Royal Portrush hosted its first British Open in 1951 and then waited 68 years before returning. The links in Northern Ireland created a fantastic venue for the 2019 championship, which Shane Lowry won, setting off one of the biggest parties the Emerald Isle has ever seen.
Wednesday morning, the R&A announced the wait for the next British Open at Royal Portrush won’t be nearly as long. The tournament is heading back in 2025.
“We could not be more thrilled to be bringing The Open back to Royal Portrush in 2025. There will be huge excitement among golf fans around the world to see the best men’s players facing the challenge of this magnificent links once again,” said Martin Slumbers, the chief executive of the R&A. “The Open in 2019 was a massive success and showed just how much collective enthusiasm, passion and commitment there is to make Royal Portrush one of the leading venues for the championship.”
While the 2022 British Open is heading to The Old Course at St. Andrews, multiple reports in July hinted that an announcement could be coming soon with regard to Royal Portrush. To many, it felt almost like a foregone conclusion that the tournament would return, soon.
It’s a power-packed field at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open this week, but most of the recognizable names aren’t having much of an impact.
A power-packed field was lined up for the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open this week, but most of the recognizable names aren’t having much of an impact as the tournament heads into its final round.
Rory McIlroy, who shot a 67 during Friday’s second round at Mount Juliet Estate in Kilkenny, Ireland, fell back during the third round, shooting a 1-over 73 to fall 11 shots off the lead heading into the final day.
McIlroy carded a pair of double-bogeys on Saturday, including one on the 16th hole that pushed him well out of contention.
Shane Lowry didn’t fare any better on Saturday, as his 74 dropped him to a dozen shots behind leader Lucas Herbert. And the Australian, who won the 2020 Omega Dubai Desert Classic, limped home with a 37 on the back nine, although he still maintains a one-stroke lead over Johannes Veerman.
The biggest mover on Saturday was Justin Harding, who had an eagle on No. 17 and a birdie on 18 to close within three shots of the lead.
Other big names who don’t have much chance of catching the leaders include Tommy Fleetwood (six behind Herbert), Christiaan Bezuidenhout (eight back), Martin Kaymer (nine back), and Graeme McDowell (10 back).
Shane Lowry has spent a quality two years with the Claret Jug and hopes he only has to relinquish it for a few short days.
Shane Lowry swears he will return the Claret Jug intact.
The Champion Golfer of the (past two) Years will turn over the oldest trophy in championship golf – it’s been given to the victor of the Open Championship since 1872 – the Monday ahead of beginning his title defense in the 149th Open at Royal St George’s in Sandwich, Kent, England.
That leaves him seven weeks of possession before the Open begins July 15.
“I’m going to be disappointed to be giving back the Claret Jug, but hopefully I’m only giving it back for a few days,” Lowry said Tuesday in a Zoom conference with reporters. “I can assure you that it is in good shape and it will be coming back nice and shiny.”
The Irishman has had the Claret Jug for 22 months now after he won his lone major at Royal Portrush in Ireland in 2019 (the tournament was canceled last year due to the global pandemic). Yes, all sorts of beverages have been consumed out of the Claret Jug, many of the adult variety, but he hasn’t gone all gonzo with the 21-inch tall silver beauty.
Still, in an airport during his travels, he did notice something was amiss.
“It has been sent back to be straightened once,” Lowry said with a smile “I noticed on the airport scanner that it was a little bit of a bend in it. It’s not just me. I did talk to (2015 Open champion) Zach Johnson about this and he told me that he bent it, as well, so it’s not only me.”
With the Claret Jug in his custody, Lowry saw firsthand how truly powerful it is.
“I had the Claret Jug with me at the Race to Dubai at the end of 2019 and I was wheeling it through the hotel, and this guy was there, and he stopped me, and he’s like, ‘Is that the Claret Jug?’” Lowry said. “And I was like, ‘Yeah,’ and we started to talk. Next thing, he begged me if he could see it, so I opened up the box and I showed him, and he held the Claret Jug and he started to cry because he was holding the Claret Jug. That’s what that trophy actually means to people that love their golf. Just to have it in my possession and being able to kind of share it with all my friends and family and other people has been just incredible.”
His lone experience at Royal St George’s – where Darren Clarke held off Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson to win the Open in 2011 – was not incredible.
