Author: Golf Post

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Highlights Tours

Brooks Koepka: “I don’t care whether I like the place or not”

Brooks Koepka during his practice round ahead of the British Open 2021. (Photo: Getty Images)

STUART MOFFATT: Good afternoon, everyone. I’m delighted to say that we’re joined by the four-time major champion Brooks Koepka. Welcome to Royal St. George’s. You’ve performed really well this season, two strong finishes in the last two majors. How confident are you of contending this week for The Open title?

BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, I feel good. Coming off a couple good finishes. Felt like I was playing well. I’m pretty excited for this week. It’s a major, so I’ll be up for it, and excited to play this week.

Q. You said on several occasions that you find it so much easier to get up for the majors. I just wonder when that starts to kick in. Is it when you set foot on property a few days before or when you start making plans?

BROOKS KOEPKA: I mean, I don’t make plans, but it’s kind of more when I show up. I don’t know, it’s a different feeling. It’s just more focused, more locked in on what I need to do, no distractions. I don’t know, I just simplify everything, and it becomes a lot easier.

Q. How much do you enjoy coming to the UK? I appreciate it’s a very different year with COVID, but tell me about that and about the challenges of coming and playing links golf and taking part in an Open.

BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, I mean, I’ve always enjoyed coming over here. I came over here when I was a little kid. Actually here, watched Ben win. Me and my brother and my mom came. I must have been like 10 years old or something.

Yeah, I’ve always enjoyed playing links golf. I think it takes a lot of creativity and imagination. In the States a lot of times you just throw it up high in the air and the ball is going to stop, where you’ve really got to pay attention where the ball is going to bounce into the green. You might have 50 yards but you’ve got about six clubs you could play.

I think that’s fun. It brings out the creative side. It’s fun. I love it. I love it over here.

Q. I can’t use in the circumstances the word Pete Cowan used to describe what you said about not getting the job done at the U.S. PGA; you were rather annoyed shall we say. How would you sum up your feelings about not getting over the line in the last two majors?

BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, disappointing. PGA I started off with a double. Made a mental mistake there, so that drives me nuts. I don’t mind making mistakes, making a bad swing, but when you make a mental mistake — I kind of pride myself on not making a mental mistake during a major, and that was unfortunate.

At the end of the day, I just didn’t play good enough. I didn’t putt anywhere remotely good enough to win.

I didn’t deserve it, but still lost, so doesn’t matter.

Q. What do you think of the golf course? How does it compare to some of the other Open venues? And what do you think is its biggest challenge?

BROOKS KOEPKA: I only played the front nine. I don’t know, it’s not my favourite venue that we’ve played. I think Portrush and St. Andrews are definitely the favourites.

I haven’t seen all 18. I’ll see the back nine today. But a couple — quite a few blind tee shots, kind of hitting to nothing. Fairways are quite undulating. I don’t know, it’s not my favourite of the rotation, put it that way.

Q. How would you describe your performances so far in the Open, and do you feel the best is still to come for you in this event?

BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, I think I probably haven’t played my best over here. I don’t know, I think over the last couple years — I don’t want to say it’s been a distraction, but I’ve won the PGA or the U.S. Open before, and I’ve enjoyed those weeks after a little too much.

I came over — Sunday was the first time I touched a club since Travelers. Maybe I always don’t have the best of prep coming into this. But I feel good. I feel my game feels solid. I like the way I’m hitting it right now, and definitely more comfortable than I’ve been in years past coming over.

Q. In this country we’ve been quite royally entertained recently by the back-and-forth between you and Bryson. Is there any kind of pantomime element to that, or is it the fact you just genuinely don’t care for each other?

BROOKS KOEPKA: I mean, there’s a story behind it, but I’ve already said the story. Like I said, we had a conversation at Liberty, and he didn’t hold up his end of the bargain and I didn’t like that, so I’ll take my shots.

Q. When you say it’s not your favourite venue and you explained why, how does that affect your confidence or your attitude towards going out there and trying to win the Claret Jug?

BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, it doesn’t matter. I’ve won on golf courses that I’m not a big fan of before. It has nothing to do with it. Still got to get up and go hit the shot and do what I’m supposed to do, so that doesn’t bug me.

I don’t care whether I like the place, don’t like it. You’ve still got to play good and go hit the shots.

Like I said, playing St. Andrews is probably my favourite place in the entire world to play. Portrush two years ago was — I don’t know, I love that place. I thought that was just such a good Open. A fun golf course to play. Really enjoyed that.

This one, it’s just not as exciting. I don’t know why. Whether it be a couple shots to nothing, a couple blind — I don’t want to say — a couple blind tee shots or shots in where you can’t really see much. I’m not too big of a fan of that.

Q. Is there a point considering that the Ryder Cup is coming up later this year that you have to start getting along with Bryson somehow if you’re going to be in the same team in September?

BROOKS KOEPKA: You realize it’s only a week, right?

Q. But you are on the same team.

BROOKS KOEPKA: It’s only a week. I mean, look, I can put it aside for business. If we’re going to be on the same team, I can deal with anybody in the world for a week.

I’m not playing with him. I’m pretty sure we’re not going to be paired together; put it that way. I think it’s kind of obvious.

It doesn’t matter. I don’t think they’re — we’re not going to be high fiving and having late-night conversations. I do my thing, he does his thing. Yeah, we’re on the same team, but it’s not an issue at all. I don’t view it as an issue. I don’t think he does.

Like I said, I can put anything aside for a team, business, whatever, just to get the job done. No problem with that.

Q. Last month I think you quite rightly said that your rivalry with Bryson is good for the game. Do you think it would be good for the game if you two were playing in the final group on Sunday, and is that something you relish?

BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, I would enjoy it. I would enjoy it. I’ll be close to the final group come Sunday. I always feel like I play well in the big events, the majors. I think it would be a lot more people tuning in, with everything that’s gone on over the last two years, something like that, three years.

So yeah, I think there would be a lot of people tuning in.

Q. Your experience as a four-time major winner, I think you’re the only one who’s won multiple majors in the last five years, will that be crucial going into that final day do you feel?

BROOKS KOEPKA: Maybe a little bit, not much. At the end of the day it just comes down to how well you’re playing. Are you going to make the putts, are you going to hit the right shots at the right time, avoid bunkers out here, keep it out of the rough? The rough is pretty thick out here, probably the thickest I’ve seen of the venues over the last five years maybe, six years.

So you’ve got to be able to drive the ball straight. That’s the big key out here.

Q. In addition to your wins, you’ve obviously contended in the Open and the Masters. Is the career grand slam something you’ve given a thought to going ahead?

BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, that’s a goal of mine. We were actually just laughing about it. It would be pretty cool to go back-to-back in all of them. I think that would be pretty cool, so that’s the goal.

Like I said, I just need to get the job done here. I love St. Andrews, so hopefully it’ll happen.

Q. Did I hear you say you came over here in ’03 when Ben won?

BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, I did.

Q. That seems like an odd vacation for a Florida kid. What brought you here? What were the circumstances, and what are your strongest memories?

BROOKS KOEPKA: We got the opportunity — I must have been — I don’t know what I was in, fifth, sixth grade, something like that — just to come over here and play St. Andrews, Carnoustie, come watch I think the final round of The Open.

Me, my mom and my little brother, we came over I think a couple days early from when the whole thing was going to start, and just got to play links golf. I thought it was so much fun. That’s kind of when I fell in love with it.

