McIlroy: Beware the rough stuff at Hoylake
Thatâs the view of Rory McIlroy, who played two practice rounds at the Liverpool links over the weekend.
Down to eighth in the latest world rankings, McIlroy is the 12/1 favourite to lift his first Claret Jug at the course where Fred Daly became the first Irish winner of the gameâs oldest major in 1947, and Joe Carr won the first of his three British Amateur titles with a two up victory of the great American, Harvie Ward, in 1953.
The course is certainly far more lush that it was in 2006, when Tiger Woods won the third of his three Open Championships to date.
It was so burnt and brown that smoking was banned, and Woods used his driver just once in 72 holes as he captured the title by two strokes from Chris DiMarco on 18 under par.
McIlroy foresees more low scoring this year but itâs unlikely to reach 2006 levels due to the warm, wet spring and the proliferation of thick rough.
âMy biggest memory is how brown or yellow the course was, and that Tiger hit only one driver in the 72 holes,â McIlroy said of the 2006 Open, which came just a few weeks before he won the European Individual Amateur Championship in Italy, securing his Open debut at Carnoustie for 2007, where he won the silver medal.
âBut that was then. I was down at Hoylake over the weekend and itâs very green and very lush at the minute. The ball isnât really running that much on the fairways and they were stopping quickly on the greens. So it will be a lot different from the course Tiger played in 2006.
âI think they are trying to protect the course a little at this stage, so Iâm sure â weather-permitting, over the next 10 days â it will be a bit firmer and faster by next week.â
One of the best drivers of the ball in the game, McIlroyâs chances are helped by the fact that there is plenty of rough at Hoylake.
âThe rough is up,â he said at the opening of Nikeâs first Performance Fitting Centre at Archerfield Links in Scotland. âYou need to avoid that. And you need to avoid the bunkers.
âIf you drive into sand at Hoylake, you are hitting out sideways. The rough was patchy. In places you were chipping out, but in others you could get away with a bit more.
âPlus, there were certain greens you just canât miss on certain sides. On the back nine, the run of 12-13-14 greens all have really heavy rough around them. There will be a lot of balls running into trouble on each of those.
âMy overall feeling on how much rough there should be on any links is that it should definitely be a hazard. If you hit off line, there should be a measure of punishment. But Iâm not a fan of just hacking out. Being able to get the ball somewhere around the green from the rough is, I think, fair enough.
âI certainly donât think we should be able to fly balls onto the putting surfaces. Giving us a chance to save par by getting up-and-down is ideal. Hoylake is like that on most holes, but there are certain patches you definitely want to avoid.
âGenerally though, Hoylake is a very âscoreableâ course. All four of the par fives are reachable in two shots. So weâll see guys quite a bit under par in decent weather.â
Garth McGimpsey, pictured, is nothing short of a living legend in Irish Amateur golf but the 1985 British Amateur champion can write another glorious chapter in his career at Tullamore Golf Club this week.
Set to turn 59 on July 17, the Bangor star will be bidding to win a fourth successive Irish Seniors Amateur Close Championship when the 54-hole strokeplay event begins at the midlands course tomorrow.
A new addition to the Seniors circuit, the Irish Seniors Close was played for the first time in 2009 when it was won by Killeenâs Maurice Kelly.
Kelly went on to a second success in 2010 at Blainroe before former Walker Cup captain McGimpsey won in 2011, 2012 and 2013.
The Bangor legend will face some tough opposition this year with his senior international team mate and current Irish Amateur Open champion Adrian Morrow at the top of a list of fancied runners alongside Leinster Seniors winner John L Hughes from Woodbrook, Munster champion Tom Cleary of Cork and Tramoreâs John Mitchell.
McGimpseyâs career is unparalleled in the modern amateur game in Ireland and his haul of 14 majors titles â he won the British Amateur, one Irish Close, four Wests, three Easts and five North of Ireland titles â is simply astounding.
He played more than 200 times for Ireland, winning two European Amateur team championships, and took part in three Walker Cups, forming part of the side that won for the first time on US soil at Peachtree in Atlanta in 1989.
Coached by his father, Hal, his approach to the game was almost professional in manner and PĂĄdraig Harrington admits that he was the player he admired more than any other and the one that brought out the best in him.
âGarth McGimpsey was the best player, the best ball striker, the guy to beat when I was an amateur,â Harrington recalled.
âHe was comfortably number one. Others came and went and some of them went pro but Garth was the man.He hit the ball different to everybody else.â
Never a showman â he was a man of few words â he had such class as a golfer and person that he more than deserves his place amongst the all-time greats.
As for Tullamore, the club has refused to bow to the vandals who recently caused major damaged to several greens and tees.
Several holes were dug on greens from the sixth to the 12th and the severity and extent of the damage shocked officers and members of the biggest golf club in Offaly.
The damage was quickly repaired and with the recent Junior Scratch Cup completed successfully, the best seniors in Ireland will, no doubt, overcome what the club describes as âslight imperfectionsâ in those greens.
Laura Webb (nĂ©e Bolton) created a piece of golfing history at Athenry on Friday when she became the first player to complete the triple crown of the Irish Girlsâ, Irish Womenâs and Irish Senior Womenâs Close titles.
Now playing out of East Berkshire, the former Cairndhu player won the Irish Senior crown in emphatic fashion with a 6 and 5 victory over Laytown and Bettystownâs Carol Wickham. Winner of the Irish Girlsâ Close in 1979 and the Irish Womenâs title in 1988 and 1994, it was an emotional occasion for Laura, who had daughter Becky on the bag and was cheered to victory by 87-year old mother Sheila.
Muskerryâs Jean OâDriscoll captured the Carlow Ladies Senior Scratch Cup on Saturday, edging out Lucanâs Molly Dowling and Ballinrobeâs Shannon Burke by a stroke on 152 with international Lisa Maguire, back in action again after her Leaving Certificate, taking fifth spot on 155. In the 36-hole Kerry Senior Scratch Cup at Tralee, Royal Dublinâs Richard Knightly won by three strokes from club-mate Barry Anderson with Portmarnockâs James Fox third and Mallowâs Paul McCarthy fourth.
