Tag: The K Club

Vincent Norrman closes with a 65 to win Horizon Irish Open for second DP World Tour win

In Norrman’s 14th appearance on the DP World Tour, he now has two wins.

Halfway throught the final round of the 2023 Horizon Irish Open, the top of the leaderboard showed a four-way tie for the lead as Vincent Normann, Grant Forrest, Hurly Long and Ryan Fox were all at 13 under at The K Club in Kildare, Ireland.

Min Woo Lee and Jordan Smith were just a shot back, with Rory McIlroy, Shubhankar Sharma, Shane Lowry and Connor Syme all giving chase, two shots back.

The stage was set for a fantastic finish and Vincent Norrman delivered. The winner of his first PGA Tour event in July bogeyed the 13th hole in each of the first three rounds, but he made birdie there Sunday, one of seven birdies in a bogey-free, 7-under 65 final round. He started the day six shots back but had six of his birdies during an eight-hole stretch on Nos. 7 through 14 to climb into contention.

2023 Horizon Irish Open
Vincent Norrman plays his second shot on the 18th hole during the final round at the 2023 Horizon Irish Open at The K Club in Kildare, Ireland. (Photo: Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)

Norrman closed his day with a short birdie on 18 and walked off the course tied for the lead at 14 under and then played the waiting game. About 90 minutes later, he was monitoring the closing moments of the tournament on his phone on the practice putting green, waiting to see if Long could eagle the par-5 closing hole to tie and force a playoff.

But Long could not drain the eagle putt, clinching the win for Norrman by a shot. In his 14th appearance on the DP World Tour, Norrman now has two wins.

“It means everything,” Norrman said after his round. “Obviously such a cool event to play. The fans have been incredible. I’ve really had a fun week.”

It’s the second week in a row a Swedish player has won on the DP World Tour. Ludvig Aberg won the Omega European Masters seven days ago.

Long nabbed solo second at 13 under. Forrest, Fox, Lowry and Thriston Lawrence tied for third at 12 under.

McIlroy had a bad back nine Sunday. He was even through 10 before dunking his approach into a stream on the 11th hole, leading to a bogey. He birded the 13th but after trying to reach the par-5 16th in two, he hit another ball into the water, leading to a triple bogey on the hole. A day after posting 66, McIlroy closed with a birdie but shot a 74 and tied for 13th, his first finish outside the top 10 in any tournament since May.

“Obviously if you win, you’re doing something good,” Norrman said. “It’s a world-class event, and honestly I can’t believe it’s happened.”

The DP World Tour’s BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth is next week.

How Rory McIlroy made this 7-year-old’s wish come true at Irish Open

This video will warm your heart.

Heading into the final round at The K Club in Ireland, Rory McIlroy sits two shots back of Hurly Long. In 2016, McIlroy was victorious at The K Club.

Regardless of his finish, McIlroy’s best moment of the week came Wednesday during a practice round. He let 7-year-old Michael Horgan, who has a brain tumor, walk with him on the ninth hole, thanks to the Make-a-Wish Foundation.

Instead of just recording a video for Horgan, McIlroy let him inside the ropes and experience professional golf from up close.

Horgan sat next to McIlroy on a cart as the duo drove up the four-time major champion’s last hole of the day. On the approach shot, Horgan assisted McIlroy in getting his yardage.

When they got to the green, McIlroy gave Horgan a version of his putter. Michael’s birdie try sprinted by, and he said, “My dad always tells me to hit it softer.”

The interaction was priceless, and you can watch it here.

Rory McIlroy made a big jump on moving day at the Irish Open

Rory is only two back.

Friday night, Rory McIlroy thought he may be too far behind the lead to catch up at the Horizon Irish Open. Turns out, he’s got a chance to win yet again at The K Club come Sunday.

McIlroy tied the low round of the day, carding a 6-under 66 to move to 11 under and solo third. He came into the third round eight shots back, but come Sunday he’s only two behind Hurly Long in search of another Irish Open victory.

“It didn’t really feel like a charge,” McIlroy said. “It just felt like a really solid day of golf, giving myself plenty of looks and converting a few, which is probably the difference between the last two days and today. A really solid day’s play and I needed a little bit of help from the leaders, as well.”

Irish Open: Full leaderboard

Jordan Smith and Shubhankar Sharma each sat at 13 under after the second round but struggled Saturday. Smith dropped one shot and is solo second at 12 under, one behind Long. Sharma was 3 over and is T-4 at 10 under.