It was cool getting to — I remember my brother at the time, he thought it was so cool. Tiger was playing on 13 and my brother had said something and Tiger said something back to him, and we thought it was the coolest thing at the time.

It’s kind of funny, I think with about three holes left, I remember Thomas took a few out of the bunker, and I think Ben was maybe a group or two behind him, but I ended up falling asleep right in the little pavilion to the right of 18 and didn’t even see the finish.

I remember getting yelled at by my mom, I didn’t bring you over here to fall asleep kind of deal.

But it was fun. We enjoyed the whole trip, and it was a cool family trip.

Q. How big a help has Ricky been to you in relation to plotting your way around links courses?

BROOKS KOEPKA: I mean, Rick is a help anywhere I go. I love that guy to death. I don’t think I would have the success I’ve had without him. He’s a crucial part of the way I game plan. He really understands how I play golf, how I go about things, and he keeps it light out there.

We have a good relationship off the course, good relationship on it. Keep things light. He knows I’m not going to take it too seriously. We’ve been together for eight years now almost, I think. He can pretty much tell exactly what I’m thinking, what I’m doing, and I think when you build that relationship so well on the course, off the course, good things are going to happen.

He’s been a big part of those major wins every win I’ve had, and even coming over to links, just — I mean, he’s grown up on it, so I don’t want to say I lean on him all the time, but he’s definitely got a better understanding of how to play links golf than I do, so it’s definitely been helpful to have him on the bag, and that relationship I’m super grateful for.

Q. Obviously the protocols here are a lot different than what we’re seeing at home, especially in the last couple months. What kind of adjustments did you have to make? Have you found it to be difficult at all to kind of go back to what we were doing maybe a year ago? How are you sort of getting along with the whole thing?

BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, I mean, it’s different. I don’t have my full team here this week. I don’t have my trainer, don’t have my chef. The cooking definitely is not as good with me, Rick, my physio, and my manager, Blake. We’re trying our best, but it’s not as good as she would make it.

It’s not too big of a deal. Most of the times I don’t do anything anyway. I come to the course, I go to the gym, and I don’t leave the house.

It’s not too big of an adjustment for me. Obviously just missing those two would be the big thing.

I’ve just got me, my physio, my caddie, and my agent, that’s it, just the four of us. It’s quite fun. We’re all so close, and we enjoy — we’ve always enjoyed this week. It’s fun, the four of us getting to stay together because usually it doesn’t happen.

Q. When you explained recently the start of this thing with Bryson, you said that he went back on his word, which is why you sort of — did you explain what he did? How did he go back on his word? Apologies if you have said that and I missed it. What made you think he had gone back on his word?

BROOKS KOEPKA: Yeah, it was at — I said it a couple weeks ago. It was at Liberty. He didn’t like that I had mentioned his name in slow play, so we had a conversation in the locker room, and then I guess we said something else in the press conference but didn’t mention his name in it, and he walked up to Ricky, said something. It was, You tell your man if he’s got something to say, say it to myself. I thought that was ironic because he went straight to Ricky. Ricky told me when I came out, hit a few putts, and then just walked right over to him, we had a conversation. We both agreed we’d leave each other out of it and wouldn’t mention each other, just kind of let it die off, wouldn’t mention each other’s names, just go about it.

So then he decided I guess he was going on that little, whatever, playing video games online or whatever and brought my name up and said a few things, so now it’s fair game.

STUART MOFFATT: Brooks, very best of luck this week.

Interview transcript by asapsports.com

Categories
Highlights Tours

Rory McIlroy: “Hopefully I can continue that record this week”

Rory McIlroy during his practice round ahead of the British Open 2021. (Photo: Getty Images)

MIKE WOODCOCK: Good afternoon, everyone. We’re joined by the former Open Champion and four-time major champion Rory McIlroy this afternoon. Rory, great to see you. Thank you for coming in.

Leaving aside 2019, you’ve had a remarkably consistent record in the last few years in the Open. How much do you hope to be able to continue that this week and bring that Open form into the championship?

RORY McILROY: Yeah, for sure. Yeah, I think over the last few years, The Open has been my — you know, my best performances in major championships have been at this event. Had a really good chance to — I guess had a good chance to at least put some pressure on Francesco at Carnoustie in 2018 and I didn’t birdie the last there.

It’s been good. Even though I’ve sort of grown up on links courses and played a lot of links golf, still, when you turn professional, 90 per cent, 95 per cent of the golf you play isn’t this style of golf, so you always have to adjust a little bit.

Over the years I’ve just become more and more comfortable with this style of golf, and I think more than anything else, there’s a lot more variables in the Open Championship and on links courses. Once you learn that you can’t control those variables, then you just have to go out and accept whatever is given to you.

I think as I’ve gotten a little more experience and matured, I’ve been able to play this championship a little bit better, and hopefully I can continue that record this week.

Q. Could you put into words just how much of a profound blow it was to have no Open Championship for this sport last year and just how much it means and how special it is now returning?

Rory McIlroy: “It was a really different and weird year”

RORY McILROY: Yeah, profound blow sounds very serious. There was a lot of events that were cancelled last year because of the pandemic. I guess my thought, even you look at — I always compare golf to tennis because two individual sports, four majors a year, and The Open Championship and Wimbledon were cancelled last year, which was — both Wimbledon and here, arguably the biggest tournaments in their respective sports, and for those to be cancelled — even actually walking in our little like open clubhouse here this week, there’s a board with the list of winners and the courses, and it says 2020 championship not played, and you’re just so used to seeing at that like 1941 or 1945, like war years and stuff like that.

The fact that every time now you look at 2020 it’s going to say “championship not played,” it just sort of stuck with me. It was like, Wow, yeah, it was a really different and weird year.

As you said, I think everyone is just so glad to be back and playing again and inching our way back to some sort of normality. Obviously next Monday is going to be a big day here for England and the UK, and I think everyone is looking forward to that.

It’s great to be back and great to have fans and just great to be playing an Open Championship again.

Q. What were your takeaways from the practice round other than the lovely weather? Did anything strike you as unexpected about the course?

Rory McIlroy on his practice rounds

RORY McILROY: I think the biggest thing here is the course, even before the rain yesterday, the course was quite lush, quite green. We maybe weren’t getting the bounces that we’re accustomed to getting here at St. George’s with the bumpy fairways.

Honestly, I think the course plays a little better that way, so I was pleasantly surprised at — I walked away from the golf course on Saturday and Sunday thinking, this is a much better golf course than I remember it being, and I think that’s just because of the way it’s playing right now.

I think it’s perfect, and as the days go on with a little bit of wind and sunshine, by the weekend it should just be absolutely perfect. It should be playing the way it should play.

Yeah, I think more than anything else, I obviously didn’t have great memories from 2011 the way I played, and playing the last few days, it’s — this is just my perception, and because of not playing my best that time, I came back here and it’s much better than I remember.

Q. Related to the first question, you’ve had two years to dwell on what happened in 2019. You weren’t able to banish the memory last year. How much has the fact you missed the cut and it was your home Open, how much has that lived with you as a monkey on your back?

RORY McILROY: I mean, not really. I ended up winning the FedExCup in 2019, so it gave me a few million reasons to feel better (smiling).

I didn’t dwell on it that much. It was tough, but the great thing about golf is there’s always next week. You can always get back on the horse. You can always — and that’s what I did. I moved forward, set my sights on other things like the FedExCup, like — that was basically all there was left to play for that year.

I won a World Golf Championship in China. I got to world No. 1 at the start of 2020, and then the pandemic hit and the world sort of changed.

