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Inside Track

McIlroy finishes like a train but damage is already done

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Liam Challoner of Challoner Trophies, Mountbellew, the new Galway Under 21 hurling championship sponsors, with Hurling Committee Chairman Michael Larkin and Secretary Pat Kearney.

Inside Track with John McIntyre

NOBODY played the final 45 holes of the Masters better than Rory McIlroy – he was 15 under par for that section of golf’s most compelling tournament – but the damage was already done. The hot pre-tournament favourite just didn’t come out of those blocks quickly enough as the pressure and hype clearly unhinged the World’s number one.

In the build up to the Masters, McIlroy hardly helped his cause by fuelling expectations of becoming only the sixth golfer to complete a grand slam in the Majors. He publicly stated that if his career finished without winning a green jacket, it would be a major disappointment. He even qualified that statement by insisting he had the potential to win “multiple” Masters.

If ever a young sportsman was setting himself up for a big fall, it was McIlroy. Naturally, he can’t control the massive media coverage in the build up to Augusta, but he needed to be much more sanguine in his pre-tournament comments. Furthermore, inviting pop star Niall Horan of One Direction to act as his caddy in the par three competition on the eve of the Masters was only helping to keep the spotlight on him.

McIlroy hadn’t handled the pressure well in the closing round of the 2011 Masters when holding a four shot lead on the first tee. Instead, he imploded on the back nine when eventually dropping out of the top ten. Overall, for all the theories that Augusta is tailor-made for McIlroy’s power driving and high approach shots, his best finish in the Masters prior to the 2015 edition was joint eighth last year.

Against that background, the 25-year-old became e a hostage to fortune by also boldly stating that it would be “unthinkable” if he never won the Masters. McIlroy’s belief in his own ability to conquer the unique undulations of Augusta is admirable in one sense, but who is he trying to convince? Chasing a third consecutive Major triumph, he was never going to slip in under the radar, but his bullish public comments did him absolutely no favours in terms of keeping the press frenzy at bay.

An opening round of one under par was no disaster, but McIlroy didn’t look particularly comfortable on the golf course and it was more of a stuttering effort rather than failing to exploit a series of birdie opportunities. After a careless double bogey at the ninth hole in the second round, he was in real danger of not making the cut as he stood at three over bar. Shoulders drooping and clearly ill at ease, McIlroy now had to stand up and show what he was made of in terms of character.

In similar situations in the past, the Northern Ireland man has struggled to get any momentum going, but from that point onwards in Augusta last week, nobody ransacked the course more than McIlroy. He was a staggering 17 shots behind the brilliant pillar-to-post winner, Jordan Spieth, halfway through his second round, but by the end of the tournament, McIlroy had closed the gap to six in taking fourth place on his own. That took courage and some quality shot-making even if a first green jacket was never within hailing distance.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

 

Connacht Tribune

Tyrone will come out guns blazing but Galway will weather the storm

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Galway manager Fergal Healy with his wife Karen and children, from left, Finn, Tess, Rowan and Conn after their Leinster Minor Hurling Final victory over Kilkenny in Portlaoise on Friday evening. Photo: Stephen Marken/Sportsfile.

Inside Track with John McIntyre

SOMETHING very odd happened to Tyrone in the Ulster championship in early April. On their home turf of Healy Park, they were doing nearly everything expected of them when leading Monaghan by five points at half-time. You couldn’t say for definite that the match was done and dusted, but the 2021 All-Ireland champions were in pole position.

You would have expected them to drive on against an honest if limited Monaghan outfit. Instead, Tyrone didn’t score for the opening 16 minutes of the second-half and in an enthralling finale, were left stunned by defender Ryan’s Toole’s stoppage-time goal snatching the honours for the Farney men on a 2-17 to 1-18 scoreline.

A couple of weeks later, Monaghan themselves had exited the Ulster title race when Derry comfortably got the better of them (1-21 to 2-10), leaving us more puzzled than ever by Tyrone’s dramatic decline since overcoming Mayo to claim Sam barely 20 months previously. Last year, they crashed out of Ulster by 11 points to Derry and subsequently came up six short against Armagh in the All-Ireland qualifiers.

