We would never dare compare Shane Lowry with Mystic Meg. Yet, if we take ourselves back to a winter break he had back in Dublin just before Christmas in 2023, the switch of dates for the Amgen Irish Open to one in September, the week before the BMW PGA Championship, was on his mind.
His prediction was that the move in the schedule would work wonders for the quality of the field.
Through the years, the Irish Open has been twirled around the calendar like a rag doll hoping to find a safe landing place. May some years. June other times. August. September.
For a tournament etched in history – first played in 1927 at Portmarnock, in August, won by George Duncan who used old newspapers pushed inside his clothing to offset the weather elements as torrential rain lashed the links – the mishmash of dates through its near-century long existence proved problematic in terms of consistently attracting strong, international fields.
RM Block
There were golden years, followed by barren ones.
The lowest ebb, not surprisingly, came following the crash of the Celtic Tiger. When 3 pulled their sponsorship ahead of the 2011 tournament in Killarney, it led to a halving of the prize fund as, effectively, Tourism Ireland and the Government bankrolled the event: Simon Dyson’s winner’s cheque of €250,000 was half that of the €500,000 pocketed by Ross Fisher in 2010.
There were marginal increases in winners’ pay-days in subsequent years to €330,000 when Jamie Donaldson (2012), Paul Casey (2013) and Mikko Ilonen (2014) won. In most minds, though, the tournament had slipped to a second-tier level on the European circuit, on a par with the Hassan Trophy among others.
All that changed with Rory McIlroy’s decision to come on board ahead of the 2015 Irish Open at Royal County Down, with Dubai Duty Free coming in as title sponsor. The prize money increased, but just as importantly McIlroy called in favours so that pals likes Sergio Garcia, Ernie Els and Rickie Fowler answered the call to add their stardust. It also became a Rolex Series event, as one of the bedrock tournaments on the DP World Tour.
By the time Jon Rahm won at Portstewart in 2017, the Irish Open’s growing scale and revitalisation was reflected in hard cash: the Spaniard became the first Irish Open winner to bank over €1 million for his success.
Since 2020, Horizon and, then Amgen (who bought Horizon) assumed the title sponsorship and the €5.15 million ($6 million) purse that is on offer at The K Club next week is reflective of its return – if not to a Rolex Series event – but to one that is in the top tier, history-wise and prize money-wise, on the European Tour.
Yet, the shifting of dates in the calendar didn’t always mean the fields matched the status or the money on offer.
Which brings us back to Lowry’s observations of winter 2023 when the move to a new September date was mooted:
“I’ve always thought the date we had in July wasn’t great. I always thought if we could have it later on it would be better. Obviously the ideal date would be the week before the Open, but that’s not going to happen [with the Scottish Open a fixture].
“If you get it back-to-back with Wentworth, two great weeks and a great time of year to play golf. I always feel the weather can be pretty good in August/September in Ireland. And it’s great Amgen have acquired Horizon and have continued on with their sponsorship, it says a lot about what the tournament has been like the last couple of years and how much they feel they can grow it, too. I think it has huge potential.”
Lowry’s words look prophetic now, what with next week’s Amgen Irish Open having a field that would be the envy of most other events on the DP World Tour.
Okay, it doesn’t count for Ryder Cup points (Luke Donald’s team will be finalised with his captain’s wild card picks on Monday next). But Lowry’s clairvoyance has materialised with a field – in September, a week out from the BMW – that, obviously, is headlined by Masters champion McIlroy but also features a string of Major champions who have accumulated no fewer than 17 Major titles between them.
Their participation at The K Club has brought something of a wow factor, sprinklings of stardust that are a throwback to the 1980s and 1990s when Seve Ballesteros, Ian Woosnam, Bernhard Langer, José María Olazábal and Nick Faldo were names that added lustre to the old tournament in following Duncan, the original champion, and himself an Open champion with his named etched on to the Claret Jug in 1920, on to the roll of honour.
The Wow Factor
The Amgen Irish Open field at The K Club next week features seven Major champions ... with 17 Major wins between them.
5
Rory McIlroy
McIlroy’s win in the Masters completed the career Grand Slam, enabling the Northern Irishman to join a very select club – featuring Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods – and the first European player to do so. McIlroy’s feat was a generational one, becoming the first player since Woods in extending the elite club to just six men. McIlroy’s five Major championship wins came in the US PGA (2012, 2014), the US Open (2011), The Open (2014) and the Masters (2025).
Brooks Koepka
Although he moved from the PGA Tour to LIV Golf, Koepka’s Major credentials remain among the very best of the modern era. The American’s five Major titles came quickly: he won back-to-back US Opens (2017, 2018) and also won three US PGAs (2018, 2019 and 2023). His third Wannamaker Trophy win, at Oak Hill in 2023, meant he became the first LIV golfer to win a Major.
3
Pádraig Harrington
Harrington’s Irish Open win at Adare Manor in 2007 provided the springboard into Major title success. The Dubliner won The Open at Carnoustie that year and followed up with a successful defence of the title at Royal Birkdale in 2008. Harrington’s third career Major win came in the US PGA at Oakland Hills. His popularity among golf fans remains as strong as ever, with his YouTube Paddy’s Tips reaching a global base. Harrington continues to mix playing on the Champions Tour, the DP World Tour and the PGA Tour and comes to The K Club as the reigning Senior Open champion.
1
Sergio Garcia
Garcia is a long-time supporter of the Irish Open, having made his European Tour breakthrough when winning the Murphy’s Irish Open at Druids Glen in 1999. The Spaniard’s only Major championship success came in the 2017 Masters at Augusta National when, competing in his 74th Major, Garica defeated Justin Rose in a playoff to win the green jacket. These days, Garcia plays on the LIV circuit and is making a rare appearance on the DP World Tour.
Shane Lowry
Another of the tournament’s poster boys, Lowry – who won the Irish Open as an amateur at Baltray in 2009 – has been a steadfast support of the Irish Open in claiming it to be like a fifth Major to him. Lowry’s only Major win so far came in spectacular fashion when he lifted the Claret Jug at Royal Portrush in 2019 on golf’s oldest championship’s return to the north Antrim links for the first time in 68 years.
Francesco Molinari
The Italian’s win in the 2018 Open championship – when paired with Tiger Woods in the final round at Carnoustie – came in emphatic fashion as he closed with a closing 69 for a winning total of 276, eight under, two strokes clear of a quartet that featured McIlroy, Kevin Kisner, Rose and Xander Schauffele. It would the eighth and last, so far, win by Molinari on the DP World Tour.
Danny Willett
The Englishman’s win in the 2016 Masters provided a career highlight, as he kept his cool while others – mainly Jordan Spieth – felt the heat at Augusta National. Spieth had a five-stroke lead approaching on the 10th but suffered a triple-bogey seven on the 12th as Willett posted a final round 67 that ultimately saw him finish three shots clear of Spieth and Lee Westwood. Having battled injury in recent years, Willett has shown signs of a comeback of late.