“I played the Amateur Championship in 2006 there and I shot 81 in the one round that I played around there, and I haven’t been back since,” Lowry said. “I know it’s one of the trickiest venues we have, especially if you get a good UK summer. It’s so far south that it can get firm and fast and play like proper links golf. So it’ll be a great test. Just the whole experience of going there as defending champion, I’m really looking forward to it.”
As he plays his way to the Open, another piece of hardware is on his mind – the Ryder Cup. Presently, Lowry is just outside the top 9 in the standings who automatically qualify for Team Europe. Captain Padraig Harrington will round out his team with three discretionary selections.
Padraig Harrington of Ireland and Shane Lowry of Ireland fist bump after Harrington played his tee shot on the 17th hole during the final round of the 2021 PGA Championship. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
Lowry, a winner of two PGA Tour titles and three more on the European Tour, did himself proud this past Sunday when paired with Harrington in the final round of the PGA Championship on the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island.
Both Lowry and Harrington shot 69 to move into a tie for fourth.
“It’s great to do it in the big tournaments. I feel like I’ve been doing that over the last couple of years, where I arrive at those big events and manage to kind of find some sort of an ‘A’ game or something towards my best game anyway,” said Lowry, who is ranked No. 44 in the world. “I play a lot of golf with Padraig anyway. But never do I get to play in that type of situation with him, so it was nice to kind of perform when you are kind of in the heat of the battle and out there on the back nine of a major championship.
“I’m in a good position now to go ahead and make the team this year. If I play good enough or play to the best of my ability over the next few months, I could make that team. That’s my main goal, to obviously go and make it. If I don’t make it, to be so close that I kind of make his decision for him, because even though the whole rookie thing will be talked about, that I’m a rookie, I don’t feel like a rookie.
“I’ve won big tournaments. I’ve competed at the highest level. I feel like I definitely will add to the team if I’m there. I feel like I can bring a lot to the team. It’s just up to me to put my best foot forward this summer.”
When you’re playing on something called the Ocean Course, you know that there’s a beach nearby.
And in the case of the 2021 PGA Championship at Kiawah Island, the beach is RIGHT THERE on certain holes.
Shane Lowry learned that the hard way during the second round on Friday. He hit a tee shot on the par-5 16th hole right into the beach (not the sand, like the literal beach). Although he was able to move his ball away from some fencing, it was still a tough shot.
Yet he ended up with par on the hole, which was pretty amazing.
Bernd Wiesberger and Shane Lowry both both had eagle looks on No. 15 at Augusta National on Thursday. Neither liked what happened next.
You knew there would be revenge. Souls would be taken. Blood would be shed.
After the scoring rampage that saw Dustin Johnson and others bludgeon Augusta National in the fall, many expected that incredibly difficult conditions would follow for this year’s 85th Masters, which started on Thursday.
The front nine proved especially difficult for those in the early wave of players, but the true difference came on greens so tough that even the world’s best were often left looking silly.
For example, Bernd Wiesberger got a lesson when he chose an aggressive line while putting for eagle on No. 15. Note to players: Don’t choose aggressive lines.
Here was the result:
Wow. Bernd Wiesberger had an eagle putt on 15 and put it in the water. So his next shot was a par putt from the same spot. pic.twitter.com/D1P8kd8mfl
Surely, others would understand the need for “defensive putting,” a term that seems to pop up each at Augusta National.
Shane Lowry, who has been the reigning Open Champion for what now feels like a decade, didn’t heed the warning and although he was chipping from the fringe, he was handed the same fate about an hour after Wiesberger.
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — The PGA Tour is heading to PGA National this week for the Honda Classic.
One of the toughest tests on Tour, the Champion course in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, Matt Jones leads the field after the opening 18 holes following a first round 9-under 61. He sits three shots ahead of Aaron Wise and Russell Henley at 6 under in second. Four golfers including Steve Stricker are T-4 at 4 under. Six golfers including Shane Lowry sit T-9 at 3 under.
Check out the best and worst rounds of the day after the first round of the Honda Classic at PGA National.
Overshadowed by his more famous playing partner, Phil Mickelson, Lowry was one of the more consistent golfers Thursday, carding just one bogey and four birdies. Lowry, the reigning British Open champion, started on No. 10 and birded Nos. 16 and 18 with a bogey sandwiched in between. He added birdies at Nos. 2 and 3 before playing even-par the rest of the way. Soon, Lowry will just be a short drive away from PGA National. The Ireland native is building a house in Jupiter.
