Minister Foster Receives Major Thanks

Northern Ireland’s three Major Champions welcomed a special guest to the annual Players’ Awards Dinner on The European Tour on Tuesday night in the shape of Northern Ireland Tourism Minister Arlene Foster.

Reigning Open Champion Darren Clarke and the last two US Open Champions Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy were three of the many stars in attendance at the glittering ceremony held in the ballroom of the Sofitel Hotel at London Heathrow’s Terminal Five.

The evening recognised the many achievements of The European Tour players in the 2011 season as well as continuing the build-up to the Tour’s flagship event – the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth Club – which tees off on Thursday morning.

However, before the evening began, Northern Ireland’s three golfing stars took time out with Minister Foster to discuss plans for the 2012 Irish Open at Royal Portrush, which will tee off on the venue’s Dunluce Course in five weeks’ time.

“It was a great pleasure to meet with the three guys and to hear at first-hand how much they are looking forward to playing in the Irish Open at Royal Portrush next month,” said Minister Foster.

“Securing some of the world’s top golfers including, of course, Rory, Graeme and Darren has ensured the Irish Open will be keenly followed by golf fans across the world.

“The recent announcement that Keegan Bradley, the reigning US PGA Champion, will also play along with two-time Major winner John Daly will bring even more benefits with increased interest from the USA, where fans will be able to watch the Irish Open in their homes.

“The Northern Ireland Executive is committed to ensuring that the Irish Open at Portrush will be a success. Hosting this important tournament will give a great boost to the Northern Ireland economy along with the tourism sector and we aim to use it to encourage potential investors to consider Northern Ireland as an investment location.”

Minister Foster was part of the top table gathering at Royal Portrush in January when The European Tour made the announcement that the Irish Open was to return to Northern Ireland for the first time since 1953 when Scotsman Eric Brown won at Belvoir Park.

Also present on the top table that day was Portrush resident Darren Clarke who paid tribute to Minister Foster’s involvement.

“The Irish Open has enjoyed tremendous backing from across the community and I think the support of Minister Foster epitomises that,” he said.

“She has been there right from when the concept was discussed through to the announcement in January and continues to be a visible support to everyone involved with the championship. Therefore it was good for the three of us to welcome her to our Players’ Dinner to say our own thank you.”

McIlroy Happy Being the Best

World number one Rory McIlroy is happy to be described - and to describe himself - as the best golfer in the world.

The top ranking has ricocheted betwen McIlroy, Luke Donald and Lee Westwood in recent months, but the Northern Irishman is determined to keep the English duo - and the rest of the chasing pack - at bay.

Not that the 23-year-old US Open champion uses the rankings as the only measure of his standing in the game.

Asked at Wentworth ahead of this week's BMW Championship if he considers himself better than everyone else now, McIlroy replied: "Yeah, I think that you have to believe that you're better than anyone else.

"On my day I believe I can beat anyone in the world. It's just a matter of going out there and showing everyone else what I believe.

"It's hard to walk around saying 'I'm the best' or whatever, but you just have to believe in it and be quietly confident."

Donald was not quite as forceful in his answer to the same question.

"I don't really think in terms like that," he said. "I think my focus is to try and always continue to improve and be a better golfer.

"In terms of who is the best, that's a very hard thing to discuss. Certainly I've been one of the most consistent players over the last couple of years.

"I've won quite a few events and I'm very proud of what I've done the last couple of years."

But McIlroy is enjoying the to-and-fro battle for the top ranking.

"I think this whole battle for No.1 has created a buzz amongst fans of golf, in the UK, Europe and also around the rest of the world.

"It's just nice to be a part of it and it's nice to be on top at the moment, but you can't be number one forever. I'm sure at some point or another I'm going to lose it, I just hope it's not this week.

"It's being going back and forward, but it would be nice to play consistently over the next few weeks and create a bit of a gap between me and the rest."

Meanwhile, McIlroy is confident of challenging for his first title at the European Tour's flagship event.

