ALL EYES WERE on Tiger Woods in the late pairings at the Open Championship, but it was the early round of 66 by his compatriot Kevin Kisner which earned the lead at the end of day one.
Kisner recovered from a bogey on the fifth with an immediate eagle, and never returned from red figures, reaching -5 and the top of the leaderboard thanks to back-to-back-to-back birdies through 13, 14 and 15.
Pre-tournament favourite Dustin Johnson, meanwhile, carded a +5 round of 76.
On a difficult day for Shane Lowry and Padraig Harrington, Rory McIlroy leads the Irish charge on -2, though Erik van Rooyen, Zander Lombard (South Africa) and American Tony Finau ran Kisner closest for the overnight lead and they’ll start day two with a healthy -4 to their name.
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Tiger Woods’ front nine showing made it look like he was set to trouble the leaders as he was -2 through the first four holes. However, he bogeyed the 10th and although the 42-year-old pulled the shot back immediately, further bogeys came on 13 and 15 to leave him on level par alongside Paul Dunne.
Outside of the leaders, the round of Brooks Koepka is well worth noting. The American scorched through the back nine with five birdies.
An excellent run, but it brought him only to a round of 72, +1, after a horrendous run of double-bogey, par, bogey, double-bogey, bogey (6-5-5-5-5) to end the front nine.
The second double bogey in that run arrived thanks to this nightmarish bunker encounter where the back-to-back US Open Champion proved: it happens to the best of ‘em.
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If he gets back into the Irish setup without others getting injured I’d be very surprised. Saying that if he does merit a recall then he’ll be playing fantastic rugby so for Ireland sake I hope he does.
@Chris Mc: It’s all about him I reckon cause he’s definitely got the talent/ability. As someone else pointed out here he looked in bad shape for a lot of his time at Wasps, if he really focuses on that he could challenge for a place on the squad no problem.
@The Irish Pain: wasps wanted him heavier, to be a different prop than the mobile less effective scrumager cooper wolley
Ireland now have 5 reliable TH props available . Furlong , Porter , Bealham , Ryan and Moore : all under 30 . That’s an incredible turnaround .
@Limón Madrugada: Maybe you could include Archer on that list as he seems to be first choice in Munster.
@Tom Reilly: but reliable for Ireland ?? I’m not convinced , he is capped though for sure ..
Someone on here yesterday said that Leinster made a ‘poor decision’ letting Marty Moore go.
I think the opposite, Marty Moore made a poor decision to leave Leinster.
When he left he was in the Irish 23, primed to replace Ross. He moved to Wasps and ended up not even starting for them. He also looked unfit.
In that time Leinster developed Furlong and Porter, Ireland brought in Bealham and Ryan and a few years later he’s back fighting for 3rd/4th in the Irish pecking order.
A shame because he is some prop on his day. Possibly a better scrummager than any of the above.
@Oval Digest: The word was that Moore was excited to play under Dai Young, a well capped Welsh and Lions prop. Maybe it was the 2 year deal offered by Leinster vs the 3 year Wasps deal (undoubtedly for more money) that was the real reason. Or maybe he saw Tadgh Furlong coming through and thought now’s the time to cash in. Or perhaps he thought Leinster are not gonna be challenging any more. If it was the Young factor that helped him go, the renowned Young had no impact on him other than gaining weight. The move might have been good for his bank balance but it was a disaster for his career. Thus far. Still, a big season and he could play his way in.
@grandslamkbo The word was also that Moore signed a contract without realising that he couldn’t get out of it in an effort to bargain with the IRFU, and then got stuck.
https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/rugby/leinster-admit-defeat-in-bid-to-retain-marty-moore-s-services-1.2510136
Marty is good on his day when fit, the problem is there just isn’t enough of those days.
He will have to buck up his ideas if he is to have a sniff of being anywhere near the Irish squad.
Yes squad not team
His whole career and how people will view his achievements relies on his application for the next two years
Be interesting to see how Nathan Hughes goes this season, he should be pushing for a place in the English team.
@Ruairi O’Bric: He is a super club player but I’m not sure about his workrate apart from ball carrying. If Billy V stays fits there’s no comparison…
Looked very unfit at Wasps as when he was playing previously for Leinster he had great mobility/work-rate and could force a few turnovers too.
He was overweight when he last played for Leinster and Ireland and things have only gotten worse since, needs to go on a serious shred if he is to make Ireland contention again.