McIlroy faces Irish Open dilemma
The Irish Open is to take place from June 28 to July 1 on the same week as the PGA Tour’s AT&T National. After being staged this year in Pennsylvania, the 2012 AT&T National is returning to the Congressional course in Maryland and where McIlroy captured this year’s US Open.
So while McIlroy will be seriously tempted to compete in the US that week he is going to find himself the brunt of complaint if he doesn’t support the Irish Open. Next year’s PGA Tour will boast 45 official money tournaments, the same number and configuration as 2011 with 37 during the regular season, four PGA Tour Playoffs for the FedEx Cup tournaments and the four-tournament Fall Series.
The European Tour is yet to officially confirm the date for the 2012 Irish Open however it was revealed by a source last week that it is moving from its date the past two years of being staged two weeks after the British Open to two weeks following the US Open in June.
This move is to ensure the Irish Open does not clash with the July 27 start to the London Olympics.
Meanwhile Keegan Bradley won the PGA Grand Slam of Golf by a shot from Charl Schwartzel in Bermuda yesterday, after Rory McIlroy went from three ahead to four behind with a second-round 75.
With 12 holes to play in the 36-hole event between the year’s four major winners, McIlroy, the US Open champion, was firmly on course to be the first European winner since Ian Woosnam in 1991.
But he bogeyed the next three, did not have a birdie all day and instead it was South African Schwartzel who mounted the biggest challenge to Bradley.
From seven strokes adrift at the start of the day, the Masters champion drew level with a sparkling front-nine 31, but could not get back on terms after Bradley birdied the 10th.
They finished four under par and three under respectively, while McIlroy was level par and Darren Clarke, never a factor from the time he bogeyed three of the first four holes, nine over.
That still earned the British Open champion more than £125,000 (€143,000), while Bradley took home nearly £380,000.
Bradley, who made a five-foot par putt to win, commented: “It feels great. It was a lot more intense than I thought it was going to be — coming down the stretch it felt like any other tournament that I played in.
“To beat some of the best players in the world makes it even more special. It’s a really nice way to kind of cap off the year, although I’ve still got a lot of golf to play.
“If you would have told me at the beginning of the year I would have won the Grand Slam of Golf tournament I probably would have laughed at you. It all kind of seems like a dream right now.”
McIlroy said: “I didn’t quite have control of the golf ball like I did yesterday. The wind was tough, I just didn’t do enough when I needed to.”
Schwartzel stated: “All of a sudden it felt like I can do this. I made a whole bunch of birdies and got myself in it.”
Clarke, who has decided to stay on in Bermuda for a holiday rather than play in Spain next week, said: “Obviously I haven’t played well the past two days. I’ve just been making a few changes and getting way too steep on my backswing.
“A shame I played so poorly this week – I’m looking forward to a very bad hangover in the morning.”
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