World No. 1 Rory McIlroy is already a candidate for European Tour ‘Shot of the Year’ after pulling off a stroke of brilliance on the opening day of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.

Two leading players have questioned why there was no ambulance on site after Fabrizio Zanotti was struck on the head by a ball in the KLM Open yesterday.

Rory McIlroy will have to find another day to fret over after his Friday at the Open proved far from freaky at Royal Liverpool.

Open Championship leader Rory McIlroy will take to the Royal Liverpool links later looking to avoid the dreaded second-round syndrome which has dogged him all year.

Rory McIlroy will try and forget his recent Friday woes today as he bids to extend his one-shot first-round lead and take a firm grip on the Open Championship at Royal Liverpool.

The Open Championship enjoyed a case of deja vu today with glorious weather at Royal Liverpool and a certain Tiger Woods high on the leaderboard in the opening round.

Low scoring dominated the first day of the 143rd Open Championship at Royal Liverpool – with Rory McIlroy and a rusty Tiger Woods getting in on the act.

Sweden’s Robert Karlsson set the early clubhouse lead on the first day of the 143rd Open Championship but with perfect scoring conditions at Royal Liverpool he was unlikely to hold it for long.

Justin Walters is the early leader of the 2014 Irish open which is underway at Fota Island Co Cork.

For the golfing agnostic, it’s easy at Fota to spot the pros from the amateurs — the paid guys have the best tans.

Golf fans will need to be up at the crack of dawn tomorrow to arrive in good time at Fota Island to watch the marquee draw in the first round of the Irish Open Championship.

Shane Lowry dusted off an old putter, regained his touch around the greens and shot his lowest score of the year to put himself within two shots of Thomas Bjorn’s first-round lead at the 60th BMW PGA Championship yesterday.

Defending BMW PGA Championship champion Matteo Manassero believes making this year’s European Ryder Cup team would be an amazing achievement and is hoping the Irish Open will help him achieve the feat.

The countdown officially commenced at Fota Island Resort yesterday as former champion Shane Lowry gave his seal of approval to the 2014 Irish Open venue.

Lee Westwood has a fight on his hands to claim a 13th win in Asia and 41st of his career after seeing a commanding lead almost wiped out by Andy Sullivan in the Maybank Malaysian Open.

It was like a final insult in what was Rory McIlroy’s final event as the defending European No. 1 — being asked to tape a TV piece congratulating Henrik Stenson on succeeding him in winning the Race to Dubai.

Great Britain and Ireland’s Simon Khan had to pull out of the Seve Trophy on Sunday with a back injury, with Thomas Bjorn volunteering to step aside for the Continental Europe team at St Nom La Breteche.

Former Ryder Cup captain Jose Maria Olazabal will attempt to bring some Medinah magic to the Seve Trophy and lead another European side to a team triumph.

Former Ryder Cup captain Bernard Gallacher is making a good recovery from his suspected heart attack late last month, according to his daughter.

Former Ryder Cup captain Bernard Gallacher remains in a “critical” condition in Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.

Former Ryder Cup captain Bernard Gallacher is in a ”critical” condition in hospital.

Such has been the gruelling nature of this 142nd Open Championship at Muirfield over the first 36 holes that whoever survives to lift the famous Claret Jug tomorrow evening will rightfully lay claim to the motto ‘He Who Grinds, Wins’.

Italian golf has reached previously unknown heights since the arrival in the big time over the last few years of the Molinari brothers Francesco and Edoardo and the clear possibility that in the 20 year-old Matteo Manassero, last week’s highly impressive winner of the BMW PGA Championship, they possess the next Tiger Woods.

Michael Quirke (Doneraile) is the Irish Seniors Amateur Open champion after winning a three-hole play-off with American Bev Hargraves, whose final round 72 closed what had began as a four-shot gap.

Rory McIlroy’s miserable run of form showed no sign of abating as he shot an opening-round 78 to finish six over par on the first day of the Memorial Tournament in Ohio.

If there’s an exact science to producing a conveyor belt of golfing talent, it’s yet to be discovered.

Shane Lowry heads to today’s 36-hole US Open qualifier bitterly disappointed not to have automatically qualified for next month’s championship at Merion.

Italy’s Matteo Manassero today became the youngest ever winner of the BMW PGA Championship as he claimed his fourth European Tour title at the age of 20 on the fourth hole of a sudden-death play-off.

Francesco and Edoardo Molinari were today hoping to turn the BMW PGA Championship into a family affair as good weather produced equally good scoring at Wentworth.

Chinese schoolboy Guan Tianlang today made the cut in the Masters despite controversially being penalised for slow play.

‘Gentle Ben’ the ideal man to guide teenage prodigy Guan through Augusta baptism

Chinese teenager Guan Tianlang, already making history as the youngest player in Masters history, today made more controversial headlines after being penalised for slow play.

Shane Lowry will face Rory McIlroy in the first round of the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship in Arizona on Wednesday.

Phil Mickelson is back in the world’s top 10 for the first time since last May after his wire-to-wire victory at the Waste Management Phoenix Open.

Charl Schwartzel and Sergio Garcia end the year 14th and 16th in the world respectively after their weekend wins in South Africa and Malaysia.

Graeme McDowell’s victory at the World Challenge in California – his first title since the same event two years ago – has lifted him from 24th to 14th in the world.

Miguel Angel Jimenez tonight celebrated becoming the European Tour’s oldest-ever winner – after a week which could have seen him fall outside the world’s top 100 for the first time in nine years.

Rory McIlroy declared he is not about to rest of his laurels after becoming the youngest player in 36 years to become European No 1.

Rory McIlroy clinched the European Tour money list today - thanks to 19-year-old Italian Matteo Manassero.

Three rain delays are not the only thing world number one Rory McIlroy has had to contend with at the Barclays Singapore Open so far this week.

Rory McIlroy remained deep in the pack and then was held up by the weather for the second day running at the Barclays Singapore Open today.

Chinese prodigy Guan Tianlang, 14, is set to become the youngest ever player at the Augusta Masters.

Next year’s US Masters could well have a 14-year-old playing in it for the first time.