On this week’s edition of the Irish Golfer Podcast, we delve into Thomas Abom’s sensational Irish Close victory as he made history for Edmondstown. The FedEx Cup playoffs vs LIV Golf, what are you going to watch? Seamus Power can take the positives as his season ended a couple of weeks early and the final golfing major of the year takes place at the AIG Women’s Open.
[Music] Hey everybody and welcome along to this week’s edition of the Irish Golfer Podcast. Peter Finnen here and joined by Rona McNamara. How are you getting on? Good to be back again. Again. Yeah, we’re we’re back for maybe the first time in god knows how long yet again, but we’re back. No, it’s we’ve never been as back. No, we’ve we’ve never been as busy. It’s just off the charts. We’re here, there, and everywhere. We’re doing some road miles and air miles this last couple of weeks. Do you realize leads haven’t won since we did our last podcast. This is what we need to to turn the tide, Pete. Yeah. Stop. No, we won’t talk about leads till the transfer window’s closed. you know, I might I might have to I I have my own exit clause out that club if they don’t get their act together. But, um, no, so much going on in golf. Uh, like I said, we’ve been here, there, and everywhere. The website’s been hopping the last couple of weeks, the last month. So, uh, we haven’t, uh, freed up enough time on a Monday or Tuesday to come and hit record in the studio here because we’ve just been on to the next project, on the next, been relentless. But, uh, we might as well cut up a few of these events that we’ve been at now and have a chat. There’s so much to catch up on. We might as well start from now and work our way back. Like there’s a lot went on this weekend. But we’ll start off with the amateur stuff. You were in Dun Liry the last couple of days at the AIG Irish Close and turned into some finish. Yeah, it’s funny. Two real noviceses at this level at the top of the leaderboard and they served up an absolute classic. Like h the last I think 45 minutes to an hour was just ridiculous. It was bonkers. Errors being made, brilliant shots being hit. And then finally, Thomas Abomb, first Edmond Edmondstown player to ever win a national championship, hit just the shot of his life on the 74th hole in 9 iron from 146 to about 2 feet and got the put and like heavily outnumbered by the local Dun Liry crowd with Richard Sykes, but um he was happy enough to spoil that party. I think it was but like it was brilliant like only 19. and he was just delighted to have shot an underpar round in the men’s event after the first round. And it’s just funny how he went all the way and won. Yeah, it seemed unlikely after Sean Keeling led by four at halfway, but I mean his third round 79 just blew the whole championship wide open. What happened like that’s like I couldn’t get my head around. I know we were on our Slack group and our WhatsApp group and bit like for all intents of purposes I had him crowned after two rounds. That was it. like he he was four or five shots clear, wasn’t he? Yeah. And midway through like the second round, you’re kind of thinking we just need to get him to calm down a little bit or else this could be a cakewalk. That’s what everybody was thinking. And look, rightly so, given what he’s achieved. Um, but yeah, just it just didn’t happen for him on on on the on the third round, 10 over through 13. So, it ended up being a good 79. And it was a 79 that actually still kept him with a chance of winning. He was only four back then going into the last 18 holes. But yeah, just too many mistakes. Took a I think a quintuple bogey on the 15th. A nine nine and that just really sucked the life out of him cuz he had a good start up until that point. He was one under through three holes starting on the back nine. And yeah, just faded away. And n it’ll leave a mark like nine’s happened to nine’s happened to me in the mid this year, didn’t it? Yeah. Nine. No, it can’t be avoided. No, no. Happens to the best of us. All right, but um it just made for a thrilling thrilling championship. It was just carnage morning. It really was. And then the afternoon was just I think it’s as tight as I’ve ever seen a championship go down. Like Richard Sykes, eight pars in a row in the back nine. Bogei’s the last. Didn’t get up and down from just over the back. Thomas Abomb birdies 17 to go one in front and you think right, this is it. Your chance to win. hits a second shot just short of the green on the 18th and he’s probably the only person in the world who would have chipped from the fringe 60 ft up the hill when all he needed to do is just lag a put close chips 8 ft by and lifts out and you think oh my god has he blown his chance like Richard Sykes all of a sudden another chance to you know win and the Johny crowd come funneling back down the down the 10th fairway and yeah Thomas lips out then in the 73rd probably fortunate to lip out. It was one of those lip outs where if he didn’t lip out, he was going about 7 ft by and pumped a drive down the 74th and just hit an outrageous approach. And to be fair, Richard lipped out from about 25 ft as well. So, but I think Thomas was a deserving winner just for the resilience that he showed throughout the week. I mean, leading after round 66, doubles the first in round two, doubles the 15th, birdie 17, doubles the last. So, three double bogeies in a round where he had seven birdies as well. Just true resilience. and he just hung in all day like through six holes. It’s a real marathon and it’s kind of hard to know where you are at the best at times because it’s all kind of scramble and the final group that starts the morning starts the afternoon. So, he ended up not playing with the person who was closest to him. So, he just dealt with it really well and he’s a calm