Rory McIlroy, Henrik Stenson look to make more history in Race To Dubai

On the PGA Tour, the last nine years have yielded a different FedEx Cup winner. Nine different golfers including Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth and Henrik Stenson have won the PGA Tour's playoffs (and $10 million prize that goes with it).

On the European Tour, however, only Rory McIlroy and Henrik Stenson have taken home the playoff title over the last four years. This year they will try to make if five in a row.

This is partly because the European Tour doesn't reset its rankings during the playoffs like the PGA Tour does and partly because those two have been lights out in the European Tour playoffs. McIlroy won in 2012 and 2015. Stenson in 2013 and 2014. The two are in the top three of the standings once again.

Here are a few things to know as the Race To Dubai winds down this month.

1. There are only two tournaments left

Last week's Turkish Airlines Open was the first of three playoff events. This week's Nedbank Golf Challenge in South Africa is the second. Next week's World Tour Championship is the end. There used to be four events in these playoffs (including the WGC-HSBC Champions), but the European Tour erased that and made it a three-tournament affair. The field will be cut from 72 this week to 60 next week for the finale.

2. It should come down to Rory McIlroy, Henrik Stenson and Danny Willett

Golfers get points based on earnings from tournaments. For example, last week Thorbjorn Olesen netted 1.07 million Euros and rocketed up the standings into ninth place because he also got 1.07 million points towards the Race To Dubai.

This culminates next week with a monstrous $8 million purse at the World Tour Championship which means the eventual winner of the Race To Dubai is normally also the winner of this tournament. This is similar to how the Tour Championship winner is also usually the FedEx Cup winner on the PGA Tour.

Here is a look at the current top 10.

Depending on what happens this week in South Africa, it looks to probably be a three-golfer race between McIlroy, Willett and Stenson.

3. There is a lot at stake

The winner of the Race To Dubai takes home $1.5 million in bonus prize money and the other nine golfers in the top 10 split up another $3.5 million. It's not exactly the $10 million McIlroy won for taking home the Tour Championship and FedEx Cup, but it's not a joke either.

4. Rory is laying low

McIlroy skipped the Turkish Airlines Open last week and also won't play this week in South Africa. This obviously hurts his chances as he needs to be closer to Stenson than he is to be able to control his own destiny at the World Tour Challenge.

Last year, the difference in first and second in the final tournament was 450,000 points. McIlroy currently trails Stenson by over 1,000,000, and Stenson could extend that lead this week in South Africa. Willett, on the other hand, is struggling mightily and probably won't factor in.

"I guess it's out of my hands," McIlroy said of not going to Turkey in regards to the Race To Dubai. "That's the thing. I took the decision not to go to Turkey next week, and those boys can battle it out. If I have somewhat of a chance going into Dubai, that's great. But if not, I think over the course of the season, they have had big wins and played well. They are two major champions, so I'm okay with that."

McIlroy will likely have a shot to win it with a win at the World Tour Championship to wrap up the European Tour year next week. He would be just the second golfer to win the playoffs on both the European Tour and PGA Tour (Stenson did it in 2013).

And if he doesn't? Well, a familiar face probably will once again. Remember, it's been McIlroy or Stenson every year for the last four. There is no reason that will change this time around.

More games: friv

Jason Day joins Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy as Nike athlete

Nike has signed Jason Day to a new endorsement deal which will reportedly see the world number one golfer earn over $10m per year.

Day will wear Nike shoes, apparel, and hat during competition and joins Tiger Woods andRory McIlroy in wearing the famous swoosh.

The news of Day’s signing comes just weeks after Nike announced that it would no longer make golf equipment, a decision which is understood to have played a large part in its ability to sign the Australian.

Day recently renewed his partnership with equipment supplier TaylorMade which would likely have seen him being paired with Adidas as has been the case with many other golfers — however Adidas recently announced that it was selling off its golf business.

The arrival of the 2016 PGA Tour Players Champion will serve as a major boost to Nike who have not had one of their golfers win a major in the last eight attempts.

It is also a significant move for Nike’s battle against Under Armour given that Nike is one of the few companies whose deals are head-to-toe exclusives and not fragmented.

Once Starring, Rory McIlroy Is Stumbling on Golf’s Biggest Stages

SPRINGFIELD, N.J. — It was on the eve of this month’s British Open that the world’s top four ranked golfers — Jason Day, Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy — were compared to the Beatles, the original Fab Four.

Running with the analogy, a British journalist wondered if McIlroy wasn’t in danger of becoming Ringo.

McIlroy took the intended slight in stride, ducking the unprovoked Ringo jab to counterpunch.

