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Mikko Ilonen is relishing the opportunity to play in front of what he believes are among the “most knowledgeable golf fans” in the world when the Finn returns to defend his title at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open hosted by the Rory Foundation this week.
The five-time European Tour winner emerged victorious at Fota Island Resort last year to claim what was the first of two wins in The 2014 Race to Dubai.
The 35 year old admitted that he was shocked when he eventually took a step back and assessed the size of the crowds there to witness him overcome Edoardo Molinari by one shot in Cork.
He cannot wait to get back out there and defend his title, over a truly spectacular lay-out in the Northern Irish town of Newcastle which holds a special place in his heart having won here as an amateur.
“It feels good to be back because a lot of people are welcoming me back,” he said. “Obviously I have good memories from the distant past, having won an amateur tournament here in the late 90s and winning The Irish Open last year.
“It's nice to be back here, whether you're defending or not. But I'm a lucky one this week to have that trophy in my hands still another couple of days.
“The best thing coming back to Ireland every year is the crowds. I know all the players, caddies, whoever is part of the tournament, they always tell about the atmosphere in The Irish Open. It doesn't really get much better than that.
“Well, they are probably the most knowledgeable crowds there are, so doesn't really get any better than that.
“I didn't realise how many there were last year before I looked back on the 18th green. I think most of the people were hiding somewhere in the bushes before the last couple of holes because I really didn't notice them that much.
”But of course, I could hear them all the time. But for me looking back on that 18th fairway, I felt a little bit from the green like saying, thank you very much, thanks for coming.”
Much like Clarke and Harrington earlier in the day, Ilonen had particularly strong words of praise for the work World Number One Rory McIlroy put in to make this week’s event such a roaring success.
“It's great what Rory's done,” he said. “He has obviously had a huge impact on the field. He's got a couple of bigger names to come this year, and I think the Irish players are definitely the big factor to keep this tournament what it is now, because they all are big names.
“So they need to keep supporting this event as they have been in the past. It's the key for this tournament, and they are going to take the other names here, as well.
“We all love coming here. The crowds are the best. It doesn't get much better than this, what we are going to experience this week. So it doesn't need to be a $5 billion tournament. It just needs a good atmosphere, and everybody is going to enjoy the week.”
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