RCD CHANGES: “WE’RE NEVER GOING TO REPAINT THE MONA LISA”

Graeme McDowell was one of the first players to sign up for LIV Golf, but the Portrush star is the latest name to confirm that he will no longer be part of LIV 2.0.

Ireland’s Seamus Power was denied a PGA Tour win after losing a Monday playoff to Austin Smotherman at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship at Port Royal Golf Course in Southampton.

Éanna Mulhare and Anna Dawson passed stern links tests to claim respective Irish Intervarsity Championship victories at Carne Golf Links. 

Northern Ireland’s Tom McKibbin is the latest player to confirm he will turn his back on LIV 2.0 and focus his attention on playing a full schedule on the DP World Tour in 2027.

Tiger Woods will be named the course designer of the first new links course in Northern Ireland to be built at Bellarena on the northwest coast with the 15 times Major winner’s role to be officially rubberstamped in the coming days.

The road to securing playing rights on the DP World Tour for the 2027 season continues next week as players from around the world and 12 players from Ireland compete across the four Spanish venues that makes up the Second Stage of Qualifying School.

Northern Ireland’s Tom McKibbin was forced to withdraw from his defence of this week’s Link Hong Kong Open due to s stomach bug.

Shane Lowry and Rory McIlroy will be playing a lot more off-season golf together with news that this year’s Amgen Irish Open winner completed the first trade in TGL from The Bay Golf Club to McIlroy’s Boston Common Golf.

World number two Rory McIlroy responded to criticism from fellow professional Kevin Kisner that he only competed in India last week because of appearance money, dismissing the comments by saying “two things can be true at the same time”.

Rory McIlroy is determined to do everything he can to stay at the top of the golfing world for the next 10 years as he aims to make more history on the DP World Tour by claiming the DP World India Championship as part of his bid to win a record-equalling eighth Race to Dubai title.

The landscape of top tier professional golf remains ever more uncertain after the boss of the DP World Tour told the BBC that any LIV Golf members wishing to compete on their tour in 2027 “need to make a choice”.

Newcastle native Simon Thornton was crowned the Evalon Order of Merit Champion for the second successive year after a PGA Irish Region campaign that saw him win six times.