If anything, it was a catalyst for me to play some of my best golf. I left Portrush obviously very disappointed, but by February of 2020, a few months down the line, I got back to No. 1 in the world.

So I didn’t dwell on it that much.

Q. You never like to miss a cut, but the fact that you’ve been here for a few extra days and been able to taper your practice accordingly, could it turn out to be a blessing in disguise?

RORY McILROY: Yeah, I think so. You never want to miss a cut, as you say, but as missed cuts go, this wasn’t necessarily a bad one. I wasn’t planning on playing the Scottish Open a few weeks ago anyway, so just to get a couple of competitive rounds in and just learn a little bit more and figure out what I need to do — look, it would have been great to stay and play an extra couple days in Scotland, but to be down here and get a few holes in on Saturday, play a full round on Sunday, felt like I got a bit of a head start on the rest of the field, which feels good.

It means now that I didn’t even play any holes yesterday. I played 11 today. I’m probably going to go out early tomorrow and play 18.

But I just meant that I can take it a bit easier the next couple days, not feel like I’m trying to cram all the preparation in.

Q. Given the swing changes obviously Charlotte was such a huge step, but it’s been kind of uneven since. Where do you feel like you are in the process of where you want to be ball-striking wise?

RORY McILROY: Yeah, I feel good. I’ve hit the ball really good in practice the last few days. I feel like I figured something out on Sunday here, which has been really good.

I hit the ball great on the range yesterday, and I hit the ball well today on the course.

It’s hard. You’re going — thinking a swing so much, and it’s really about trying to get that blend of getting your mechanics right but then also letting your athletic ability and your instincts shine through, as well.

It’s just been trying to get that balance. As I said, I feel like I figured something out on Sunday, and I feel good with it. I feel good about where I am going into the week.

Q. An interesting stat that I uncovered: On three occasions in the last sequence of missed cuts, you have bounced back and won three times. Of the last nine times you’ve missed the cut, three occasions, coming out, straight out of the box, you’ve won. I wonder if there’s anything going on there in terms of motivational or psychological that puts you in a better place or are you fighting harder, or is it just a chance statistic?

RORY McILROY: No, I certainly don’t think it’s a chance statistic. Look, I think in golf you always learn more about your game when you’ve missed a cut or struggled or not played as well. I think anyone can play well, anyone can hit the ball great and give themselves chances to win — not anyone, but a lot of people can.

But you just learn more. I’ve always learnt more from disappointments and from not doing as well.

But I’ve always tried to learn. I’ve always tried to figure out, okay, why did this week not go so well, and then you give yourself a couple of thoughts and they’re fresh in your mind going into the next week. That’s why I say in golf there’s always next week, and that’s a great thing, because you can right some wrongs pretty quickly.

I’ve been able to do that in the past. I missed the cut at Memorial a couple years ago, went down and won the Canadian Open the next week. Yeah, missed the cut at the Masters and then went and my next start was Quail Hollow and I won.

Golf always just gives you another opportunity to go out and play well and to see if you’ve learned from your mistakes, and I’ve always made it a priority in my career to really try to learn from my mistakes, all the way back to what happened at Augusta in ’11 and going and winning the U.S. Open the next major.

I had a few things fresh in my mind for a couple of months there, and I made sure if I ever got myself in a position like that again, I wasn’t going to make the same mistakes.

Q. You had a very good U.S. Open; I’m just wondering, would you be happy to play the same as you did in that event this week? Or was it something about that performance you feel you need to improve on to give yourself another chance at this week?

RORY McILROY: I think if I played like I did at the U.S. Open I’d take my chances. But I feel like I can play better. Yeah, look, geez, if I’m — of course sitting here today, if I’m tied for the lead with nine holes to go on Sunday, I’d obviously take it and take my chances, but I still feel like I can play better than that.

Q. I was just listening to a podcast about the Ryder Cup, and Viktor Hovland said you were able to have a chat during The Memorial a couple of weeks ago. I was wondering if you recall what you talked about and also how you see him fitting into the European side.

RORY McILROY: Yeah, Viktor is going to be an instrumental player for the European team for a long time to come. I’ve been really impressed with him and how he’s played. I played a practice round with him at Pebble Beach in 2019 and he was still an amateur then. What he’s done already as a pro, it’s really, really impressive.

Yeah, he’s obviously a great young player. He’s, whatever he is, 23, 24. He’s got a really bright future, and that’s — yeah, having someone like him on the European team can only help.

He’s used to playing in the States. Obviously a great college career, plays most of his golf on the PGA Tour. It’s not as if he’s going to get overwhelmed by anything over there during the Ryder Cup.

I can’t remember the conversation that we had, but I probably told him if he was trying to choose a partner, I’d put my hand up and like to guide him around. But yeah, I’m looking forward to teaming up with him in September.

Q. The notion that you can hit a perfect drive here and it not be rewarded, just curious, is there a place on every hole where you can hit it and know where to hit it so that doesn’t happen, or are you better off taking your chances and hitting it down there and seeing what happens?

RORY McILROY: Yeah, I mean, it’s not as if every hole is like that. There’s a few holes where you might hit a good drive and — but I think, as I was alluding to earlier with how the golf course is playing right now, you’re not going to get these huge bounces where it goes into the long, thick rough. It might go into the first cut, but you can still control your ball from there.

It’s certainly not as penal or unfair as it has been in previous years. 2011 it was a little bit like that, but looking back to ’03, for example, it looked really burnt and crispy then, and it looked like a bit of a pinball machine out there.

But that’s not going to be the case this week. It’s a lot more lush. It’s a lot more green. I think the biggest thing this week is if you do hit it off line, you’ve got some really thick, juicy rough on either side of the fairway, which you just have to avoid.

MIKE WOODCOCK: Rory, thanks for your time and best of luck this week.

Interview transcript by asapsports.com

Categories
European Tour

European Tour: Football superstar Gareth Bale lends support to 2021 Cazoo Open

(Photo: Getty Images)
(Photo: Getty Images)

Global football superstar Gareth Bale is backing his country’s national golf open after the four-time Champions League winner committed to becoming supporting partner of the Cazoo Open, which returns to Celtic Manor Resort, from July 22-25.

The Wales international, who has made 96 appearances for his country and is his nation’s all-time top goal scorer, is an avid golf fan and, in partnership with his management group ICM Stellar Sports, wants to play a role in the development of professional and junior golf in Wales.

“The Cazoo Open had been away from the European Tour for a few years and, after watching the coverage last year, ICM Stellar Sports and I decided we wanted to play a part in the development of golf in Wales,” said Bale. “We want to make golf in Wales bigger and we believe that this event can play a big role in that. Hopefully we can get more people watching and grow the game of golf in Wales.

“We want to make it a real spectacle. To have the Welsh public involved would be amazing. We’ve looked at doing other things with junior golf to try and build up golf in Wales – we want to get youngsters out there to watch the players play and do as much as we can to promote it.”

Golf fans will have the opportunity to book their place at Celtic Manor Resort, with tickets for the Cazoo Open supported by Gareth Bale on sale now.

A strictly limited number of tickets will be available for each of the four competition days and Wednesday’s Pro-Am and a percentage of tickets available will be donated to key frontline workers in recognition of their dedicated work throughout the pandemic.

Celtic Manor Resort hosted two consecutive events on the 2020 Race to Dubai as part of the European Tour’s UK Swing, when the Cazoo Open and Celtic Classic were played at the 2010 Ryder Cup host venue.

