January 14, 2014: World no. 7 and ace Irish golfer Rory McIlroy has welcomed the return of the Irish Open to Fota Island this June after a 12-year absence.
The tournament is changing location for the third straight year after it was held at Royal Portrush in 2012 and Carton House in 2013.
Two-time major winner Rory McIlroy says in a European Tour statement “the country’s national Open should be moved around to give everyone an opportunity to see the event, and it also gives us the chance to show the world just how many amazing courses there are in Ireland.”
[highlight] The Irish Open should be moved around to give everyone an opportunity to see the event, said Rory [/highlight]
The Irish Open was staged at Fota Island, in Cork in the south of the country, in 2001 and ’02.
This year’s event takes place from June 19-22.
McIlroy, like the other modern Irish Majors champions Pádraig Harrington, Graeme McDowell and Darren Clarke, has confirmed his attendance in the tournament on June 19th-22nd which this year will be used by the R&A as one of a select number of events, along with the French Open and Scottish Open, in enabling players not already exempt for the British Open to secure places in the field at Hoylake.
McIlroy along with 11 Irish players in the field in Abu Dhabi this week, has welcomed Fota’s hosting of the championship as “exciting” and “exactly the kind of place to showcase what Ireland has to offer as a golf destination.
“The Irish Open should be moved around to give everyone an opportunity to see the event,” he added.
It will be the fourth different venue in the past four years, following on from Killarney (2011), Royal Portrush (2012) and Carton House.
- In this article
- Pros
- india golf
- irish open
- rory mcilroy