“I’ve got four major championships, and I’d love to add to that tally, just as those guys would love to add to their one and two majors,” McIlroy responded.

McIlroy was pulling rank, putting Day and Johnson, the one-time major winners, in their place just behind Spieth’s two majors.

But with each round McIlroy plays in a major championship this year, it is getting harder for him to talk away his stumbles in the sport’s biggest tournaments. And it is hard to ignore that Henrik Stenson is threatening to reorder the names in golf’s Fab Four.

In Thursday’s first round of the P.G.A. Championship, an event he has won twice, McIlroy shot a listless and unsteady four-over-par 74. It was a score that put the 27-year-old McIlroy in a tie with 50-year-old John Daly, 53-year-old Vijay Singh and 47-year-old Darren Clarke.

Now, who doesn’t belong in that Fab Four?

Any golfer can have a bad day (Johnson, in fact, had a worse one than McIlroy, with a 77); it’s not golf without the implausible and the unpredictable. But a clear trend is developing in the recent majors for McIlroy, who five years ago effervescently won his first major, bounding around Congressional Country Club to win the United States Open by eight strokes.

Even two years ago, McIlroy seemed on the verge of an authoritative run after winning the last two major championships of the 2014 season.

The succeeding two years have not been what was expected for McIlroy. He not only has not won another major, his four major championship performances so far this season have been underwhelming. Yes, he tied for 10th at the Masters and was tied for fifth at the British Open, but those finishes were deceptive.

At the Masters, he was just one stroke behind Spieth, who was leading, until he imploded with a 77 in the third round. No longer a serious contender, he rallied with a 71 in the final round to crack the top 10.

At the United States Open, he missed the cut with another 77-71 combination. At the British Open, he got within shouting distance of the leaders at the halfway mark, then shot a two-over-par 73 and failed to keep up with the surging Stenson and Phil Mickelson. No longer a threat, he again closed splendidly with a 67, but it still left him 16 strokes from the top of the leaderboard.

This week, McIlroy should have felt invigorated. The Baltusrol Golf Club is made for his game as it rewards long, straight drives on lengthy holes that do not curve and bend as much as other championship courses. During Thursday’s first round, McIlroy’s tee shots were booming. But a host of mistakes usually followed.

On the second hole he played, Baltusrol’s 11th, he badly missed a makable 10-foot birdie putt. Two holes later, McIlroy’s tee shot traveled 326 yards, but his approach flew past the flag into the rough and led to the first of his four bogeys.

Another bogey followed at the next hole when he blasted from the rough to a greenside bunker. A third bogey occurred when McIlroy’s shot from a greenside bunker skipped nearly 40 feet away from the hole. The last hiccup was a three-putt bogey.

Even when McIlroy appeared to be rousing himself out of his stupor, he could not close the deal. On Baltusrol’s signature par-3 fourth hole, McIlroy curved a beautiful shot to within 7 feet. His birdie putt lipped out, and McIlroy’s entire upper body slumped.

“It just wasn’t my day,” McIlroy said afterward. “I was happy how I played tee to green for the most part. But on the greens, it was a different story.”

McIlroy has fiddled with his putting grip, switching to a left-hand-low grip in March before abandoning it for a conventional grip two months later. He rarely looked comfortable on the greens Thursday, when it took 35 putts to negotiate 18 holes.

“I’m struggling,” he said. “And, yeah, it’s hard.”

McIlroy has gone through periods like this before only to break out with another stretch of inspired play. He won his first P.G.A. Championship and two PGA Tour events in less than 30 days in 2012.

So it would be foolish to wonder if McIlroy’s funk will be lasting. Surely, there will be a rebound. But something is missing and McIlroy has yet to figure out what it is.

“The most important thing is that I’ve got to try and shoot something in the 60s tomorrow to get back in the mix,” he said.

But doubt, the genesis of all high golf scores, is creeping in. And that’s not good — or fabulous — for the world’s fourth-ranked golfer.

“Hopefully, I’m not shut out tomorrow,” McIlroy said. “I can’t remember the last time I went without a birdie.

“I think it’s more of a mental thing. Maybe I need to be a little bit more assertive and not quite as tentative.”

'Worst day in post-war British history': Political leaders and celebrities stunned at Brexit and Cameron's resignation

Today has seen a political upheaval rock the UK. How are people reacting to David Cameron stepping down?

Peter Mandelson has described today's upheavals as "the worst day in post war British history".

His comments come in the wake of British Prime Minister David Cameron resigning after the UK voted to leave the EU.

