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Good Friday morning, golf fans, as day two of the Irish Open gets underway.

1. Solid start for big names in Ireland

AP report…” Shane Lowry needs a good week at the Irish Open to justify getting picked for the Ryder Cup.”

• “Adrian Meronk wants one to show Europe captain Luke Donald was wrong to leave him off the team…”

• “Lowry made seven birdies and shot 4-under 68 at The K Club to lie 3 shots off the lead held by Shubhankar Sharma of India after the first round of the European tour event.”

• “Aggrieved at being overlooked by Donald, Meronk began birdie-birdie and shot 69 in a solid start to his title defense.”

• “On a day when Rory McIlroy — the big draw this week along with home favorite Lowry — felt the love of the crowds and also shot 69, Sharma produced a bogey-free round of 65 in sweltering conditions in the afternoon to finish with a 1-stroke lead over five players: Englishmen Jordan Smith and Ross Fisher, Marcel Schneider of Germany, Kristian Krogh Johannessen of Norway and 52-year-old Dane Thomas Bjorn, who knows all about the joy and pain of Ryder Cup selection.”

2. Another PGA Tour-PIF hearing set

Taylor Giorno for the Hill…”The Senate investigations subcommittee will hold a hearing next Wednesday on concerns over the pending deal between the Saudi-backed LIV Golf and the PGA Tour.”

• “The hearing, announced on Wednesday, will be the committee’s second regarding the controversial acquisition of the PGA Tour by LIV Golf, which is owned by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF).”

• “Next week’s hearing appears set to focus more broadly on the PIF’s investments in the U.S. But PIF Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan once again denied a request to testify before the subcommittee.”

3. McIlroy on PIF investment: “The world decided for me”

Mark Harris for OutKick…”The PIF acquired preference shares in McLaren racing in F1 in 2021 before selling them off earlier this summer to Bahrain for a reported $498 million. The Saudi PIF – which has a total estimated assets value of $778 billion – also purchased Newcastle of the Premier League in 2021.”

• “Those are just two noticeable-name examples, but the Saudi PIF portfolio is only growing, and its investment in professional golf is just the latest entry.”

• “That’s the way McIlroy seems to be looking at the situation, not only because he’s a smart person, but because it’s the only way to look at things nowadays.”

• “You see everything else happening in the world, you see big private equity companies in America taking their money – the biggest companies in the world,” McIlroy told the ‘Off The Ball’ podcast.”

• “There’s a lot of whataboutism and all that stuff, but at the same time, if this is what is happening, then the way I’ve framed it is that the world has decided for me in a way.”

4. Full Swing bump in PGA Tour viewing?

Paul Higham for Golf Monthly…”According to Nielsen Media Research Analysis released by the PGA Tour, the arrival of Full Swing had a direct impact on viewing figures for their tournaments for the rest of the season.”

• “In terms of both creating regular viewers and bringing new viewers to PGA Tour events on TV, Full Swing seems to have been a huge success in driving numbers for Jay Monahan.”

• “Nielsen research says that in the USA, 63% of viewers of Full Swing then went on to watch live coverage from the PGA Tour in the two months after its release.”

• “Additionally, 11% of Full Swing viewers had not watched the PGA Tour in the six months prior to the Netflix release, but then tuned in to watch the live golf afterwards.”

• “And it gets better reading for the PGA Tour thanks to further research by Xcelerant Omnibus, which showed a big increase in engagement with golf after people watched Full Swing. “

5. McIlroy: R&A ‘seriously looking’ at staging major outside UK

BBC report…”Rory McIlroy believes the R&A is “seriously looking” at holding the Open Championship outside the United Kingdom for the first time.”

• “The four-time major winner, who carded an opening 69 at the Irish Open on Thursday, says the Portmarnock course near Dublin could be a possible venue.”

• “Having a course that’s so close to a major city, so close to a major airport, having a great golf course, I think it would be amazing,” said McIlroy. “I think they are seriously looking at it.”

• “The major is returning to Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland in 2025 and McIlroy argues staging it at Portmarnock “would be fantastic”.

• “He added: “I was looking forward to Portrush but [concerned] in terms of how it would do commercially – there’s so many other considerations to hosting a major championship apart from it being a great golf course.”

6. Newest TGL owner

Jessica Golden for CNBC…”Financier and Mets owner Steve Cohen has bought the founding rights to the New York team in Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy’s upstart golf league TGL, the organization announced Thursday.”

• “Cohen’s team will be managed by his family office Cohen Private Ventures. It will begin competition in TGL’s inaugural season next year.”

• “As golf continues to grow in popularity, there’s a demand for enhanced access to the sport and the world’s top players. … We’re excited to be a part of TGL and build a team that makes New York proud,” Cohen said in a statement.

7. Justin Thomas’ dad hits out at report claiming his role as JT’s swing coach has been reduced

Our Matt Vincenzi…[Golf Channel’s Todd] Lewis also said that Thomas had put his father Mike, who’s his swing coach, “in the background a little bit” as he attempts to work through his year-long slump.

• “He’s still working with his father Mike as his swing coach, but not as much right now. He’s kind of put his father a little bit in the background a little bit. They’ve worked it out together. JT wants to own his swing. Mike wasn’t with him at the Wyndham Championship this year when he tried to make the playoffs, so he’s kind of digging it out in the dirt figuring it out himself but still consulting with his father. By the way, they still have a wonderful relationship.”

• “On Wednesday, Mike Thomas refuted that report while speaking with Golf Digest.”

• “You’re kidding. That’s just stupid,” the 62-year-old said.

• “That’s what some people in the media do. It’s ridiculous. I just left Justin. We worked all morning.”

• “But listen, if he did fire me, and it was for the better, then what’s the problem? I guess they have to have something to talk about.”

8. Liu leads on LPGA

AP report…Ruixin Liu of China was still suffering from allergies that forced her to withdraw from the LPGA Tour event last week. It didn’t stop her from posting a 7-under 65 on Thursday for her best round of the year and a one-shot lead in the Kroger Queen City Championship.”

• “Liu started so well that her lone regret was a par on the 12th hole when she hit her approach to 18 feet on the par 5 and three-putted for a par. She had seven birdies through 13 holes and then closed with five pars.”

9. Wedge Stamping Caviar: FedEx Cup Playoffs Edition

A fun (I hope) little item we put together for GolfWRX…

• “Pop open a tin of the finest beluga, GolfWRXers… Really, it’s less jelly-like substance, more richness of intrigue than salt-cured roe at Wedge Stamping Caviar as we present to you some of the finest instances of hammer-and-stamp work on the PGA Tour spotted during the three events of this year’s FedEx Cup Playoffs.”

• “We’re kicking off with the featured image of Xander Schauffele’s SM6 prototype, which looks a lot more like an SM5, with some pretty cool “Titleist” stamping.”

• “Grab your mother-of-pearl spoon and dig in for the rest!”