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MONEY OR
MAJORS
Rory has scooped an astonishing
£20m this year alone and says he’s
happy with 2019 despite missing out
on a ‘big one‘ for a fifth year running
(^46) DAILY MIRROR TUESDAY 27.08.2019
RUGBY LEAGUE: ST HELENS SKIPPER TARGETS GRAND FINAL GLORY
ROBY WANTS SHIELD TO LIFT SHELLSHOCKED SAINTS
BY JULIE STOTT
JAMES ROBY hopes this week’s
League Leaders’ Shield
ceremony will lift some of the
gloom hanging over St Helens.
But the Saints captain warns
only glory in Super League’s
Grand Final can truly ease the
heartbreak of losing the
Challenge Cup final.
Roby (left) said: “It is hard
and everyone is really low and
massively disappointed but
there are still things to play for.
“We pick up the League
Leaders’ Shield and there is one
big one still to play for so we
will do everything we can.”
Saints went into the Wembley
clash against Warrington as
runaway Super League leaders
and huge favourites. But
second-placed Wolves, who had
lost their previous five league
games, upset the odds and won
18-4. Defeat doomed Saints to
more pain, following their
defeats in both the Cup and
play-offs semi-finals last year
when they had also been
red-hot favourites.
But hooker Roby added: “It’s
not like we had a shocker. We
have a big game against
Castleford on Friday and I am
sure there are bigger and better
things to come.”
The Shield will be presented
to Saints before that game –
and forward Joseph Paulo is
determined to make amends.
He said: “It’s not like we have
to wait six months – we’ve got
footy again on Friday.”
GOLF
BY NEIL SQUIRES
RORY McILROY will
regard this season as a
success after landing
the PGA Tour’s FedEx
Cup jackpot.
His missed cut at The
Open at Portrush was
the low point of a
disappointing
Major campaign
but, £12.3million
richer after his
four-shot
triumph at
East Lake,
he was on
a high.
It was
his 14th top
10 finish in 19
PGA Tour events
and took him to
No.2 in the world
rankings. “People will
say I haven’t won a Major
this year but I feel I’ve con-
sistently played some of
the best golf of my career
so I’ll rate this 2019 season
very highly,” said McIlroy
(above, celebrating with
wife, Erica). “Three wins,
including another FedEx
Cup and a Players Cham-
pionship I’ve never won
before – This season is
right up there with one of
the best I have played.
“To win the FedEx Cup
on multiple occasions is a
pretty big deal. Any time
you do something only
Tiger has done,
you’re doing
something
right.”
McIlroy, 30,
was particularly
pleased to have
gone toe-to-toe in
the final group with world
No.1 Brooks Koepka and
emerged on top.
He faded badly in
Koepka’s presence last
month at the World Golf
Championship event in
Memphis, but after
McIlroy’s closing 66 the
American had to settle for
third place behind compa-
triot Xander Schauffele.
“To play like that
alongside Brooks and win,
it’s awesome,” said McIlroy.
“He got one over on me in
Memphis and I wanted to
sort of try to get some
revenge. Brooks went out
in Memphis and shot 65
and basically dominated
the tournament and dom-
inated me. I realised if I
want to become the dom-
inant player in the world
again, I need to be
more like that. I
guess the ulti-
mate compli-
ment I can give
Brooks is I
wanted to be
more like him.”
McIlroy, who
moves onto the European
Masters in Switzerland
this week, was critical of
the staggered start to the
PGA Tour play-offs before
Atlanta but having taken
it out of the equation with
his scoring on the course,
believes it has a future.
He added: “I was part of
that decision to go with
the staggered format. It
simplifies it for us and also
for the fans. I think golf is
very adverse to change
sometimes, so it will take
a while to get used to.”
ng only
ne,
g
e
e in
again,
mo
gu
m m B w m M
McIlroy won the Tour
Championship after a
nightmare at Royal
Portrush last
month
THE HIGHS
AND LOWS
2018: Justin Rose .......$10m
2017: Justin Thomas ....$10m
2016: Rory McIlroy ......$10m
2015: Jordan Spieth.....$10m
PREVIOUS WINNERS
MAJOR RECORD 2019
The Masters...................21st
PGA Championship............8th
US Open.......................9th
The Open...............missed cut
TOURNAMENT WINS
The Players Championship
Canadian Open
Tour Championship
2019 PGA TOUR EARNINGS
£19,849,943