The former cabinet member also called for Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn to resign, adding: "He seemed to be travelling through the entire referendum with a handbrake on."

Former Labour leader Tony Blair told the BBC: "I' very sad for our country, for Europe, for the world". He called for a "very mature and reflective" response.

Brexit campaigner and former Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Iain Duncan Smith said: “I’m sorry that he’s gone.”

Clearly upset, Mr Cameron this morning said: ''I love this country and I feel honoured to have served it.''

He said: "Over 33 million people from England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and Gibraltar have all had their say.

"We should be proud of the fact that in these islands we trust the people for these big decisions.

"We not only have a parliamentary democracy, but on questions about the arrangements for how we've governed there are times when it is right to ask the people themselves and that is what we have done."

But how has the world reacted to this monumental decision?

Golfer Rory McIlroy has asked if the UK can take another shot at 2016 after a chaotic morning that saw Brexit and the PM stepping down.

He told his followers on Twitter that he wanted "a mulligan on 2016" - which in golfing terms is another shot.

His tweet said: "With £Brexit and the way the US presidential race is going... Can we take a mulligan on 2016?"
TV presenter Dawn O'Porter said she was "gutted".

Furious JK Rowling has taken to Twitter to say it will be David Cameron's fault if pro-remain Scots now vote to leave the UK - saying Cameron will be to blame for the break-up of TWO unions.

The Edinburgh-based Harry Potter author, a vocal opponent of independence during the 2014 Scottish referendum, spoke out passionately in favour of Britain staying in the EU.

Rory McIlroy wnats another shot at the UK referendum

Now, as SNP chiefs decide whether to push for a second referendum after Scotland voted to remain in the EU and England and Wales voted to leave, she has posted: "Cameron's legacy will be breaking up two unions. Neither needed to happen."

War veteran and pro-Europe campaigner Harry Leslie Smith tweeted: "#DavidCameron resigns after causing much harm to Britain and no good."

Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson wrote: "Right for the Prime Minister to offer stability while the country plots its course. Honorable to the last."

Former Tory cabinet minister Baroness Warsi tweeted: "Stunned & deeply saddened that David has decided to resign.

"Simply lost for words. Need leadership more now than ever before."

Michael Fallon, speaking on BBC Radio 4, said: "I think he feels it’s the honourable thing to do. He lost the argument – Michael Fallon on Cameron resignation."

Singers Lily Allen and Ellie Goulding had their say on Twitter, with the former writing: "Well millennials. We're really really f***ed."

Goulding said she was "heartbroken to hear the news" in her tweet.

Footballer and broadcaster Gary Lineker said: "It's not a time for triumphalism. Not a time for division. Not a time for hatred. It's a time for change. A time for calm. A time in history."

Coronation Street star Samia Ghadie told her followers she was "in shock at what this may mean for our country".

The interest in the referendum result has also seen stars from across the Atlantic expressing a view.

American Idol's Ryan Seacrest, the executive producer of Keeping Up With The Kardashians, said: "Shocking news out of UK this morning. Definitely a day for the history books... £Brexit."

Winless Rory McIlroy frustrated by negative spin over 2016 performances

Crisis, what crisis? Rory McIlroy has criticised what he regards as the negative perception of his 2016 to date. McIlroy has not won this year despite a consistent run of six top-10 finishes in nine strokeplay events. At the WGC Match Play Championship he was defeated in the semi-final.

Context is, of course, everything. Expectation has surrounded McIlroy since his emergence on to the professional scene; he has backed that up with four major championships. It is his level of talent which fuels discussion over this supposedly barren run.

“I’m relaxed about it,” the world No3 said. “It frustrates me, I guess, the negative spin that’s being put on it. I know expectations for myself are higher than other players, but you look at my record this year with a third in Abu Dhabi, a fifth in Dubai, a third at Doral, fourth in the Match Play; my bad weeks are top 10s, basically.

“So it frustrates me that the narrative is: ‘There’s something missing in Rory’s game’ or ‘What’s wrong with Rory?’ I don’t feel like there’s anything wrong. It’s very close. I’m waiting for something to happen; I might need to make something happen but it’s not as far away as I feel some people think it is.

“I feel very comfortable with where my game is at and I know that if I go out and play my best, or close to my best, I’m going to have a great chance to win this week [at the Irish Open], next week, basically all season.”

Paul McGinley, McIlroy’s former Ryder Cup captain, has suggested the 27-year-old’s focus may be lacking. “It just hasn’t quite happened yet and I’m trying to stay as patient as possible,” McIlroy said.