“Celtic Manor is an incredible venue,” added Bale, who is an honorary member of the Twenty Ten Club. “It’s grown so much over the years; the facilities are amazing. The Twenty Ten course is hard when the rough is up and if you don’t hit many fairways. Everybody who has been there has loved playing it and it’s always a good test of golf.”

ICM Stellar Sports will also take on the role of co-promoter of the Cazoo Open supported by Gareth Bale after signing a three-year agreement with the European Tour.

Guy Kinnings, Deputy CEO European Tour, Ryder Cup Director and Chief Commercial Officer, said: “Gareth is a globally-recognisable sports star and we are delighted that he has chosen to throw his support behind his country’s national golf open. We look forward to working with Gareth and ICM Stellar Sports to develop this tournament over the next few years.”

Jonathan Barnett, Executive Chairman at ICM Stellar Sports, said: “With top clients in football, rugby, athletics, American football and other sports it was always natural that we would move into golf but, as with everything we do, it was about getting the timing right. Golf is entering a new era of competitiveness and opportunity and by supporting events like the Cazoo Open we hope to see some great golf and the emergence of some great golfers.”

Romain Langasque, winner of the Amateur Championship in 2015, won the 2020 edition of the event, finishing two strokes ahead of 2020 Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year Sami Välimäki on eight under par. The win earned the Frenchman his first European Tour title.

Dawn Bowden, Deputy Minister for Arts and Sport, Welsh Government, said: “The involvement of a true Welsh sporting icon further cements the long-standing links between Wales and this exciting golf event. Furthermore, Gareth’s involvement will shine a spotlight on the work being undertaken to drive youngsters’ interest and increase participation in the sport which has many health and well-being benefits.”

Cazoo, the UK’s leading online car retailer, was recently announced as the title sponsors of the Cazoo Open supported by Gareth Bale and the Cazoo Classic, which will bring the 2021 UK Swing to a close at London Golf Club from August 12-15, in a multi-year partnership.

All tickets for the Cazoo Open will be subject to Welsh Government health guidelines, with a comprehensive refund policy in place should spectators not be able to take up their place due to on-going COVID restrictions.

The only official sales channel to purchase tickets for the 2021 Cazoo Open supported by Gareth Bale is via the ticketing platform Eventbrite. The resale of tickets on unofficial platforms contravenes the European Tour’s ticket terms and conditions and such sales render the ticket void.

To purchase your tickets for the 2021 Cazoo Open supported by Gareth Bale, click here.

(Text: European Tour)

Categories
Equipment

Head Covers: Enough with the teddy bears, try these ones instead

There are some nice head covers.
There are some nice head covers.

I know I’ll probably be alienating not-so-small part of the golf community with this take. But it’s about time that we give a voice to those who can’t stand seeing golf bags lined up in front of the clubhouse you see an array of cute little creatures covering up the drivers, fairway woods and putters and you start to wonder.

Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!

Guys that drive up the club in a Maserati, that claim to hit their driver 270 yards and have three grown up kids pulling plush toys over their toughest clubs? Why not, I guess. It’s a free world after all.

But there are plenty of good alternatives out there, whether you’re looking for simplicity, elegance, bright colours, luxury or anything in between.

We’ve checked some of the brands that focus on head covers and found some real beauties.

Cayce – HIT BOMBS! Driver & Fairway Woods Cover

There’s nothing more satisfying than hitting a bomb straight off the tee. And you won’t manage it if you’re mind is distracted. So, to keep yourself in the right frame of mind and focus on what to do next when you’re pulling out the big gun, Cayce has this little helper to remind you what it’s all about.

I’m a big fan of the Cayce head covers, especially those made of DURA+, making them fully water resistant. Also available as fairway wood cover. $ 64.99 or $ 59.99 (for the FW) on caycegolf.com

(Photo: caycegolf.com)

Bobby Golf – Respect Blade Head Cover

Stylistically Bobby Golf isn’t always the most confident, but this one showing Hideki Matsuyama’s caddie, Shota Hayafuji, respectfully removing his hat and taking a bow after returning the pin at the 2021 Masters, is right on point. What Cayce’s Hit Bombs head cover might be for your driver, the Respect cover is for your putter. Get yourself in a winner’s state of mind. Available for $ 85 at bobbygolf.com

(Photo: bobbygolf.com)

Reinland Golf – Shibori Head Cover

Not a misspelling of the German river region, Rhineland, Reinland Golf is the head cover brand of the Reinlands, a golf-crazed family whose son, Maxton Reinland, was seeking quality head covers for his golf label Muni Kids. His mother Marti spent hours and hours developing and sewing them and soon, Reinland Golf Company was born.

This one is a nice canvas/ fleece two-colour tie-dye version for all the hippies at heart.

Available as driver, wood and hybrid versions for $44.95 or $49.95 on reinlandgolfco.com

(Photo: reinlandgolfco.com)

Headgear – Electrified Red Styling Edition Covers

Headgear Golf, another US-based company that specialises in head covers, are producing the finest leather goods for your woods and putters. Aside from their usual elegant collection, they offer the option for customisation. They come with a no-pill blizzard fleece lining and will be sure to keep your clubs lint-free. This Electrified Red Styling Edition is really good if you’re looking for something to match your brand-new red Ferrari. Get it for $ 50 (woods) to $ 60 (driver) on headgeargolf.com

Photo: headgeargolf.com)

Desired Line Co. – Barber Pole Cover

Take some fresh colour, add a touch of graphic minimalism and a heavyweight polyester canvas with UV, and you’ll get this weather-proof Nano fabric protection head cover that is 100% made in Australia.

It’s got a sort of vintage touch, as it brings to mind the old-fashioned barbers poles.

Wood/ hybrid $ 54.95, driver $59.95 at desiredline.co

(Photo: desiredline.co)

Golf Team Clothing – Arnold Driver & Fairway Wood Head Covers

Now it’s time for one from Europe. Golf Team Clothing specialise in personalised/ branded clothing for your team, friends, club, tournament or golf academy.

Aside from the customised/ personalised designs, they also feature a wide range of very nice head covers like this one in golf’s greatest colour variation, the Arnie umbrella colours.

Truth be told, I’m just one click away from ordering one for my own hybrid. You can also choose from various colours for the inside fleece lining.

Get driver and wood covers for €52 each at golfteamclothing.com

(Photo: golfteamclothing.com)

Seamus – Pride Rainbow Head Cover

With golf still being stuck with one foot in ancient times, it’s good to see some brands moving forward, with both feet in the 21st century.

“As a tribute to our friends and customers from all different backgrounds, ethnicities and genders, we are proud to introduce our peace and pride golf head cover”, say Seamus on their page.

Why not show off your LGBT+ pride on the course?

It’s not the cheapest option out there. It’s sewn together from six colourful Cardura pieces, red inner lining and an embroidered peace sign on top. All things considered, it’s still a reasonable price for the craftsmanship you get. If you fancy, you can also add a personalised leather label for an additional $10. Fairway for $85, driver for $95 on seamusgolf.com

(Photo: seamusgolf.com)

Rawhide – Splattered Neon! Covers

Let’s keep it colourful with this one. Ok, it’s not an original Jackson Pollock but still one for the Pop Art lovers.

Rawhide hand cut, embroider and sew all their high quality leather products at their Vancouver facility and also give you the chance to create a custom design. T

his splatter design isn’t printed but splattered manually, so each cover is a one of a kind product.

