GOLF:PICTURE POSTCARD settings don't guarantee dream endings. But, in the case of this particular Irish Open at Killarney Golf and Fishing Club, it should.
With so many Major winners in town – four of them Irish and a lone Kiwi with fond memories of this event – there’s certainly the sense this is an above-average tournament on the European Tour, with the quality of the field above what you’d normally expect for a €1.5 million prize fund.
Of course, much of that quality has to do with players who were born and reared and learned their shot-making on this island. And who could have planned things better? Rory McIlroy’s US Open win followed by Darren Clarke’s British Open triumph, two players who bridge the generation gap in defining what is, most definitely, a golden era for Irish golf.
Now, the dream ending would be for one of them to double-up by adding the Irish Open title to either Major trophy.
Once upon a time, winning an Irish Open was a monkey on the backs of Irish players. It is no longer a mission impossible, as Pádraig Harrington’s win in 2007 and Shane Lowry’s success in 2009 proved.
What chance that sequence of winning in odd years continuing here? The odds are good. McIlroy, the world number four, is the top player from the rankings in the field, with his fellow-Northern Irishmen Graeme McDowell (12th) and Clarke (31st) the only other players from the world’s top-50.
“You know, it’s not a world-class field out of the big names, outside of the Irish players really, I suppose,” conceded McDowell, “but, hopefully we can get a home winner in the sunshine on a beautiful golf course and really get this tournament kick-started again.
“People were excited about Irish golf last year. This year, it’s a completely new level. It’s exciting.”
As Ross Fisher proved in shooting a course record 61 on his way to the title last year, the course is liable to bestow favours on players who hit greens in regulation and have a hot putter.
With the weather forecast generally favourable, with perhaps some gusts accentuating the challenge over the first two rounds, there is the possibility somebody will have one of those weeks when it all goes their way and goes low.
The rough is a little thicker than a year ago, but not much, and the greens are running at a very acceptable 11 on the Stimpmetre.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been this excited about an Irish Open,” confessed McIlroy, who didn’t have a particularly good time on the course last year when a third-round 76 ruined any title ambitions. He finished 35th, but he is back as a Major champion and probably the hottest talent on the planet.
“It would be nice to win the two in the same year, but it will be tough, you’re going to have to shoot the lights out to win.”
McIlroy is actually breaking with his usual preparation for Majors by kick-starting a three-week stint here, taking in next week’s WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and the following week’s US PGA. For the US Masters, the US Open and the British Open, McIlroy took the week before off. That’s not an option this time, and although he will likely have one eye on the PGA, there is no doubt when he tees up anywhere it is only with one thought. To win.
Sporting a couple of plasters to the fingers on his left hand, one for a callous earned through work on the practice range with coach Michael Bannon last week and the other for a “slightly odd-shaped bone, to sort of keep it in place”, McIlroy has put his performance at the British Open behind him.
“It was a frustrating week for me, as I felt I had the game to contend,” re reflected.
Now, McIlroy has moved on and the focus for the next four days is on a title that has a rich history.
Of his work with Bannon, McIlroy remarked: “The swing is in really good shape and I’m hitting it well, hitting it really nice. The game is in pretty good shape.”
It’s at the stage now where McIlroy is considered a favourite any time he stands on the first tee, although his lack of competitive golf – just one week, at the British Open, since his runaway win in the US Open in mid-June – might be a concern. But the desire is there.
As McIlroy put it, “no matter what country you’re from, you want to win your national Open. And being a Major champion and coming here, expectations are going to be very high. It would be great to win the Irish Open.”
As McIlroy more than anyone knows, a win – anywhere on tour – is hard won. And others have serious intent, none more so than Harrington, desperately seeking a route back into the winner’s enclosure, and McDowell would like to eradicate the costly rounds that have crept into his game when in contention of late.
Of his woes in the midst of contention, McDowell observed: “I’m just going through a phase. I think every career ebbs and flows. I was flowing last year with what happened at the US Open and the Ryder Cup. I was having a dream season and I was able to free-wheel.
“Perhaps I’m trying a little too hard this season. I’m working as hard as ever and my game continues to get better and better. I’ve got to refocus and get back to being the relaxed guy who enjoys the game and gets out of his own way.”
Where better place than here for that to happen?
But you suspect his fellow Ulstermen, who followed him as a Major champion, might be among those having a say in the destination of this particular title.
