‘One last push and see where we end up’

Liam Nolan found out he was up to the challenge when he dipped his toes into the DP World Tour at the Amgen Irish Open at Doonbeg. Afterwards, though, he got straight back to the day job – for now. The 26-year-old Galway man boarded a plane to Lisbon for this week’s Portugal Open on the HotelPlanner Tour (HPT) in his quest to graduate to the main circuit.

Nolan’s tied-31st finish in the Irish Open, playing on an invitation, earned him a career-best payday of €41,342. Almost as importantly, it contributed 15 points to the Race to Mallorca order of merit on the HPT, moving him up six places to 41st on those standings.

“I’ll be playing for money for a while into my future hopefully,” said Nolan, seeking the bigger picture. “It’s more the experience for me, the learning. I’m only into my second year as a pro so, look, money’s nice for sure, but I’m just out here to learn really.”

On his performance in Co Clare at the weekend, he added: “I’m just really happy I was able to put four nice rounds together, to tee it up with some of the best players in the world and prove that I’m not really that far off them . . . it’s a bit of a confidence booster and I’m hoping to bring that into the rest of the season. One last push and see where we end up at the end of the season.”

Nolan will aim to take his Doonbeg momentum into the final five events on the HPT. It starts with this week’s tournament in Portugal and is then followed by the Abu Dhabi Challenge in three weeks, two tournaments in China and then the Grand Final in Mallorca.

The leading 45 players on the order of merit after the Hangzhou Open next month qualify for the Grand Final in Mallorca, where the top-15 players earn full DP World Tour cards.

Irish team a class apart in Austria

Although the conveyor belt of Irish players graduating from the amateur ranks to the top tier of men’s professional golf may be running slow at present, Ireland’s dominance of team golf continued over the weekend with victory in the European Mid-Amateur Team Championship in Austria.

The Irish men’s team – Keith Egan (Carton House), Gerard Dunne (Co Louth), David Howard (Fota Island) and David Kitt (Athenry) – defeated hosts Austria at Föhrenwald Golf Club to claim the title of the championship confined to players aged 25 and over. The triumph followed Ireland’s win in the European Team Championship in Estonia in the summer.

Word of mouth

“I was really happy to see that I was playing against Kupcho. She’s a fighter, I’m a fighter … what she did was amazing on 17 and 18 [on Saturday]. But today I knew she had no chance. I was like, ‘I want to kill you’.” – Carlota Ciganda on taking out Jennifer Kupcho in the singles to help secure the Solheim Cup for Europe. Kupcho had roared “Vamos!”, aimed at Ciganda, after holing a monster 90-foot putt in Saturday’s fourballs. As it happened, the golfing gods gave the Spaniard the chance to exact revenge, which she did. Europe won the match by 15-13.

In numbers

4 — There are four Irish players in the field at this week’s BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, the flagship event of the DP World Tour with a €7.8 million purse. Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry, Tom McKibbin and Pádraig Harrington make up the quartet.

On this day . . . September 15th, 1968

Arnold Palmer, aka The King, reigned supreme in the inaugural Kemper Open at Pleasant Valley Country Club in the suburbs of Boston, claiming the 54th win of his career on the PGA Tour.

It was an overdue success. Palmer had been winless that season since capturing the Bob Hope Desert Classic in February. He had endured a number of close calls in a seven-month drought, including a runner-up finish to Julius Boros in the US PGA Championship.

Untypical of the serial tour winner, he had also suffered a string of missed cuts, which made his return to winning ways all the more satisfying. “I kind of feel like myself again,” he remarked.

Carding rounds of 69-70-70-67 for a total of 12-under-par 276, Palmer secured a four-stroke winning margin over Bruce Crampton and Art Wall jnr. In the final round, Palmer had an eagle and five birdies to give the new tournament immediate stardust.

Social Swing

Sweet win for Shane Lowry at the Amgen Irish Open, capping off four days of great golf. To lift this trophy again in beautiful Doonbeg will live long in the memory. Congratulations to Shane on an outstanding victory – An Taoiseach Micheál Martin celebrating Lowry’s win.

Congratulations to Anna and her @SolheimCupEuro team. Determination, belief and team spirit from start to finish. Enjoy the celebrations – Europe Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald tipping the cap to his Solheim Cup counterpart Anna Nordqvist.

Good things come to those who wait…. The best team @SolheimCupEuro – Lottie Woad getting the last word after finally recording a win in her singles (over Auston Kim) which ensured Europe’s win over the USA.

In the bag

Shane Lowry – Amgen Irish Open

Driver: Srixon ZXi RKT LS+ (9 degrees)

3-Wood: TaylorMade Qi4D (16.5 degrees)

7-Wood: TaylorMade Qi4D (21 degrees)

Irons: Srixon ZXi5 (4-5), Srixon ZXi7 (6-PW)

Wedges: Cleveland RTZ 2 (50, 56 degrees), Cleveland RTZ Tour Rack (60 degrees)

Putter: TaylorMade Spider Tour Z

Ball: Srixon Z-Star XV

Know the Rules

Q: On a par-three, Player A’s tee shot might be lost, so they play a provisional ball which is holed. Player A does not wish to look for the original ball, but Player B does go to look for it. Before Player A lifts the provisional ball from the hole, Player B finds Player A’s original ball in some thick rough near the green. What is the ruling?

A: Player A must abandon the provisional ball and continue with the original ball. Under Clarification 18.3c(2)/3 to the rules, the score with a provisional ball that has been holed only becomes the player’s score for the hole when the player lifts the ball from the hole before the original ball has been found in bounds.