Golf

The huge roar that greeted Rory McIlroy holing a testing par putt to make it to the weekend in the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth said it all. Now the world No 2 is aiming to use the final two rounds in the European Tour’s flagship event to make sure he does himself justice alongside his dad, Gerry, in next week’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship on Scottish soil.

The people coming up and shaking his hand – and asking for selfies, of course – remember Bernard Gallacher as a winning Ryder Cup captain and, in this part of the world, the former Wentworth club professional.

Jack McDonald took route 66 to claim his maiden professional victory in the Newmachar Golf Club Challenge on the PGA EuroPro Tour.

Golf and I are getting divorced. We hate each other and a different hobby has caught my eye. But don’t worry, the clubs are going to be fine, they’ll have a good home to go to, writes Kevan Christie.

The Alfred Dunhill Links Championship is one of the most exciting golf events in the world for golf lovers.

It’s never dull covering Scottish golfers on the European Tour these days and the opening round of the $7 million BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth was no exception.

He’s in the top 15 in the Race to Dubai in his rookie season and recently broke into the world’s top 100 for the first time. Oh, and what about the latest glowing endorsement of Bob MacIntyre’s impact in European golf? He’s among 20 up-and-coming players on a list compiled by Ryder Cup captain Padraig Harrington as the qualifying battle for the BMW PGA Championship gets underway today at Wentworth.

Rory McIlroy delivered a volley at slow play in golf after being “frustrated” as he watched last week’s Solheim Cup at Gleneagles, urging officials to follow the lead of their tennis counterparts in the recent US Open final.

“It all leads to this moment” and now “It all starts here”. Yes, slogans are definitely the in-thing in golf, with one having been coined for last week’s Solheim Cup at Gleneagles and the other being used at Wentworth this week to mark the BMW PGA Championship getting the qualifying campaign for next year’s Ryder Cup under way.

Pesky journalists, eh? Shane Lowry becomes Open champion after being asked time and time again over the years when he would finally win a major and now we want to know if he’s capable of repeating the feat.

Hot on the heels of her appearance for Europe in the Junior Solheim Cup at Gleneagles, Broomieknowe teenager Hannah Darling has another team event in her sights.

I t seemed unlikely, but Medinah has indeed been matched. Like that 2014 Ryder Cup on the outskirts of Chicago, the Solheim Cup at Gleneagles provided final-day memories that will last a lifetime for those lucky to be there to 
witness it.

“She’s Beany.” In only two words, Laura Davies delivered her verdict on what Catriona Matthew brought to the table in the 16th Solheim Cup as she masterminded one of the greatest sporting triumphs on an incredible afternoon at glorious Gleneagles on Sunday.

Catriona Matthew has said she wouldn’t turn down the chance to become a back-to-back Solheim Cup-winning captain, though her Gleneagles hero, Suzann Pettersen, could be a rival for the job in 2021.

It was the ultimate tribute. “Simply the toughest competitor I’ve ever come up against,” said Laura Davies of Suzann Pettersen, Europe’s match-winner at Gleneagles and now a retired professional golfer.

Add “Captain Fantastic” to Catriona Matthew’s “Supermum” tag. The Solheim Cup is back in Europe’s hands thanks to the boldest decision of her life. Suzann Pettersen, handed what some reckoned was a controversial wildcard by Matthew, clinched a dramatic 14½-13½ victory for the home team in the 16th edition on the PGA Centenary Course at Gleneagles.

Catriona Matthew admitted it was a “dream come true” to lead Europe to a Solheim Cup victory on Scottish soil after the home team regained the trophy following a dramatic finish at Gleneagles.

They put a plaque down on the 15th fairway to honour Jamie Donaldson after he hit the winning shot in the 2014 Ryder Cup and now Gleneagles bosses might have to re-name the 18th hole on the PGA Centenary Course after Suzann Pettersen.