Hunter Mahan
38-39-77
A six-time winner on the PGA Tour, Mahan bogeyed his first two holes of the day, the start of an eventful day. Mahan, who started on No. 10, played the Bear Trap in 2 over thanks to a double-bogey on No. 15, where he hit his tee shot in the water. Mahan’s best hole of the day was No. 3 when he hit his second shot 259 yards, leaving a four-and-a-half-foot putt for eagle that he sunk. He bogeyed Nos. 4 and 5 to give those two shots right back and then hit into the water on No. 6, finishing with a double bogey. A bogey, birdie and par followed as he completed one of the crazier rounds of the day.
Adam Scott
35-34-69
After an opening bogey on No. 10, Scott’s second shot at 11 ended up on the edge of the water hazard, near the muck. The Australian then stripped off his shoes and threw on a jacket before stepping into the water and hitting the shot to within 12 feet of the hole and sinking the ensuing putt to save par. Scott took advantage of one of the easier holes of the day, the 18th, to card an eagle and make the turn at 1-under. Thanks to three birdies, a bogey and a double bogey, Scott played his final nine holes at even-par.
Check out the second-round pairings and tee times for the Safeway Open at Silverado Resort in Napa, California.
The 2020-21 PGA Tour season has officially begun.
Less than one week after Dustin Johnson won the Tour Championship in Atlanta, the Safeway Open is kicking off the new PGA Tour season in Napa, California.
During the first round of the Safeway Open at Silverado Resort & Spa’s North Course, Russell Knox took the early lead at 9 under after a bogey-free 63.
Knox leads Sam Burns, Bo Hoag and Cameron Percy by one shot and Brendan Steele and Pat Perez by two headed into the second round.
Take a look at the second-round tee times and where you can watch below.
PGA Tour Live on NBC Sports Gold: 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. (featured groups) PGA Tour Live on ESPN+: 3-6 p.m. (featured holes) Golf Channel on fuboTV (watch for free): 6-9 p.m. PGA Tour Radio on SiriusXM: 4-9 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 13
PGA Tour Live on NBC Sports Gold: 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. (featured groups) PGA Tour Live on ESPN+: 1:30-6 p.m. (featured holes) Golf Channel on fuboTV (watch for free): 6-9 p.m. PGA Tour Radio on SiriusXM: 4-9 p.m.
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British Open champ Shane Lowry said goodbye to his wife and daughter 6 weeks ago and is playing the Safeway Open ahead of next week’s major.
NAPA, Calif. – Shane Lowry’s tour of the United States continues this week in wine country, though the reigning British Open champion isn’t imbibing.
“I do like a glass of wine, but I don’t drink the week of tournaments, so I’m taking it easy; I’m relaxing,” he said. “We are going for a nice meal tonight, we’re going to French Laundry, which is supposed to be very special, so I’m looking forward to that. I’ll leave the drinking to (caddie) Bo. Bo will look after the wine for me this week.”
Lowry squeezed into the FedEx Cup playoffs at No. 123, but missed the cut at the Northern Trust and spent the last two weeks taking a buddy trip to Newport, Rhode Island, and practicing at his U.S. base in Florida for the upcoming U.S. Open.
He arrived here on Sunday and the Irishman was greeted by temperatures reaching 114 degrees. In addition to caddie Brian ‘Bo’ Martin, Lowry is traveling with a childhood friend, who doubles as his physical therapist and keeps Lowry company after his wife and young daughter returned to Ireland six and a half weeks ago.
Safeway Open: Odds, best bets
“It’s not been easy at times. I miss them an awful lot and to be honest, probably if it wasn’t for the U.S. Open next week, I probably wouldn’t have lasted the full stint over here because it’s just been incredibly hard,” he said. “Especially when your daughter’s growing up and she’s only three and a half, but it is what it is. It’s not like I’m going to war or anything, I’m just going to play golf, so I just have to get on with it.”
Lowry, who didn’t play the week before winning the British Open last year in Northern Ireland, joked he’ll probably never play ahead of that major again, but he didn’t want to go into next week’s U.S. Open at Winged Foot in New York having gone three weeks without competing. While some players may have been turned off by having to go from the West Coast to the East Coast for the re-scheduled national championship, Lowry took a different view.