“But sometimes that’s hard to do when you feel like you’re playing really well but the results aren’t quite there. I just need to string four good rounds together in a tournament and I feel like from there I’ll be off and running and that could be the catapult and stepping stone to another great season.”

McIlroy’s Rory Foundation is the host of the Irish Open, in which he features at The K Club from Thursday. The tournament has not been particularly kind to him in recent times.

“To be able to get involved and not just play for myself but for other people, to help other people out, I enjoy that part of it,” McIlroy said. “I want to come here, I want to help out. I want to make this one of the best tournaments in the world.”

Irish Open: Rising star Tom McKibbin joins Rory McIlroy for pro-am

Some of the world best golfers are gathering for the start of the Irish Open in County Kildare, but on Wedneday the pre-tournament pro-am took place.

It was hosted by world number three Rory McIlroy, and saw a long list of celebrities taking to the course.

McIlroy also invited 13-year-old player Tom McKibbin, from Newtownabbey in County Antrim, for a round.

The BBC's Ireland correspondent Chris Buckler went to meet and caddy for the rising star.

Rory McIlroy may have had role in switch of Open venue

Rory McIlroy may have played a significant role in the European Tour decision not to take the Irish Open to Lough Erne next summer.

The world number three and tournament host privately indicated to the tour his own preference to keep the event on links courses.

While the Lough Erne course is an impressive 18-hole set-up, there were always problems with the decision to have the 2017 Irish Open played there.

It was announced as the venue two years ago by First Minister Arlene Foster.

But doubts about the likelihood of the tour taking place at Lough Erne began to emerge at the start of this year when the European Tour's Antonia Beggs declined to confirm that the event would be held there in 2017.

Yesterday, the plug was pulled in an unequivocal statement by the Tour.

"While the 2017 Irish Open will not be staged at Lough Erne, the European Tour looks forward to working with the new ownership consortium and I am confident that the Lough Erne Resort will host an event with the European Tour in the future," said European Tour chief executive Keith Pelley.

"Details of the 2017 venue will be announced in due course, but in the meantime we are solely focused on ensuring that the 2016 tournament, which will be staged at the K Club in six weeks' time, is a great success."

With the tour determined to continue to alternate between courses in Northern Ireland and in the Republic, Portstewart has been mentioned as a possible replacement venue.

It would suit McIlroy's desire to have the event played on a links course and, although it does not quite have the reputations of the Royals at Portrush and County Down, it is still a highly regarded course and club. McIlroy was once the touring professional attached to Lough Erne in his early days on tour when it was owned by family friend Jim Treacey.

But the business went into receivership after the financial crash of 2008.

Irish Independent.

Rory McIlroy is up, down at Honda Classic

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — The good? Rory McIlroy won the 2012 Honda Classic in a thrilling back-nine duel with Tiger Woods and Tom Gillis, and two years later lost in a playoff to Russell Henley.

The bad? McIlroy missed the cut in the Honda last year.

The ugly? As the defending champion in 2013, and already 7-over par, he suddenly withdrew midway through his round on Friday because of a sore wisdom tooth.

McIlroy, who with a victory this week can join Woods and Jack Nicklaus as the only players in the modern era with at least 12 PGA Tour wins before their 27th birthdays, doesn’t exactly have a love-hate relationship with the tournament. But his game, like the ever-changing winds that sweep across the Champion Course, can change quickly here.

“It’s the nature of me,” McIlroy said Wednesday with a smile of his up-and-down ways in the Honda Classic.

It’s the nature of the course, too, the world No. 3 added. The Jack Nicklaus redesign is always at the mercy of the winds, which if they are hitting 15 mph and above, make the already tight course with plenty of water hazards and difficult greens even tighter and tougher.

“It’s one of these golf courses that if you’re slightly off, it can really magnify your misses a little bit, and it can make you feel as if you’re playing worse than what you actually are,” McIlroy said. “I feel if you’re in control of your golf game, it’s one of these courses that you can play well at and you can give yourself plenty of opportunities, and it’s not like you need to go crazy low here to be in contention.

“It’s a tough golf course, and with some of the tough conditions we can get here, it is one of the more challenging venues that we play every year.”

All in all, McIlroy, who lives within 10 minutes of the course, counts the Honda among his favorite tournaments. As forgettable as he’d like his walk-off in 2013 to be, and for the most part, McIlroy and the golf community quickly moved on from that moment, his victory in 2012 remains one of his fondest memories. Not only did he hold off Woods and Gillis, he ascended to No. 1 in the world for the first time.