he’s a calm character. I think everybody saw in the interviews doesn’t give too much away, but there was a few points drunk in Edmond 10 last night anyway. Yeah, I’d say there was. What really stuck out for me in this championship is how stacked the leaderboard was the whole way throughout. The format really works in this like you know just your straight um stroke play competition. Like when you have a bomb at the top and you’ve Hugh Foley, Ryan Griffin, Sean Keeling, Luke O’Neal, Gavin O’Neal, Brian Doran who’s been like off the charts good over the last month from Millison like so that I I didn’t see the type of consistent form. I know he he’s got his win and he’s he’s got some uh you know he done class golf down in Mulligar but um he’s really come out left the field this year and stood up to the plate like I think he’s still leading the bridge don’t order a merit isn’t he I think so yeah like he he was impressive as well the bits I saw of him on a Friday and Saturday coincidentally he hit a 78 yeah in round three playing alongside Keeling so I think the two of them brought each other down but it’s funny if Richard Sykes had won Brian Dorm would have been yesterday’s news. Richard Sykes would have been the new amateur out of nowhere, you know, part-time or all that kind of thing. So, it’s funny how it works like that. So, but no, like Brian’s quite impressive. Really, really good putter. Just a great man to kind of stay in things. Hits it quite far as well. Bit of an unconventional looking setup, but like a really good swing and yeah, gets it out there and certainly would be one I wouldn’t root out in winning a championship. Yeah, I know he won the Mullenar Scratch Cup, but one of the big six. Yeah, he could definitely win one. No, no, it’s good. And then you the stalwarts like TJ Ford and Kie Campbell are then chasing up. So, it’s really really deep leaderboard in this. And uh good to see great to see like AIG as well for all they put into the amateur golf. Like it’s good to see them coming to the four this this week as well and being front and center of all that for all they give to golf. It’s uh it’s it’s a good advertisement for what they do and what they get from it. um on sponsors and advertisement. Typical. It’s been a month since we’ve done this and I forget to name check our own. Uh we’re sponsored by Flow Gas uh who are supporting every level of Irish golf from the amateur scene right up to the pro ranks with some of our leading top professionals uh coming through in the game. Now, um yeah, there’s a bit of a change in the weather going on now. So, if you are looking for any of your energy needs, flow gas. They’ve all sorts of packages there, be it gas, electricity, everything on that. So, yeah, the leaves are starting to fall off the trees now. So, it’s time to start looking at the the Allei bill again for next year. It’s that time of year, it starts becoming difficult to find golf balls in the rough. Exactly. But like AIG, you know, like I’m saying about um sponsors in amateur golf, like there aren’t too many of them. Um and Flow Gas are really pumping it in this year as well and and um supporting every level of golf saying. So, yeah. Flow gas.ie. be right next one of your better segways apart from forgetting about them at the start. H we PJ tour FedEx Cup playoffs the first of three legs bit of a it was a good good week for Sheamus Power like to be fair top 10 can’t really complain obviously not enough he needed a top five to advance get into the top 50 and get into the BMW but like I personally think it’s been a pretty good end to the season for Power Making the top 70 I think is an achievement I think the hip injury he had last year was bigger than he’s let on. The only thing is he’s not in the signature events next year, but I think that could be a blessing in disguise. You think so? I think it could be. Yeah, I think he could win next year. Oh, no. Listen, he has the game to win. There’s no question about it. I just, you know, we go back to this time last year. Shane Lowry was in a similar position and he is now. Larry started off this season not in any signature events, gets a Mastercard invite and Arnold Palmer does really well and kicks on from there. So, uh, and Sheamus is that good. like he he proves it, you know, to get what what did he finish up? 54th, 55th on the overall rankings. Like, you know, you’re such you’re you’re so close given that he he spent so much time injured at the start of the year, like you’re saying, juggling here, there, and everywhere. So, um well, like to finish in the top 70 is really good. It doesn’t sound good because he hasn’t progressed and he hasn’t got the signature events, but I mean it’s just so like the fields are so condensed now. like the signature events, the fields are so small. And even like to get into the playoffs, you have to be in the top 70. He no longer the top 125. So it just shows how well he played despite still, I think, being plagued by a bit of an injury. Yeah. I know it’s good. Listen, he when when the gun was to his head in the last event, he produced and that’s all he can ask of someone, you know? So when you look at what he’s two shots away from a top five finish like where he is, you know, so way and like he definitely left that out there. So, he’ll come away happy at the end of the season to get as close as he did, but I’m I’m sure a tinge of disappointment of um just not quite getting there into the top 50, but I’ve no doubt he’ll he he he’ll he’ll come again next year. He definitely will. The start of next season, he he’ll he’ll get into gear. It’ll be good to go back to our stats at the start of the year actually and what our projections were. I think we were all pretty. Yeah, we need to do a review pod. One of those things. We’re