Rory Could Be "£25 Million Worse Off" If He Loses Case

Derek Lawrenson quotes Rory McIlroy at length from Tuesday's press conference where the Race To Dubai winner before the Race To Dubai officially ends spoke of how he doesn't see his Masters preparation impacted by legal proceedings.

Lawrenson writes:

‘Annoying and frustrating,’ is how the 25-year-old summed up being forced to sit out the first two events of the European Tour’s Final Series in China. It will be costly too, if he finishes on the losing side in the Dublin courtroom showdown, scheduled for February.

Those in Ireland who have been following the various machinations closely estimate he could be as much as £25million worse off if the worst-case scenario unfolds.

‘Of course I’m annoyed that it is still going on but there’s nothing I can do about it,’ McIlroy said. ‘We tried our best a few weeks ago to come to some sort of resolution and it didn’t work out. So yeah, it’s not the best thing to be going through but it will be over and done with a good bit before I have to go down Magnolia Lane (for the Masters) in April. As long as I’ve got a clear head going there, I’m happy with that.’

Lawrenson reports the blisters on McIlroy's hands speak to the level of his preparation for the Race conclusion. I know, more detail than you needed.

The Guardian's Ewan Murray took in McIlroy's remarks and reminds us that there is evidence to support Rory's ability to block out distractions.

 He has swapped managers, equipment, jilted his fiancee and finds himself as the No1 player in world golf. At Augusta next April he will seek to complete a grand slam of major championships before the age of 26.

Detail of interest to those fascinated by the legal wranglings and potential impact on McIlroy's game will want to read Brian Keogh's analysis of the press conference comments and recent goings on.

This alone suggests a strain that will inevitably distract McIlroy:

McIlroy might not be concerned about what emerges in the public domain but that’s not to say that others may not also be drawn into the public arena against their wishes.

The forensic scrutiny of laptops, mobile phones, text messages, emails and other documents in a case such as this could unleash an uncontrollable beast.

As it is, Horizon has asked McIlroy himself, his father Gerry, Rory Mcilroy Inc CEO Donal Casey, and McIlroy’s personal assistant/tour manager Sean O’Flaherty to produce documentation in the discovery process and much of what they have requested has not be turned over in full.

The process is designed to show that commercial platform Horizon built for Rory McIlroy was effectively commandeered by what is now Rory McIlroy Inc together with a large proportion of his management team.

Horizon’s lawyers will be trying to show through this discovery process that the takeover was planned over a lengthy period of time with many individuals directly and indirectly emerging as key movers.

Lawyers for Horizon appear to have had trouble securing all the documents they require and have brought a motion to the High Court to have their requests met in full.

As for Rory's golf, Karl MacGinty reviews the drama that surrounded Rory both on and off the course in this Irish Independent piece.

Meanwhile, on a lighter note McIlroy and Justin Rose attempted to re-create Henrik Stenson's epic shot from the 2013 Race's conclusion, as well as Rose's key chip in 2012 in those epic Race To Dubai moments that you've already forgotten.

Lawrie To Host New Euro Tour Match Play Event In Aberdeen

The Scotsman's Martin Dempster has the details on Paul Lawrie hosting a new European Tour event in his home city of Aberdeen during the week when the world's best are whapping it around dreary Firestone.

Murcar Links, which abuts Royal Aberdeen and has hosted professional events in the past, will be the site of the 64-player event featuring a €1 million purse. It's a straight up, single-elimination event which isn't ideal but any match play on a links livens up the schedule and provides a welcome alternative to watching golf at Firestone!

The tournament, named the Saltire Energy Paul Lawrie Match Play, will be held at the Murcar Links Golf Club, on the outskirts of Lawrie’ hometown of Aberdeen, from July 30 to August 2, 2015.

Boasting a prize fund of €1 million, the tournament will see 64 of the leading players on The Race to Dubai play against each other in a straight knockout, match play contest.

Lawrie, a stalwart of The European Tour for the past 23 seasons, will host the tournament, with his 4 Sports & Entertainment management firm promoting the competition.

Murcar, by the way, has the narrowest entrance drive in golf.

Regarding Lawrie, I just finished the latest By The Minute Golf podcast featuring Lawrie and it's a tremendous listen. The former Open Champion talks about spectating at this year's Ryder Cup, playing with Bubba Watson at the Masters (and what a fast player he is), Monty, the past Ryder Cups he's played (he doesn't think Brookline was the travesty that others do) and more.

Definitely worth a listen.

World Match Play Limps To Its 50th Birthday

Ignoring last week's news that they'll be on a sponsor search again or that this year's Ryder Cup-headliner field is just okay, Derek Lawrenson's Daily Mail notes column opens by celebrating what is still an intriguing event.

There is also the added twist of big time golf getting as close to London (London Golf Club in Kent), though not mentioned is just how much the field may be limited in quality by Britain's heavy taxation of visiting athletes.

Back in the days of Jack and Arnie, all matches were 36 holes at Wentworth. Now they’re played over 18 and there is a three-day group stage at London Golf Club in Kent to determine eight quarter-finalists on Saturday, with the semi-finals and final the following day.

So let’s toast the World Match Play at 50. It might not be the event we remember growing up but there will certainly be enough on show to make it a celebration.

Darren Clarke Zooms To Front Of '16 Captaincy Race As Padraig Declares He Is Now "Less Keen" For Job

Brian Keogh on Padraig Harrington's surprising remarks upon seeing the great and thorough job done by Paul McGinley has made him less enthused about pursuing the job as he still feels his game is good.

Harrington, a vice captain in 2014, was looming as a possible candidate along with Miguel Angel Jimenez for the 2016 job after fulfilling assistant driving duties last week at Gleneagles. Both would be hugely popular captain's to American crowds while Darren Clarke--despite reports saying he'd be popular here--does not have nearly the name or recognition of this year's vice captains.

From Keogh's report:

While he still wants to be captain, Harrington admitted: "I’m less keen than I was before. It does make you less keen. It is a lot harder than you think. There is a lot goes on.

The new captain will be chosen by the three immediate past captains — McGinley, Jose Maria Olazabal and Colin Montgomerie — with the input of European Tour Chief Executive George O'Grady and a nominee from the Players Committee.

Keogh has a separate item on Paul McGinley assuring those who cared that he will not go out of his way to torpedo Clarke even though the 2012 Open Champion backed Monty for the 2014 captaincy. But McGinley also is far from committing to Clarke for his vote.

“Darren has been a vice captain along with many other guys, as well, too. So we will see where that all evolves and I certainly won't have no issues whatsoever with that.

“I'll make a professional decision based on the views of people that I respect.”

The new captain will almost certainly be named next January under a new system designed to avoid the politics that marred the 2014 captaincy race.