Hybrid, fairway, driver for $110, $120 and $130 via rawhidegolf.com

(Photo: rawhidegolf.com)

Stymie – Fabric no. 22

This piece by Stymie is made put of finest imported wool in an elegant navy and Carolina blue hound’s-tooth pattern with a fleece lining on the inside. Add some style to your bag!

Putter and hybrid covers cost $50, woods cost $55 and driver covers cost $65 at stymiegolfsupply.com

(Photo: stymiegolfsupply.com)

Fillibegs – Tweed Yellow

Now one from my home country, Germany. Fillibegs makes head covers made from tartan and tweed fabrics that are purchased at traditional woollen mills in Scotland and England.

All covers for drivers, woods, putters are manufactured in Germany and come in a very quintessentially British style.


These patterns are available for all clubs, even irons, ranging from €44 to €74 on fillibegs.de

(Photo: fillibegs.de)

Big Dog Golf – OG White & Tan

Big Dog Golf make genuine leather (as well as some woollen) head covers which are beautifully constructed and handcrafted by a family of third generation leather-smiths from Melbourne, Australia.

All very clean, minimalistic, mostly unicolor or duotone with quiet embroideries and a branded leather patch, these covers are just what they’re supposed to be: quality covers to protect your clubs.

And that’s what they do- with style. Hybrid/ wood $ 85, driver $ 95 at bigdoggolfco.com

(Photo: bigdoggolfco.com)

Cody Golf Co. – Granite Fairway Cover

Cody Golf, a brand from Utah, started by the two friends, Cole and Brody (combined Cody), make some of the most timeless and classic head covers around.

Simple, functional, effective in a design language that can be best described as understatement. There are no gimmicks with these ones, just elegant covers in the classic sock and barrel design that will be sure to stand the test of time. They offer a relatively limited range of just five different colours.

Fairway covers cost $44.99 and driver covers cost $ 59.99 on codygolf.com

(Photo: codygolf.com)

Western Gales – Express Send

Western Gales is a division of State Apparel which makes head covers from up-cycled sails, handmade in San Francisco.

I’m a big fan of the idea of using old sails for head covers. It’s not just a good way to save materials, it’s also worth pointing out that sails tend to be very durable and weather proof.

On top of that, each piece is absolutely unique, a one of a kind cut out of a larger piece.

The best piece in their collection probably is this FedEx one. I like to thnk of it as using the FedEx cover to help “send” your ball to its destination.

From $60 (hybrid) to $68 (driver) at stateapparel.com

(Photo: stateapparel.com)

Flush – Nose Candy Putter Cover

Remember that Uma Thurman scene in Pulp Fiction where she takes a bump of cocaine in the ladies rest rooms before getting on the dance floor with John Travolta?

Whether you’ve seen it or not, you’ll definitely find the right “line” with this putter cover from Flush.

Available for blade and mallet putters for $65 via rflushgolfco.com

(Photo: rflushgolfco.com)

Golden Soul Golf – The Iceberg Putter Cover

Last but not least we it’s another simple and elegant cover. Golden Soul’s Iceberg putter cover is available as mallet and blade putter cover. With its maritime and/or festival look, I can’t help but imagine a putting green aboard a yacht somewhere in the Aegean Sea. That said, I bet it would work out well on any real course anywhere else too.

Get it for $ 70 on goldensoulgolf.com

(Photo: goldensoulgolf.com)
Categories
European Tour

Global stars set for Scottish Open showdown at Renaissance Club

Collin Morikawa, Xander Schauffele and Tyrrell Hatton. (Foto: Getty)
Collin Morikawa, Xander Schauffele and Tyrrell Hatton. (Foto: Getty)

Press Release 

Three of the world’s highest ranked players have confirmed their participation in the 2021 Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open, with American stars Collin Morikawa and Xander Schauffele set to tee it up alongside multiple Rolex Series winner Tyrrell Hatton at the Renaissance Club from July 8-11, 2021.

World Number Six Morikawa, who burst onto the world stage with a maiden Major Championship victory at the 2020 US PGA Championship, and World Number Four and four-time PGA Tour winner Schauffele, who finished third at The Masters last month, are set to make their debuts at Scotland’s National Open.

They will be joined by World Number Eight Hatton as the Englishman goes in search of a record fifth Rolex Series title and his second this season, following his success at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship in January.

Morikawa and Schauffele will bid to follow in the footsteps of compatriots Rickie Fowler and Phil Mickelson by finding success in Scotland, the Home of Golf, as the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open once again takes its place in the week before The Open at Royal St George’s.

“I’m excited to play in Scotland for the first time,” said Morikawa. “I’m looking forward to making my debut in the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open and playing in the Home of Golf. I’ve heard a lot about the tournament, and it will be a lot of fun to tee it up on the European Tour again.”

Schauffele will be making his first appearance in Scotland since The Open at Carnoustie in 2018, where he finished in a share of second place behind Italy’s Francesco Molinari.

“I have great memories of playing in Scotland a few years ago at Carnoustie, so I hope to rekindle some of that form and find myself in contention at the Renaissance Club,” said Schauffele. “It’s a tournament with a proud history and I’d love to add my name to the list of great champions as I prepare to tee it up at The Open again.”

First European Tour title in Scotland for Tyrrell Hatton

Hatton started the 2021 Race to Dubai with victory in Abu Dhabi, adding to the Rolex Series titles he won at the 2017 Italian Open, 2019 Turkish Airlines Open and the BMW PGA Championship last season.

The 29-year-old is no stranger to success in Scotland, recording his first European Tour win at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in 2016 and then successfully defending his title the following year. He also finished second behind Sweden’s Alex Noren at the 2016 Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open at Castle Stuart.

 “Winning my first European Tour title in Scotland was a huge milestone and something I will always remember. It would be special to add the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open title to my achievements in the Home of Golf.

“I’ve had chances at the Scottish Open before, so I’m looking forward to playing at the Renaissance Club again and hopefully I can find myself in position to win another title that week.”

The European Tour is cautiously optimistic that a certain level of spectator attendance will be permitted at the 2021 Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open, with details to be confirmed in due course.

To be the first to hear ticket and event news, fans can register interest at ET.GOLF/ASISO2021

(Text: Press Release European Tour)

Categories
Europe Travel

A green skirt moves into the focus of the golf world

The Marco Simone Golf & County Club in Rome, where the Ryder Cup will be held next year. (Photo: Marco Simone Golf & Country Club)
The Marco Simone Golf & County Club in Rome, where the Ryder Cup will be held next year. (Photo: Marco Simone Golf & Country Club)

Plenty of adrenalin early in the morning

Around eight o’clock in the morning, we start out of town in our rental car near the famous Villa Borghese. The extremely fast, offensive driving style of the Roman road users takes some getting used to for us, but after a short time it works fine. If you wait, you will not reach your destination in time. We get the impression that traffic signs and traffic lights are seen more as a recommendation. Unharmed and happy, we reach the Marco Simone Golf & Country Club on the north-eastern outskirts of the Italian metropolis a good half hour later.

Thumbs up (Photo Jürgen Linnenbürger)

Here in Guidonia Montecelio, the 44th edition of the Europe : USA golf competition will take place in September 2023, one year late. After 1997 in Valderrama and 2018 in Paris, it will be only the third Ryder Cup on continental European soil.

