2/19/2014

Royal County Down Hosts Irish Open


The Irish Open golf tournament returns to Northern Ireland next year and will be hosted by Royal County Down - the first time in 75 years the prestigious event has been held at the Newcastle course.

Royal Portrush was expected to stage another Irish Open in 2015 after the success of the tournament on the north coast two years ago. But this is no longer the case.

Royal County Down has a terrific pedigree when it comes to big tournaments, having staged the Senior British Open from 2000 to 2002. It also hosted the 2007 Walker Cup.

The 2012 event was made possible through funding by the Northern Ireland Executive and a similar investment is expected next year as well.

Jamie Donaldson won the 2012 Irish Open at the end of a week that saw attendance records broke.

Indeed, the Royal Portrush tournament - the first time in 60 years that the Irish Open was hosted north of the border - was the first-ever sold-out event on the European Tour.

This year's tournament will be played at Fota Island in Cork.

Northern Ireland has long been mooted as a possible venue for The Open itself, and Royal County Down, like Royal Portrush, will regard hosting the Irish Open as a chance to showcase their ability to host a major.



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