struggling to do a pod, a long review pod. Never mind making plans. But uh no, this event was all about Hideki. Um bit of such a strange tournament to watch. I don’t know how much of it you watch. Like I watched most of the final round. Struggle to keep up with it uh for the previous rounds. Um just the golf was, you know, it’s just one of those events that it’s something that you just watch on the Sunday and get stuck into it and that was it. But uh yeah, Hideki like from the story at the start of the year uh or started a week with his caddy he got what he got mugged in Heathrow or somewhere on the way out transfer flight. Caddy and I think his coach coach or manager had their passports stolen so they’ve had to go back to Japan and get it and they actually won’t be back this week either. They’ll they’re only going to get their passports through in time for the tour championship. But like it’s funny like I think it’s you see these stories in golf a lot. Something mad happens and that player ends up winning on the same week. So um some bag to get for a week. Yeah. Yeah. It’s a handy little payday, isn’t it? I think he was two weeks catting for Rio hits. Yeah, he was. Yeah. H Rio could be out of a job. But uh No, it was a seriously good performance by Hideki like cuz he he really struggled halfway through this final round. I’m not sure if you’ve seen any of it like he had referees on him uh like going through rulings and stuff like that and it really got him out of his comfort zone. He went in a stretch of bogey bogey double bogey was out of the lead. Victor was off on his own and like he was in third at one stage with a few holes to go. Dug deep and uh yeah it was a spectacular finish the way he finished it off. Like the drive he hit down 18 was unbelievable. like to have the stones to do that under that sort of pressure was phenomenal. And then the approach the approach in as well like it was only a ner he’d left in or something like that but it was uh it was seriously good. Yeah, just great resilience to suppose flick the switch when he needed it most for those last two holes. It actually ended up being a pretty box office finish even though I only saw the 18th hole. But I like the FedEx Cup. I think it’s like if you get a tight tournament at the top and then you get the lads down at the bubble, I think it makes for good viewing to be fair. This event like the FedEx Cup in general like this time of year. Yeah, there’s consequence on like I like the FedEx Cup. I like the playoffs until you get to the tour championship. I think that’s total like shite. It’s not great. It’s not great. This stroke like you look there at the leaderboard 17 under, Xander 15 under, Victor Havland 15 under then Scotty Sheffller 14 under. Like Scotty didn’t have the best of weeks and he’s still only three shots off the lead. Uh you know and most of the field are going to be giving him strokes going into all the field are going to be giving him strokes going in. So like it’s a dead rubber nearly. Yeah. But he didn’t win it when he had a what six shot lead over whatever it was. That’s years ago. Like he’s a killer now. That’s when we all hated him. We were going what is this lad? Will he not go away? Now you’re actually looking at him going oh okay here comes Scotty. Yeah true. And to be fair, I don’t think Mroy is in the mindset to beat him this year. Like Mroy just I think needs to end the season. Just get up and get out and rest and win your race to Dubai and go home. Fill your wheelbarrow full of cash and get off the stage. No, it’s it’s a strange one like um you know even Shane Lowry um I’m not like you know more outrageous hold outs this week again. I don’t know if you’ve seen that on video as well. like he’s just he’s had some amount of hole outs this this year. He’s had I think the strangest season of any golfer I’ve I can remember for the last few years anyway. I mean it’s one of those things it’s like looking at when your club is linked with a some player and you look up these reels and everything makes him look unbelievable. Like Larry has an unbelievable highlights reel from this year. You swear he was top of the FedEx Cup, world number one, everything. whereas he’s kind of had a you know a middling season I suppose by his own standards even though he’s in a great position in the FedEx Cup got his best he’s had his best season had his best PJ tour season but it just doesn’t feel like it. Yeah, it’s mad. Like, it is mad. Like, he’s still like, he’s so high up the rankings now. Like, he’s definitely going to get tour championship no matter what he does um next week. I can’t see him being played out. Like, he’s an 11th spot on the overall list. Like, so um and Rory dropped a couple of spots down as well. Rory’s down to fifth on the list, but like Scotty Sheffller, Xander, Hideki, Morawa. Marqu was an interesting one like cuz he I you don’t remember him being up there so much over the season and now where we are now he’s ahead of like he’s ahead of Rory in the rankings. It’s it’s a it’s mad the way it’s worked out but no it’s yeah it was a good event. I enjoyed watching this. I’ll enjoy next week not so much the tour championships. Um but you can watch live that week. But that’s it. Do you know what Liv like this was the conundrum last night? There’s so much golf on and all at the [ __ ] same time. like I had like two screens going. Even the US Arm was on. Not that I was watching, but the Spanish guy in that like when there’s a bit of European interest in it. Fair play to the Spanish guy for winning it. Um it was a big big event win. There was actually two Spaniards in the semi-finals. I’m not sure if you seen that on it. So they played each other in the semi-finals of it. But no, it’s good to see bit of international flavor brought to the USM