McIlroy’s marker; Leona under pressure; Nolan climbs Alps; Power struggle
Liam Nolan (Galway) who's in action in the final 16 at the South of Ireland Championship at Lahinch Golf Club. Picture: Niall O'Shea
Rory McIlroy took a giant step towards claiming his sixth Race to Dubai before insisting he'd pay to play in the Ryder Cup.
The world number three carded a five under 67 to grab a share of the lead in the DP World Tour Championship, where a top ten finish would be enough to hold off South Africa’s Thriston Lawrence, who was tied 37th after a 73, in the battle for the Vardon Trophy.
Shane Lowry and Tom McKibbin was joint 20th after hard-fought 71s but the big talking point at Jumeirah Golf Estates was about reports suggesting the PGA of America is preparing to take a board decision on paying the US team members $400,000 a man to play at Bethpage in New York next year.
McIlroy, who was tied for with Ryder Cup teammate Tyrrell Hatton, a shot clear of last week’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship winner Paul Waring, admitted the news was a taking point in the European camp and the consensus was that Luke Donald’s troops don’t want to go down the same route.
“I personally would pay for the privilege to play in the Ryder Cup” McIlroy told BBC Radio. “I've talked about this a lot. I think the two purest forms of competition in our game right now are the are the Ryder Cup and the Olympics. And it's partly because of that, the purity of no money being involved.
“Look, it was a discussion that was happening in Rome. I can see the other side of the argument, because the Ryder Cup does create a lot of revenue.
“It’s one of the probably top five biggest sporting events in the world. So I get the argument that the talent you know should be or could be getting paid.
“But I just think that the Ryder Cup is so much more than that, especially to the Europeans and to this tour.
“We've all had a conversation about it over the past few weeks because we obviously heard, and I think the common consensus amongst us is that, you know, whatever that would be to pay the team $5 million would be better off spent elsewhere on the DP World Tour to support other events, even to support the Challenge Tour.
“So, yeah, I don't think any of the Europeans who are players… I think for us, I don't want to say taints it, but it would give it a different feel.
“And I think what we've done a really good job of is, is being this really cohesive, collective group over the past decade, and we wouldn't want anything to change that.“
Asked if one side getting paid might change the dynamic of the event, he added: “I don't know. I honestly don't think any of the 24 players on either team needs that 400 grand.
“I mean, every two years there's 104 weeks and 103 weeks you can play golf and get paid.
“I'd say that's reasonable enough. So again, it won't change anything on our side.You know, it could look it could call into question. Obviously, there's been conversation around how high the ticket prices are. Obviously the tickets are sold out, and that's that's great for the event.
“But if the PGA of America is looking to make more money out of the Ryder Cup, or the players are starting to be paid, that ultimately comes from the people that are paying to watch the event. So it's a it's a double edged sword.
“But again, I understand both sides of the argument, but I think the European consensus is that we, we don't want anything to change what we have over here. So we probably, you know, won't be getting paid for for Bethpage, which is totally fine.”
McIlroy admits it stands to reason that players are paid for their efforts, as is the case in every professional sport.
But he fears paying players could change the dynamic of the Ryder Cup.
“Again, there's two different sides of the coin,” he said. “I'm not criticising at all because if the Ryder Cup generates $100 to $200 million in revenue, you would think that the talent should probably have a piece of that.
“That's never been the way the way it has been. So I think, from a European perspective, we don't want anything to change because of how good it's been over these last few years.
“But I think it's more than reasonable that if you put an event on and that event creates so much revenue, that some of that revenue should flow back to the talent, but it just hasn't been that way in the Ryder Cup.
“So I just think it's a massive change compared to what it has been. And as I said, every other tournament, we get a percentage of that revenue every 103 weeks out of 104 and you know, I think going back to that purity aspect.
“It makes the competition seem a little less pure, but again, it won't change anything from a European perspective, because it seems like the common consensus is that we would all welcome money if it didn't change the dynamic of what we had.
“But I think the money coming in would really change the dynamic of what we had. So that's why everyone's like, you know, let's, let's just not do that.”
Leona Maguire under pressure on LPGA Tour
On the LPGA Tour, Leona Maguire’s presence in next week’s CME Group Tour Championship is far from certain after she opened with a two-over 72 in The ANNIKA at Pelican in Florida.
Maguire, who is 57th in the Race to CME Globe standings with only the top 60 making the season-ending event, was eight shots behind early leaders Charley Hull and Jiwon Jeon with work to do to make the cut today.
