GOLF:SAVED! IF not quite a knight in shining armour, the role played by Minister for Sport Martin Cullen in rescuing the Irish Open is nevertheless akin to that of a modern-day saviour.

Against all the odds in the global economic downturn, the golfing politician has succeeded in securing an international title sponsor for the tournament, which looks set to return to an old stomping ground next May.

The international mobile phone network 3 will next week be confirmed as the title sponsor for one of the European Tour's oldest events. The tournament - scheduled for May 14th-17th - is likely to return to Mount Juliet in Thomastown, Co Kilkenny, which staged the event from 1993 to 1995, and also staged the American Express World Golf Championship (WGC) event in 2002 and 2004.

Mount Juliet want the course to be in pristine condition and won't commit to staging the tournament until they can achieve that.

Although the full details won't be announced until next week, it is believed the sponsors are committed to a three-year deal, with the prize fund for next year's tournament set at €3 million, a 20 per cent increase on this year's purse.

The Irish Open was staged at Adare Manor for the past two years - won by Pádraig Harrington in 2007 and England's Richard Finch this year.

But it was included in the international schedule for 2009 even though it didn't have a title sponsor. Now, it seems, 3 have stepped into the void.

Minister Cullen has confirmed that a sponsorship deal has been finalised with the global mobile network which, perhaps not so coincidentally, includes three-time major champion Harrington in its portfolio of sponsorships. The Dubliner has the company's logo on the lapel of his polo shirt.

Cullen believes a strong Irish Open is an essential marketing tool for golf tourism in Ireland.

"I feel it's one of our big products," he said. "We all kind of stood back and let the air out of the tyre after the Ryder Cup (in 2006). And, then, the European Open (at The K Club) went, and I felt we badly need to have the Irish Open back up as a really big tournament.

"We have gone to a certain level next year and we will lift it then over the coming years as well," he said, adding: "I couldn't understand why, in the good years, we were slipping back a bit."

Although the date for next year was already pencilled into the schedule on the proviso that a sponsor was found - coming the week after the Players championship in Sawgrass and ahead of the PGA at Wentworth - the aim of the sponsors, Fáilte Ireland and the European Tour, for the future is to re-establish it as a prime tournament on the calendar.

"It will be a big tournament and we want to put it back up into the higher echelons of golf worldwide," said Cullen "I couldn't understand, notwithstanding the great effort made by Tom Kane in Adare, why there wasn't, in the good years, a really major sponsor."

Cullen also insisted the Government, through his Department, were committed to ensuring the tournament's future.

Credit where it's due, much of the behind-the-scenes dealings in finding a sponsor were conducted by the Minister, who made contact with 3's board of directors in Hong Kong when he was in China for the Olympic Games. The loose ends were tied up yesterday at a meeting in Dublin between the European Tour's Richard Hills and James Finnegan with 3's Robert Finnegan.

"They are a great company," said Cullen. "When I approached them, I just thought, 'this is the right fit'. There are Asian connections, as they are owned by Hutchison Whampoa, and they are bringing major players to the pot internationally. The object was to put the Irish Open back into the top 10 and that is what we are going to do."

Of 3's involvement, Cullen - a member of Waterford Golf Club - said: "They are going to be very committed to it. It is a big commitment from them. They are not half-hearted. It is a big title sponsor. It is a big step."

Part of Cullen's philosophy in putting so much time into securing a sponsor was that the tournament is a strong marketing tool in attracting tourists.

"I felt it was the right thing to do. We don't have that many natural resources, and golf is one of them. I think Mount Juliet would be a good move, in terms of (staging) two WGCs, and lots of successful Irish Opens. The Americans know it, so we obviously want to get more Americans back. It is a fabulous venue and they were in straight away and they were delighted (to be asked to host the tournament)."

At the European Tour Golfer of the Year announcement in London yesterday, where Harrington was named as the recipient for a second straight year, George O'Grady, the PGA European Tour's chief executive, said the sponsorship for the Irish Open was "hugely significant on the European Tour.

Harrington remarked: "The Irish Open has always been a great event. It's coming back up to strength, the money is getting up there. It must be close to $4 million . . . It is getting up there as one of the bigger events on tour."

The Irish Open was staged at Mount Juliet in 1993, when Nick Faldo won, while Bernhard Langer (1994) and Sam Torrance (1995) triumphed in the following years. Tiger Woods won the first American Express played on the Jack Nicklaus-designed course in 2002, and Ernie Els triumphed in 2004.