The 8th Murphys Irish Open, which begins at Fota Island Golf Club in Cork today, is expected to attract 80,000 visitors and generate up to £9 million for the region by Sunday, when the final 18 holes are played out.
The revamped championship course, adjacent to the Fota Wildlife Park, is in pristine condition and ready for some of the biggest names in golf, including Colin Montgomerie and last year's Irish Open winner, Patrik Sjoland.
The course is awash with colour following a huge flower-planting programme over the past month. The Met man has promised "mixed weather", but whatever happens thousands of visitors will not miss the biggest sporting event in Cork's history.
The Open will be televised in 19 countries to 200 million viewers and is seen by tourism chiefs as a unique opportunity to sell Cork to a worldwide audience.
The cost to the Cork-based brewers is estimated at £5 million, but Murphys may have done much to save the local tourist season, which has been badly hit by the foot-and-mouth crisis.
Over the next four days an international media centre will accommodate 200 journalists, and the off-course facilities for the Open resemble those of a small town. The site includes 52 retail outlets, a Garda station and post office as well as ATMs and medical facilities.
Special air traffic-control arrangements will be made for helicopters bringing golfers and corporate guests to the event. More than 700 voluntary stewards from golf clubs all over Ireland will be on hand alongside 1,500 temporary staff.
Free car-parking has been arranged at Fota for the event, and improved roads leading to the venue should minimise congestion.
This is the first year the Irish Open has been held at Fota Island, and Murphys, part of the Heineken Group, has pledged that the event will be staged there again next year.
Coinciding with the Open, the nearby town of Cobh has organised Carnival 2001 to greet what it hopes will be a record number of visitors.