Kerry supporters are, allegedly, like animals but they are the ones on safari tomorrow when they take the road to Clones.

When Graeme McDowell checked the local weather forecast for Shinnecock Hills Golf Club on Friday, he was lulled into expecting mild conditions and cloudy skies. 

Kevin Markham reflects on the Open at Royal Birkdale.

American Jordan Spieth has won the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale.

World number one Dustin Johnson has withdrawn from the Masters after injuring his back in a fall on Wednesday.

For golf fans the time has arrived. Cancel all engagements, lock the doors and draw the blinds, it's Ryder Cup time.

The King is Dead. Long live the King!

Rickie Fowler could be speaking for the entire field when he says Rory McIlroy is the one to beat this week and also that no-one here at Augusta National is going to make it easy for the Masters favourite.

For the rookies in the Masters’ field, like our own Shane Lowry, these past few days have been all about the realisation of one of their golfing dreams.

United States Ryder Cup captain Tom Watson conceded his team were outplayed on the opening day at Gleneagles but defended his decisions on pairings.

We’re not to the point of changing the team flag to red, white and orange, but you’d be safe to argue that at this point in the proceedings, the American team at the biennial Ryder Cup could have a fresh-faced leader in Rickie Fowler.

Valhalla is a stadium-style golf course, which offers its competitors a wonderful study in contrasting landscapes and colour from the open, lower-lying front nine holes to the markedly more elevated and densely-wooded back nine.

The PGA Tour has been urged to be more transparent following confusion surrounding the status of world number 16 Dustin Johnson.

American Brandt Snedeker believes a switch to renowned coach Butch Harmon has got his game back on track as he prepares to defend his RBC Canadian Open title.

It was a date with destiny for the game’s greatest talent and competitor yesterday.

As one of the world’s leading golf coaches Butch Harmon has now helped guide four of his students towards a Claret Jug, but for the veteran American, of all the feats he has seen performed at the Majors, Phil Mickelson’s final-round dash to the most famous prize in golf beat the lot.

Rory McIlroy will head into the Open Championship at Muirfield on the back of a missed cut at the Irish Open – and was joined in making an early exit by fellow major winners Graeme McDowell, Padraig Harrington and Darren Clarke.

I would like to congratulate Rory McIlroy on his golfing achievements.

Young, wealthy, and athletically gifted, Adam Scott seemingly had a number of exciting ways to celebrate his 21st birthday.

Rory McIlroy bounced back from his “flat” opening 73 with a three under 69 but he still finished the day 10 shots behind leader Bubba Watson in the WGC-Cadillac Championship at the TPC Blue Monster in Doral.

TIGER WOODS has hired Joe LaCava to be his third full-time caddie.

IF a change is as good as a rest, then Pádraig Harrington can expect to mount a challenge for the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone Country Club exactly two years after he finished second to Tiger Woods in a thrilling finish.

DARREN CLARKE last night stood up for Tiger Woods and gave the former world number one a ringing endorsement as a human being and not just a golfing machine with myriad personal problems to solve.

TIGER WOODS is out of next week’s US Open — the first time he has missed the event since his 1995 debut.

Tiger Woods is out of next week’s US Open – the first time he has missed the event since his 1995 debut.

OVER the years, we’ve produced more than our fair share of golfing greats, all multiple winners from Bradshaw, Daly and O’Connor Snr. to today’s crop of superstars McIlroy, McDowell and Harrington.

RORY McILROY received “a very long text message” from Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson following his final round collapse at the US Masters.

Golf pundits in the US are speculating that Tiger Woods may need to take another long break from the game, after a knee injury forced him to limp out of the Players Championship at Sawgrass after nine holes.

As if the weather was not bad enough at the Ryder Cup today, the American team were reported to be hastily buying better waterproof gear.

Struggling Tiger Woods will seek to bounce back from his worst tournament finish as a professional at the US PGA Championship this week and resurrect his Ryder Cup chances.

AS he sat in self-imposed exile over the weekend, Tiger Woods would have cast a jaundiced eye over the advice flowing in his direction.

JACK NICKLAUS believes world number one Tiger Woods will find it harder to break his record of 18 majors if he does not compete this year.

The player ranked 788th in the world – sandwiched between those household names Tyrone Mordt and Bret Guetz – finds himself the centre of attention at the Spanish Open, which starts tomorrow.

HIS stomach shrunk by surgery and his gambling, divorces and drinking having reportedly left him close to bankruptcy, John Daly says he is looking forward to “hitting the European Tour” next week.

JEAN VAN DE VELDE has waited a long time for this week — the week when drug-testing become part and parcel of life on the European Tour.

Jean Van de Velde has waited a long time for this week – the week when drug-testing become part and parcel of life on the European Tour.

A number of big names faced a battle to survive the halfway cut in the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth today.

Former Ryder Cup player Ignacio Garrido, needing to find form this season to keep his European Tour career afloat, swept clear of the field when the Spanish Open resumed in Seville today.

Darren Clarke moved through the field when the Spanish Open resumed in Seville this morning – but he still found himself further off the lead.

Former Open champion John Daly insisted today that his drinking is not out of control and vowed: “I’ll be back.”

The honeymoon is over and it is back to business for Colin Montgomerie in what he calls “a new start” in Seville tomorrow.

A PAIRING of the players ranked 112th and 595th in the world would not normally attract major interest on the European Tour, but it will at the Spanish Open in Seville starting tomorrow.