The biggest green skirt ever designed

World-renowned fashion and perfume designer Laura Biagiotti and her daughter Lavinia Biagiotti Cigna, thanks to the Italian Golf Federation, the Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI) and to the support of national and local institutions, brought the Ryder Cup to her club in 2015, which she founded in 1971. Since her death in 2017, Lavinia Biagiotti Cigna has continued the project and now heads the club as President.

Lavinia quotes her mother as saying “My mother used to say this is the biggest green skirt I have ever designed”.

Originally designed by Jim Fazio, the course has been completely redesigned as of 2018. This task was successfully taken on by European Golf Design, together with Jim’s son Tom Fazio II.

On an area of 150 hectares, a par-72 stadium course has been created, which is perfectly integrated into the open, partly quite hilly terrain. It is a course designed not only for players but also for the up to fifty thousand spectators expected daily. On both sides of the fairways, the terrain often rises, so that from these elevated places, the game action can be followed not only on one fairway, but on several at once.

Plenty of space on the course (Photo Marco Simone Golf & Country Club)

The paths are very well maintained and asphalted, the distances between greens and tees are pleasantly short. The course is fair and a pleasure to play. It is a real match play course and allows a good score for all HCP classes, provided you hit the right spots on the greens. If you do not, you get penalised.

The tee-offs are less challenging. But the ones into the green are, some of which can be hit blind.

We particularly like the two par-5s at the end of the front nine and the 16, a 322 m long par-4. For us, it is the most beautiful hole on the course. If you do not resist the temptation to attack the green with your steep descent tee shot here, you run the risk of experiencing your damp miracle. We are already curious to see how many balls will disappear here in 2023 during the Ryder Cup.

Fantastic 16th hole (Photo Marco Simone Golf & Country Club)

Construction of the new driving range has already begun. The clubhouse will also be renovated before the Ryder Cup.

A successful creation

I take up Laura Biagiotti’s comparison of the course with a skirt and describe it as if it were such a garment:
We really like the motifs on the green skirt. On its front, the 11th-century Marco Simone Castle, now Lavinia’s home, attracts our gaze. Also the astronomer Galileo Galilei used to live here.

Marco Simone Castle is omnipresent (Photo Jürgen Linnenbürger)

On the back of the skirt, the hill town of Sant’Angelo Romana catches the eye, as does Rome’s silhouette with St. Peter’s Basilica in the distance.

Cleverly placed are its 18 mostly not too big, wavy and smooth green buttons. Real eye-catchers are the four large blue dots of colour, two on each side, and the blue zips that snake over part of the back.

The skirt comes in two versions. We are introduced to the spring version, where the green fringes located on its sides are kept short and blend seamlessly into the colour of the skirt. In the autumn version, these are much longer and denser, so that it is easy to get caught in them. Their shiny golden-brown colour is the ideal contrast to the otherwise rich green and another visual highlight.

Golden-brown deep rough in autumn (Photo Marco Simone Golf & Country Club)

The bright white linings of the numerous pockets are velvety soft. Their edges are perfectly finished. You can get out of them easily, even if they get wet. A special textile layer ensures that.

Perfect bunker conditions (Photo Marco Simone Golf & Country Club)

The smooth surface is very elastic and its material handles even large amounts of rain very well. There is nothing to complain about in terms of its high-quality workmanship. We particularly like the fact that great importance is attached to sustainability in its production.

The stylish unisex mini is available in four sizes for men and three for women. The XXL version is only 6.373 meters long. Usually it is not too tightly cut and offers plenty of freedom of movement in all variants. However, it can be made tighter for special occasions.

The brand and the high quality come at a price. For the use of the designer piece, one pays €180 on site. If you book online, you get a ten percent discount.

18th green in front of the clubhouse (Photo Jürgen Linnenbürger)

Sporty charming

With the 78th Italian Open being held in September 2021, the course has passed its sporting baptism of fire in the best possible way. The Dane Nicolai Hojgaard won with 13 under par and thus won his first tournament on today’s DP World Tour.

Stay and Play

Various hotels, including those outside Rome, offer attractive stay and play packages or green fee discounts. This also applies to the multiple award-winning, five-star Argentario Golf & Wellness Resort in Porto Ercole in the Maremma in southern Tuscany, where we will spend the next few days. I report on this in a separate article.
Jürgen Linnenbürger
April 2022

Categories
Apparel

Golf is a lifestyle! Check out these pieces for the spring season

Finally spring! The next weeks will tell if authorities let us enjoy our beloved sport as we want it or if we need to face more ongoing restrictions. But wether or not we’re still looking for fresh styles to wear on and off the course, great clothes to keep your modern golfer identity up every day, cause we still think: golf is not a sport, it’s a lifestyle. So enjoy and all praise the small labels, the grass roots of our sport. They deserve it!

SOLO – Crew Neck

Run by a couple from New England SOLO Golf is bridging the gap between golf-wear and menswear with a fashionable but clean and timeless approach, just as this crew neck sweater proves. No gimmicks, just clean, warm and looking stylish on and off the course. Check out the rest of their small but profound range of clothes. SOLO is definetely worth to keep an eye on. $ 55 on sologolfco.com

Calcutta Golf Company – The Founders Hoodie

Brand new and fresh from the tailor hails this brand from the US of America. With just a small badge of products, basics as T-shirts, caps, beanies and this „Founders Hoodie“. And since we’ve seen not only Tyrrell but also DJ on the Tour in a hoodie, the modern golfer shouldn’t hesitate to „break the rules“. Just do it. Available for $ 61,99 at thecalcuttagolfco.com

Arayne Golf – Tees Headcover

An Australian accessoiries brand specialising in headcovers that differ from the ones you see normally on course. Clean with a love to detail and craftsmanship. All products are hand made locally crafted items from locally sourced materials. More to come soon. AUD 30 via araynegolf.com

Euforeia – Moondaze Golf Towel

Turning five this year Euforeia already has a broad catalogue of polos, hoodies, gloves, hats, shirts, Jackets and accessoiries and women’s line that’s really worth to be checked out. They might need a little help with their T-shirt graphics in my honest opinion, but the polos and a bunch of other things really look sharp. So does this fleece player’s towel with luxurious soft front and a textured backside. The color mix of this one is really striking me. Get it for $ 30 on euforeiagolf.com

Palos – Hello Friends Trucker Cap

Oh, wait a minute! Right, the Masters are just around the corner! In a few days there’s even a small number of patrons allowed. Even though we deeply wish that you’re one of them chances aren’t really that high, sorry. But you’ll sure grab some beers in front of your telly while rocking this Masters trucker cap in style. Cause you definetely need something to whip off your head when your favorite pro misses his putt. Or makes it. Get it for $ 25 at palos.store

McEwan Golf – Patrons Only Tour Visor

Bubba is wearing them, Bernhard did, still does and even Jon Rahm and JT were spotted in them: visors. Looks like they’re having a big come back. No big logo on this one, just the remarkable patrons only chair of Augusta embroideried in classic Imperial Hats quality by McEwan Golf. For $ 28 from mcewangolf.com

Slackertide – Mastacos T-Shirt

If you check Slackertide’s about page you might be wondering as it’s all about golfing and fishing. Weird you might think, but why not? Why not start a label with funny designs about two things you just like? Richard Blanco, a graphic designer from Florida who likes to fish and golf, did. There’s a good bunch of funny shirt designs worth to be checked out – like this Masters taco shirt for $ 30 on slackertide.com

