After Leinster’s success, can we expect the same kind of upsurge in the national team’s fortunes?
The big guns of Irish golf will contest this week’s BMW PGA Championship, the European Tour’s flagship tournament, at Wentworth.
Rory McIlroy has clung onto his spot at the summit of the world rankings despite missing the cut at The Players Championship on Friday night.
Ulster hooker Rory Best didn’t hide his delight at being back in Thomond Park for a media engagement last week.
The USPGA Tour like to call it the ‘Fifth Major’ and with a prize fund of $9.5m (€7.3m) and the presence of nine of the top 10 in the world rankings, the 39th Tournament Players Championship at Sawgrass looks like living up to expectations.
Golf’s marquee names return from their post Masters break for the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow, North Carolina.
Paul McGinley fully acknowledges he is widely regarded as a red-hot favourite to become the first Irish captain of the 2014 European Ryder Cup team.
Rory McIlroy’s return yesterday to the top of the world rankings even though he only tied for 40th in the Masters and didn’t play at all last week has many people mystified as to how this could possibly happen.
Those who believe everything comes and goes in cycles have had that view well and truly confirmed by events in Irish rugby over the past 20 years.
The presence of Rory McIlroy, Graeme McDowell, Pádraig Harrington and Darren Clarke provides Ireland with its strongest hand at the Masters at Augusta National.
Even the sizeable Leinster contingent in the full house at Thomond Park on Saturday departed believing they had been short changed.
Graeme McDowell began the final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill on Sunday one stroke behind Tiger Woods but confident of overcoming the American in head-to-head combat as he had done in the Chevron World Challenge in California two years ago.
More than 7,000 fans watched Connacht battle with Munster in Galway on Saturday night.
Those who believe Declan Kidney will be quickly able to find alternatives and back-up support for Cian Healy, Mike Ross and Tom Court, the trio who have carried the scrummaging responsibilities throughout the RBS 6 Nations Championship, will have to think again.
Pádraig Harrington may have failed to build on his career best 61 recorded in the opening round of the Transitions Championship in Florida but that Thursday display is a massive confidence booster for the three times Major champion who has slipped to 91st in the world rankings.
Munster supporters watching Donnacha Ryan’s man of the match performance and Sean Cronin making a massive impact off the bench in Ireland’s victory over Scotland must have been wondering why the former is being closely linked with Leinster for next season and the latter is already one of the boys in blue.
HAVING consolidated his place at the top of the world rankings by finishing third in the WGC Cadillac event at the weekend, Rory McIlroy takes a three-week break before the Masters at Augusta on April 5.
As Rory McIlroy became golf’snumber one-ranked player,three-time major champion Pádraig Harrington slipped out of West Palm Beach almost unnoticed on his way back home to Ireland.
It’s not just Ireland but Munster who have been left reeling by last night’s shock news concerning Paul O’Connell and Conor Murray.
Anthony Foley back with Ireland, Niall O’Donovanagain part of the Munster set-up.
Rory McIlroy’s relentlessmission to become thenumber one golfer in the world continues this week at the Honda Classic at PGA National, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
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