Sir Nick Faldo has urged Rory McIlroy to act like he “owns the ring” as he bids to end his lengthy major drought.
McIlroy travelled to Hoylake on Sunday afternoon following a brilliant victory in the Genesis Scottish Open, where he birdied the last two holes to edge out home favourite Robert MacIntyre.
The world number two has not tasted victory in a major championship since the 2014 US PGA, a win which came a month after he had lifted the Claret Jug at Royal Liverpool.
Two of Faldo’s Open titles came at the same venue and the six-time major winner believes McIlroy should behave as if he is the defending champion this week.
“Yeah, why not?” Faldo said. “It’s like saying ‘I own the ring, you ain’t gonna knock me down’.
“I felt that way when I came back to Muirfield in 1992 after winning in 1987. I was playing well, I was world number one, one of the favourites and all that and I thought ‘yeah, this is my spot, I’m gonna defend winning at Muirfield’.
“He’s got to be feeling good going back to somewhere he’s won before. He’s playing well. I think the most important thing is he just wants to be a golfer right now, give me a bit of space, let me breathe, let me just go and play.
“He’s one of the top few players in the world and it’s probably a nice feeling for him – he knows if he plays really well he knows the names he’s got to beat.”
Thirty-four majors have been staged since McIlroy’s last victory, with Brooks Koepka, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Jon Rahm, Collin Morikawa and Dustin Johnson all winning multiple titles and 18 different players tasting victory once, including a 50-year-old Phil Mickelson and an injury-ravaged Tiger Woods.
McIlroy has had to settle for commendable consistency, recording 19 top-10s and finishing no worse than eighth in all four majors in 2022, although genuine chances to win on the back nine on Sunday have been relatively scarce.
In last year’s Open McIlroy led by two at the turn before being overhauled by an inspired Cameron Smith.
A month ago he shared the lead in the final round of the US Open after a birdie on the first, but failed to make another and finished a shot behind Wyndham Clark, while his only dropped shot came after a poor wedge on the par-five 14th.
“I was doing the TV and the number of times I would say this must be so demoralising, he hits it 320 yards and then hits a wedge to 60 feet and three-putts it,” Faldo added.
“That’s such a killer to a pro. If he avoids that, if his bad wedge was to 20ft, then you’re laughing.
“That’s got to be his goal, really hone that short game and somehow trick himself and just imagine you’re 16 again and this is the most important tournament in my life, I’ve got a chance to win an Open; try and find that kind of motivation.
“Nine years is a long time, not many players go nine years [between major wins] but he’s so talented. It’s not like his game’s gone downhill.
“If he can find a way to almost hit the reset button, he’s still in his prime age; he’s just got to find that little bit of trust and determination. Can you fend off everybody else?
“You’ve got three days playing against yourself before you then take on the rest of the guys. I’ve got kind of a good vibe. I think he could pull another one out. I think he has a hell of a chance.”
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Zandre Roye and Mattea Issa claim National Amateur Golf titles
Zandre Roye and Mattea Issa were crowned national amateur golf champions on Sunday at the Caymanas Golf Course in St. Catherine after three challenging rounds.
Both golfers are first time champions. Issa won by seven shots while Roye won by four after posting his best score in the final round.
Roye matched his first round four birdies but only had two bogeys to close the round on two under par 70 after scoring one under 35 for the front nine and another one under par 35 for the back nine.
His birdies came on holes number two, six, seventeen and eighteen while the bogeys were on holes four and sixteen. His three-round scores were one under par 71, five over par 77 and 70 for a total of three over par 219.
He was pleased with copping his first national championship after getting close on several occasions.
“Coming into this tournament year after year and seeing the trophy and wondering when I am going to get my name on it and its just my time now," he said.
“The course conditions were a little bit tricky out there with it being so dry but we are used to the conditions. I think I manage the game today out of all three days, pretty well. The putting was just not there this weekend but I hit a lot of greens and that helped a lot,” Roye added.