Shane Lowry studies his putt on the first hole during the second round of the Wyndham Championship golf tournament at Sedgefield Country Club. (Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports)
“I’m close, I’m in America. My family are in Ireland, so I couldn’t go back to Ireland because of the quarantine — there was no point — so, yeah, I just decided to play here,” he said. “I would be down in Florida this week just playing golf every day and practicing and probably with my mind too much on the U.S. Open, so it’s nice to get to an event.”
It also gives him a chance to test drive a slew of new equipment under the gun. Lowry arrived at yesterday’s practice round with six different drivers and whittled it down to one and also said he’ll be putting a fresh set of irons in play in hopes that the new grooves will spin more, “which might be helpful at Winged Foot trying to stop the ball on some of those greens,” he said. “For me, this is the only week that matters right now. Then when I get to Winged Foot next Monday I’ll start to think about that, but obviously this week, first and foremost, I want to do well.”
Shane Lowry needs a good finish to qualify for the FedEx Cup playoffs. He made his move on Friday, which could impact his buddies’ trip.
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Shane Lowry gets to keep the Claret Jug for an extra year due to the coronavirus pandemic – he’s the Champion Golfer of the Two Years – but what he’d really like is to get his hands around another trophy on Sunday at the Wyndham Championship. Lowry, 33, took a step in the right direction, shooting 7-under 63 at Sedgewood Country Club, his lowest round of the season, to join the trophy hunt.
“I felt like I had a score like that in me yesterday,” Lowry said. “I was quite disappointed to shoot 2 under. It was nice to go out there and shoot a good score today.”
Lowry, who won the British Open at Royal Portrush last July, entered the week at No. 131 in the FedEx Cup point standings and needing a strong finish to improve inside the top 125 to qualify for the Playoffs, which begin next week at the Northern Trust in Boston. But Lowry isn’t stressing it. The Irishman’s wife and daughter flew home three weeks ago and he’s going to be staying in the U.S. through the U.S. Open in September, regardless. Plus, if he doesn’t earn a spot in the Northern Trust field, he’s got a backup plan – Lowry scheduled a buddies’ trip to Rhode Island.
“Not that that’s a win-win, but at least I have something to look forward to if that doesn’t happen,” he said of the getaway with among others a childhood pal, who joined him in Memphis two weeks ago. When asked if it would be a working vacation, he smiled and said, “We will play some golf, yeah. A little bit, not much.”
Lowry’s second round on Friday, played under preferred lies, got off to an inauspicious start with a bogey at No. 11, his second hole of the day, but it would be his last shot dropped. He canned a 16-foot birdie at 13 to turn the tide and rolled it beautifully on his second nine, draining a 22-foot birdie from the fringe at the second and a 30-footer at the fourth. The highlight of the day was drilling a 4-iron from 242 yards to 7 feet and sinking the eagle putt at the fifth. Lowry finished T-7 here in 2017, when he came up short of qualifying for the FedEx Cup playoffs by two spots, and expressed a fondness for the Donald Ross layout.
“It’s nice to come to this golf course after the course we played last week,” he said. “I feel like (TPC Harding Park) was just stand on every tee and whip driver out and hit as hard as you can whereas this course you have to kind of think your way around and I like that type of golf.”
Lowry came home in 5-under 30, to improve to 9-under 131 and trail clubhouse leaders Tom Hoge, Si Woo Kim and Talor Gooch by one stroke.
“I know what I need to do, a top 15 would probably be OK but at the end of the day, I feel like I’m on another level than that. I’m here to win a golf tournament,” he said. “I’m not just here to get to next week. It’s hopefully going to be a weekend of good golf and on Sunday I won’t have to worry about getting into next week and I’ll be right there with a chance to win the golf tournament.”
The first major event is here with the PGA Championship live from TPC Harding in San Francisco, watch it here.
The 2020 PGA Championship, Round 1 will begin on Thursday from TPC Harding Park in San Francisco, California. This will be an important week for players to show out before the start of the FedExCup Playoffs, and with a ton of star power in the featured groups for Thursday this is shaping up for an exciting day of golf.
Here is everything you need to know to follow the PGA Championshipaction this weekend!
4:47 p.m. ET: Rickie Fowler, Bryson DeChambeau. Adam Scott
4:58 p.m. ET: Jon Rahm, Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia
PGA Championship Odds and Betting Lines
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