Manors – Sunday Pin Positions T-Shirt

When it comes to golf themed T-shirt we really like the ones that don’t scream out loud: „HEY, I’M A GOLFER!“. The ones that are doing a subtle job midly begging for a affirmative nod when another golfer recognizes the design. Such as this great one, The Sunday Pin Positions, from Manors. The three brits behing Manors started in 2019 being backed up by American and British investors and accomplished to fuse the style and sophistication of the 50s and 60s with the loose and relaxed twist of the 21st century. Clothes for on and off the course. T available for £ 35 via manorsgolf.com

Burning Cart Society – Support Your Local Caddies T-Shirt

Cut from a similar wood are the guys from Burning Cart Society, who not only love the game of golf, but also love to walk, hence the name. They believe walking a course (unless you can’t because of a physical handicap) is essential for experiencing the game, the layout of the course. This tongue in cheek design that takes the logo of the 80s punk rock band „Circle Jerks“ on to a golf journey perfectly depicts this. Or as they state as their ethos: More public golf and less gates. Self expression over dress codes. Break down the walls. $ 25 via burningcartsociety.com

Asher – Quiet Please T-Shirt

And another brilliant and subtle design only golfers will understand. Inspired by the sign that keeps the peace and puts us on the edge of our seat. And once the sign is down anything goes. Fabulous. Also a great colour. Want it? Get it! $ 30 at ashergolf.com

Categories
PGA Tour

“The genie’s out of the bag now” – Tiger Woods

Tiger Woods at the Payne's Valley Cup. (Photo: Getty)
Tiger Woods at the Payne's Valley Cup. (Photo: Getty)

Press conference with Tiger Woods:

Q: What’s your plan after the ZOZO Championship?
TW: “I don’t know if I’m going to play Houston or not. I’m not playing next week, and we’ll see how this week goes and make a decision from there.”

Q: What do you make out of the distance chase going on in professional golf right now?
TW: “Distance has always been an advantage. Now that we have the tools, that being the launch monitor, the fitting of the golf clubs, the adjustability. I think all that plays into the fact that you’re able to maximize the capabilities of a driver.
There’s no reason why you can’t pick up more yardage, and guys have done that. They’ve changed shafts, they’ve changed lofts, they’ve changed weights on their heads and length of clubs. Driving is such a huge part of the game and it’s so advantageous if you’re able to get the ball out there. It just makes the game so much easier.”
“They should have been worried a long time ago, but the genie’s out of the bag now. It’s about what do we do going forward, and how soon can they do it. I don’t know if they’re going—you’re not going to stop the guys who are there right now. Guys are figuring out how to carry the ball 320-plus yards, and it’s not just a few of them. There’s a lot of guys can do it. That’s where the game’s going.
There’s only going to be a small amount of property that we can do, we can alter golf courses. I just don’t see how they can roll everything back. I would like to be able to see that, as far as our game, but then we go back down the road of what do you bifurcate, at what level? So that’s a long discussion we’ve had for a number of years, for 20-plus years now, and I think it’s only going to continue.” 

Q: Where is your game right now?
TW: “My game’s definitely better than it was at the U.S. Open,” “I feel a little bit more prepared, a little bit better, and hopefully that translates into playing the golf course.”

Q: Can you think of one significant moment that would illustrate what it’s like to play at Augusta, one big cheer that you remember the most?
TW: “Davis and I were paired together the final round of ’98 and Jack made a run. We were the group ahead. We knew it was Jack behind us, but the roars were so much louder than — those were Nicklaus roars.”

Q: Is it hard to maintain your focus when people are loud?
TW: “You hear the roars, yes, but everyone settles back down. That’s one of the neat things about playing at Augusta, is that you don’t have people yelling, you know, ‘Congrats, you got the ball in the air,’ or whatever it is. It’s so different.”

Categories
Team Ireland

US Open 2020 – Rory McIlroy: “I’m feeling pretty good that I’ve got a good chance tomorrow.”

MAMARONECK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 19: Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland waits to putt on the first green during the third round of the 120th U.S. Open Championship on September 19, 2020 at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, New York. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Q. Rory, 2-under 68; how are you feeling about your round today?

RORY McILROY: Yeah, really good. Geez, I think anything under par on this golf course today is a really good score. I saw Alex go out there and shoot 3-under earlier. You know, I’m not saying it’s out there; he got a good one, I did, and there’s maybe a couple other guys that are under par. Yeah, and the wind is not quite as strong as it was yesterday. You know, it maybe played a touch less difficult I’ll say. Not easier, but it was a little less difficult.

But some of the hole locations are still pretty tricky and got to leave yourself on the right side. But yeah, overall 68 out there is a really good score. I don’t know where that’s going to leave me at the end of the day, but I’m feeling pretty good that I’ve got a good chance going into tomorrow.

Q. When you’re in a little bit of a chasing position as you are right now, what kind of conditions are you kind of hoping for or half hoping for tomorrow?

RORY McILROY: It’s sort of a double-edged sword, right, because you would think that you’d want tougher conditions because it’ll make it more difficult for the guys in front of you, but also makes it more difficult for yourself. I think looking at the forecast, the conditions are going to be pretty similar to today, which is fine. If I go out there tomorrow and shoot another 68, I won’t be too far away.

Q. Kind of along those lines, depending on how the next few hours work out, is there a number in your head based on how difficult this golf course is that you feel like legitimately I could come back from?

RORY McILROY: I mean, around here, anything. Not necessarily anything, but I said over there, if Matt pars his way in and is 5-under par, I still don’t think that’s out of it by any stretch of the imagination. You know, it doesn’t take much around here for — someone gets off to a decent start, maybe 1- or 2-under through 5 and then the leader goes the other way, 1- or 2-over through 5, and all of a sudden you’re right in the thick of things.

But yeah, we’ll see what happens. No matter where I am at the end of the day, I feel like I’ve got a pretty good shot.

Q. Is yesterday’s round a little harder to swallow after today?

RORY McILROY: No, not really. I mean, I felt like I finished the round well yesterday. I was sort of hemorrhaging after like 12 or 13 holes, and then to just par my way in, right, so 14 through 18, so five in a row, just to get it in the clubhouse, sort of regroup, and then I sort of started the same way today. I parred the first five, first six holes, made a birdie on 7, made another birdie on 9, so played a really nice stretch of holes there from the 14th last night to the 9th today. I played those holes in 2-under par and didn’t make a bogey in that stretch.

You’re going to have stretches in U.S. Opens where you’re going to make bogeys and you’re going to make mistakes, but if you can back it up with stretches of golf like I showed there, that’s what you have to do. It’s not going to be all plain sailing in this tournament.

Q. Given how hard you had to work to get 68, how surprising is it to look up at the board and see somebody with a 30 on the front?

RORY McILROY: Is that what it was, a 30?

Q. Yeah, missed probably about an eight-footer for 29.

RORY McILROY: Wow. I mean, that’s just — you can’t say anything but that’s just awesome golf. Yeah, I mean, everyone knows how talented Matt is and he played great at Harding Park in the last major. You know, he’s explosive like that. He can get on runs like that. So yeah, I’m not saying it’s out there. I certainly didn’t see shooting 30 on any nine today, but we’ll see what happens over the back nine.

Q. If Matt is leading tomorrow, do you think it helps him to not have to try to win a major with a massive crowd around him in the same way that Morikawa didn’t have to face the crowd at Harding Park?

RORY McILROY: Yeah, of course. Of course, yeah. It’s one variable that you just don’t have to deal with, where — is that a loss of an advantage to you who’s accustomed to being in that environment.

