Golf: Rory McIlroy has confirmed he will play in the rescheduled 2012 Irish Open in June. The news comes as a huge boost to organisers who have yet to announce a sponsor or a venue for the event. Having the current world number two and reigning US Open champion should help things develop, as will McIlroy's desire to "put on a good show" from June 28th to July 1st.
The tournament, which has been staged at Killarney over the August bank holiday weekend for the past two years, has been brought forward so as not to clash with the 2012 London Olympics.
It will therefore take place two weeks after the US Open – which McIlroy defends – and three weeks ahead of the British Open.
“There has been a lot of speculation on whether or not I will play the Irish Open next year, so I am happy to announce that I will definitely play the tournament next season,” said the 22-year-old. “For me, the Irish Open has always been, and will continue to be, one of the most important events on the global golf calendar.
It’s our national open and it’s obviously a title that I would love to win at some stage in my career.
“With Irish golf on such a high in recent years, it is important that we put on a good show not only for the home fans, but also for the global golf audience who will be watching the event on TV next summer."
The Holywood golfer also played down the significance of his decision to join the PGA Tour next year, insisting it is not a "drastic change" to the schedule he has played in recent seasons.
"It just means that I will be adding a few more events to my schedule in America in 2012. Taking my PGA Tour card again does not mean that I’m going to neglect my European Tour status.
I’ll continue to play a similar schedule of events in Europe and will obviously fulfil my commitment to the European Tour.”
McIlroy is preparing for the UBS Hong Kong Open, which starts tomorrow, and is hoping for victory in a tournament in which he has finished second twice in the past three years.
A win would leave McIlroy requiring vicotry in the Dubai World Championship to top the European Tour’s Race to Dubai, though he would need current leader and world number one Luke Donald to finish well down the field next week.
“Of course winning the next two events is achievable,” he said, “but I probably need to win here in Hong Kong first to even think about it.
So all I can concentrate on is trying to play the best I can here, and if I get myself into a position to win and end up winning, it gives me the chance of going to Dubai next week and trying to win The Race to Dubai.
“But even still, I’ll have to win there and Luke will have to finish quite a way below me. It doesn’t look like he’s done that at all this year, so I don’t expect him to do it to be honest, but you never know in this game.
All I can do is try and win this week and see what happens after that.”
Whatever happens the Ulsterman has enjoyed the best season of his career, but he admits he thinks there is room for improvement.
“I suppose I was a little bit surprised at myself how quickly I bounced back from Augusta, I thought it might’ve taken a little bit longer to get over it, but apart from that, it feels like I could’ve won a few more tournaments,” said McIlroy. “I had chances to win and not taken them. I’ve won twice this year but I feel I could’ve won at least two or three more times.
“It’s been a great year, the most successful of my career so far, but I feel like I can still improve, there’s still areas of my game that can get better.”
