McIlroy sees Irish Open with World Tour potential in new world order
Rory McIlroy. Photo by Richard Heathcote/R&A/R&A via Getty Images)
Rory McIlroy admits the Horizon Irish Open is one of the outstanding DP World Tour events he'd love to see as part of a World Tour schedule.
Like Shane Lowry and Pádraig Harrington, the Co Down man took advantage of the more benign side of the draw in the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill and carded a three-under 69 to move back into the mix on two-under-par.
The world number three hopes he can focus more on his golf now that radical changes to the PGA Tour schedule have been announced with eight no-cut, limited-field "designated" events set to offer massive prize funds for 2024.
But while there's been criticism the DP World Tour is losing out in the Strategic Alliance in a US-centric new landscape, McIlroy wants Europe to get designated events too.
“I think Europe needs to get into the mix,” he said, pointing out that while the 10 PGA TOUR cards on offer to the top players on the DP World Tour is “brilliant” for European players, he’d like to see more designated events in Europe.
“I'm not saying there's no opportunity over there, there is,” he said of the US Tour as the Holy Grail for ambitious European players. “But the one thing I would like to see going forward with this sort of designated events' schedule is trying to get some of those tournaments in the mix overseas.
“Irish Open. Spanish Open. Scottish Open is obviously a co-sanctioned event now, which is a big step forward. Wentworth. There's a few obvious ones that stick out that could, you could try to incorporate into more of a World Tour schedule, more so than it just being purely DP world, purely PGA TOUR and trying to sort of combine the two a little bit.”
As overnight leader Jon Rahm dropped four late shots in a 76 to fall back to three-under, McIlroy feels right back in the mix on two-under-par alongside Lowry, with Harrington well-placed on one-under after matching the Offaly man's 70.
"I feel like I did well to shoot something in the 60s this morning and at least give myself a chance going into the weekend," said McIlroy, who was just seven shots behind American Kurt Kitayama, whose 68 gave him a three-shot lead over Xander Schauffele and Corey Conners on nine-under.
“Overall happy to be in,” said McIlroy, who was inside the top 30, seven shots behind Kurt Kitayama, whose 68 gave him a three-shot lead over Xander Schauffele and Corey Conners.
“Obviously the leader right now is at 9-under. But I feel like I did well to shoot something in the 60s this morning and at least give myself a chance going into the weekend. I knew that today was going to be tough. I didn't feel like I needed to go super deep to get myself back in it. So it was nice to not really feel that pressure.”
With the afternoon starters set to face high winds, Lowry and Harrington were thrilled to break par.
“I’m actually looking forward to sitting back and watching the afternoon golf, to be honest,” grinned Lowry after a 69 saw him make the cut for the first time in five appearances.
He drove into the water and bogeyed the third but never looked back after chipping in for eagle at fourth.
“It was a milestone for me today,” he said. “I had a stressful few last holes but I played the par-5s well.
“I know Kurt is 9-under but if you finish high single digits under this week like seven, eight-under you are going to do very well.
“So, I played good but then I played really good yesterday in those tough conditions though a bit disappointing to bogey two of my last three holes, as that was really, really disappointing.
“I feel like the last few weeks my game has been good and it’s kind of a nice time of the year for your game to be good.”
As for making the cut for the first time, he recalled how his decision to lay up on the 16th paid off.
“I’m in the middle of the fairway and had a perfect 3-iron into the hole and I’m one-under for the tournament,” he said. “Though I laid up because I was thinking of the cut mark. If I hit that second shot into the water, I am going home. Thankfully, I laid up and made birdie and I didn’t have to think about the cut. It was just nice to be kind of doing my own thing.
As for the weekend, he’s optimistic.
“I know Kurt is 9-under and if you finish high single digits under this week like seven, eight-under you are going to do very well.”
Harrington bogeyed two of his last three holes for a 70 that left him on one under but he was delighted to get the good side of the draw and he too hopes to push on over the weekend.
“I think the conditions were very tough yesterday afternoon in terms of the greens,” said the Dubliner, who birdied the 12th, 15th and 18th to turn in three-under, then followed a bogey at the first with birdies at the third and fifth before three-putting the seventh and dropping another shot at the demanding eighth as the wind got up late in the round.
“It was hard to see the slope - they got real shiny. Today, coming out I think every person who was playing in the morning, we went out there a couple of inches taller. We were just so happy knowing that we got the right side of the draw.
“So the guys who have been out and finished, we had a smile in our faces no matter how tough it was getting because we knew the guys in the afternoon were getting it worse. So it was pretty tough at the end, but they've set the course up well.
“But still nothing is easy. There is plenty of slope on the greens, and I think the course is quite short. They have moved up all the tees.”
Harrington was ranked in the top 10 for strokes gained from tee to green and after losing strokes on the greens on Thursday, he was pleased to resume normal service with the putter today.
“I played nicely,” he said. “I played very well yesterday. Probably didn't play quite as well today. I've been putting well but I just had a bad day yesterday and I putted nicely today.
“I was four under and I could have been more. I made a silly three-putt on the seventh. Well, not a silly three-putt but it felt bad. And then the last two holes I played them in one-over. That's probably par for today. So I'm happy with how I'm playing.
“I'd like to see myself play a little bit more within myself and be a little bit more comfortable and a little bit more relaxed about what I'm doing. Hopefully on Saturday and Sunday, I can do that.”
Rahm finished eagle-birdie-birdie on the back nine for a 65 on Thursday but it was a different story today as he turned in level par before dropping four shots in his last five holes by going bogey, double-bogey, birdie, bogey, bogey from the fifth.
“No, it's so easy to do here,” McIlroy said. “As you said, a couple of bad swings can cost you a bunch of shots. I think he made 7 on 6 today. I made 7 on 6. Like, I think that's it not necessarily a bad swing, it's just a slight mishit out of the toe or something. But there's a couple of holes here that are just very penal if you miss it in the wrong spots. That sort of looked like what Jon's done today. Which he basically hasn't done for the last 12 months.”
Rahm was just relieved he shot a decent score on day one.
“How would I characterise it? What do you think I'm going to say? Excuse my language, but it's (expletive) hard,” he said with a laugh. “It’s firm, it's fast and it's blowing 30 miles an hour. It's a very difficult golf course.
“For most of the day I managed it. It's just the last five holes, even though I didn't feel like I was making bad swings, I just couldn't quite get it going and finished poorly the last stretch.
“Main thing is, two swings that didn't feel bad, both of 'em end up in the water (11th and 6th). That's costing me two shots right there. Luckily, I shot 7-under yesterday and I'm not too far off.”
