“Quick word Charley?” Not unless you fancy a lung busting sprint.
And we thought Rory McIlroy was out of order…
Hull takes a hike and swerves media
Charley Hull got her post round workout in early as she darted away from the media and disappeared into the corridors of Carton House Hotel.
Hull, who has been complaining about a back injury from lifting a heavy box from her car when moving stuff from one house to another, – simple problems – turned in a flash when she saw the assembled print and radio/video media and Ladies European Tour TV staff waiting in the wings.
Players are not obliged to speak to the media post round, although I am sure that pre-tournament media was obligatory as part of her appearance fee.
However, Hull was in contention at the time and still is in contention, and will have the bulk of the afternoon support today when Leona Maguire finishes her third round. By all means give the golf hacks a swerve, but to not do a measly television interview which is a huge promotional opportunity for the KPMG Women’s Irish Open just lacks class.
She walked briskly under the arch which separates the practice area from the courtyard in front of the clubhouse then took on a full sprint to evade our gaze.
Not that her post round interview on Thursday was anything to write home about, short and snappy answers to the radio and print guys while staring at her phone with big eyes like a bumblebee.
Maybe cutting out the fags has made her a bit antsy.
Classy Byrne
Sara Byrne is a class act.
Byrne endured a wave of emotions in her second round. Rolling in four birdies in a row as she went on a charge to make the cut and when she walked in a birdie on the 4th she was inside it on level-par.
Walking from the 4th green to the 5th tee was a scene. The roars from the crowd would have echoed around the golf course. She’s a crowd pleaser and brilliant for the game.
Unfortunately a costly double bogey on the 5th and another dropped shot on the 8th saw her miss out by the minimum as a tough rookie season – where she competes on the LET and on the US Epson Tour – continued.
We thought we would grab her for a word or two, in case the cut fell to three-over in the afternoon. It didn’t, but she sort of knew it at the time, it was written on her face.
But what came out of her mouth was an incredibly engaging tale and fair play to her.
Well within her rights to tell us to f**k off, I mean who wouldn’t after such a disappointing finish, but she stood there and fielded questions for a couple of minutes and by no means was she fawning us off and giving rehearsed answers.
“I seem to be missing the cut by one a lot, and that hurts even more than missing by 10,” she said.
Hopefully those missed cuts will turn into made cuts by five shots soon.
Olympic Bronze on show
There won’t be any KPMG Women’s Irish Open silverware going the way of the sixteen home hopefuls but there was some on show at Carton House.
Ten years ago Paul Kirrane from Ennis Co. Clare and his playing partner in the alternate shot competition, Patrick Rutherford, won bronze at the 2015 Special Olympics World Games.
Still wearing his gleaming bronze medal alongside his father, the pair had a nice moment and had their photograph taken in front of the Ladies European Tour backdrop.
Lottie Woad. Remember the name – or at least how to pronounce it!
World number one amateur Lottie Woad leads by three going into the weekend and even if she doesn’t get over the line over the next 36 holes, make no mistake, she is the real deal.
Needing just two more points to earn her LPGA Tour card which is essentially a done deal, the Englishwoman is a star in the making.
If Woad makes the cut at the Evian Championship next week she will earn one point, if she backs that up with a top-25 finish she will earn another point, granting her an LPGA card. With runs at the Scottish Open and AIG Women’s Open to come she has plenty of chances to earn enough points.
If she stays as the world number one amateur for another few weeks she can earn one point towards her LPGA Tour card.
So we may learn her name sooner rather than later, because it is not WO-ad (Woah-add) as I heard some fans calling her.
Play in Pink
Players and fans alike wore splashes of pink to support Play in Pink Friday with all proceeds going towards breast cancer research and as always, the pink flagsticks were a nice touch even if they did take a battering in the wind.
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