaming his name left, right, and center, it’s I mean, it couldn’t it couldn’t have been more contrast than the like that nobody was interested in um Hurley Long and Jordan Smith that were playing along with him. You know, I’ve it was kind of like like they used to say with with with Tiger Woods when people be playing with Tiger Woods and Tiger would hit a shot and then everybody moves on and they used to always say it was so diff so diff so difficult for the people playing along with Tiger because you know you’re inconsequential. You know when you’re when you’re hitting everybody’s looking at Tiger and everybody’s talking about Tiger and as soon as Tiger hits everybody’s gone. So it’s you you never you never get like the the quiet crowd, the still crowd or anything. And that was that was what it was like yesterday. As soon as soon as Maroy would hit, everybody was on the move and you know, everybody was everybody was talking about everybody’s pointing at him, everybody’s and the other the other guys may as well not have been there. So So yeah, I mean to be to be that that much the focus of attention, that much the Yeah, I mean it has to bitterly hurt him. It’s interesting what you said about the crowds and we we really should um pay our dues them. Like I thought the spectators there last week were just fabulous. I mean like we know I think we notice it more inside the ropes. We kind of get a good feel for it but like you’re seeing you know non-event groups I suppose is the way to describe them getting hearty claps for hitting the shot from 160 into the middle of the green and you’re just kind of thinking that doesn’t really happen any other week. And of course and the following for the Irish players is is second to none. Like you had Harrington there languishing towards the bottom of the leaderboard over the weekend teeing off at you know 20 past 7 half seven you know the crack of dawn and the crowds following were like just outrage like there really is a huge grow for him and there’s a growth from him and the players that goes back towards the crowd as well like it is a special atmosphere to be a part of and we were obviously privileged to be inside the ropes but it is still a surreal experience. It is absolutely. I mean the there was over 40,000 there. I think it was nearly 41,000 in attendance yesterday. And I mean for for an average DP World Tour week that they just don’t they don’t get crowds like that. They absolutely do not get crowds like that. And when you consider that um I was down in Dramolan Castle for the uh KPMG Women’s Irish Open last week and the same thing all the players were saying that is like we never see crowds like this week to week uh on the playing on the le and I mean it’s it’s testament to the golf nuts that we have in this country. Um the appetite that’s there for for watching top class golf it’s it’s absolutely incredible. I’ve I’ve never seen crowds like and maybe at Port Rush in 2012. I was up there at that. Uh that was that was pretty special. I think that sold out across all all four days. But it just it’s it seemed there seemed to be a lot more people in the K club yesterday than I’ve than I’ve ever seen at a golf tournament in Ireland before. And it’s it’s absolutely fantastic to see. And it’s and all the players again talked about it. They all mentioned the crowd. They all mentioned the support. They all mentioned, you know, what a wonderful feeling it is to be playing in front of such it’s not tokenism or anything that you can really it is sincere in your eyes. Yeah. Yeah. No. And I mean I guess some players maybe would would sort of play lip service and kind of and would give into tokenism every now and then, but absolutely there was there was none of that. There was no no signs of any of that within him this week. Yeah, I think it’s fair to say Irish golf has put on quite the festival over the last Fortnite. And just before we wrap up on the Irish Open, my final two two pence worth on it anyway, like just the setup overall was, you know, fantastic. Even for spectator, like it’s a fantastic viewing course as well. Plenty place you can stand 60, 70, 80, 100 yards away and still have a great view. Like plenty of food around, like loads of bars on the course, great hospitality, like it was a real magical atmosphere. And I just thought like this this deal that they have with the DP World Tour was going to come back in 2025 and 2027. I can’t wait for it to get back to the K Club. