19th Hole
Rory McIlroy is “sick” of easy European Tour course setups. Does he have a point?
A disgruntled Rory McIlroy departed the Alfred Dunhill Links on Sunday, but not before taking a dig at the European Tour, describing their course setups as being “too easy”.
An intriguing take from the second-best player in the world who had just finished T26 at the Scottish event.
Indeed, it isn’t the only performance in recent times either where McIlroy has been outdone by his peers on the European Tour—having failed to record a win in Europe since 2016.
Following his worst finish at a tournament since The Open, the Ulsterman loosened his tongue, and railed against the course setups on the European Tour, stating
“I’m honestly sick of coming back over to the European Tour and shooting 15-under par and finishing 30th. I don’t think the courses are set up hard enough. There’s no penalties for bad shots. It’s tough when you come back when it’s like that. I don’t feel like good golf is regarded as well as it could be.”
Strong rhetoric from the 30-year-old Holywood native who clearly feels the European Tour is failing to match the PGA Tour in their ability to create challenging course setups.
Less than 24 hours after making the comments, McIlroy took to Instagram to acknowledge he had been wrong to make the remarks 15 minutes after his final round on Sunday. However, the 30-year-old maintained that he would like to see tougher setups on the European Tour.
“I would personally like to see tougher set ups in Europe because it will produce better, more complete young players in the future and that can only be a good thing for our game and our Ryder Cup chances going forward.”
As McIlroy explained in the post, last week’s event was a Pro-Am played across links courses in benign conditions which will always lead to low scores – similar to what you’d see at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am on the PGA Tour.
Taking the Ulsterman’s criticism at face value, then the reason behind his disappointing T26 finish last week boiled down to one thing—not playing well enough. If these courses are as simple as McIlroy is making them out to be, then his failure to produce his best on them shows that he simply needs to play better.
After all, are the “easy” course setups on the European Tour much different to the target golf we see week in week out on the PGA Tour? After crunching some numbers, the answer appears to be no.
Ignoring WGC’s and Major championships, through 24 regular strokeplay events in 2019 on the European Tour, the average winning score has been -16.125. On the PGA Tour, through 33 standard strokeplay events, the average winning score has been -16.9. Furthermore, three European Tour events have been won by scores in the single digits under par in 2019, as opposed to the PGA Tour, where just two tournaments have produced winners in the single numbers.
The talent pool on the PGA Tour is undoubtedly greater than that of the European Tour. But it’s also worth noting that big names from across the pond such as Patrick Reed and Xander Schauffele have also tried their hand on these “easy” European Tour courses in recent times, and neither player was able to land any severe blows.
The 30-year-old’s timing of his criticism, as he has since acknowledged, was poor and came one week after PGA Tour stalwart Billy Horschel said of Wentworth that
“You can’t fake it around here. If you hit shots off-line, you’re going to get penalised for it. It’s a beautiful test of golf and I absolutely have loved my entire week here. Everything that encompasses this event can rival the best of the best on the PGA Tour in my opinion.”
With the likes of Le Golf National waiting around the corner, perhaps McIlroy just needs to be more prudent in choosing which events he competes in during his trips back home to Europe.
Do you think McIlroy is justified in his criticism of European Tour course setups being too easy, WRXers?
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19th Hole
LET pro gives detailed financial breakdown of first week on tour…and the net result may shock you
On Friday morning, Ladies European Tour player, Hannah Gregg, took to social media to share her weekly expenses playing on the LET.
Expenses of my first week on Ladies European Tour:
Flights: $2600
Work Visa: $350
Food: $377
Caddie: $0 because I have an amazing Fiancé
Hotel: $0 because @GregChalmersPGA sorted me host housing for the week! ?
Rental Car: +0 because the Tour Tee guys GAVE me their car ??…— Hannah Gregg (@hannahbggg) April 26, 2024
“Expenses of my first week on Ladies European Tour: Flights: $2600 Work Visa: $350
- Food: $377
- Caddie: $0 because I have an amazing Fiancé
- Hotel: $0 because @GregChalmersPGA sorted me host housing for the week!
- Rental Car: +0 because the Tour Tee guys GAVE me their car
- Gas: $165
- Entry Fee: $130
- Lounge Pass for caddie: $50
- Gym: $0
- Yardage book: $0
- Total expenses: $3672
Made cut, finished 54th, total earned: $1244 Factor in 35% tax on earnings. To break even, needed to finish 24th. To make money, 21st. Guess we have our goals laid out for next event!”
When factoring in Gregg’s free housing, free caddie and free rental car, it’s evident that most LET players would have to finish well inside of the top-20 to make any money.
With ridiculous amounts of money being thrown around in professional golf these days, it’s important to remember the other side of the coin as well. There are countless professionals out there who struggle to get by on their golf salary.
More from the 19th Hole
- The wild reason why Mark Wahlberg was initially denied entry to an Australian golf club
- 2-time major champ announces shock retirement from the sport at age of 33
- Edoardo Molinari reveals the latest PGA Tour golfer to turn down ‘good offer’ from LIV Golf
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19th Hole
54-hole golf tour deemed eligible for OWGR points…but it’s not LIV
After a seventeen-month application process, a 54-hole golf tour was deemed eligible for OWGR points.
Unfortunately, for LIV Golf and their fans, it was the Clutch Pro Tour.
After the decision, which is effective immediately, OWGR chairman Peter Dawson issued a statement.
“This is a significant milestone for golf, and OWGR is deeply encouraged by the achievement and the continued efforts in developing the sport of golf in the United Kingdom.”
“We look forward to watching the progress of the Clutch Pro Tour as it continues to play a key role in the development of players from the region,” Dawson added.
OWGR Announcement
Read more here – https://t.co/7J4bFpawqv#OWGR#OfficialWorldGolfRanking pic.twitter.com/ZfBJWCFAm8— OWGR (@OWGRltd) April 25, 2024
The Clutch Pro Tour operates in the United Kingdom and features a 36-hole cut. It also has an open qualifying school.
More from the 19th Hole
- The wild reason why Mark Wahlberg was initially denied entry to an Australian golf club
- 2-time major champ announces shock retirement from the sport at age of 33
- Edoardo Molinari reveals the latest PGA Tour golfer to turn down ‘good offer’ from LIV Golf
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19th Hole
Charlie Woods attempting to qualify for spot at 2024 U.S. Open
As first reported by Bob Harig of Sports Illustrated, Charlie Woods will be attempting to qualify for this year’s U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2.
The first stage of qualifying for this year’s tournament will be an 18-hole local event on Thursday, April 25th, in Port St. Lucie, Florida.
There will be 84 players in the field, five of which will reach the 36-hole qualifier that will take place in June.
Earlier this season, Charlie attempted to qualify for the Cognizant Classic, and struggled, shooting an 86.
If the younger Woods is able to qualify, he will tee it up in the same field as his father in a few months at one of the more historic U.S. Open venues.
More from the 19th Hole
- The wild reason why Mark Wahlberg was initially denied entry to an Australian golf club
- 2-time major champ announces shock retirement from the sport at age of 33
- Edoardo Molinari reveals the latest PGA Tour golfer to turn down ‘good offer’ from LIV Golf
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