The Longshot: Same old story for poor old Rory as Hollywood dream fades

UGH! That’s the only appropriate reaction to staying up until 3am (especially when you are working the next day at 8am — albeit my commute is about 10 yards) watching Rory McIlroy miss out on a fifth Major by one shot.

Not that we would necessarily begrudge Wyndham Clark (who sounds more like a tournament than a player) his emotional maiden win so much, except that we had McIlroy backed to do the business, as presumably did any reader who was convinced by our confident 12/1 recommendation this day last week.

It won’t have surprised anyone rooting for him that the Down man himself afterwards referenced the Open at St Andrew’s last year: again he did very little wrong on the final day of a Major where he was right in contention, it’s just that he was pipped again by someone playing a small bit better.

McIlroy hit far fewer poorer shots than Clark on the final day, but he also hit almost no great ones, while Clark spent much of the day getting himself out of more tight corners than Max Verstappen.

In trying to ensure he wouldn’t lose a Major, instead of going out to win it, Rory again ended up losing it anyway.

But that’s the risk he took: take few risks.

But it mainly came down to having a putter that was colder than Jack Nicholson at the end of The Shining (the tournament took place next to Hollywood, so we’ll allow that comparison - ed).

Anyone hoping he would win could have had little confidence that he would sink anything on the green, even though other than two poor short misses it wasn’t even as if he had a bad day with the short stick (his playing partner Scottie Scheffler’s woes in this department made Rory look like Tiger Woods in his prime). It’s just that nothing dropped; his long and mid-distance efforts just kept curling around the hole.

He possibly won’t be as crestfallen as he was when missing out on capturing the 150th Open at the home of golf last summer.

And this year’s final Major will take place at Royal Liverpool in Hoylake, the venue for his Open win in 2014, when he beat Rickie Fowler (who will be far more disappointed after his Sunday collapse) and Sergio Garcia by two shots after leading in every round.

He has been installed as the 8/1 favourite for that but at this juncture I’d favour Cam Smith to defend his title at 18/1.

The Aussie gets four or five of those difficult putts that McIlroy keeps missing and that could be a huge difference in a month’s time on Merseyside.

Fleetwood our call for the Travelers Championship

WE may as well stick with the golf after going ever so close last weekend.

Rory McIlroy tees off again on the opposite US coast at the Travelers Championship and although he is the 9/1 third favourite, it would be difficult to see him having the same level of concentration as he had in LA.

This (now-elevated) tournament has seen some record low scoring in the past dozen years. In 2011, Patrick Cantlay set the course record at the TPC River Highlands venue with a ten-under-par 60, which is also the lowest round shot by an amateur in a PGA Tour event.

in 2014 Kevin Streelman became the first player to birdie the last seven holes to win a PGA Tour event, and, of course, Jim Furyk shot the PGA Tour’s first-ever 58 at the course in 2016.

The Connecticut tournament is the second-best-attended PGA Tour event annually, behind only the Waste Management Phoenix Open and is usually considered the next most raucous fan-wise.

The $20m prize pot means the field is loaded, with McIlroy ed by the likes of Scheffler (7/1), Jon Rahm (8/1), Cantlay (12/1), Xander Schauffele (also 12/1 and last year’s winner after a final-round 62), Viktor Hovland (18/1) Max Homa and Matt Fitzpatrick (both 28/1) to name just a few who may have otherwise taken a break after Major exertions. Wyndham Clark is 33/1 to make it two wins in a row.

Harris English was in contention for much of the way in LA, but like Fowler he dropped away on the final day. The 2021 Travelers winner looks overpriced at 75/1.

Tommy Fleetwood became the only man to record two career 63s at a US Open on Sunday (a short missed putt on the last meant he missed out on a 62) and the leaders’ woes showed how tough the course was, so his ability to shoot so low means 35/1 looks far too big for him here, especially as he was only pipped in a playoff in Canada the week before that. Fleetwood has posted seven top-20 finishes over 13 starts this year and that includes four top 5s and just two missed cuts.

Waterford’s Seamus Power has made the cut here in each of the last five editions and is rated at 110/1, double the 55/1 offered on Shane Lowry, who was steady enough in LA.

Of course, it would be negligent of us not to mention the fine win by an Ulster golf star Stateside.

Leona Maguire had been runner-up in the Meijer Classic the past two years, but down the stretch on Sunday saw her produce the very unRory-like run of birdie-eagle-par-birdie-birdie-birdie from the 13th for a bogey-free round in Michigan to deliver only her second win on the LGPA tour.

The Women’s PGA Championship will be held this week in Baltusrol and the Cavan woman has been installed at 20/1 to do like Clark and break her duck in the big ones. Such a win would certainly make up for Rory’s defeat for Irish golf fans.

Qualifying is now unlikely

UGH! Can we start two pieces with a grunt on the same page? Apparently you can if you are an Irish football fan.

Let’s presume we beat Gibraltar at home last night (is that asking too much?), it won’t have shifted our chances of qualification for Euro 2024 in much probably.

After defeat in Athens where we offered very little to say we deserve a trip to play among the elite teams in Europe, we have been installed as 14/1 shots to reach the European Championship, even though Uefa’s byzantine ways mean we could still do so by a playoff even if we finish last in the group.

Don’t ask, it’s beyond me.

Kenny's days look numbered

FOUR wins in 23 competitive games (against Azerbaijan, Andorra, Luxembourg, and Scotland) and 13 defeats means the writing should be on the wall for Stephen Kenny. Is there any point now in letting him see out this campaign?

Current Ghana manager Chris Hughton is the 6/1 favourite to take over, having previously been Newcastle, Norwich, and Brighton boss and he was also deputy for Brian Kerr at the national team from February 2003 to October 2005.

Much talk is about current England U21 boss Lee Carsley, who would have to interrupt his negotiations to poach back Preston's Tom Cannon for Blighty, if he was interested in taking the job. He is an 8/1 bet right now.

Cork outsiders

CORK secured a home tie in the preliminary quarter-finals by beating Mayo last Sunday but they remain outsiders after drawing another Connacht side in Roscommon.

John Cleary’s men were heroic in the closing stages of that match but are only 6/4 to advance to the quarters outright a week later, while the Rossies are 8/11 favourites.

Home advantage should probably have those odds swapped.

The Bet

OUR golfing tips have been OK this year and have been getting closer: A third in Canada, followed by a runner-up in the US.

Can that only mean one thing? A winner this weekend? Take Tommy Fleetwood to win the Travelers Championship at 35/1.