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. It’s it’s a it’s a venue. It’s an it’s an area every it lends itself so so well to it. Look, we we’ve often had this conversation about whether the Irish Open should be played on links courses and everything. And I mean there’s definitely an argument for that. But when you see when you see what was put on yesterday, when you see the amount of people that that they were able to get in, get around, have all the amenities for them, like, you know, it’s hard to argue with that. It’s hard. It’s And they’ve got the space for it. They’ve like it’s it’s it’s tailor made for that. And I mean, look, I guess it probably it was tailor made for that. you know, that was that was the the reason why the reason why it was set up and designed that way in the first place was to have big time championship golf there. And they put on a wonderful put on a wonderful show. It was it was great. And yeah, I absolutely can’t wait 2020 and then 2027, which we’re going to assume is going to be shortly before the obviously we’ll have to wait and see schedules and everything, but shortly before the Ryder Cup at Adair Manor. It’s I mean you can’t it’s not going to get much better than that. No. No. Definitely. Right. We better move on. We better move on because we almost had another Irish winner on the podcast. But uh unfortunately for Derek Mckelroy, he lost out in the playoff with the challenge Espa to French amateur Martin Kubra. Andre Praan was also in the playoff but he got eliminated on the first hole. Melroy then bogied the second playoff hole and Cooper won with a par. some final round shoot 62 and put yourself in the playoff like I know he’ll obviously be disappointed but I suppose more importantly he came away with the with the top paycheck. Yeah. Yeah. Big big time. It was kind of like the the sh the Shane Larry Robert rock at the at Baltray in 2009. The the the amateur won but the pro pro walks away with the the big the big prize money. Yeah. I mean it’s 30 33,750 was the prize money for for Dermat. And I mean that’s look for guys for guys playing on the challenge ter you know that’s that’s a lot of money you know that’s you know that that takes care of that takes care of your expenses your you know that covers the guts of a the guts of a year’s worth of it you know it’s it’s a huge you know it’s a huge monkey off the monkey off the back uh sees him sees him climb up to 56th now in the in the road to Mayorca pro like rankings he needs you need to keep it owing to kind of getting the promotion picture, but like he’s after coming from the Euro Pro Tour, his status wouldn’t have been too strong. So, if he can finish in the the top 70 and get himself a stronger status for next year, he can really build that that foundation, play regularly cuz for these guys, it’s hard. They play maybe two, three weeks in a row, then they won’t play for two or three weeks. And it’s hard to kind of build a rhythm and get yourself in a run of form. Yeah. and he’s and he’s now into the into the challenge tour event in Portugal this week which he previously he wouldn’t have he wouldn’t have been without the without the second place finish. So I mean yeah he needs to look he he jump he jumped up 52 spots in the rankings. Um, look, if if he can hit a hot streak, you know, have have another couple of good weeks, you know, he could he could he could easily see himself pushing up in, you know, to get into the season finale or to get into the get into the top is it top 25 that get the uh top 20 top 20 that get their DP World Tour card. So, look, he’s got a he’s got a ways to go for that, but hey, this was a big step in the right direction and it’s a great week for him. It was a big step and we’re coming into the running on the challenge tour and look the whole the whole year you’re kind of faced with conversations about what’s coming behind your Maroys and your Larry’s and your Powers like Connor Pel made the cut there at the Irish Open on his debut and he looked extremely comfortable said you know I’m well able to put it up with these guys and live with them and walk the fairies with them hold my head up against them like he’s 33rd now on the road to New York ahead of four events like this is a guy who should be pushing on and getting getting that DP World Tour card like he can really really push on the next four weeks. Yeah, I mean it look he had he had a good week had a good week at um at the K club. He it was a little bit unfortunate. But he was out very early yesterday morning and there was quite a lot of quite a lot of fog when he was out and he said he said it was quite it was quite difficult to play in play in the fog. Vis visibility was look it was kind of it was kind of thing they needed they knew that there was chances were there were going to be rain delays coming in and they couldn’t they couldn’t afford to delay the morning start. You know if if had they had they pushed it back by an hour there’s a good chance it wouldn’t have the tournament wouldn’t have got finished yesterday. So unfortunately for Connor and um the guys he was playing with, you know, they were sort of like on nearly sent out as like the canaries in the coal mine kind of guinea pigs. Let’s see how you get on cuz I play I play golf yesterday morning at the crack of dawn at half 7 or so. Um the fog was like just ridiculous. And my rangefinder was telling