“Alas, Rory. This past sporting weekend was filled with endless excitement and shockers, but it reached its suspenseful climax at Pinehurst in what can only be described as a heartrending outcome. In the closing round of the US Open, McIlroy frittered away a two-stroke advantage with only five holes remaining. Philip Reid was handed the challenging responsibility of articulating the catastrophe, following DeChambeau’s remarkable bunker shot on the 18th, which left him merely four feet from a triumphant putt. McIlroy’s aspiration of clinching a fifth eminent title lay desolated. Was it an infamous meltdown? Malachy Clerkin laments that it was indeed. Meanwhile, Tom McKibbin and Shane Lowry departed Pinehurst in high spirits; McKibbin put on a show in his Major premiere whilst Lowry displayed a significant amount of tenacity, specially just a week post a concluding 85 at the Memorial, finishing within the leading twenty.
The upshot from the earlier morning’s draw sends eight counties to the preliminary quarter-finals of the football championships. They’ll have to demonstrate their strength and perseverance to stand a chance against group victors Armagh, Dublin, Donegal and Kerry in the decisive eight.
Seán Moran summarises the weekend’s matches that witnessed draws for Mayo against Dublin and Galway against Armagh, pulling them out from the direct route to the quarter-finals. Donegal and Kerry also dominated their groups by achieving significant wins against Clare and Louth, respectively.
Tyrone secured home advantage for the forthcoming weekend’s preliminary quarter-finals by holding their ground against Cork in Tullamore; Derry bounced back with a victory over Westmeath in Newry. Derry’s manager Mickey Harte imparted a cryptic message about his speculated future, ‘Empty vessels make the most noise.’
Despite reaching the critical phase in the championship, Denis Walsh contends ‘the deluge of additional games’ hasn’t enthused the public. Instead, he posits, it only numbed them. He proposes the inclusion of a third tier to invigorate the championship and turn the Sam Maguire into an exclusive elite competition.”
During the past weekend, both Leinster and Munster experienced major upsets in the URC semi-finals, losing their respective matches. Leinster fell short to the Bulls in Pretoria, a match reported by Johnny Watterson, while Munster was defeated by Glasgow Warriors at Thomond Park, a game observed by John O’Sullivan.
Moreover, the Euro 2024 games have begun and England initiated their journey with a narrow victory against Serbia, winning 1-0, yet Ken Early was pretty unimpressed by their performance. Gavin Cummiskey reported from Berlin, witnessing Spain triumph over Croatia, and then went on to Hamburg to observe a last minute goal from Wout Weghorst, securing Netherlands a win against Poland.
In a related development, Nathan Johns was present in Florida, documenting Ireland’s “not particularly impressive T20 World Cup campaign” draw to a close with a three-wicket defeat at the hands of Pakistan. Ben Healy, on the other hand, had significantly more enjoyable moments in Europe, as he managed a significant single-handed victory during the final phase of the Tour of Slovenia.
In terms of television guide for today’s Euro 2024 fixtures, viewers can tune into RTÉ 2 & BBC 1 for Romania vs Ukraine at 2.0, RTÉ 2 & UTV for Belgium vs Slovakia at 5.0 and Austria vs France at 8.0 on the same channels. In addition, the weekend’s GAA championship and rugby actions can be revisited on TG4 at 8.0 and RTÉ 2 at 10.50 respectively.