"I feel like I've definitely come back this year (to this tournament) with more confidence," he told Sky Sports.

"I'm a major champion and world No.1, so I definitely feel Iike I'm a better player than I was 12 months ago.

"Hopefully (I can) give it a good run this week, setting myself up for a great few weeks leading up to the US Open."

The West Course has been tweaked again following criticisms last year of Ernie Els' layout changes and McIlroy added: "I like the changes they've made this year.

"I wasn't a huge fan of the changes they made a couple of years ago - but the few tweaks that they've made this year have been great.

"Turning 12 back into a par five has been a great move. I think levelling out the right side of the 15th green, making that greenside bunker a little shallower...that'll be better for us.

"Making the 18th more inviting for second shots, being able to get the ball a little bit further down the fairway there, you're now going to see a lot of guys go for that green in two, you're going to see eagles and exciting finishes."

Emirates Sponsor Irish Open

Emirates has announced its first sponsorship in Ireland by becoming the Official Airline of the Irish Open.

The 2012 Irish Open, which takes place in the spectacular surrounds of the Royal Portrush Golf Club, from June 28 - July 1, is one of the premier events on The European Tour calendar.

The tournament is set to feature home grown favourites and major champions Rory McIlroy, Graeme McDowell and Darren Clarke along with three-time Major Championship winner Padraig Harrington from the Republic of Ireland and an array of the world’s finest golfers. The three-year sponsorship deal is a further demonstration of Emirates’ commitment to Ireland following the highly successful launch of its Dublin service on January 9. 

“We have entered into another major sponsorship, supporting sport in Ireland and connecting with golf enthusiasts around the world,” said Salem Obaidalla, Emirates’ Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations, Europe & Russian Federation. “Irish golfers have never had a higher profile, with no fewer than nine current tournament winners active on the European Tour."

“Emirates is a world-class partner that brings added global exposure and prestige to the Irish Open,” said James Finnigan of The European Tour and the Commercial Director of the Irish Open. 

"This event has massive appeal, attracting audiences from all over the world, so it’s appropriate that a like-minded sponsor with an extensive global reach and a strong foothold in golf is on-board.”

The agreement with the Irish Open includes course branding, tournament hospitality, advertising, on-site activity including an exhibition unit and team participation in the Tournament Pro-Am. 

In addition to the Irish Open, Emirates is supporting 14 further golf events in 2012 as Official Airline, of which seven are tournaments on The European Tour International Schedule.

Emirates has a number of prominent sponsorships familiar to Irish fans, including Official Carrier status at the Dubai World Cup, where Irish horses, trainers and jockeys have excelled in recent years, while its sponsorship of Arsenal remains hugely popular in Ireland since the heydays of Liam Brady and Frank Stapleton.

Emirates flies daily from Dubai to Dublin with a modern Boeing 777-300ER, recently upgraded because of strong demand. The aircraft carries the award-winning ice entertainment system, with more than 600 channels of films, TV programmes, music, audio books and games, while highly trained cabin crew are on hand to serve gourmet-chef prepared food. A complimentary chauffeur-drive service, to and from the airport, is available to First Class and Business Class passengers.

Customers departing Dublin can take advantage of the airline’s 123 destination network, travelling to places such as Australia, India, Seychelles, Thailand and South Africa, with just one stop at Emirates’ exclusive Terminal 3 in Dubai.

In addition to generous luggage allowances; 30 kilos in Economy, 40 kilos in Business Class and 50 kilos in First Class, Emirates’ passengers may also check in one set of golf clubs and one pair of golf shoes free of charge in any class of service on any Emirates’ flight.

Rory and Luke in BMW No1 Chase

The tussle to be World Number One will once again be an enthralling sideshow to this week’s main event, the BMW PGA Championship, with Luke Donald and Rory McIlroy prepared for battle.

Donald is the only player who can overthrow McIlroy at the top of the Official World Golf Ranking, but he will need to repeat last year’s victory to guarantee a return to pole position.