me I’d only six yards to the pin even though it felt like more like 182 183. So, like I was playing and I was kind of checking the Deep World Tour leaderboard thinking this thing will hardly hardly go ahead. This this fog is too dense to play. But no, fair play to him. He’ll, you know, be a bit disappointed with his weekend, I’m sure. But like it’s a big big month or so coming up on the challenger tour now. Like these guys need to play themselves into form even not even to get their DP World Tour cars, but they’re all going to be going to Q school then afterwards as well. So it’d be good to see likes Malroy, even Caldwell, you know, Parcel, Stewie Greten, if he can kick on, get those lads pushing up the ranks. Yeah, it’s been it’s Yeah, as you as you said, it’s kind of been a it’s been an odd year. There’s there’s been no great like some of them have done they’ve done they’ve done kind of well in patches and then sort of gone off gone off the boil. Um, so yeah, we’ve kind of really been waiting for the for somebody to really take the ball by the horns and and PCEL is the one who’s probably done it more so than the most until until yesterday when uh when Derma joined him and per and Connor was actually like was Connor was delighted to hear afterwards that he’s well devastated to hear that Dermit had had lost in a playoff but delighted to hear that he’d had a great week and that he was going to now be get into Portugal and and pick up a healthy paycheck as well. No, it’s important. It’s important to see these guys do well because people get a suppose a false sense of reality. They think it’s all the glitz and glam at tour level and I spoke to John Murphy earning the week and we all know what he’s been through mentally taking that time off but like it’s a tough slog tough slog in the challenge tour and hopefully the lads can kick on now and keep going. Moving on to the LPGA. Uh Steph Meadow obviously didn’t play last week in Dramoland top 50 made cut but I suppose the story is Min Woo couldn’t get it done in Kildair but Miy Mi got it done and there was quite a few um shouts of support for Miy in the K club there over the weekend but she beat Charlie Hull in the playoff at Krueger City. You’d have to feel for Charlie Hull as well like is she ever going to get over the line? Yeah. Uh I I’ll be honest I didn’t see a single shot of this. There was there was way too busy uh covering other things. But um but yeah, I mean look, Mi Meni Lee is uh I mean she’s putting she is putting her brother to shame. She’s what she’s what a twotime major winner and uh was this now maybe six or seven LPGA wins for like she’s obvious obviously like an absolute top tier top tier talent and per per Charlie Hull. Yeah, she’s she’s come she’s come very close a couple of times this year. She’s she’s been knocking on the door. Look, she’ll she’ll she gives her keeps giving herself chances, she’ll it’ll happen for her one of these days. But um but yeah, I mean for for Steph it just was a week where she never really never really got going. couple of like it was she was making plenty of birdies but the bogeies I think on I’m not sure how many bogeies she had over the over the four rounds but the bogey count was quite high and that was what cost her really. Yeah, like she’s 65th in the race, the CME Globe. Like, so she is she’s having a consolidating season, another consolidating season. Like that’s two in a row. She’s becoming a real staple of the LPGA tour. And h moving on, we had plenty on over the weekend as well, golf Ireland wise. Castle h won the AG Senior Cup. Uh Rob Mo, Irish Close Champions, had quite the few weeks. Um they beat Naise 3-2 with a comeback win for the first time since uh 2016. Royal Port Rush then won the AIG Senior Women’s Cup for the first time in 10 years, beating County Siggo. Sorry Mark, your your new club uh three and a half to one and a half. I’m sure everyone’s very disappointed down there. Crushing defeat in the women’s and a crushing defeat in the men’s semi. Yeah, it’s Rob actually Rob Morren came from came from I think he was two down through two down through 15. Two down through 15 was he? um against uh Aum Brady, wasn’t it? Yes. Yes. Yes. Uh yeah. To come to come from two down there and went I think he won it in the 19th. That that was so I was I was keeping an eye on as I was as I was walking around the K club. I was keeping an eye on that on the phone. But uh yeah, crushing crushing defeat for my new my new club. Yeah, you may you may get these new clubs off Finn now and get that handicap downce raise some issues, ruffle some feathers and get yourself on the team next year. I’m currently currently going the other the other direction with the handicap but you never know. and Lisburn had a great win in the AIG men’s Barton Shield beating beaten carton house who would have been heavy favorites and you know stalwarts of these competitions while Ross Common took the AIG women’s