Against that background, their recent loss to Monaghan shouldn’t have come as a surprise, but it did. Tyrone may have made a shambolic defence of the All-Ireland title, but there is still a lot of quality in their ranks. They have an adventurous ‘keeper in Niall Morgan, while the long-serving Peter Harte, Darragh Canavan, Darren McCurry, Cathal McShane, Conor Meyler, Mattie Donnelly, and Conn Kilpatrick are all top-class performers when in the mood.

There’s hardly been a word about them for the past six weeks. Tyrone are lying low, desperately trying to rediscover the verve and cohesion which took them all the way in 2021. Their pride is on the line. It makes them dangerous opponents for Galway in the opening round of All-Ireland group matches at Pearse Stadium on Saturday.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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Connacht Tribune

Galway footballers are shaping like a team which could go all the way

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Galway team manager Padraic Joyce with his daughter Jodie and son Charlie holding the Nestor Cup, along with Captain Seán Kelly after Sunday's Connacht Final triumph over Sligo at MacHale Park. Photo: Joe O'Shaughnessy.

Inside Track with John McIntyre

GALWAY footballers won’t get much credit for their easy victory over Sligo in Sunday’s Connacht Final in Castlebar, but when a team achieves something that hasn’t been done for 20 years, perhaps we should be a little more appreciative of the Tribesmen retaining the JJ Nestor Cup for the first time in two decades.

To be honest, if Galway were to live up to their standing as serious All-Ireland contenders, they needed to be doing a number on Sligo. In this year’s National League, the counties were three divisions apart and though Tony McEntee’s team achieved promotion and were on a nine-match unbeaten run, a serious rise in class faced them at MacHale Park.

Granted, Sligo made a bright start with three points in the opening five minutes from Pat Spillane, Sean Carrabine and the accurate Darragh Cummins, but they would only manage two more by the break despite having the wind behind them. Though wing back Luke Towey was catching the eye with his runs up-field, Galway rarely looked under pressure.

Sligo were bravely committing numbers to the middle third, which meant they were a little light in numbers around their own posts. They couldn’t afford to lose possession coming out of their own half, but that’s what happened in the build up to Galway’s second goal. Damien Comer overturned Cian Lally and from his counter-attack, Matthew Tierney expertly finished to the net at the near post.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.

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Connacht Tribune

Leinster hurling race so predictable but skin and hair flying down south

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Galway’s Conor Whelan lays off a pass against Kilkenny’s Mikey Butler during Sunday's Leinster Senior Hurling Championship tie at Nowlan Park. Photo: Joe O'Shaughnessy.

Inside Track with John McIntyre

IS the Leinster hurling championship something of a sham compared to its Munster counterpart? Everybody knows who will end up in the provincial final in the east, but nobody knows the two teams who will feature in the ultimate battle for supremacy down south.

All-Ireland champions Limerick aren’t guaranteed to even make it out of the province, never mind reach the Munster final, after their narrow loss to Clare in Saturday evening’s epic at the Gaelic Grounds. Everything is still on the line for the five counties involved, although Waterford are again under serious pressure after losing their opening two matches.

In Leinster, there is little of that drama. Galway and Kilkenny are miles ahead of the rest; the only thing at stake is whether Dublin or Wexford – they meet in Croke Park on Saturday – will be the third team to emerge for the All-Ireland series. It’s a game which is hard to call. Wexford are going backwards while Dublin look callow as Micheál Donoghue is trying to build the nucleus of a new team.

Though Antrim are improving – they held the Dubs to a draw and only lost to Wexford by four points – the men from the Glens would be out of their depth in Munster; while Westmeath are proving cannon-fodder for everyone else. Since Galway headed east in 2009, they have clashed with Kilkenny in seven Leinster finals and another showdown is inevitable next month.

In contrast, every match in Munster is virtually do-or die. When Clare rolled into Limerick last Saturday, they knew another defeat after losing to Tipperary in the opening round would leave them on the precipice of exiting the championship. There’s a real dog-eat-dog appeal about all the games. In Leinster, there are two big hounds, and the rest are chihuahuas.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App

Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.

Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.

Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite  HERE.

Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.

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