Trio of US golfing superstars hit famous Irish links after Open Championship
Three of America’s golfing giants, Smylie Kaufman, Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth, jetted off to Ireland on Monday to challenge themselves on one of the nation’s premier courses. The famous European Club in Co Wicklow was their playground as they unwound following the final major of the year last week. Thomas, a two-time PGA Championship victor, had an unusual performance at Royal Troon, blending brilliance with absurdity on Saturday to stay in the running, only to shoot six-over Par on Sunday as Xander Schauffele effortlessly clinched his second major of the season.
Former Open Champion Spieth ended up just one shot ahead of his old pal Thomas at five-over par. Kaufman, who won the PGA Tour back in 2015 at the Shriners Open, has shifted his focus to broadcasting in recent years and didn’t participate in The Open last week. All three men trailed behind Ireland’s Shane Lowry, who put up a valiant effort on Sunday but couldn’t catch up with Schauffele.
“I just wanted to go out and give myself a chance today,” Lowry confessed afterwards. “I promised Neil (Manchip, coach) that I would go out — we had a great chat last night. I promised Neil I’d do one thing and go out and fight for every shot, and that’s what I did today. Unfortunately, it’s not good enough, and it’s very disappointing. There’s no two ways about it.” “I had a great chance of winning this Open, and it’s going to hurt for a few days. But onwards and upwards and onto the Olympics and try to win a medal for Ireland and get on from there then.”
He continued: “You go out there and put yourself out there in front of everyone and give it your best. Saturday afternoon wasn’t a high point in my career. Those nine holes, I’m probably going to rue them for a while, but it is what it is now. “I’m proud of myself the way I came back today. I holed some great putts when I needed to. Even that one at 17, I was pretty pumped with that. I thought, if I could birdie the last, you never know, and I managed to leave it four feet short. It’s a bit stupid. It is what it is. “There’s a lot of positives, a lot of FedExCup points to take away from this, even Race to Dubai points. A few World Ranking points as well. So it’s nice.”