senior forceman’s title h both were played at Dunir Golf Club and the Irish men’s footballers mightn’t be going to the Euros anytime soon or any any major tournament anytime soon but the European senior team championships with some great success unfortunately the Irish women’s team came up just shy of a gold medal in flight A the final of the European senior ladies teams while the Irish men bounced back from their semi-final defeat to England by winning a bronze medal beating Italy 4-1. We’ve plenty on this week as well. We’ve obviously went you know staple of the Deep World Tour flagship event 12 Ryder Cupers in action. That’ll be interesting to see how everyone gets on. A lot of eyes will be on Ludvig Aber and Hogard in particular. I’d imagine there will be. Yeah. and and they’ve all they’ve actually all gone out to they’ve all flown to to Rome. They were all flying yesterday evening. The the entire team caddies, vice captains, cap like the full the full works. They’re all going to be all going to be in Rome for practice round of Marco Simony and a dinner together and and I think Shane Shane was saying that they’re all staying in the same hotel at Wentworth and everything. So there’ll be there’ll be plenty plenty of team gettogethers and you’d imagine the sort of be like the team bonding that they that they talk about will be in full flow this week like the Luke Donald will be doing his best to get everybody all on the same page and singing of the same same hembook or Yeah. And the USA obviously took their their trip over and they were kind of shocked by how long the roof was. So it seems um the Europeans are really sticking the boot in there and maybe we could see a similar test to um leg golf national in 2018. Yeah, that was the the thing the thing I’d heard a lot of people saying was it’s it’s going to be different to the golf national you know it’s going to be different to golf but from what yeah from the from the reports about the rough is like maybe it’s not going to be too diff too too different altogether. Yeah. Yeah. Well, from a European point of view, I think you have to put a premium and accuracy off the tea rather than length because we know unfortunately the way golf’s going, you can bomb at 350 and be in the roof and it’s fine. So, you need to really kind of put a premium on putting it in play off the tea which which is important and it’s stuff that will suit our kind of guys as well. We’ve good accurate drivers in Fleetwood. You know, Matis Patrick, Larry, of course, Hatton. Then, of course, we do have the Bombers with the with the usual brigade. But uh moving on at the moment, Connor Stone and Brendan Lawler are currently in action at the G4D tour in Wentworth. So that’s a big event for them. Brendan fresh off his uh his television duties at the at the weekend on Sky Sports. So best luck to the two of lads. Uh Lauren Walsh taking along nicely in the in the pro career. Ninth place in the L Access three under like it’s she’s starting to take to this like a duck to water. I know it’s not the not the highest level, but it’s a good place to start and kind of dip your toe into professional ranks. Yeah, she’s got three three starts in the on the Access series and I think she’s got a second, an eighth, and a ninth. So, top 10’s in all three of them. She like a I think she was two over the first day, maybe two over, maybe three over. Um, and that was sort of like that, you know, she was always trying to recover from then, you know, just make sure you make the cut after that. And she she progressed every day. She I think she went I think it was like she went 74 706 69 I think were her three rounds. Um so I mean steady steady progression but I mean she she’s coming into the access series very late in the season. So um you know the top I think it’s the top five in the access series rankings gets le cards and so some of the people she’s she’s she’s now got three events played in it. some of the people and have like a dozen events played and you know all the guys at all the girls at the top of the top of the rankings there are all in the sort of into double figures and events played and everything. So she’s she’s extremely unlikely to to play her way into the top five there. But it’s yeah, I mean it’s it’s a good a good sort of foray into the into the pro ranks for I mean obviously disappointed that she missed out on LPGA Q school, but I mean they’re all stepping all stepping stones and uh this will go this experience will go a long way to helping her progress onto the le. Yeah. And speaking of Q school at the weekend, Paul McBride 2017 Walker Cooper for GBNI used to rubbing shoulders with Cam Young, Wills Alator and those fellas in Wake Forest birdied his last four holes to shoot a 64 to come through the first stage of Q school at the weekend. Like that’s pressure. We talk we’re after talking about the you trying to win an Irish Open. The pressure to just grind away