Breakfast Ball #56: Irish Eyes are Smiling on Pebble Beach

In This Week’s Newsletter:

Rory McIlroy WINS The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am ahead of Shane Lowry

Bing Crosby’s 1952 album When Irish Eyes Are Smiling featured eight Irish tunes inspired by his mother’s family, who emigrated to the U.S. in the 19th century. The album showcased timeless classics like Galway Bay, The Rose of Tralee, and How Can I Buy Killarney, celebrating his rich Irish heritage. It was only natural, then, that an Irish champion would eventually emerge from the golf tournament Crosby founded in 1937 - a visionary event that brought together Hollywood stars and professional golfers alike.

Rory McIlroy fulfilled the prophecy with a final round 66 to win by two shots ahead of another Irishman, Shane Lowry. McIlroy and Lowry entered the final day one shot behind Austrian Sepp Straka, who was battling a flu the entire week. As the final group rounded the turn the leaderboard was quite bunched, with as many as eight players within one shot of the lead at one point.

However, birdies on the 10th and 12th gave McIlroy a two shot lead going into the dogleg par-5 14th. McIlroy then hammered a perfect 338-yard drive, completely cutting the corner of the hole and leaving himself with a 7-iron into the green. On Saturday he had the same opportunity and could only finish with a par after pushing his shot left. Not on Sunday. McIlroy hit the 7-iron to 26 feet and nailed the eagle putt to move four clear and almost assure himself of victory with four holes to play.

Lowry made an impressive birdie on the 16th hole, but missed an 8-foot putt on the 17th, allowing McIlroy to relax and enjoy the 18th hole with a three shot lead. McIlroy: “14 was obviously the huge difference, making eagle there. That gave me a little bit of a cushion to play those last few holes.” There was no doubt that McIlroy was aware of the significance of a win at Pebble Beach: “There's a few what I would call cathedrals of golf. Here, Augusta, St Andrews obviously, maybe a few more you could add in there.  I had a big fat zero on all of those going in here. To knock one off at Pebble is very cool.”

When Irish eyes are smiling, sure they steal your heart away. This one’s for you, Bing.

• ‼️ McIlroy and Lowry began the week with a bang also, with both players hitting a hole in one on Thursday

  • McIlroy dunked it right into the cup on the 15th at Spyglass Hill, while Lowry had a hole in one at the iconic 7th at Pebble Beach

• 🌹 2021 Pebble Beach Pro-Am champion Justin Rose finished in T3, capping his week off with an eagle on the final hole

• 🇮🇪 Seamus Power found some form to finish in the top 20 in T17 and seal one of the best Irish outcomes in a PGA Tour event ever

• 🇸🇪 Ludvig Åberg had to withdraw from the event after the first round due to a sickness he picked up the prior week in San Diego. Get well soon, Ludde!

Three of Europe’s young stars begin their new careers on LIV Golf this weekend

In recent years, each new LIV Golf season was heralded by the arrival of a proven PGA Tour star—Tyrell Hatton made headlines last year, and Jon Rahm stole the show in 2023. However, this offseason, LIV has taken a different approach. Instead of chasing familiar faces, they’re setting their sights on the rising stars of tomorrow.

Tom McKibbin secured his PGA Tour card by just one shot at the DP World Tour Championship last November. McKibbin celebrated with his hero and club mate Rory McIlroy after he secured his sixth Race to Dubai title. However, despite Rory’s best efforts, McKibbin will not be taking his PGA Tour card and will be playing alongside Rahm and Hatton for Legion XIII on LIV this season. McKibbin reportedly received an $8 million signing bonus, but the 22-year-old will be giving up the chance to directly qualify for any of the majors and the 2025 Ryder Cup team in making the move.

Fredrik Kjettrup graduated from Florida State last May and began his professional career on the PGA Americas Tour, two tiers below the PGA Tour. He was ranked as highly as 11th in the world amateur golf ranking before turning pro, and then racked up three wins in his first nine pro starts last summer. This assured him of a place on the Korn Ferry Tour this season, but instead he has decided to join Cleeks GC alongside Richard Bland, Martin Kaymer, and Adrian Meronk.

After Spanish youngster, Eugenio Chacarra, was released from the Fireballs GC team earlier this year, there was an open spot on Sergio Garcia's team. Luis Masaveu had a successful 2024 in the amateur ranks, reaching the semi final of the US Amateur and qualifying for and making the cut at The Open Championship. He has now joined Garcia and will represent the all-Spanish team on LIV.

LIV Golf is still in its infancy, and it hasn’t yet proven to be a launchpad for the next generation of talent. Despite early promise—Eugenio Chacarra, fresh out of Oklahoma State University, won on his fifth start—he managed only two top-ten finishes in the two years that followed. As Chacarra himself noted, “I see what it’s like to win on the PGA Tour and see your life change—with major access and ranking points. On LIV, nothing changes except the money. It doesn’t matter if you finish 30th or first; it’s all about the money.” Over three years, Chacarra earned $12.6M on LIV Golf, not counting his “life-changing” signing bonus.

If McKibbin, Masaveu, and Kjettrup want to secure their financial future, who am I to judge? They no longer have to worry about money and can focus on developing their game. However, until LIV proves that it can be an appropriate breeding ground for tomorrow’s stars, it is a risky move for their golfing careers.

Quick Hits

• 🌳 It is very difficult for me to not give Shane Lowry’s hole in one at the iconic 7th hole at Pebble Beach the shot of the week. However, Cam Davis produced an incredible shot on his final hole of the tournament, forced into an up and down with his ball resting against the roots of a tree. That is nightmare fuel for any golfer, and he executed it to perfection. Bravo.

• 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Laurie Canter won the Bahrain Championship on the DP World Tour in a playoff over Daniel Brown and Pablo Larrazabal

  • Canter was a full-time LIV Golfer in 2023 but fought his way back to full status on the DP World Tour with a win at the European Open last June

Trivia Corner

Some pro-am trivia for today, but first, last week’s answer.

The only course south of Liverpool on the Open Championship rota is Royal St. George’s. It is located on the south east coast of England, just down the road from the white cliffs of Dover.

As mentioned above, Bing Crosby was the founder of the original Pebble Beach Pro-Am. This is the only professional-amateur tournament on the PGA Tour. What is the name of the only Pro-Am tournament on the DP World Tour?

It takes place across three courses and finishes at the Old Course at St. Andrew’s. Come back next week for the answer!

Coming up on tour this week:

• 🍺 The Waste Management Phoenix Open is the next event on the PGA Tour

  • Last year’s event was marred by bad weather and some fan unsavory fan behavior which prompted the tournament to stop selling alcohol. It is one of the must watch events on tour.

• 🏦 DPWT: The Commercial Bank Qatar Masters

• 🇸🇦 LIV Golf is back for its first event of the season in Riyadh

If you have any feedback for the newsletter or would like to get in touch, I would love to hear from you! Email [email protected] or message us on Twitter/X at @BlueHorizonGolf. Thank you for reading!