RORY McILROY: Yeah, I think it could be, a little bit. Maybe not a loss of an advantage to me, but just more of a — just makes it a touch easier for the guys at the top. Even today, look, you’ve got Bryson and P-Reed out in the final group, and any other U.S. Open final grouping you’ve got those two guys, things are going to be said and tempers are going to flare. Even if those guys don’t have to deal with that today, it just makes it a little different and maybe a touch easier if you’re in those final few groups.

Q. Do you have a simple explanation for why it hasn’t been the massacre that many expected going into this week?

RORY McILROY: I mean, I guess what’s a massacre? Yeah, okay, 5-over is not going to win like last time and 7-over when Hale Irwin won. I’d say the golf course is playing just as difficult.

You know, you’ve got to think 14 years on the game has changed a lot, guys hit it further, equipment. There’s a lot of different things that — scoring averages have went down a little bit, on average. The game has just moved on a little bit and everyone has collectively, I think, just got a little bit better.

Q. You mentioned just earlier the first three or four holes and how difficult they are and just hoping to kind of get through those unscathed. Can you talk more about what that’s going to mean for you tomorrow and just getting off to a good start?

RORY McILROY: Yeah, fairways and greens. It’s literally just bringing it back to the basics. From that first tee shot, just try and make a good swing and hit the fairway, hit it on the middle of the green, take two putts, especially on that green because it’s probably one of the craziest greens on the course and in golf. And then it’s the same thing on 2, hit the fairway, hit the green. You get yourself out of position those first few holes, it just makes it really difficult.

And when you do get yourself out of position, making bogey is fine. That’s the thing, you look at some of the guys that went off earlier today those first few holes there was some big numbers made, and when you’re in trouble, get it out, play for a 5, and if you’re not going to putt for a 4, that’s a bonus.

Q. The course is playing about a shot easier today. Do you attribute that more to the gentler winds or the hole locations were more gettable?

RORY McILROY: No, the wind more than anything else. The hole locations today I thought were pretty tricky. It was hard to leave a putt dead. Even if you’ve got a putt that’s uphill, once it gets past the hole it starts to go downhill again. It was very hard to leave putts within top-in range. I felt like every time I hit a good putt that didn’t go in, I was marking it and resetting and it was at least three or four feet.

Source: ASAP Sport

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Professionals

US Open 2020 – Alex Noren about his brilliant Moving Day: “Just view it as a normal tournament.”

MAMARONECK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 17: Alex Noren of Sweden plays his shot from the second tee during the first round of the 120th U.S. Open Championship on September 17, 2020 at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, New York. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

Q. Alex Noren, 3-under 67. Alex, heck of a round. Talk a little bit about the conditions and what you were able to execute.

ALEX NOREN: The first five holes, it was so windy, first six, seven holes. My goal was to kind of try to get up to the pins, but otherwise leave it short of the hole, and I was able to make birdies on those and then make two good birdies on 6, 7, and then on the back, my putter was the best it’s ever been.

So I saved myself a lot of times, and then a couple of birdies as well.

Q. You have a pretty new relationship with your caddie, Austin. What was it like working with him on that kind of round?

ALEX NOREN: Yeah, it’s good. He doesn’t read my putts. I can’t give him any credit for that, but, no, he’s good. We get along well. He’s giving me the stuff I need. He was good. He wanted me to maybe play a few other shots than I tried to. It would have been good to listen to him there.

Overall, yeah, it worked well today.

Q. How does 67 compare — the 67 today, among the best rounds you’ve played? I suspect that will be the lowest round of the day, maybe by multiple shots.

ALEX NOREN: Yeah, so starting out, it felt like it was going to be the toughest day ever on a golf course, with pretty strong winds on the first like six, seven holes. Then it got a little bit easier, but the pins are still tricked up. I putted my life out.

And you hit some shots out here, you think it’s like a decent shot, and then you just make it into the rough, and all of a sudden, the hole feels impossible. Normally, you hit decent drives or decent shots off the tee or into the greens and you get away with them. Here you don’t get away with anything.

Yesterday I was very like angry man on the golf course, and my goal today was to putt better and be more — be in a little happier place. I just tried to be that way.

Q. How important is patience out here with the way the setup is and knowing how few the birdie opportunities are going to be?

ALEX NOREN: Yeah, that’s maybe the key to the whole thing. Just view it as a normal tournament because, when you look at the putts, you look at the shots, and you stand on the tee boxes, there’s a lot more pressure on yourself. If you don’t hit the fairway, you’re going to struggle, and if you don’t hit the greens, you’re going to struggle.

Normally, there is still opportunities to do well even from the rough or from a bunker, but here it’s just like try to just do your routine and hit the shot, and whatever happens, you’ve got to keep the energy because you’ll need it down the round. Yesterday I was furious over that I didn’t hit the shots that I wanted, and then it kind of affects your game.

Q. How close do you think you’ll be in the lead at the end of the day?

ALEX NOREN: If the weather stays like it is now, you’re going to see better rounds in the afternoon maybe but maybe — we’ll see. It’s hard to predict.

Q. Despite your score, there were some higher scores today. Talk about the course setup, and was it the hardest course setup of the week is the question.

ALEX NOREN: Yeah, probably yesterday and today was maybe similar. Yeah, the hardest course I’ve ever played. Three days — and yesterday was some wind and this morning was some wind, but without the wind, it’s still so demanding. It’s a good test.

Q. One follow-up to the question earlier. How did you and Austin meet, and when did you start working with him?

ALEX NOREN: So we started right before Corona hit us at Arnold Palmer, and we met through Erik van Rooyen’s caddie, that’s Austin’s brother, Alex, and we met through him.

Q. Did you have anything in mind when you teed off today?

ALEX NOREN: These tournaments, all you try to do when you tee off is just to hit a good shot off the 1st and then take it from there. The older I get, the more so is how everybody does it, kind of. You don’t really think about winning until you have the chance to win. I’m just trying to hit good shots and trying to warm up and do everything I can to just be in the best possible shape I can be golf-wise, yeah.

Q. It’s been a tough couple of years since the Ryder Cup. What’s changed now, and what’s led to that difficult period?

ALEX NOREN: I had — I was better, I think, in the fall last year, played a little bit better, but had so much — put a lot of pressure on myself because I used to, in the three years prior, had a lot of good finishes, a few wins here and there.

You accept the bad rounds easier because you’ve got the confidence, you have the results in the back, and when you don’t get in for a while, you start pressing. All of a sudden, you start focusing on is my technique wrong, is this wrong, is that wrong, instead of, if that would have happened, that bad play for a couple weeks when you’re having those good weeks, you don’t think about them.

So I think maybe it’s a mix of not playing and technique is not up to point, but mostly kind of the pressure and stress you put on yourself. I changed kind of the last two, three months, I changed how I practice. I practiced on the golf course a little bit at home, trying to not be on the driving range, trying to work on maybe situations more than a specific look of the swing. So a lot more on the course.

Then is kind of frees up my game. I don’t look at my swing on a video camera, don’t analyze. Just if the shots are good enough, I’m happy. If they’re not, I go out and work on them, you know.

Q. You never look at your swing in the mirror anymore?

ALEX NOREN: Not much. I try to ask my coach if he can — if it’s good enough, and if he says good enough, or if he says you’d better get it a little more this way or that way and we work on it, but I try not to look at it.

Q. Are you still doing the —

ALEX NOREN: I do whatever makes me better, and if it’s that way or any other — I do whatever I can do to get a good feel over the ball.

SOURCE: ASAP Sports