and get to that next level and to birdie your last four holes. Like fair play to him. Hope he hope he can go well and continue. Yeah, that’s and that’s incredible. I mean, look, Paul’s been playing on the playing on the Alps tour this year and um I mean on the Alps tour, you’re not like on a on a good week, you might cover your cover your expenses for the week. Uh on a on a bad week, you’re down a lot of you’re down a lot of money. Like so um so those guys, I mean, they deserve enormous amounts of credit for, you know, for the grind, for continually pursuing the dream. Uh, I mean it would be absolutely fantastic if uh if Paul was to if Paul was to maybe to I mean if he was to get a DP World Tour T tour card it would be outstanding but I mean there’s a long way to go for that. So if he was even get challenge tour status would be a big step up for him. Yeah and it’s that time of year now. Q school is coming thickening fast. We’ve plenty plenty of big names actually playing this week both in Sweden and Austria. We’ve Gavin Moyahan, Alex Magcguire, Mark Power. No rest for the wicked for Meguire and Power there. H Jr. Galbra and Simon Bryan playing Q school. As is Peter O’Keefe, 41 years of age getting back in the saddle. I mean, well, that would be a great fairy tale now, wouldn’t it? There’s hope hope for everybody if uh if Pete could somehow somehow do it. But look, it’s a it’s a big ask for everybody. These week Q school weeks are extreme like you know, it’s a it’s a war of attrition. Um, you know, it’s come going out and producing it for a few days in a row, which is going to determine the next 12 months of your career. It’s the pressure is absolutely intense. People used to call it the like the longest was it the longest day in golf? Was it the on the PGA Tour Q or was like oh they used it used to be six six round events. It was just like carnage and everything, but it was such a tough slog. Like it really is like as I mentioned at the start, like people think turning pro, you’re going to make loads of money and it’s all going to be, you know, hunky dory and happy golucky. But like it really is at the bottom level. You just don’t know where you’re where you’re going week to week. And hopefully the lads can all do well and keep progressing. But I suppose we better move on to our heroes and our our villains. Mark, I’ve I’ve plenty. I have a beef to grind with the ice cream salesman this week. Well, you grind away there. You hit us. $450 for a 99 with no guarantee of a flake. Like, not not even a sprinkle or a bit of sauce. It’s a scandal. It’s a scandal. But what are you expecting? What are you expecting? I’m not expecting it to be 99. Like, those days are gone. But Jesus, three quid would be the most I pay for an ice cream these days. I remember paying it was a4 pound sterling up in uh Port Stewart about was it 2017 that they hosted the Irish Open. That’s six years ago. I was doing anyway like inflation inflation onto that. That’s I’m not surprised that it’s 450 now. My other villain as well is uh Gary Lker who I’ve most respect for and I love him on Twitter and everything. I think he speaks really well but he said the final round of the Irish Open was the worst days golf he ever saw. Would you go along with that? You were there. Was this on Twitter? He said it. Yes. I want I now want to go and find that and scroll scroll down through the replies and see how far before somebody says shhat on shhat on golf or something like that. My two heroes were Mark Power obviously just for you know how he performed on his professional debut but also Rory Mroy and not for how he performed and everything but he’s a man who cares. He’s a man who cares. I what he did with the with Make a Wish over the week was really, really good. Like meeting that child was fantastic. And the way he interacted with him, made him feel welcome, made him feel almost part of the tournament in many ways. Like if you haven’t watched it, go watch. It’s on the DP World Tour website, all their socials. But um you just you can tell he’s a he’s a real father figure. He’s grown into the role with, you know, Poppy at home and everything. But he gave an interview then to Sky Sports on Saturday and he remembered the parents’ names which I thought was just a man who you know that was a really nice touch. A fellow who cares and like these things can be tokenism. You’re fulfilling a you know a contract by going out and meeting these children every week. He does it every week as well. But know I thought it was a nice touch. He’s like he’s a classy guy and he gets a bad rep. whatever you do think from whether he’s Irish or he’s not Irish, whether he wants to play in the Irish Open or not, whether he’s flaky going to win a major. Like, he’s a real really really good person. I mean, he is. Yeah, he is. Look, he he’s he’s one of those people we could all we all love to complain about every now and then because look, he’s been