Jon Rahm almost made a triumphant return to the DP World Tour golf last week, losing in a playoff to countryman Angel Hidalgo at the Spanish Open in Madrid. It also moved him up to eighth in the early Ryder Cup standings, with the top six making the European team for Bethpage Black next year.
The Spaniard gets another crack at rising the rankings at this week’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland.
There are 14 LIV players in the field, including five-time Major winner Brooks Koepka, with the South African billionaire sponsor of the event, Johann Rupert, having no time for golf’s divides. They will play across three links courses on the east coast of Scotland – Kingsbarns, Carnoustie and the Old Course at St Andrews.
Rahm is on somewhat borrowed time and needs to make these events count if he is to make the Ryder Cup team automatically. To play DP World Tour events, Rahm must pay his fines for playing LIV events or appeal against those fines.
The 29-year-old said he has no intention of paying them, so appealed to buy himself time before the Spanish Open. Taking advantage of this loophole, he also looks set to fulfil his eligibility for the Ryder Cup by playing the required four DP World Tour events this season, the Olympics, last week’s Spanish Open, the Dunhill Links and the Andalucia Masters in two weeks.
An issue kicked to the curb for now, with no sign of any significant progress in a merger between the PGA Tour and Saudi Public Investment Fund.
Number: 208
Angel Hidalgo’s victory in Madrid was the 208th by a Spanish player on the DP World Tour. Seve Ballesteros has the most wins on the tour with 50, while José María Olazábal and Miguel Ángel Jiménez have more than 20.
Rory McIlroy seeks first Dunhill Links win
Rory McIlroy will play in the Alfred Dunhill Links this week, as will fellow Irishmen Pádraig Harrington, Tom McKibbin and Shane Lowry. McIlroy has surprisingly never won the event, despite it being the scene of his breakout professional performance, finishing third as an 18-year-old in 2007.
A regular participant in the event, where his father Gerry usually takes part alongside him in the Pro-Am section, he has had a few close calls, finishing second in 2009, 2011 and 2014, while two years ago he finished two strokes off the lead in tied fourth.
Close calls have been the order of the year for McIlroy, who has been in the top five six times since last winning a tournament in May. Speaking to journalist Alan Shipnuck, four-time Major winner Ernie Els opined last week that winning is not going to get any easier for McIlroy after his crushing US Open setback in June.
“Mentally, we’re going to have to see. When that little bit of doubt creeps in, it’s hard to get it out. I’ve been there many times. You beat yourself up,” he said.
Els did point out one area where McIlroy could improve in pressure moments, saying a lack of control with his approaches is costing him.
“He has to hit softer cut shots with his short irons. I’m sure I’ve said that to him. Get absolute control. When you have that much power, you need to get control of the ball with a little cut spin.”
Women should be invited to play Presidents Cup
The Presidents Cup is in a tough place after the United States won for the 10th consecutive time. It is not through lack of enthusiasm or bite from the players, particularly Tom Kim and Si Woo Kim from the International team, who were involved in controversies for bad etiquette, overly zealous celebrations, while Tom Kim then accused the American players of poor sportsmanship after he claimed they swore at him.
But ultimately like how the Leinster football championship cannot be saved by a Meath player throwing a few punches at a Dublin player, the Presidents Cup cannot be saved on bite alone as the scoreboard shows the US won by seven points away from home.
An obvious place to start to bridge the competitive gap would be to make it a mixed event, where seven of the top 10 players in the women’s world rankings are International. Whether the PGA Tour would have the gumption to think outside the box and cede control though remains to be seen.
Quote
“Contrary to what people thought last year at the Ryder Cup, we were in my opinion closer than the Europeans. The media tries to divide us apart, and this year we were just as close if not closer.” – Wyndham Clark making a bold claim about the United States team after their Presidents Cup victory over the Internationals
X/Twitter Twaddle
Great week in Spain . . . some decent golf there. Madrid is now one of my favourite places. Hala Madrid @accionaopen☘️ – Shane Lowry after a tied 11th finish at the Spanish Open.
Continuing their streak of playing in every #dunhilllinks, David Howell and Pádraig Harrington will be making their 23rd appearances in the event next week. The only professionals to have played in every #dunhilllinks – Dunhill Links tweeting out an impressive feat for Harrington.
Saturday night Patty Ice is the Goat – Max Homa praises team-mate Patrick Cantlay’s win at the Presidents Cup.
Know the Rules
Q: When playing a pitch shot to the green, you accidentally hit your ball twice with the same abrupt swing. Does this count as one stroke or two?
A: It counts as one stroke for the now lucky golfer. This rule was changed in 2019, saving it from ruining many scorecards. It used to be that the “double hit” was counted as a stroke, plus an additional one-stroke penalty.
In the Bag: Angel Hidalgo (Spanish Open)
Driver: Cobra Darkspeed LS (9 degrees)
Mini driver: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Ti 340 Mini Driver (11.5 degrees)
Five wood: Ping G430 Max (18 degrees)
Hybrid: Ping G430 (22 degrees)
5-9 iron: Cobra Limit3D
Wedges: Cobra Limit 3D (pitching), Cobra SB (50 degrees, 56 and 60)
Putter: TaylorMade Spider Tour X
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