Irish Open Diary - McGinley and Clarke come to Mcllroy defence

Being Ryder Cup captain means showing faith in your big gun and both 2014 skipper Paul McGinley and 2016 European boss Darren Clarke had sympathy for a struggling Rory McIlroy.

The world No. 1 clearly played poorly for a nine-over 80 that left him propping up the field.

But both Clarke and McGinley had nothing negative to say about a player that’s been a stalwart in Ryder Cups since 2010.