he’s been so he’s been so successful. He’s like, it’s the classic classic Irish thing. as soon as soon as somebody gets gets a little bit of success or we we s we all sort of think they’re starting to get too big for their boots. And in a lot of cases that is that is true. But look, I think Rory is you said I think he I think he is a really decent guy. He’s a good he’s a good a good person, a good human being. And that’s that was proof of it there. I mean yeah he didn’t he doesn’t have to do that. Sure, he’s I mean it doesn’t do his PR image any any harm him doing that but at the same time when you watch it he he is so genuine in it. I mean he I think he really enjoys doing it and I think I think it’s he’s definitely not just fulfilling an obligation there. No, no, definitely not. Definitely not. Right. Your heroes and villains. My her my hero is My hero is David Clifford. Did you Did you see the three-wood that Clifford hit in the in the proam? Outrageous. I hear the Rory Mroy plaque has been removed as of Monday morning from apparently according to according to Twitter. I think it was Conor Mur hit it up on on Twitter. Um from like 10 or 15 yards beyond back. Yeah, you can see back in the video as well. and he sticks a hits a 3-wood to to 10 feet. Now, David Clifford could also be my my villain for the week because it’s not fair that if somebody’s that talented at getting football that he’s also a [ __ ] hell of a golfer. Well, he should be he should be a villain because he missed the foot by all accounts. So, you know, Well, I’m I’m a terrible putter, so what can I say? No, but I I watched that video and he takes the club halfway back and I’m kind of thinking this is an awful swing. But the release and the power to the ball like what a goal shot. What a goal shot. Um I don’t know maybe villain maybe Steven Kenny just just cuz you’ve for those of for those of you who are still listening and God help you for those who have hung on. Mark has got a new copy book he nicked from the Horizon Irish as a gift. He’s filled one page with about four or five lines and he just turned over there to a blank page just out Steven Kenny. He had nothing written down like let the record show you had no villain. I had no villain. That’s true. But I I covered the two of them with Clifford there. But he used to you’re you’re still are you still supporting Kenny or are you you finally into the Kenny out brigade? H he has to go like but I don’t hate him. Like I’m allowed to love him and think he’s great and he’s a great man, everything, but I’m still time to go. I get the impression if if if Steven Kenny gets sacked, he’s going to he’s going to keep turn he’s going to do an Enoch Bark. He’s going to keep he’s going to keep turning up at turn up at L Road every day or it’s like I did nothing wrong. I did nothing wrong. I did my job. Yeah. Well, look, it’s I I don’t want to get I was there last night and I’m I’m I’m still depressed over it and it’s ah I just deflating. It was deflating and Maro and Larry not winning the Irish Open either kind of set the tone for for my disappointing Sunday. So, uh, that’s a bit bit of a sour note to end things on as well. One one thing one thing actually I think has been has been overlooked is the fact that it was a man called Norman that broke Maroyy’s heart at the Irish Open. Yeah. after all after all the sniping back and forth between Maroy and Greg Norman. He’s like, do you think do you think maybe Vinc Vincent Norman took that personally? We’ll never know. We’ll never know. He’s going to he’s going to he’s going to strike a blow for Norman’s worldwide. Yeah. Not a not a very glowing winner for the Irish Open, unfortunately. We had we had a good one with Moranc last year, but every every now and then you get a you get a John Catlin or a Vincent Norman. Well, who who knows? Vincent Nor this this time two years time Vincent Norman could be uh could be lining up for a first Ryder Cup appearance and us talking about the the Irish Open being the the time that he really sort of sprung to prominence. So well he is only 25 in fairness to him like he who could go on and kick on like he’s up to 76 in the world second DP World Tour win like he is no is no slouch. Yeah that’s and his his first win was the at the barbas it was like the co-sanctioned one was the PGA tour. So he’s well he’s that win gets him a PGA Tour card so we’d probably see very little of him in the DP DP World Tour next year. Yeah, unfortunately. So Maroy bested by a Norman again. And on that note, best luck to everyone and thanks very much for tuning in to the maybe three or four of you that are still here. The damn Norman invasion. Just see the tumble weed now coming across the table. Mark, thank you very much for putting up with me today. Oh, it’s been a it’s been a pleasure. It’s been a pleasure. We’ll do it again soon. Peter’s getting the plane turned right now after the shambles of a podcast. [Music]