The 28-year-old Long was solid, carding a 2-under 70 to move into the solo lead. He hasn’t won on the DP World Tour and is ranked 252nd in the Official World Golf Ranking. His best finish this season is 30th in Kenya. What’s with the strong play after 54 holes?

“You know, when we had those four weeks off, I practiced really, really hard trying to find something, and you know, putting my mind to what had gone wrong, Long said. “I found some things that for me personally are some keys, having a plan. I played well this year. It wasn’t horrendous, but it’s just these guys are too good to be mediocre.”

Long is looking forward to the pressure and challenge of McIlroy chasing him Sunday, along with Smith and a host of others.

“Obviously the first two round, there wasn’t too many people watching my group today but there was a lot more and tomorrow there is obviously going to be a lot more,” Long said “Yeah, I’m just looking forward to it. Obviously it’s a big stage but it’s going to be a lot of fun, I know that.”

Jordan Smith, Shubhankar Sharma tied for lead at Irish Open

Catch up on the action from the Irish Open here.

Another day at The K Club, another day for low scoring and the field took advantage.

After opening the Horizon Irish Open with a 7-under 65 Thursday and sleeping on the solo 18-hole lead, Shubhankar Sharma was one worse Friday, shooting a 6-under 66 and is joined atop the leaderboard by Jordan Smith at 13 under.

“It was a really quick start,” Sharma told the media in Kildare, Ireland. “Very early morning start for us, so I was a bit sleepy in the morning. I managed to make a lot of putts on the front nine. I had nine single putts which was amazing. I don’t think I’ve done that before.

“Everything was just going nicely. I was hitting it in the right spots and I was really good inside ten feet. So it all came together.”

Irish Open: Full leaderboard

Smith, after a first-round 66, fired a 7-under 65 that included nine birdies and a double bogey on the par-4 17th. The Englishman, who won the Portugal Masters last year for his second DP World Tour win, tied for 20th at last week’s European Masters.

Ross Fisher (6-under 66) is alone in third at 12 under, Hurly Long (6-under 66) is in solo fourth at 11 under, while Calum Hill (7-under 65) is fifth at 10 under.

As for the big names, Shane Lowry (4-under 68) is solo ninth at 8 under, five back, and Rory McIlroy is tied for 26th at 5 under, eight back.

The shot of the day came from the Northern Irishman when he drained his 116-yard approach into the par-5 16th for eagle.

Coverage of the Irish Open continues Saturday morning on Golf Channel from 7:30 a.m. ET to 12:30 p.m. ET.

Shubhankar Sharma leads Irish Open by one, Rory McIlroy’s back ‘not at all’ a problem

Catch up on the opening round of the Irish Open here.

On a day where low scores were plentiful — more than half the field (82 of the 156) shot under par — Shubhankar Sharma bested everyone, posting a 7-under 65 around The K Club on Thursday afternoon.

Sharma, who began his day on No. 10, picked up four shots on the closing three holes of his front nine, birding Nos. 16 and 17 before draining his 104-yard approach into the par-5 18th for eagle.

After making the turn, Sharma added circles on Nos. 2 and 4 to solidify his bogey-free 7-under performance. The 27-year-old, who finished T-8 at the Open Championship in July, has yet to record a win on the PGA Tour and hasn’t entered the winner’s circle on the DP World Tour since 2018.

One shot behind the leader is a pack of six players, including 52-year-old Thomas Bjorn who surprised even himself during the opening round of the Horizon Irish Open.

“I’m fortunate, I’ve played this golf course so many times,” Bjorn said after signing for a 6-under 66. “It’s a long time ago. We played here every year, but it’s always been the same fairways and greens.

“I drove it very well today. I drove it in the middle of the fairway. I think I missed one fairway in this round of golf, and then this golf course becomes a lot easier to deal with.”

Six players are tied for seventh, two back of Sharma, while 13 players — including European Ryder Cupper Shane Lowry and captain Luke Donald — are three back at 4 under.

Rory McIlroy and Billy Horschel, who were paired together and shared a great moment for all those golf swing nerds out there, shot matching 3-under 69s.

McIlroy, who sustained a back injury prior to the Tour Championship last month, said it was no problem on Thursday.