If he does not triumph in The European Tour’s flagship event, as he did 12 months ago when he beat compatriot Lee Westwood in a play-off, it will depend on how McIlroy performs, although Donald must still finish eighth alone or better to have any chance of reclaiming the mantle of best player in the world.

Victory for Westwood, the man who deposed Tiger Woods as World Number One in October 2010 to start the ball rolling for European dominance, would leave him fractionally shy of the top spot.

Further down the Ranking, a number of players will be hoping for a good performance this week to ensure their place in the field for the second Major of the year, the US Open Championship, in three weeks’ time.

Monday May 21 was a cut-off date for qualifying for the US Open Championship through the top 60 in the Official World Golf Ranking, and Miguel Angel Jiménez in 60th place was the last of 16 European Tour Members to qualify through this route.

There is another cut-off date, June 11, for players looking to force their way into the top 60 in the next three weeks, so Matteo Manassero (62nd), Branden Grace (65th) and George Coetzee (72nd) will be hoping to pick up significant points at Wentworth to boost their chances of playing at the Olympic Club in California from June 14 – 17.

Monday May 21 was also the cut-off date for qualifying for The Open Championship, with the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking gaining entry. Former European Number One Robert Karlsson and Martin Laird earned their exemption through this category.

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Volvo Loss Hurts - GMAC

Graeme McDowell and Paul Lawrie have three months of the Ryder Cup race to make sure that they don't regret their defeats to Nicolas Colsaerts.

McDowell is still without a win since December 2010 after losing to the Belgian in the final of the Volvo World Match Play in Spain.

And that came after Lawrie had been knocked out by Colsaerts despite winning the first four holes of their semi-final.

All three are now in qualifying positions for Europe's team - Lawrie is fourth, McDowell eighth and Colsaerts in the 10th and last spot - but it could have been so different.

"I'm disappointed obviously," said 2010 Ryder Cup hero McDowell, who got back on level terms three times only to fall behind again.

"But I'm taking nothing away from Nicolas, he played fantastic golf.

"He's got a great wind game (there were gusts of over 30mph) and he's a fantastic talent - I got beat by the better man."

Colsaerts is the longest hitter in European golf at the moment, taking over from Spain's Alvaro Quiros with an average of 316 yards.

That is also a yard longer than Masters champion Bubba Watson, who heads the PGA Tour statistics, and it is 34 yards longer than McDowell, who ranks 155th in Europe.

"He really killed me off the tee box and flighted his irons fantastic," the Northern Irishman added after his last-green defeat.

"I would have preferred to get beat with birdies as opposed to pars, but that's just the way the course was set up this week.

"But he had to deal with the same elements I did and that's life."

Lawrie looked furious with himself for not making the most of a start which put on course for a final which, if he had won, would have lifted him to second in the cup race.

For a man who has not played in the match since 1999 - the year he won The Open - it is understandably a big deal.

It means so much to the 43-year-old, who was playing his 500th European Tour event, that he has not entered next month's US Open because he does not think it will aid his cup bid.

Colsaerts will be in San Francisco and he will be at Wentworth this week trying to add the Tour's flagship BMW PGA Championship.

There, though, he will also be up against world top three Rory McIlroy, Luke Donald and Lee Westwood, who after playing last year all turned down the Match Play.

Colsaerts still needed a play-off to survive his group - like last year's winner Ian Poulter he did not win either of his games - but two days later the first prize of £559,865 was his.

It is the 34 world ranking points, however, that take him into a cup qualifying position.

"It's just fantastic - it means everything," the 29-year-old from Brussels said at the end of a week which puts him into the world's top 50 for the first time.

"Two days ago I was in my room taking a nap thinking I was going to fly home.

"To have my name next to major winners and all of these on the trophy, it's a dream come true."

On the Ryder Cup he added: "It's always been a dream of mine as a kid to play, but there's a long way to go, so I don't want to make any plans or anything."