and uh worked out well. Did you see your man swing? Actually, there was a guy. Yeah, it was unreal, wasn’t it? He’d be a good herder. savage like he had me I was send I sending WhatsApps like to my brother here look at this say and he was like why are you sending me stuff like this now I’m going to be out in the back garden now swinging trying to looking for that but it was a mad way so even with his driver how he if anyone hasn’t seen it like we shared it out in our stories during the week or just go to uh PGA Tour or any of those channels their um USGA channels they have all a load of stuff on it but it was the most unorthodox swing I’ve seen in a long long time But do you remember he striped it? Yeah, he did like to be fair and uh Garrett I think he did he did quite well. He got around the 32. Yeah. And Yeah. I mean I’m looking at a picture of his uh post impact finish and my god it looks like he’s two left two left hands. That’s what it looks like. That’s gas. No, it is gas. No, but on the live stuff, um, yeah, I’ve just found it so hard to keep up and like I doubt FedEx were too happy with, you know, the one time the start of their signature event, their first playoff event, and they’ve John Ram gone up against Kep Brooks in a playoff the other side and literally as they were playing 18 and one, they’re playing 18 in the other and it was just the scheduling was so bad that they were on at the same time. Yeah. Well, LI have kind of stopped putting events on in like in conjunction with like smaller PJ tour events. They seem to be going up against them now. Yeah. Like I like this week they’ve won now they last week and they’ve won this week now as well. Um so look, you’re going to have to look at your leaderboards to figure out which ones you’re going to watch. But yeah, I didn’t see any of it. And it’s it’s a shame really because any other week if like Ram and Keeper are on the PJ tour playing against each other going headtohead like you you dare not miss it. Like it’s just it’s a shame the way it’s it’s gone that many people won’t even know they were in a playoff last night until they’ve listened to this podcast hopefully. But you know what I’m saying? Like it is mental. It’s mad because I was watching on YouTube and you like you know you have a John Ram Brooks playoff. There was only 16,000 people streaming on YouTube. Yeah. Which is mental when you think of it. Like how irrelevant it’s become. Like I think the product’s actually decent. It’s just they need they they need to get a TV rights need to get a TV deal done. But like in fairness to c like to Brooks that was a serious uh you know that’s his fifth win now on live uh in a couple of years that he’s and he hasn’t he hasn’t had a top 25 in a major this year either. No. like it’s a pure um inverse version of Kepka really when he was on the PJ tour. He couldn’t give a damn about PJ tour events. Maybe he doesn’t give a damn about live events either. Maybe they’re just easier to win. But uh no, it’s been a weird year and he’s he’s kind of done that the last couple of years. He’ll win a major then kind of do nothing in them the next year, come back the year after and win a major. Yeah, it’s a it was a strange it was a strange finish to it. Yeah. Even on the team side of things um forget about the team thing, do you? Yeah, I don’t know what the story. Yeah, I never like even though when you log on to the Liv website and look at the leaderboard, the first thing you see is the team leaderboard. They’re really trying to push that, but I just click straight away to the individual. Yeah. Well, smash golf. Smash GC. GMAC picked a bad week to go to hit the gear to be fair. Like misses a week like this, the boys go and break all the records. John Catelyn, ex-Irish open champion, the one up in Galorum that time behind closed doors. He stepped into GMAC shoes and he’s had quite the run as this little substitute, hasn’t he? He did it for Bryson’s team and now he’s done it here for Smash GC. Little snake going from team to team just getting all get hooing up a few pound like that was worth some money to them because uh um yeah like they they’ve had a couple of team wins this year as well. So yeah, GMAC will be of all the weeks to go and uh take performance-enhancing uh cold and flu medicine. This wasn’t the week to do it. Yeah. And GMAC needs a decent week sometime h because he’s outside of the lock zone I think they call it. So like if you finish in the top 24 your spot in live golf for the next year is secure open zone then he’s he’s 26. So the top from 25 to 48 are in the open zone. So you either face a potential trade or release by your team if you finish in in that category. But then you can say he’s improved because last year he was in the drop zone. So, you know, you could be trending. Exactly. No, Kokquack was actually he was on the [ __ ] heap before this as well and he’s got a good individual thing, but it’s hard to follow it even like Yeah. I can’t um It’s one of those things where like I didn’t know about the open zone or the lock zone or the drop zone, but I knew about the drop zone. Didn’t know about the open zone or the lock zone until you actually hear about it. Yeah. You have to actually read it or see it in something to actually say, “Oh, well, that’s all right.” No, it is. It was a bit mad. We had some decent finishes by the Irish on the um seniors as well. Clark I seen had a top finish. Yeah, he was third. He’s kind of been he’s lost a lot of weight as well. He looks well, but he’s sort of been off the scene I suppose in the Champions Tour. Like a lot of the coverage is kind of dominated by Harrington this side of the water unfortunately. But no, third was pretty good. And Teneagawa had a good win as well. Always good to see boys with the cowboy hats