She was projected to fall from 57th to 60th in the standings when play was suspended for the day
Top-60 Race to the CME Globe updates following the first round at Pelican Golf Club include:
Jiwon Jeon (-6, 64) is projected to move from 98th to 58th in her current position (T1)
Mi Hyang Lee (-5, 65) is projected to move from 59th to 43rd in her current position (T3)
Gemma Dryburgh (-5, 65) is projected to move from 78th to 64th in her current position (T3)
Carlota Ciganda (-4, 66) is projected to move from 63rd to 56th in her current position (T5)
Gaby Lopez (-1, 69) is projected to move from 61st to 63rd in her current position (T34)
Hinako Shibuno (E, 70) is projected to move from 62nd to 65th in her current position (T50)
Ashleigh Buhai (+2, 72) is projected to move from 65th to 68th in her current position (T91)
Leona Maguire (+2, 72) is projected to move from 57th to 60th in her current position (T91)
Stephanie Kyriacou (+3, 73) is projected to move from 60th to 62nd in her current position (T99)
Auston Kim (+4, 74) is projected to move from 64th to 66th in her current position (T109)
Hyoo Joo Kim (+4, 74) is projected to move from 58th to 61st in her current position (T109)
Kennedy’s pride
Meanwhile, amateur Max Kennedy (23) closed with a sensational seven-under 64 but came up one shot short in his bid for a DP World Tour card at the Final Stage of the Qualifying School in Spain.
The Royal Dublin star finished tied for 22nd on 17-under as 21 players earned cards on 18-under or better.
Kennedy, who made eight birdies in a blistering, nine-hole mid-round stretch on the Lakes Course at Infinitum Golf in Tarragona, won Challenge Tour status but said he’d take time out to reflect before deciding on his future in the professional game.
It would be a surprise if he did not turn professional and take up a Challenge Tour card, but he said he’d reflect first.
“I need a bit of rest first, and then I'll make a decision,” the Dubliner said before being pushed out of the top 20 and ties who won cards.
Ryder Cup assistant captain Edoardo Molinari topped the 21 qualifiers, carding a 67 to win the event by a shot from Sweden’s Niklas Lemke on 29 under.
Five Irish make cut at Alps Tour Q-School
At the Final Stage of the Alps Tour Q-School, five of the seven Irish entrants made the 36-hole cut in the battle to make the top 35 and ties who will be fully exempt after today’s final round.
Galway’s Liam Nolan was tied for second, a shot off the lead on seven-under after a three-under 69 at Terre dei Consoli with John Murphy tied 16th, Michael Young 22nd, Marc Boucher 35th and Hugh Foley 43rd.
“Very happy with my round today,” Nolan said. “I held (sic) some good putts today to avoid dropping shots, keeping my round going nicely with some good momentum. Today was a lot tougher compared to yesterday. It was colder and windier, which made the par 5s longer, so there were fewer birdie opportunities on the course. It was important for me to stay patient and try and capitalize on chances when they came.”
Nolan, who turned professional a few months ago, added: “it would be a great achievement to earn full status tomorrow to give me a full season of competitive golf. It is a great opportunity to continue to improve my game and I’m excited for tomorrow to try and get the chance to earn the full status after tomorrow’s final round.”
The top 35 players and ties, ranked according to score, will be eligible for Category 6 membership for the 2025 Alps Tour Season. The remainder of the players who made the cut, and finished between the 36th and 65th position will be eligible to receive Category 8 membership. The remaining players who conclude the tournament between the 66th and 156th position will be eligible for membership in Category 9 for the 2025 Alps Tour Season.
Power struggles in Bermuda
Seamus Power was tied 66th after opening with an adventurous one-over 72 in the Butterfield Bermuda Championship.
Returning to Port Royal Golf Course for the first time since his win in 2022, the West Waterford man recovered from bogeys at the second and fifth with an eagle three at the seventh, only to double bogey the par-three eighth.
He birdied the ninth to get back to one-over but finished with nine pars in a row to share 66th when play was suspended due to darkness with 21 players to finish.
Justin Lower and Hayden Springer led by a shot on six-under after 65s from Patrick Rodgers, Joseph Bramlett and Kevin Dougherty, who still had the 18th to play.
Power is 54th in the FedEx Cup Fall Rankings with the players ranked 51st to 60th after next week’s RSM Classic earning Signature Event starts in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the Genesis Invitational.
After his opening round, Power was projected to fall to 56th.
