Thomas Bjorn faces the first tough decision of his Ryder Cup captaincy as he prepares to name his four wild cards for the contest with the United States.

It was blowing a gale in Ballyliffin. Golf balls were oscillating on the green as we were stung by winds of 50mph and horizontal rain, and any and every aerial shot was in the lap of the gods.

Five-time major winner Phil Mickelson defeated Justin Thomas in a play-off after an extraordinary climax to the WGC-Mexico Championship to claim his first victory since the 2013 Open.

Greystones’ Paul Dunne produced a stunning final round to hold off a thrilling challenge from Rory McIlroy and claim his first European Tour title in the British Masters.

Not for the first time in his career, Rory McIlroy is taking the long view of his game as he searches for answers to the increasing distance between him and his last major championship victory.

Jordan Spieth and Matt Kuchar were still duking it out at Royal Birkdale yesterday evening as Rory McIlroy’s attention turned towards the PGA Championship and a final shot in 2017 of breaking a three-year major drought.

Rory McIlroy staged a stirring Open Championship fightback at Royal Birkdale that will send him into today’s second round feeling he can get right among the leaders.

It is appropriate in these golden times for Spanish golf that the oldest major should be returning to the place where the godfather of the sport in that country first made his mark.

Rory McIlroy was far from his ball striking best throughout yesterday’s second round of the Players Championship at Sawgrass but he just about survived into the weekend’s after a round of 71 for an even par total of 144 that leaves him with an outside chance of challenging for the “fifth Major” over the weekend.

Rory McIlroy is set to have an MRI scan on rib and back injuries on Monday, with the world number two admitting the "most important thing" is to be fit for June's US Open.

Three-time winner Martin Kaymer surged into the halfway lead in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.

Rory McIlroy consoled himself with the thought of watching another possible Irish rugby victory over the All Blacks after seeing his title defence suffer a costly late blow in Dubai.

Outgoing captain Darren Clarke has urged the European Tour not to follow the Americans and make sweeping changes to their Ryder Cup system in the wake of his team’s defeat at Hazeltine National.

Rory McIlroy said he needed a paracetamol after a raucous Saturday’s play in the cauldron that was Hazeltine National but you got the feeling that Darren Clarke had the bigger headache because of his underperforming captain’s picks.

A fan was ejected from Hazeltine National Golf Club after abusing Europe's Rory McIlroy, according to reports.

Sergio Garcia and Rafa Cabrera Bello gave Europe the perfect Ryder Cup boost going into Saturday's afternoon fourballs as they fought back to square their foursomes match with American stars Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed.

The United States lead Europe 6 1/2 to 5 1/2 after the morning foursomes on day two of the Ryder Cup.

European captain Darren Clarke turned to Plan B as day two of the 41st Ryder Cup got off to an electrifying start at Hazeltine.

European captain Darren Clarke dropped a massive hint about his pairings for the opening session of the Ryder Cup on the final day of practice.

Colin Montgomerie has been involved in enough Ryder Cups to know the value of a rookie.

Darren Clarke last night hit back at Johnny Miller’s criticism of his European Ryder Cup team, pouring scorn on the American’s assertion it was the worst in years.

There will have been no tears from Shane Lowry as confirmation came that Darren Clarke would not be making him one of his captain’s picks for Hazeltine next month.

Martin Kaymer’s strong performance at the PGA Championship has catapulted Germany’s double major winner into the mix for Europe’s Ryder Cup team to play the US next month.

With a second European major winner of the season on the books thanks to Henrik Stenson’s brilliance at Royal Troon, there was plenty to cheer Ryder Cup captain Darren Clarke over the weekend.

Rory McIlroy has 21 holes of golf to negotiate before realising his ambition to be crowned Dubai Duty Free Irish Open champion after play was suspended at the K Club with his third round still to finish.

Pádraig Harrington broke off from his preparations for a 21st professional appearance at the Irish Open yesterday to attend the funeral of Christy O’Connor Snr, the golfing great who made it possible for him to play golf.

Former world number one golfer Vijay Singh says he will skip this summer’s Rio Olympics, citing the Zika virus as the reason.

Jose Maria Olazabal does not believe he has gambled by picking uncapped Belgian Nicolas Colsaerts rather than three-time major winner Padraig Harrington for next month’s Ryder Cup.

More than five years on from his last win Colin Montgomerie forced his way onto the leaderboard in the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles today.

David Lynn now admits he made a mistake by not staying on in America after his spectacular runner-up finish at the USPGA Championship – a decision he knows could cost him a Ryder Cup debut.

Sergio Garcia produced a brilliant performance yesterday to clinch a sixth Ryder Cup cap — and leave Ian Poulter needing a ‘wild card’ for the second time in three matches.

Sergio Garcia produced a brilliant performance today to clinch a sixth Ryder Cup cap and leave Ian Poulter needing a wild card for the second time in three matches.