It’s Irish Open week. Which means, this year, it’s Rory McIlroy week. Denis Walsh’s column today drills down into the Holywood superstar’s complicated relationship with his home open over the years. “Above all else,” Walsh writes, “the Irish Open needs the passion of the Irish players. It is fundamental to its make-up. Without that, what is it?”
The women’s Irish Open finished in an unlikely triumph for Danish 23-year-old Smilla Tarning Soenderby at Dromoland Castle on Sunday. Philip Reid was there all week for us and his report includes a good chat with Leona Maguire, who finished in a tie for 14th. “I was wearing a lot of hats this week,” Maguire told him. “I had more than one job to complete this week. It’s one of those things, one of those weeks that it’s a bit bigger than yourself. I tried my best.”
It’s also Romania week, with Ireland’s World Cup opener against the tournament minnows taking place this Saturday night. Gerry Thornley is in France for the next two months and he has the latest piece of Irish squad news. And it’s pretty much all good news, which is nice. “When [Andy] Farrell and [Johnny] Sexton publicly declared the countdown to the World Cup began with their autumn home series two years ago, they could hardly have envisaged arriving at this juncture in such relatively rude health.”
Gerry also has a joint interview with James Lowe and Finlay Bealham, both 31, both on the verge of their first World Cup, both anything but typical Irish rugby stories. “While Bealham has played his entire adult and professional career in Ireland, it’s worth noting that of his 11 seasons playing professionally, this is Lowe’s seventh as Leinster player.”
Your complete guide to all the festive sporting action including TV details
Irish Times Sportswoman of the Year Awards: ‘The greatest collection of women in Irish sport in one place ever assembled’
Two-time Olympic champion Kellie Harrington named Irish Times/Sport Ireland Sportswoman of the Year 2024
Pub staff struggled to keep up with giddy Shamrock Rovers fans who enjoyed every moment of Chelsea trip
In soccer, Ken Early’s column this morning looks at Mo Salah and the Saudi league and the existential threat it poses to football in Europe. While Uefa appear quite sniffy about it all, Ken isn’t so sure that’s the right approach. “The PIF’s strategy in golf hints at their playbook for football: pour in cash to disrupt the market until the “legacy” organisations cave and are forced to accept you as partners. If Al-Ittihad could offer Champions League football, would they be any less credible a platform for the best players than, for instance, PSG?”
The first Monday of the month also means the return of Not A Sprint, Ian O’Riordan’s guide to running the marathon. This month’s dispatch is a personal story of the build-up to his first marathon – and the September running that saved it after some of his training had gone by the wayside. “The lesson here may appear obvious but it’s an important one: no marathon training plans will go exactly as hoped or expected, some drifting further astray than others, which is okay once you stick with it.”
On Telly: Week two in tennis’s US Open and the matches are getting juicier by the day. The all-American tie of Jessica Pegula and Madison Keys is today’s standout round four encounter. (Sky Sports Main Event, starting 3.30pm)
