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Irish Mirror

Sport

Gary Murphy

Gary Murphy: LIV not for me while World Number one beckons for Rory McIlroy

Rory McIlroy LIV (Event) LIV Golf John Murphy Seamus Power Golf Brooks Koepka Shane Lowry DP World GAA

I watched the LIV tournament finale in Saudi and still can't get into it.

It was a big win for Brooks Koepka - and it was no shock, given that has reunited with his old coach Claude Harmon.

It was a big surprise that they split a couple of years ago after all their success. The big question is what does this win really mean for Koepka.

Many of their players alluded to the fact that they played back to back weeks and that was a big help. The issue is that players need continuity and playing once every month, it's very difficult to create momentum.

It seems like the players have spoken on this - even if publicly many have said a benefit of LIV Golf is the chance to spend more time at home - and you would imagine that changes will be made.

Many of these players will still play majors - but does playing three round tournaments every month prepare you for the heat and pressure of majors?

The coming months will tell us more where this Tour is going but I really feel that some players must feel semi-retired if this is the only schedule they will play. It can only take that competitive edge away if it is a 14-tournament season.

Last week's venue has never had any crowds so it is unfair to mention this one as having no atmosphere but surly these tournaments are not a substitute for the atmosphere of the Tours that they have left.

Miami will stage the final tournament and then the real talk will have to happen.

It is a very intriguing space. I'm still of the opinion that there will be no longevity and players will get very rich in the short term and nothing else.

It has cost a vast amount of money for very little in return in my opinion.

World Number One beckons for Rory

An exciting week is in store for Rory McIlroy at The CJ Cup as he has the opportunity to return to world number one.

It was July 2020 when he last held the mantle of the world's best player - and it will take his very best golf to get back on top as he needs a win or solo second for it to happen, along with a poor week from Scottie Scheffler.

Rory has really made his presence felt off the course since the arrival of LIV Golf. It has also had a very positive impact on his attitude on the course.

Also leading the DP World Tour rankings, he is back to his best and seems to be in contention almost every time he tees it up.

This will be his penultimate tournament of the season, followed by the Tour Championship in Dubai. The opportunity to finish as the Fed Ex and DP World champion, along with that number one ranking, provides more than enough inspiration.

Shane Lowry and Seamus Power are also in the field as they return from small breaks.

This tournament is a limited field with four rounds guaranteed, so it is the perfect week to gain points - and for both Lowry and Power to try to finish off the year with a win on the PGA Tour.

Power has slowed down since the summer so he will be keen to finish strongly before the Christmas break.

It was difficult to follow the tournament in Japan last week with the time difference, so it will be fantastic viewing with the three Irish players filling our screens this weekend.

Irish hopefuls on challenge tour

The Challenge Tour season has one remaining tournament, with the Grand Final taking place in two weeks.

With 20 full DP World cards on offer, Tom McKibbin is our highest ranked player at number 15. He is almost guaranteed to fill one of those 20 spots.

It has been a wonderful season for him. After a fast start in South Africa he has shown great consistency with seven top 10s.

If he could round off his year with a victory it would massively improve his tournament access next season.

John Murphy is the other Irish player teeing it up in the season-ending event. The top 45 play and Murphy finished in 42nd spot and will need a massive week to sneak into the top 20.

No doubt Murphy was running on empty in the last few weeks so a break will benefit him.

Regardless of the grand finale, it gets him straight to the final Tour School qualifying event and so he avoids the dreaded stage two.

Conor Purcell has had a solid season and will have a full Challenge Tour status for next year, also with the chance to try a progress through the qualifying school.

He will have to try and get through the second stage but his season should give him confidence.

FINE MARGINS FOR TOP PLAYERS

Ruaidhri McGee came very close to making the Challenge Tour grand final - he was lying 46th but a missed cut was very costly to his chances.

Yet he showed some very good signs from only 14 starts and will now try his luck at the second stage.

It is a very tough space for all these players trying to progress. The margins are so fine.

We are finally starting to see some potential Tour players emerge. The Covid period stalled many careers and even ended some. It is a very precarious time of year but I'm hopeful that we might get some new faces on Tour next season.

For some, another Challenge Tour season will do them no harm as they build their games and careers and, for some, just getting to the final stage will give them that platform to progress.

Unfortunately it will signal the end for some and that is just the nature of the sport.

The loss of the EuroPro Tour will be a catalyst in that regard. Financial reality forces players to stop when the sums no longer add up.

I wish them well as I don’t envy the position some of them are in.