“Not at all,” the Northern Irishman said when asked if the back was an issue on Day 1. “It’s more that I have not been able to hit a ton of balls. I’m hitting good shots but as you know it’s all about knowing your patterns and where you’re missing it and where to aim and where not to aim and just a little unsure over a couple shots but again overall I managed myself well today and got it around.”

Back in 2016, McIlroy won the Irish Open at The K Club.

Rory McIlroy and Billy Horschel talking golf swing is music to our ears

Swing nerds rejoice.

Some of the best golf television is not when the commentators are speaking, but when the golfers are discussing shots with their caddies or talking with each other.

That was no different Thursday during the first round of the Horizon Irish Open, where Rory McIlroy, the 2016 champion of the event at The K Club, and Billy Horschel were caught discussing the golf swing walking off a tee box.

At the beginning of the clip, McIlroy, ranked second in the world, stopped while walking off a tee box to act out a swing thought Horschel was describing. Then the latter talked about the feel in his golf swing and more, with the duo providing mesmerizing commentary for 30 seconds that any swing nerd can’t get enough of.

McIlroy and Horschel shot matching 3-under 69s in the opening round. There’s a four-way tie for the lead at 6-under 66, which includes Jordan Smith, Thomas Bjorn, Ross Fisher and Ashun Wu.

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Rory McIlroy talks European Ryder Cup team, back health heading into Irish Open

“I would say it’s at 90 percent, 95 percent.”

Rory McIlroy’s PGA Tour season came to an end last month in Atlanta where he finished solo fourth at the Tour Championship. The week got off to a disappointing start, as he arrived at East Lake with a back injury.

Despite struggling with his health, the Northern Irishman took home a $4 million bonus at the FedEx Cup Playoff finale.

McIlroy finished his campaign with 10 straight top-10 finishes, including a win at the Scottish Open.

He returns to the Horizon Irish Open this week in great form and is back at a golf course he conquered in 2016, The K Club.

Seven years ago, McIlroy beat Bradley Dredge and Russell Knox by three shots for his 13th DP World Tour win.

“It’s been good to get back and sort of try to refamiliarize myself with the golf course,” McIlroy told the media Wednesday in Kildare, Ireland. “A lot’s happened in the last seven years, so I actually struggled to remember quite a few holes when I played this morning, but it’s also started to come back.

“Nice to come back, good memories, and just happy to be here and sort of try to keep up the good play and run that I’ve been on the last couple months.”

And it sounds like a few weeks off was exactly what the doctor ordered to get his back into a better spot.

“It’s OK,” he said. “I would say it’s at 90 percent, 95 percent. It’s not a hundred percent better. I just happened to take care of it a little bit but it’s not preventing me from doing anything I want to do. Just being a little mindful, I guess.”

Balancing not pushing his body too hard and still trying to win this week will be difficult, especially with the Ryder Cup on the horizon.

As European stalwarts Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter are no longer in the picture, McIlroy will serve as the undisputed leader in Rome come Sept. 29th.

You could say he sounds excited about the 12-man squad ready to do battle at the biennial event.

“You look at Viktor end of the season; with what Jon Rahm has done this year; myself; Tommy Fleetwood back to playing some of the best golf he’s played in a while; Tyrrell; Shane; Rosey.

“I think you’ve got a nice blend of experience and youth in the team,” he said. “I think everyone who has followed golf over the last few months has known the potential that someone like Ludvig has had. You just have to watch him hit balls on the range at a PGA Tour event. I mean, he’s special, he really is. He’s an unbelievable ball striker.

Ludvig Aberg
Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg poses with the trophy after winning the European Tour’s European Masters golf tournament in Crans Montana, western Switzerland on September 3, 2023. (Photo: Fabrice Coffrini/Getty Images)

“I don’t think people maybe from this part of the world recognized it because he’s played all of his golf in college and in the States and then played a lot of PGA Tour stuff. But he came over here and finished fourth in the Czech Republic and won in Switzerland. He proved to a lot of people that he’s worthy of a pick. I honestly think Luke was going to pick him regardless but he obviously his job easier when he won on Sunday.”

But with his eyes still set on The K Club, he reflected on how much his 2016 win meant to not only him, but his family.

“For as long as I can remember since I was a child, the only tournament my Mum ever wanted to see was the Irish Open,” McIlroy said. “So for her to be there and for me to win it, it means a lot to her obviously, and a lot to us as a family.”

Come Sunday, maybe he’ll add another memory for his family to cherish just two-and-a-half hours away from his childhood town of Holywood.