By mid-afternoon it looks like only Shane Lowry and Rory McIlroy will make it into the weekend of The 154th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale where seven Irish hopefuls started the week.

Rory McIlroy will need to produce a battling Open Championship fightback after a difficult day on the baked Royal Birkdale links that left The Masters champion on two-over and seven strokes adrift of overnight leader Jackson Suber from the United States.

Former winner Shane Lowry will return to the island of Ireland to tee it up at the Amgen Irish Open at Doonbeg in County Clare from September 9-13 where he will be joined by defending champion Rory McIlroy.

These are treasured times. We will miss it when it’s gone. Rory McIlroy is a once in a generational sporing icon and last evening he further etched his name in the history books by successfully defending the Masters at Augusta National.

Emotions are spent, nerves are frayed as yet another Masters rollercoaster ride ensued on the third day at Augusta, yet somehow the defending champion Rory McIlroy still has a chance of winning despite relinquishing a six stroke lead.

Defending champion Rory McIlroy seized control of the 90th Masters with a brilliant burst of scoring on the back nine to take a record six-shot lead at the halfway stage.

Rory McIlroy made an excellent start to the defence of his Masters title as he shot a five-under-par 67 to hold a share of the first-round lead alongside Sam Burns at Augusta National.

So much has changed in 12 months as Rory McIlroy gets ready for the defence of his Masters title he famously won down Magnolia Lane to cement his legacy as one of the all-time greats in the game.

Tee-times for the 2026 Masters were released earlier today, and it doesn’t take too much scrolling to find the marquee groups that will have us on the edge of our sofas for the opening round of the first Major of the year.