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The first day of the Irish Open in Doonbeg was marked by slow play and a noticeable security presence. While stars like Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry were the main attractions, fans also flocked to photograph armed Garda officers. The event faced delays due to strong winds and congestion, with the feature group finishing hours after they started. The tournament atmosphere is heavily influenced by the expected arrival of former President Donald Trump, who owns the venue.
Niall Kelly reports from Trump International, Doonbeg IF RORY MCILROY and Shane Lowry were the two main attractions at the Irish Open on Thursday afternoon, there were a couple of members of An Garda Siochána’s armed support unit that might reasonably lay claim to third place.
On duty in the ‘Championship Village’, the tented collection of shops and sponsor stalls nestled next to the third and fourth holes, the two armed Gardaí happily obliged a number of requests to stand and pose for photographs. File it away as the latest exhibit of the bizarro land that this picturesque corner of west Clare has become this week.
A Trump-sized shadow loomed over the opening day of the tournament, even if there’s still 48 hours of calm before the storm which will accompany the US President’s expected arrival at the course which bears his name later this weekend. Given the breadth of the security operation that will be in place across the state, it was no surprise to see a heavy Garda presence, both on the course and on the approach to Doonbeg.
On arrival, the airport-style security scanners stood ready, but as yet, unneeded. Robert MacIntyre, Brooks Koepka and Rory McIlroy wait on the fourth tee box for the fairway to clear. Ben Brady / INPHO Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO To be fair to the photo-hunting fans, they weren’t at risk of missing much of the action out on the course, the glacial pace of play grinding to a near-standstill amid strong winds and tee-box traffic jams.
At 7.41pm, six hours and six minutes after they teed off, Thursday’s feature three-ball of Rory McIlroy, Brooks Koepka and Robert MacIntyre finally putted out in the fading Doonbeg light. It left plenty of time for those looking to kill time in the official tournament merch shop – €250 for the Irish Open-branded rain jacket, if you’re so inclined.
Around the corner, a much smaller Trump Doonbeg shop: alongside the polo shirts sat Trump baseball hats, as well as Callaway golf balls, stamped with the Trump International insignia and the numbers 45 and 47. Advertisement Trump’s golf portfolio, which spans 16 properties worldwide, butters both sides of the bread: the economic , and the reputational .
Renato Paratore and caddy Charles Dubois wait for the hole ahead to clear. Ben Brady / INPHO Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO The alliance is felt more uneasily by some than others: for many of the Doonbeg natives, there is a pragmatic view of a business which was taken out of receivership 12 years ago and restored as an economic engine of the local economy.
Earlier this week, McIlroy found himself fielding questions about the nature of his relationship with Trump’s son Eric Any broader squeamishness among the more general golfing population doesn’t appear to have translated into ticket sales: Saturday and Sunday are both fully sold out, though the crowds did feel noticeably light at times across the sprawling 400-acre property.
Then again, it was a school day – although one look at the crowd and you’d suspect that more than a few schools around Clare and further afield were missing names at roll call on Thursday morning. Instead, they were pressed against rope lines, arms outstretched with the familiar sound of “Rory, please”. Defending champion Rory McIlroy tees off on the first.
Ben Brady / INPHO Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO Shortly before 1.35pm, the man with the honour was introduced as “the Masters champion and the defending champion”. Once he settled over his opening shot, the only sound was the tinny rattle of the flags against their poles as the winds topped 20km/h, picking up further as the afternoon progressed.
The elephant in the room aside, much of the pre-tournament chatter has focused on the tightrope that organisers will have to walk with their course setup this week. Usually a par-72, the course has been remodelled slightly into a par-70 for the pros, but this is links golf after all, and the key variable is the one that nobody has any control over.
In calm conditions, Doonbeg is seen to be eminently gettable, but when the wind blows as it did for most of Thursday, the test becomes an entirely different proposition. Ask Koepka, who pulled his second shot of the tournament high and left into the dunes standing guard above Doonbeg’s opening hole.
For anyone who needed a sharp reminder of how this course will play when it bares its teeth, and how it will punish the slightest inaccuracy, the image of Koepka, McIlroy and MacIntyre, along with a half-dozen marshals, spotters and volunteers, searching forlornly in the tall stuff to no avail, will do. Koepka was left to finish out on his provisional ball for a triple-bogey seven, putting his championship challenge on the back foot with 71 holes to play.
Related Reads Shane Lowry shares second after first round 67 at Irish Open, as McIlroy fires 69 'Should have been a few better': Harrington rues missed chances at record-breaking 31st Irish Open Robert MacIntyre and Rory McIlroy help Brooks Koepka search for his ball on the first. Ben Brady / INPHO Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO Set against what was to follow, those first three holes were practically played at warp speed, and McIlroy opened like a man intent on defending his title.
In truth, he could have been four-under through four, catching the left edge and lipping out from four foot on the first before opening his account on the second, his approach just hanging on to the right edge of the green and leaving a tricky right-to-left 14-footer. Another good chance slid by at the third before a magnificent up-and-down for birdie from the greenside bunker at four, the world number two floating his ball out on a cloud of sand to three feet.
His only blip of the day came at 13th, where his ambition got the better of him and he needed two attempts to get out of the fairway bunker for his first dropped shots of the day, an untimely double bogey. He undid half the damage with a final birdie at the 15th, finishing on one-under par, four behind clubhouse leader Joaquin Niemann of Chile. McIlroy tees off on the eighteenth as the sun sets over Doonbeg.
Ben Brady / INPHO Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO A couple of groups ahead, having taken advantage of the opening holes with the wind at his back, Tom McKibbin plotted his way through the testing back nine with a succession of pars only to stumble on the 18th, signing for a promising opening round of two-under. As McIlroy headed for the scorer’s tent, the group behind raced against the dying light, Shane Lowry posted the best Irish score of the day, a bogey-free back nine seeing him safely home on three-under in a share of second place.
Irish Open Trump International Doonbeg Rory Mcilroy Shane Lowry Garda Security Golf Tournament Slow Play US President Visit
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