winning. Um, right. Where do we go from here after that? Because there’s loads of bits that we’ve kind of missed out on uh over the last couple of weeks that we should really press the flesh on. PGA circuit. PGA circuit. Uh, no. Apparently, you won the Irish PGA last week. Last week now. It was last week now. Yeah. So busy. H. Yeah. He won it by six in the end. Final round of 66. It never looked like a sixstroke win, did it? Like it did. You were there in the final day on the Sunday. Yeah. like he was bogey free but in fairness like he was going everything I think tied for the lead with Colin Morati. Mick McGiddy was a shot back and then early on Mick had a good start so it kind of became a two- horse race between himself and Nile. Then around the turn Nile pulled away and Mick kind of just ran out of steam like you’re at that level N car is a bit of a juggernaut if he gets going. You know, you’re struggling to hold on to him and he just kind of powered home. It was a procession in the end, but it’s his third PGA win a third Irish PGA win. So, he’s got a bit of pedigree at this level as well. And he’s trying to he’s trying to get to Chrisio Connor’s Magic 10 and be the king of Royal Dublin. That’d be some feat to get to that. Yeah, it’s funny like it’s funny where he is now cuz he was I think top 10 in stroke average on the DP World Tour and he didn’t keep his card because he didn’t get the starts. I mean, it’s if you reverse back time and he had maybe got one or two more starts where he could be now, but like if he plays a lot at this level, he could be a serial winner. Oh, he is like he’s too good. Like I hate saying that like circuit like I’m not disrespecting anyone else on the circuit. There’s so many lads that are too good, I’d say, for the circuit, but it’s just getting that opportunity to um do something on on bigger tours. And like you know when you look at someone like Simon Torrenton who has all the opportunity over the next month now coming in he’s kind of struggled a little bit over the last month um to build on his game and get stuff and like even results that he had like at the Irish Challenge in the K club you’d expect he would expect a little bit more himself out of that but he’s some serious opportunity coming up now playing the Irish Open and the BMW PGA and hopefully he’s one of them that gets that opportunity and and the door opens and He he kicks on through. You’re trying to say we should set an Irish open preview pod now just in case we don’t do one. No, no, I’m just saying like even you mentioned the Irish challenge there as well. Like God, I can’t even remember when that was, but I don’t think we’ve done a pod since, have we? No, that was the last one that we did like three weeks ago. Yeah. God, Mark Yeah, Mark Par had a good week that week. He was 11th. His best finish, best finish to his pro career. And he actually had a great start to the Veramaki finish challenge last week. open 64 and kind of petered out on him which a real opportunity gone by to put herself in contention to get your get your full card for next year. Kind of kicks him back down the back down the rankings a bit. Even Connor has struggled since the win. Yeah, two missed cuts, but he did have a good uh second round. Yeah. Wherever it was, he wasn’t playing last week, the week before. So like this week’s a big one for him just to kind of get back on the horse. Just cement your place. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You don’t want to go on the slide and kind of start looking over your shoulder at 18, 19, 20th place. Like he’s still sixth. Like he’s not really in any danger, but you know, you he’s eighth actually. Sorry. But maybe he is in a bit of danger. But no, you know yourself like you just kind of want to consolidate your place and start getting a few top 15s and the odd top 10 here and there just to keep everybody else at bay. No, totally. The one of story actually on the PGA circuit. It was so funny. Um, Timmy Rice. I always love a good Tim Royce story, but he like he was there about in the Irish PGA. Just didn’t uh didn’t get close enough to make a challenge on, but he’s still um up there. But the week before it uh the Bellastown prom was on. And I’m not sure if you hear this. Did I tell you this already? Or I might I might have. I don’t know. He he was told he didn’t shoot a course record. He did shoot a course record when he wasn’t even Don’t be ruining the story now. Don’t be ruining the story. So, no. He opens up like bellies town. He hit a drive off the first, couldn’t find his ball. They were looking around in 3 minutes, which he’ll admit himself after looking at it. Like it’s not a long time to find a golf ball. Anyone that does lose balls regularly, I I know myself like it’s not a long time. So he’s walking back to the tea, finds the ball after the 3 minutes. So he’s like, “Oh Jesus.” Like walk back to the tea, hits a T-shot again. Pretty much in the same spot, knew exactly where he was. Missed the green on two putts. opens with a treble bogey seven and just wanted the wanted the ground to swallow him up and just get out of there. But in proper Tim Royce fashion, then he birdied 11 of the next 15 holes on the course like just he just said stuff that would annoy him normally just were not annoying him. So he’s got out of his own way and he’s, you know, guys walking behind even guys walking on his line walking in his true like didn’t bother just stand up aim bang in the hole. Uh he bogeied 17 part 18 got in new course record with an opening treble bogey which was mad and then Spider who does the events I think they were they were talking to him that evening and said oh yeah like the course it’s a course record but doesn’t stand because uh there was preferred lies and Tim was like I didn’t play preferred li that frazzled on the first te that he didn’t bother playing preferred lies so the course record stood so yeah it’s a nice little story but yeah pass. But like an unbelievable way to shoot a course record starting with a treble bogey and bogey in the second last hole with 11 birdies in between. Yeah. Like it’s outrageous. 