Golf, by TourMiss

Stephen Gallacher delighted in celebrating the start of a 25th full season with a gutsy 69 on day one of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. Gallacher emerged from a near 3-hour fog delay and race to three-under par through just five holes but then gave the three shots back at the 10th and 11th holes in the UAE capital. The Bathgate pro bogeyed the par-5 10th and doubled the next to find himself back at level par before superbly regrouping with birdies at 13, 15 and 17 for his 69.   He said: “I ...

Rory McIlroy brilliantly emerged from a near three-hour fog delay to find his way into the clubhouse lead with an eight-under par 64 on day one of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. Once the fog lifted the current World No. 6 was at his perfect best in seizing eight birdies to produce his lowest Abu Dhabi score in 39 rounds of the National course in the UAE capital. McIlroy headed to the clubhouse a shot clear of England’s Tyrrell Hatton who snatched two eagles in his round, at the par-5 10th ...

Four-time Major winning Rory McIlroy returns to competition this week in Abu Dhabi seeing the first step in a bigger picture European Tour and PGA Tour merge as a means of mending current ‘fractures’ in the professional game. The European Tour had announced in late November that the long-time rival PGA Tour had acquired a minority stake in the European Tour’s media production company as part of an alliance. The announcement was seen as a big first step toward developing a more unified ...

Close friend Rory McIlroy admitted he’s confident Tiger Woods will get back to full recovery following a pre-Christmas fifth back operation, and also in time for April’s Masters. The 15-time Major-winning Woods underwent surgery on the 23rd December to remove a pressurised disc fragment after admitting feeling discomfort four days earlier when he and 11-year old son, Charlie finished sevent in the 2020 PNC Father and Son Challenge. Woods issued a statement yesterday (Tuesday, 19th January) ...

Justin Thomas admits he was ‘upset’ when clothing giant Ralph Lauren stripped the American of a mult-million dollar clothing contract. Thomas was wearning a plain dark blue shirt when he spoke to the media ahead of this week’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and his first event since the controversy of uttering a homophobic slur during the third round of last fortnight’s Sentry Tournament of Champions in Hawaii. And no sooner had the visiting American settled behind the microphone ...

Good friend Rory McIlroy insists Justin Thomas will respond ‘really, really well and be a better person’ following the controversy resulting from his homophobic slur during the Sentry Tournament of Champions. Both McIlroy and Thomas are competing at this week’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship in the UAE capital. “I think Justin has already responded really, really well,” said McIlroy. “He realised he made a big mistake as soon as it was brought to him out in Hawaii ...

Shane Lowry is fully supportive of JP McManus Pro-Am organisers decision to reschedule the event to July next year. The event had been due to be held on July 5th and 6th, 2021 at Adare Manor, Co. Limerick but will now take place from July 4th and 5th, 2022. The postponement comes amid the continuing uncertainty around large-scale gatherings taking place both in Ireland and across the globe. With over 40,000 attendees expected from many different countries, they and Lowry felt that the smooth and ...