McGinley can take a bow as Lahinch delivers in style
I managed to catch up with Paul McGinley early yesterday morning just as the early players were setting out for their first round.
A brief chat was all that was required to know that he was a very happy man. He had staked his reputation on Lahinch being able to deliver a world class test which closely matched the same conditions the players would face at the Open Championship in Royal Portrush in a couple of weeks.
Clearly the months of meticulous preparation had paid off handsomely and it was now up to the players to take full advantage of what were the best possible weather conditions for links golf.
Going out yesterday, every player would have known full well that the golf test was never going to be about length off the tee box.
With fast bouncy fairways, the real advantage lay in being able to hit as many approach shots into the small but receptive greens from the fairway and so it proved, with players struggling out of the wispy rough.
The Irish competitors also held one other advantage, that of course familiarity. As could be seen by the performances of the likes of Cormac Sharvin and Robin Dawson, their South of Ireland amateur days, had given them a deeper knowledge of the course, and all of its little intricacies.
Hopefully now a strong performance from both this week, might just be the platform they need to accelerate their progression in the professional ranks.
Of the more fancied Irish, this was always going to be a big week for Shane Lowry given Rory McIlroy’s absence from the tournament and his impressive early season form.
History has shown that the tag of being one of the title favourites hasn’t always rested easily on the Offlay man’s shoulders but yesterday, after a nervy start, I was impressed with the way he settled into his round before finishing strongly.
It suggests that there may be a lot more to come from him over the coming days.
Speaking after his round, Lowry mentioned that his mind has been in a great place over the past six months.
He looks at ease and given his natural talent, his ability to move the ball either way and his tremendous short game, let’s hope that we may now be witnessing the next step in his career, one that has the potential for him to be a consistent top 20 world player.
And what of Pádraig Harrington? At 47 years of age, his tournament performance consistency is and should be nowhere near where it once was but yesterday he demonstrated to all that he still has what it takes to be competitive at this level.
🇮🇪 -7 Harrington
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) July 4, 2019
🏴 -5 Pepperell
🇩🇰 -5 Olesen
🇫🇷 -5 Lorenzo-Vera
🇦🇺 -5 Ormsby
🇰🇷 -5 Park
🏴 -5 Slattery#DDFIrishOpen #RolexSeries
On this form, he has every right to believe that he can roll back the years once more by winning this week, some 12 years on from his last Irish Open victory at Adare Manor.
In the tougher afternoon conditions, I was hugely impressed by the way he attacked the course, all day with a combination of ambition, brilliant shot-making and a sublime short game that kept the momentum going.
By far, the most impressive aspect of his game was his ability to find the fairway consistently and especially with his driver.
Always a great iron player, if he can now keep up these accuracy stats from the tee box over the next three days then he will undoubtedly be in the mix come Sunday afternoon.
In his sights are a chasing pack of very talented players like Thorbjorn Olesen, Eddie Pepperell, Martin Kaymer, Shane Lowry, and Ian Poulter, all of whom will fancy their own chances over the coming days.
Given the faultless condition of the golf course and the benign weather forecast, they will attack the course relentlessly over the coming days so the huge galleries should continue to expect plenty of fireworks.
Surely Paul McGinley, Lahinch, and this great championship couldn’t have asked for anything more?
