Finland’s Mikko Ilonen ignored the script to easily outshine his more-fancied local rivals, including double-major-winning Rory McIlroy, on the opening day of the Irish Open on Thursday.
Ilonen, 34, celebrated his 300th European Tour event by setting a new course record of seven-under-par 64 in superb scoring conditions on the Fota Island course in Cork.
The Finn ended the round with a two-shot lead over the trio of Germany’s Marcel Siem and the Swedish pair of Robert Karlsson and Magnus Carlsson.
In contrast, McIlroy, the highest world-ranked player in the field at No. 6, finds himself starting the second round sharing 125th place in the 156-strong field.
McIlroy could manage just three birdies and double the number of bogeys in a three-over-par 74 to trail the triple tour-winning Finn by 10 shots.
Ilonen capped his round by birdying five of his closing seven holes and taking just 26 putts.
“A couple of weeks ago in Sweden I was playing really well and I finished 32nd, and it’s still really a mystery how I finished 32nd that week, because I was actually hitting my best shots of the year there,” Ilonen said.
“I felt really calm with the putter and today really it’s just still there, but we still have a long way to go,” Ilonen added.
And while Ilonen sets his sights on a fourth tour victory, he is also looking to break into the world’s top 50 for the first time in his career.
He is currently ranked 63rd, one place lower than his career high of 62nd in December 2007.
However, McIlroy paid a price for disruptions to his preparation, including losing his clubs and struggling to hit just eight of the 14 fairways and taking 30 putts in a round of 74.
“I’ve still got a little bit of jet-lag, for sure, coming from the US Open,” he said.
“I wasn’t able to do much on Monday or Tuesday because the clubs didn’t arrive until yesterday, so that was a little bit frustrating more than anything else,” he said.
“But I did a really good practice session on the range last night after the Pro-Am and was feeling good going out this morning,” he said.
“However, I just couldn’t really put it together as I was very sloppy with the scoring clubs today, wedges, the short game, the putting. All that was just a little off,” he added.
“So, hopefully, that is my poor round for the week and I can do a better job of that tomorrow and obviously I’ll need something in the low 60s just to be here on the weekend,” McIlroy said.
More than 180 years of horse racing came to an end in Singapore on Saturday, as the Singapore Turf Club hosted its final race day before its track is handed back to the Singaporean government to provide land for new homes. Under an overcast sky, the air-conditioned VIP boxes were full of enthusiasts, socialites and expats, while the grounds and betting halls below hosted mostly older-generation punters. The sun broke through for the last race, the last-ever Grand Singapore Gold Cup. The winner, South African jockey Muzi Yeni, echoed a feeling of loss shared by many on the day. “I’d
Former world No. 2 Paula Badosa has withdrawn from this week’s Wuhan Open, organizers said on Tuesday, amid a racism row over an online photograph. Tournament organizers said the Spaniard had pulled out of the WTA 1000 tournament, citing a gastrointestinal illness, hours before her first-round match against Australian Ajla Tomljanovic. News outlets including Britain’s the Telegraph earlier reported that Badosa had posted a photo on Instagram in which she appeared to imitate a Chinese face by placing chopsticks on the corners of her eyes. The photo was taken last week in a restaurant in Beijing, where she reached the semi-finals of the
PREDICTION: Last week, when Yu’s father made a wrong turn to the former champions’ parking lot, he said that his son could park there after this year With back-to-back birdies on the 18th hole, Kevin Yu fulfilled his driving range-owning dad’s prediction that he would win the Sanderson Farms Championship and become Taiwan’s third golfer to claim a US PGA Tour title. The Taoyuan-born 26-year-old, who represented Taiwan in the Olympic golf at Paris, saw off Californian Beau Hossler in a playoff at the Country Club of Jackson, Mississippi, on Sunday. Having drained a 15-foot putt to claw his way into the playoff, Yu rolled in from five feet on the first extra hole, ensuring he joined Chen Tze-chung (LA Open in 1987) and Pan Cheng-tsung (RBC
LeBron James and eldest son Bronny James claimed a piece of NBA history on Sunday after making their long-awaited first appearance alongside each other for the Los Angeles Lakers. The duo appeared together at the start of the second quarter in the Lakers’ 118-114 preseason defeat to the Phoenix Suns in Palm Desert, east of Los Angeles. While LeBron James impressed with 19 points in just 16 minutes and 20 seconds on court before sitting out the second half, Bronny found the going harder with zero points in just over 13 minutes on court. The younger James attempted just one
RSS