11 birdies and what 15 holes you said. Like that’s nuts. Yeah. It’s off the charts. It is. But just shows you when you It shows the talent that’s on this BGA circuit that’s there that guys can do that. And he’s one of 10 guys that can do that like with like any He goes to all the DP World HQ schools and things like that. like you know he’s he’s just at that below tour level if you get me and maybe maybe he’s one of those players too good for the PGA but it just shows you call when you don’t really give a damn you play some of your best stuff like mentally yeah I just get out your own way but um yeah we’ve Colin Morarti as well another one he’s in the next couple of weeks heading off stateside I know you were talking to him over the last uh couple of days as well PGA Cup time PJ Cup yeah GBNI versus the USA over in Oregon next month It’s mad. Like he hasn’t played any team golf since he played the Walk Cup in 2003. Like it just shows there’s really there’s nowhere near enough team golf at pro level like to be honest with you. So he’s looking forward to that. H looking forward to getting back in the saddle. And team golf is great. You play shots that you wouldn’t normally play in a stroke play event as well. So he should really enjoy it. It’s an 11-day trip he was saying as well. So not that he’d be treating it as a holiday, but it’s nice to get away for that long. Yeah. No, it’ll be good. No, it will be good. gets to take on the block party as well. Yeah, I can’t believe Michael Block’s playing him that. Well, he is a PGA player. He’s a PGA pro. Like I know. I know. Like he was trying to play in tour events there last year as well. But you’re like, “Oh my god, oh my god, Rory, really? Did that go away?” You’re like, “Shut your mouth. Shut up. Shut your mouth.” But no, like if he could beat him, that would be a scalp already. It’ be good crack. It would be good if he got paired with him. Like yeah, it would be good laugh. But uh right, where to next? Well, do you want to start with this week or do you want to go back to maybe last month or wherever? Where are we? It’s been that long. Go on, just throw something out there. Uh, I challenged her. We challenged her this week as well. And decent finishes for Connor Work and Daniel Mulligan. Like Daniel’s only 19. Yeah. Turned pro when I think he was 16 or 17. So, good to see the lads uh go low in a couple of rounds as well. Um, but yeah, we’re still slim pickings on that tour now to be honest with rankings and stuff like that. Without Connor, like it’s it’s grim read and Gary Hurley and 33rd is our next best and he’s playing a few events on the DP World Tour now as well. So, uh, it’s just an interesting time for Irish golf in Europe. I always say it, but it just is. We have a major week we’re into this week as well. Last major of the year women’s open. Yeah. interesting one this like it’s Leona has missed three three major cuts out of four but I think coming into this one’s the the open she had her best finish here 2022 I think this could be a good good chance for her to turn it around I hope yeah I don’t know just need something just needs something to happen like even the win at the Aramco it didn’t really turn a corner for her at all no no it’s a different like you have to play well in the majors in the women’s game now the way it’s set up prize fund wise and she hasn’t this year and it’s kind I don’t know what happened between herself and uh Caddy and stuff like that as well but like you you’d have to think that those performances or that season that she’s had uh when you’ve most of the majors out of the way and not really doing well in those events that you’d expect her to be doing well in has has had some uh impact on like wages for a caddy and stuff like that, you know. Yeah. Yeah. And like her world rankings been on the slide now as well, you know. She’s 32nd now. Like starting the I think she started the year off in 23rd. So it’s a bit of a dip. Bit of a dip over the last couple of years. I think even though I think she got to the top 10 like Yeah. Yeah. Like even though she has a win and everything like it’s mad. It’s it’s just kind of glossed over what’s been a pretty poor season. I think her wins only her I think was her third or fourth top 10 of the year. She’s only had three top 10 so far this year. One including a win. So, it’s not been the usual consistent Meguire because there are a lot of mis cuts in there as well and some mis cuts as we said in the biggest events unfortunately. But, I think this this could be the week where it might turn around. St. Andrew’s great place to play. Not the toughest golf course in the world. So, I think there’s an opportunity maybe to kind of open the shoulders a bit and make a few birdies cuz last week at the Scottish Open that was tough. She got the wrong side of the draw as well with the weather. So, you can kind of put a pass on that. It’s just St. Andrews a bit of a it’s it’s going to be long. I know we don’t look at St. Andrews as a long course, but for the women, the way they’ll set that up, it will be long. Um, like, yeah, I hope she does. I hope she does, but I I don’t know. Part of me just can’t see it. Like, I’m I’m more interested looking at Lauren Walsh, to be honest. Yeah. Going out there like her run of form into this has been off the charts. Like, and I just love how confident she is. like um she you know if Lauren Walsh turned pro two months beforehand, there’s every chance she would have pipped