After being an established event on the Challenge Tour for a decade, the Northern Ireland Open – now part of the Clutch Pro Tour, a development circuit providing opportunities for fledgling professionals – will be played under a new format this year.
For the first time, three courses – Cairndhu, Castlerock and Galgorm Castle – will play host to a round each in the three-day tournament to be staged on July 4th-6th, with the winner earning an exemption into the ISPS Handa World Invitational on the DP World Tour the following month.
In adopting a similar approach to that of the Alfred Dunhill Links, play will take place at Cairndhu for the first round, followed by Castlerock – after which there will be a cut with 60 players advancing– with the final round at Galgorm Castle. This year, for the first time, amateurs and celebrities will compete alongside the men’s and women’s professionals.
John Murphy emerged as winner last year just a matter of months into his professional career, while past winners include Ryan Fox (2016), Calum Hill (2018) and Joakim Lagergren (2014), all winners on the European Tour.
Korda opts for six-week break from tournament play
Nelly Korda may have been leapfrogged by Jin Young Ko in the Rolex world rankings but the 23-year-old American is biding her time in seeking to get back to the number one spot, opting for a six-week break from tournament play and deciding not to travel to the upcoming back-to-back LPGA Tour events in Asia.
Although the HSBC World Championship in Singapore and the Honda LPGA in Thailand have limited, no-cut fields – meaning guaranteed paydays and world rankings points – Korda has taken the decision to stay on home soil in the United States.
“I’m definitely looking forward to my six-week break. I definitely need it. I think I am just a little mentally fatigued . . . you’re constantly trying to get better and push your limits and challenge yourself. I think I’ve done a pretty good job of doing that but sometimes you need to step back and relax and take a break from everything.”
Word of Mouth
"I was wanting that. That is awesome. That's the goal, man. That gets you in the things that I haven't played in. I've played in some big events here and there but, yeah, that's why we play" – Harold Varner III, who holed a 92-foot eagle putt on the 72nd hole to win the Saudi International. The victory, the second of his career to go with the 2016 Australian PGA, moved the American from 99th to 45th in the official world rankings setting up a spot in the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play next month and also the probability of an invite to the Masters at Augusta National. Varner must remain inside the world's top-50 at the cut-off date, a week ahead of the Masters.
Twitter Talk
14 years ago I played against @leona_maguire for the first time at the French lady juniors - she made me mark my ball from 120 yards out. I was deathly afraid of you back then my friend, just a matter of time until you were going to hold up some @lpga hardware #soproud – Fellow Solheim Cup player and former British Open champion Sophia Popov.
Anyone who knows this girl knows how inevitable this has been. The world has somehow been sleeping on her . . . but this is only the start @leona_maguire – LET player Meghan MacLaren.
Delighted for @leona_maguire, nobody deserves it more. Years of hard work and pressure have gone in to this win. Leona is trailblazing a way for all Irish golf. Delighted for Dermot Byrne on the bag too – Pádraig Harrington.
Congratulations on creating such history @leona_maguire. A humble champion – Katie Mullan, captain of the Irish women's hockey team.
By the Numbers: 1,566,000 v 225,000
That's the amount – $1.56 million – in US dollars which Tom Hoge pocketed for winning the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am as against the amount which Leona Maguire won for the LPGA Drive On, highlighting the huge difference that still exists in purses between the PGA Tour and the LPGA Tour.
On this day: February 8th, 1998
Scott Simpson was the primary beneficiary of a bad weather front which caused the Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines to be reduced to 54-holes, where a final round 64 for a total of 204 left him sitting in the clubhouse watching on television as a number of players sought to catch him.
A number had opportunities. Tiger Woods left a 40-foot eagle putt inches short on the 18th hole. Davis Love III's eagle chip narrowly missed finding the cup. And Kevin Sutherland's 12-foot birdie putt refused to drop.
"I was watching and thinkin, 'Geez, these guys can't make any putts . . . I really thought someone would burst through," said Simpson. One did, Skip Kendall managed to match Simpson's total. But it was Simpson, the 1987 US Open champion but playing on a medical exemption, who prevailed at the first hole of sudden-death to lift his seventh, and last, career title on the PGA Tour.
“I definitely dodged a lot of bullets . . . I didn’t know if I would ever win again,” said an emotional Simpson.
In the Bag: Leona Maguire (Drive On Championship)
Driver: Ping G425 LST (10.5 degrees)
3-wood: Ping G425 (14.5 degrees)
5-wood: Ping G425 (17.5 degrees)
7-wood: Ping G425 (23 degrees)
Irons: Ping i210 (5-PW)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM7 (55 and 50 degrees)
Putter: Ping Vault Ketsch 2.0
Ball: Titleist Pro V1
Know the Rules
Q
In stroke play, a marker signs the player's scorecard in the space provided for the player's signature and the player then signs in the space provided for the marker's signature. What is the ruling?
A
There is no penalty. This is covered by Rule 3.3b/2 (Information put in wrong location on scorecard may still be acceptable). Although all requirements of Rule 3.3b must be clearly met before a scorecard is returned, there is no penalty if the correct information is mistakenly entered on the scorecard in a place other than where it was expected to be, except that each hole score on the scorecard must be identifiable to the correct hole.