2022 national champion Oshae Haye moved from third place on the first and second day to end the in second place, four shots behind Roye. Haye posted scores of three over par on day one and two respectively and one over par 73 on the final day for a combined score of seven over par 223.
Junior golfer Trey Williams performed very well in the championship after taking over the lead at the end of the second round with a one under par 71 but was pegged back in the final round with four over par 76 in the third round. His total score of eight over par 224 included 77 in the first round, to be one stroke off the runner-up spot.
First time national female champion Mattea Issa got the better of many-time national champion Jodi Munn Barrow to win by seven shots.
Issa's final day scorecard showed three birdies, six bogeys and two double bogeys for seven over par 79.
Her first and second round scores were nine over par 81 on each day for a combined score of 25 over par 241. Munn-Barrow's scores were 84, 81 and 83 for a total of 32 over par 248, for the runner-up spot.
"It feels really good. I am really happy. I am very happy for the win but diving deeper more into my game I wish I have played better. I have been playing really well recently and I am not sure if it’s the combination of the conditions, it’s very dry at the moment, the greens are in the best shape so I just have to figure out how I can properly play the course because I know that everybody had a difficult time this weekend. So, I just have to analyze that and keep on progressing and keep on getting better," said a very pleased Issa.
Another former national champion Sean Morris copped the trophy for the national senior champion on the back of scores of 84, 74s and even par 72 to close the championship at 12 over par 228.
The national super senior champion was Keith Stein 227 (78, 71, 78). Philip Prendergast 232 (72, 82, 78) bagged the runner-up spot while former Jamaica Golf Association (JGA) president Wayne Chai Chong 235 (85, 76, 74) was third.
Munn-Barrow, the current JGA president praised the players for their performances.
“What we saw was very good performances from all of our juniors in all of the various categories. So, it was a good week, the only disappointment for this week was the lack of sponsorship of our national event. I am hoping that next year we can get sponsorship so we can have an even bigger and better event.”
PGA Tour winner Murray dies aged 30 after withdrawing from Charles Schwab Challenge
PGA Tour winner Grayson Murray has died aged 30 after withdrawing from the Charles Schwab Challenge.
The two-time Tour champion withdrew from the tournament in Fort Worth, Texas during his second round on Friday due to illness.
Murray, who won his second title at this year's Sony Open in Hawaii, passed away on Saturday as the Tour confirmed the news through an organisational statement.
"We were devastated to learn – and are heartbroken to share – that Grayson Murray passed away this morning. I am at a loss for words," wrote Tour commissioner Jay Monahan.
Zandre Roye & Mattea Issa in the lead at National Amateur Golf Champs
Zandre Roye and Mattea Issa both had a three-point lead over their nearest competitors at the end of the first round of the Jamaica Golf Association's National Amateur Golf Championship being played at the Caymanas Golf Club in St. Catherine.
Roye scored even par 72 for the round to lead former national champion and club mate Oshae Haye and Jack Stein by three strokes after they both scored three over par 75.
They were being tracked closely by young guns Rocco Lopez and Trey Williams who are just two strokes back on five over par 77.
Roye had a good front nine and was up by two between holes six to eight after copping two birdies on holes two and six but bogeyed number eight to close on one under par 35.
He started the back nine by dropping a shot on hole number 10 but recovered on holes 11 and 12 to be up by two shots between 12 to 15 but dropped a shot on 16 and 17, then parred 18 to close the back nine on one over par 37.
His four birdies were cancelled out by the four bogeys which he scored in the round. That makes him the only golfer to go into day two with a clean sheet to build on.
Junior player Mattea Issa scored nine over par 81 to take the lead over many time national champion Jodi Munn-Barrow who ended the first round on twelve over par 84. Alessandra Coe, another junior player was just two shots behind on 14 over par 86.
Both Roye and Issa were happy with their first round performance under hot and windy conditions on the course, while looking forward to extending their lead at the end of the second round of the three-round championship.
The second round will get under way at 8:30 am on Saturday morning.
There will be a new male and female champion this year as William Knibbs and Michelle McCreath who are the 2023 champions did not tee off on Friday and will not feature in the championship this year.
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