“I didn’t think about anything else but winning because that’s what I wanted to achieve; getting to world No. 1 was a byproduct of winning the tournament,” McIlroy said. “But I was so focused on that that I didn’t think about anything else. Mentally, I was prepared to win and that’s what I was going to do.

“It was probably one of my better Sunday performances coming down the stretch with a few guys putting pressure on me. There’s a few moments in my career that I feel like to this point I’ll always remember, and getting to No. 1 for the first time here I’ll certainly remember.”

McIlroy, who with four majors is just a Masters title away from completing the career Grand Slam, likes the state of his game. While he has an eye on the Masters, his mind is solely on winning tournaments heading to Augusta National. He’ll play this week and then three more events before the Masters.

He said he’s seen progress this year. In three events, he’s finished in ties for third and sixth, and last week he tied for the lead in the final round with an eagle on the first hole. But he then tumbled to a tie for 20th. He spent a day getting over his poor final round.

“I didn’t think about it too much,” McIlroy said. “I know my game is in good shape and it’s there, and I hope to get into contention again this week.”

Rory McIlroy returns to scene of highest, lowest career moments

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — The weather on Wednesday at PGA National, the site of this week’s Honda Classic, began with sunny skies and docile winds. By midday, clouds engulfed the massive resort property and the wind freshened. And by late afternoon, thunderstorms with tornado warnings rattled the area with high winds and heavy rain.

Rory McIlroy’s performance in seven career starts at the Honda Classic, which begins Thursday, mirrors the turbulent twists and turns in Wednesday’s weather in that it can be best described as volatile.

McIlroy experienced a coming-of-age moment in 2012 when he won the tournament and elevated to No. 1 in the world for the first time, staving off a furious final-round 62 by Tiger Woods along the way.

A year later, while defending his title and No. 1 world ranking, McIlroy authored an embarrassing act-your-age moment.

Frustrated with his struggling game — 7-over par on his first eight holes — he quit on the ninth hole of his second round, marched directly to his car and drove off after telling the couple of reporters who tailed him to the parking lot: “There’s not really much I can say, guys. I’m not in a good place mentally, you know?’’

An hour later, his publicist issued a statement claiming that McIlroy quit because of a toothache.

McIlroy quit that day because he was embarrassed by his play and was having trouble figuring out how to his hit new Nike golf clubs, which he had switched to for millions of dollars after ascending to No. 1.

The following year, in 2014, McIlroy had another forgettable Honda Classic, losing in a playoff after holding the 54-hole lead with a final-round 74 that was marred by a double bogey on 16 and a bogey on 17.

Last year, he missed the cut by three shots.

What could be in store this week for McIlroy at his love-hate venue, which is located a mere 10-minute drive from his Palm Beach Gardens home?

McIlroy, ranked No. 3 in the world, is seeking his first win of the season. He was in position last week at the Northern Trust Open at Riviera, where he eagled the first hole of the final round only to tumble from contention with a sloppy 75.

When he was asked a softball question on Wednesday about his “ups and downs’’ in the Honda Classic and whether it’s “the nature’’ of the “tough course’’ or the “wind,” McIlroy delivered the perfect response when he said with a laugh: “I think it’s the nature of me.’’

Indeed, unlike the steady, consistent relentlessness of Woods when he was in the throes of his dominance, McIlroy has a little Phil Mickelson in him — when he’s on he’s better than anyone else in the world, and when he’s off, he can look like a weekend 20-handicapper at the local muni.

“You always want to win,’’ McIlroy said. “Progress is winning and seeing how you perform under pressure. But at the same time, progress is how you’re feeling with your game, if you feel like you can see improvements. I guess for me at the minute, progress is results-based, because I feel like I’m playing well. I feel like my game is in good shape. So it’s going out there and doing it when it matters.’’

McIlroy will be trying to channel his 2012 self this week, win again and chase that No. 1 ranking that’s owned by Jordan Spieth, who turned professional at age 19 when McIlroy seized No. 1 for the first time.

“When I won here in 2012, all the talk for me was trying to get to No. 1 in the world,’’ McIlroy said. “It was a week for me [when] I didn’t think about anything else but winning, because that’s what I wanted to achieve. Getting to world No. 1 was a byproduct of winning the tournament, but I was so focused on that that I didn’t think about anything else. Mentally, I was prepared to win and that’s what I was going to do.

“It was probably one of my better Sunday performances coming down the stretch with a few guys [namely Woods, his boyhood idol whom he stared down for the first time] putting pressure on me. There’s a few moments in my career that I feel like to this point, I’ll always remember and getting to No. 1 for the first time here I’ll certainly remember.’’