‘I Don’t Care If He’s Ken From Barbie, It Shouldn’t Happen’ - The Mystery Pro 25 Shots Behind Rory McIlroy After One Round

The decision to hand Ken Weyand an invite into the Dubai Invitational has been questioned after he shot 87 in the first round

Ken Weyand at the Dubai Invitational
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Paul Higham
By Paul Higham
published

Ken Weyand has raised a few eyebrows after appearing in the DP World Tour season-opening Dubai Invitational and shooting 87 in the first round - 25 shots behind leader Rory McIlroy.

McIlroy made a blistering start to the new season at Dubai Creek, but at the opposite end of the leaderboard Weyand was making headlines of his own.

While finishing so far off McIlroy in that form is excusable, finishing a full 10 shots off the man in second-to-last, Daniel Gavins, was a round that provoked some strong reaction.

Weyand improved in round two by five strokes, adding an 82 to his 87 to sit at 27-over-par and fall 37 strokes back of McIlroy, and 17 behind second-last in the field.

The Dubai Invitational is a limited field, no-cut event, and Weyand receiving an invite has not gone down too well with some, including Eddie Pepperell.

"Limited man field, and old Ken Weyand gets an invite and then does this," said Pepperell on Thursday, before adding in his usual style. "I don’t care if he’s Ken from Barbie, it shouldn’t happen."

It was a nightmare round for Weyand on Thursday, where he carded seven bogeys, three double-bogeys and one triple to finish 16-over-par for his first round.

Weyand is the general manager at The Grove XXII club in Florida, the golf club that NBA legend Michael Jordan founded in 2019.

Weyand is also a business partner of Jordan's and is involved in Black Cat Ventures - a golf technology fund.

How that translated into him somehow managing to get an invite into the 60-man event is unclear, but after his first round efforts that decision has been seriously questioned.

Pepperell's caddie Jamie Herbert also had his say on the invite going to Weyand ahead of another pro on the DP World Tour.

"So, I know how important sponsors are, and it’s their prerogative who they invite, but a limited 60 man field 2.5 million dollars, no cut. This is a waste of an entry and I feel for the playing partners," said Herbert.

Paul Higham
Paul Higham
Contributor

Paul Higham is a sports journalist with over 20 years of experience in covering most major sporting events for both Sky Sports and BBC Sport. He is currently freelance and covers the golf majors on the BBC Sport website.  Highlights over the years include covering that epic Monday finish in the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor and watching Rory McIlroy produce one of the most dominant Major wins at the 2011 US Open at Congressional. He also writes betting previews and still feels strangely proud of backing Danny Willett when he won the Masters in 2016 - Willett also praised his putting stroke during a media event before the Open at Hoylake. Favourite interviews he's conducted have been with McIlroy, Paul McGinley, Thomas Bjorn, Rickie Fowler and the enigma that is Victor Dubuisson. A big fan of watching any golf from any tour, sadly he spends more time writing about golf than playing these days with two young children, and as a big fair weather golfer claims playing in shorts is worth at least five shots. Being from Liverpool he loves the likes of Hoylake, Birkdale and the stretch of tracks along England's Golf Coast, but would say his favourite courses played are Kingsbarns and Portrush. 

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