Keegan vows to return

Keegan Bradley came to Portrush for the Irish Open because of his heritage and because he wanted to. So he struggled to conceal his disappointment yesterday when a second round of 71 left him on even par and outside the cut mark.

He returns to the US this weekend to prepare for next week’s Greenbrier Classic in West Virginia wondering just how he can benefit from his first experience of links golf and how it can help him for next month’s Open Championship at Royal Lytham.

“I loved it but I just wish I could have played better”, he lamented. “I didn’t play the par fives very well, had a couple of lost balls and there were about three shots that did the damage. If I could have those back, I’d have been four or five better so I’m disappointed. But I’ll be back in a couple of weeks for the British Open.