Stephanie Meadow and went to the Olympics instead of her as well. She’s she was playing that well and that consistent and racking up the points and the appearances, you know. So, uh yeah, it’s going to be very very interesting. I’m I’m very interested to see how Lauren does this event. Her first pro pro start in the major as well. Made the cut as an amateur in Carnusi three years ago, but like as you said, her form has been been really really good. um couple of top three finishes and she’s moved up into the top 20 on the order of merit as well which is just a serious achievement you know in your rookie season like 14th on the order of merit I think she was 11th starting last week before the miss cut so like she’s got a lot of big weeks coming up now this is the first of them she’s got the Irish Open of course debut in that event next week then she’s got LPGA Q school then as well so it’s probably a big a big month of golf coming up for Lauren to see where she’s at and where she’s going to be playing next year cuz like she has the potential to get off the le certainly if not this year next year. It’s hard to believe that that snuck up. The KPMG Women’s Irish Open is next week in carton house. Yeah, it was great to see the women’s golf take a bit of spotlight as well with the with the women’s open this week and then the Irish Open the week after. And look, Lauren, it’s great that she’s there. She’s going to bring a lot of support with her. Like she’s very marketable, great personality. So, I think she’ll be great just for the event as a whole for that bit of promotion that it needs. Yeah. No, it’ll be good on Leon obviously headlining it as well. Um, it’s just such a pity that the like a Sarah Burn and players like that are away at the Curtis Cup that week. I know we’re we’re talking about in a men’s game. There’s so much golf, everything clashing. It’s just a pity that this clashes with that. And we’ve three big names uh on the amateur side that are away in Sunningale that week. Yeah, it is. And you think it’s the three three amateurs that have probably been the most marketable over the last 18 months or so like Sarah, Beth, and Anya. And like last year to Moland Ana obviously after what she’d done in the US Women’s Open took a big crowd with her as did Sarah Burn. And then Beth is obviously just extremely talented as well. So it is a shame that they’re not going to be there. It’s it was one of those just unavoidable things really. I think it’s the fault of anybody. Um but look, we still have a lot of good players. Huge field. Well, it’s like a Georgia Hall and everything is coming across like it’s a huge field and it is like there’s so like there’s obviously tickets are still available. You can uh pre- purchase. It’s quite cheap to go up. Kids are free as well. And I’ve seen like obviously I’m a member in carton as well as uh we’ve work membership up there and we venture up a little bit but I went up and had a look um last week at the sort of infrastructure layout and how it’s set up and how it’s good all out in front of you like where the you know do you know where the driving range is out the back of the hotel and stuff like that. So that’s like full tented village in there. Loads of stuff to do for kids and families. Uh you have the driving range there in front of you. of the firsts at one side, the 18th down the other. So, it’s really going to be a good carnival atmosphere there for the whole week. So, I would urge anybody um that hasn’t experienced professional golf before if you want to get your kids into golf or you just want to go up and watch some good golf and uh have a bit of fun with the kids away from the golf course, there’s so many things to do. Uh the guys at Forefront really have rolled out the red carpet in this one and uh they’ve you know they learned a lot over the last couple of years from hosting this event and from I do expect this event to be a whopper event and hopefully we get a few Irish up near the top of the leaderboard to give us bit of a home charge coming into the weekend. But yeah, like I said, I’d urge anyone to get tickets and go up uh to Carton House for that. It’s going to be an absolutely cracking week of golf. Yeah. Well, it’s the events Lauren was saying everybody talks about on the le which just shows how great it’s been in the previous two editions and Georgia Hall coming as well is great just for the fact that we’re getting a big name. I think that’s probably the next step with this tournament to maybe start attracting some of the bigger you know GB and I players kind of coming across some of those players. Even the the events even last year like Lane Grant rocking up to the events as well like they’ve they’ve attracted some big players as this is like this is the third year of it now. So, it’s grown and grown and grown and it is becoming more. I think a lot of the Solahim cupers will start looking at bigger events like this um going forward as well. So, no, it’s good. The more the marrier. Carton House. Carton House. KPMG Women’s Irish Open. Get your tickets. It gave that a big sale. That’s it. No, but it needs it. It does need it. like women’s sports in general like you see the um Aldi or little pushing the football so much looking that like just get bums on seats and make these women feel like you know that this is a watch sport and the thing and I I I have no doubt whatsoever that they’re going to get massive crowds into carton house so it’ll be good it’s needed. Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. Couldn’t agree with you more there. Um yeah, just a big big few weeks for women’s sport in general. Following off from the Olympics as well, how well like you know Mona Mcshari did and uh Kelly Harrington as well. So hopefully we can kind of keep that rolling. See Kelly was the EP last night. Yeah, she was up with the wolf tones. Did you see the crowd? Yeah. That were 70,000 people I think it was that rocked up to see the wolf tones. Madness. Like that is mental when you think at this time last year we were giving out about the Irish women’s football team singing about stuff and now they have like the guts of 100,000 people singing along with them. Like it’s bonkers. Oh, I’m just saying if that was men who sung about the IRA last year that just wouldn’t have been as big a story as it was. But anyway, that’s for another day’s work. That is for another day’s work. Right. Go on. What’s next? I suppose Heroes and Villains. Are we at that stage now? Yeah. Yeah. I have none. I never do. And I actually do you know what in fairness it’s always it’s always for the l it’s always for the lack of trying with me but today I actually tried to find someone I just couldn’t right villain straight away you have to Matt Coocher. Ah yeah from last week I suppose Matt Cooer would have been my villain if we did a pod last week. Yeah we should talk about that actually. Go on. We should talk. What a clown. What a spanner. It really was just an ars move to make. Like he’s so so bad like so out of touch to do what he did. Like I’m sure everyone knows what he did like but just to say he’s not playing and like how he affected the players around him. Everyone finished by him. Yeah. This is nuts. And it took him I think it took him six minutes to finish off then from there like it’s just it’s just bizarre. And like you’re so like just the impact that has is just so wide ranging as well. We’ve got volunteers, you know, infrastructure people working there, you know, people in the media, everybody like green keepers, the the lot like the wait for this entitled clown to just finish off. Probably members as well. Members would have had a competition or sponsors or something like that. And getting to play the course today after event is someone everybody craves and I could nearly excuse it if he had a chance to win or had a chance to make the playoffs, but he didn’t. like it. I mean like the sooner the better. It doesn’t it’s just a bad indictment of his character considering what he did with the caddy that time as well. No, the sooner the better the rankings just phase guys like Makucha off the golf radar alto together like he’s coming near that but like yeah what a spanner just no need for it. No need for it. Don’t even think he made birdie either did he? H no he nearly did though. He nearly chipped in. He hit a second short of the green. Chipped it up and that that would have justified it. I’m glad it didn’t go in. It would have justified him saying and run across the but if he did make birdie it was worth 48 grand or something to him like yeah but he’s enough money like do you know but that’s no but that’s what I mean like that it’s a lot of money to you and me but like 48 grand to him and so like like he’s just such an [ __ ] that’s just yeah but it ruined like a great story as well Aaron Ry winning like what a guy I mean what a little career he’s starting to carve himself out on the PJ tour he just been so solid there for a couple of seasons now and then just pops up and wins and he’s someone actually who’s kind of starting to appear on major leaderboards now as well. Yeah. And like he just looks like such a normal guy. Iron covers is a bit questionable but the two of gloves and you know only has the me and my golf sponsor on his cap and that’s about it. Like Pearson Andy sponsoring his gas it is mental. Uh right hero I’m going to go with myself. Oh my Jesus. Can’t think anybody else. Pick yourself. Go on. You have to you have to justify picking yourself. Putting a lot of mileage in lately covering all the amateur golf. You know yourself domesticated for doing your job. For doing your job that you get paid to do. You’re going to put yourself as a hero. You sound like me after I like unload the dishwasher at home or something like that. I walk around like Ric Flair around the kitchen thinking I’m the great lad. Like look at me. There’s jobs to be done, Pete. There is jobs to be done. Um yeah, heroes. There’s not many heroes around. Like, no silence. There’s no there’s none come. Like, I didn’t write any down normally when you’re chatting around and going through uh bits, but like no, there’s not many, you know, we we kind of give the hero status away a little bit too much from week to week, but uh yeah, there’s nothing jumping out. Like, it’ll probably maybe give it to Timmy Rice just for that story earlier on because like that is legendary status to come on with something like that. We didn’t go into the men’s Olympics, all that sort of stuff either. No, let’s just not that we missed out. Let’s just ignore all that. But I’m surprised you didn’t give it to like a Thomas Sabbomb or someone like that. You can’t give it to winners though. Like they’re already heroes. Yeah. Not all heroes wear capes, you know. Um but no. Yeah. I Yeah, let’s just leave it at that then. That’s it. There’s nothing else. Nothing else. We promise we will be back. It’s not three week intervals. This is not the monthly Irish golfer podcast, but no, we will be we will be back next week. We will obviously a lot more to catch up on another busy week. Uh we’ll have a major to review. Uh we’ll be into the meet and drink of the FedEx Cup as well at that stage. Uh whittling down to the tour championships and so much going on. So um yeah, thanks to Flowast for the sponsorship. As we said earlier on, flow gas. Um have a look at their offers that they have there. They support golf deeply. So, it would be great if you can support them back. And for me and Ronan, thanks for tuning in and we’ll be back to you again next week. Cheers. Bye. [Music]
