GOLF: In the current economic downturn some good news emerged with today's announcement that mobile telecommunications giant 3 signed a three-year deal worth €3 million to sponsor the Irish Open. The national championship returns to Co Louth Golf Club (Baltray) in May after it was last staged there in 2004.
Today’s announcement is welcome news for one of the oldest events on the European Tour, which in recent times has struggled to obtain the prestige it previously held as one of the tour’s flagship events.
“We are delighted to enter into this three-year agreement with 3, which will see a championship with such a distinguished heritage as the Irish Open join forces with an innovative brand as title sponsor,” said George O’Grady, European Tour chief executive at today’s announcement at the Westbury Hotel in Dublin.
The €3 million prize purse is up €500,000 on last year’s pot when staged at Adare Manor. However, for the two years it was held at the Limerick venue, there was no title sponsor.
Adare’s owner Tom Kane absorbed much of the cost along with associate sponsors, such as Fáilte Ireland among others. But rather than hosting the event for a third year, Kane, who is believed to have invested over €2 million of his own money over the two years, opted out of the deal before Baltray was confirmed as this year’s venue.
There had been some confusion regarding the Irish Open returning to Baltray because the European Tour had made approaches to another former venue, Mount Juliet, about taking it on. O’Grady today confirmed the 1993-95 venue in Kilkenny had been approached but nothing more than that.
The increase in prize money places the Irish Open at the upper end on the European Tour schedule. Outside of the four majors and the World Golf Championships, only five tournaments carry a greater purse; the Dunhill Links Championship (€4m), French Open (€4m), HSBC Championship (€3.9m), Volvo World Matchplay (€3.25m) and the Scottish Open (€3.3m).
The perennial issue of finding a suitable date on the schedule in order to attract the best players was again questioned today. The obvious problem with the Irish Open’s May 14th-17th date is that it comes one week after the Players’ Championship at Sawgrass in Florida, where the world’s leading players compete in the game’s “unofficial fifth major”.
O’Grady confirmed they have explored the idea of laying on a private jet in the hope attracting more top players. “We have checked the feasibility and spoken to potential companies but nothing has been put in place yet,” he explained.
In defending the Irish Open’s date on the calendar, O’Grady added: “I believe any date on the European Tour is a good one. And May suits players like your very own three-time major winner, Pádraig Harrington.”
The Irish Open is not the only event to have struggled to attract the best fields in recent years and it remains a ongoing challenge. The 2007 event received the best possible boost when Harrington triumphed and bridged the tired 25-year gap to the last winner in 1982 when John O’Leary won.
Last year’s winner Richard Finch will be remembered for falling into the River Maigue after playing his approach to the final hole.
As for returning to a links course like Baltray, where Australia’s Brett Rumford won in 2004, this is viewed as a positive move, particularly among the tour players themselves.
“Baltray is certainly one of the most exciting links courses in the country and I expect the tournament there to be a great success,” said Harrington.
Paul McGinley is as familiar as anyone with the venue: “I was a member at Co Louth as a junior and I’m absolutely delighted it has gone there. The Irish Open has probably gone from the beat inland course in Ireland at Adare Manor to the best links course in Ireland, in my opinion.”
“It is a place a know pretty well having played the East of Ireland there,” said Rory McIlroy, Ireland’s latest star of the fairways. “My caddie JP Fitzgerald grew up there and knows the place like the back of his hand. It would be fantastic to win the Irish Open there.”
Irish Open sponsorship history
May 2008
Sponsor: No title sponsor
Prize: €2.5m
Venue: Adare
Winner: Richard Finch
May 2007
Sponsor: No title sponsor
Prize: €2.5m
Venue: Adare
Winner: Pádraig Harrington
May 2006:
Sponsor: Nissan
Prize: €2.2m
Venue: Carton House
Winner: Thomas Bjorn
May 2005
Sponsor: Nissan
Prize: €2m
Venue: Carton House
Winner: Stephen Dodd
July 2004
Sponsor: Nissan
Prize: €1.9m
Venue: Baltray
Winner: Brett Rumford
July 2003
Sponsor: Nissan
Prize: €1.8m
Venue: Portmarnock
Winner: Michael Campbell
July 2003
Sponsor: Nissan
Prize: €1.8m
Venue: Portmarnock
Winner: Michael Campbell
June 2002
Sponsor: Murphys
Prize: €1.6m
Venue: Fota Island
Winner: Soren Hansen
June 2001
Sponsor: Murphys
Prize: €1.6m
Venue: Fota Island
Winner: Colin Montgomerie
June 2000
Sponsor: Murphys
Prize: €1.6m
Venue: Ballybunion
Winner: Patrik Sjoland
July 1999
Sponsor: Murphys
Prize: €1.4m
Venue: Druids Glen
Winner: Sergio Garcia
July 1998
Sponsor: Murphys
Prize: €960,000
Venue: Druids Glen
Winner: David Carter
July 1997
Sponsor: Murphys
Prize: €765,000
Venue: Druids Glen
Winner: Colin Montgomerie
July 1996
Sponsor: Murphys
Prize: €870,000
Venue: Druids Glen
Winner: Colin Montgomerie
July 1995
Sponsor: Murphys
Prize: €765,000
Venue: Mount Juliet
Winner: Sam Torrance
July 1994
Sponsor: Murphys
Prize: €670,000
Venue: Mount Juliet
Winner: Bernhard Langer
July 1993
Sponsor: Carrolls
Prize: €660,000
Venue: Mount Juliet
Winner: Nick Faldo
June 1992
Sponsor: Carrolls
Prize: €520,000
Venue: Killarney
Winner: Nick Faldo
