Pádraig Harrington and Rory McIlroy are set to face each other in a $300,000 (€221,230) prize match after details were announced today of the inaugural Lough Erne Challenge in July.
The new Nick Faldo-designed golf resort in Enniskillen will host the “ head to head” event on Wednesday July 22nd, just three days after the British Open concludes at Turnberry.
Harrington will be going for a third straight Open crown on the Ayrshire coast, while McIlroy will be making his return to the event in which he won the silver medal for top amateur at Carnoustie in 2007.
World No. 17 McIlroy, who is sponsored by Lough Erne, said the event would be an important part of his summer.
“The opportunity to play against Pádraig on what is in some ways my home turf is exciting. He is a fantastic player – a real role model for someone like me starting out on my career. Jim Treacy has been a real support to me and I have watched the development of the Championship course at Lough Erne with great interest. It is spectacular. To play Pádraig in the inaugural event will be very special.”
Speaking from Orlando, where he preparing for this week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill, Harrington also enthused about the clash with the 19-year-old sensation.
“It is good to be promoting this part of the island through the establishment of this event and I hope the North’s golf fans will come out to see myself and Rory compete on the shores of the Lough,” said Harrington, who has been drawn with World No. 1 Tiger Woods in the first two rounds in Florida.
Ryder Cup captain Faldo has taken a keen interest in McIlroy’s development with the Holywood native having won his Faldo Junior Series event in the past. He believes that his lakeside creation will prove a fine test for the pair.
“Pádraig and Rory are among the very best in the world right now and they have massive global reputations which will help attract interest in Lough Erne and Fermanagh as a whole. I believe the golf course will emerge to be a top golfing location but it is important to emphasise the extraordinary beauty of the whole area and staging this event should help to bring this message to a wider audience. I look forward to officially opening the golf course.”
A limit of 4,000 tickets has been set for the event, while the match will be filmed by European Tour Productions for delayed broadcast.
Meanwhile, McIlroy has confirmed that he will get his first look at Augusta this Sunday as he begins his build-up to a first Masters appearance in two weeks’ time.
The Dubai Desert Classic winner took America by storm on his first trip, making the top 20 in all three events. The highlight came at the Accenture World Match Play in Arizona, where he went out to eventual winner, Geoff Ogilvy, in the quarter-finals.
Ogilvy was one of the players who advised McIlroy to take an early reconnaissance trip to the famed Georgia venue and he will fly to Atlanta on Saturday.
McIlroy has been working at home with long-time coach Michael Bannon, who will accompany him to Augusta, while he has also put in some work with putting coach Paul Hurrion.
His caddie JP Fitzgerald will be on the bag for the round, where McIlroy and Bannon will play alongside two members of the club.
McIlroy has pinpointed what areas he will be looking at when he finally gets to play the course.
“I think at Augusta you need to be able to hit it high and hit a draw so that's pretty much my ball flight so it'll be a case of having a good look at the greens and general layout of the course - and I'm certainly looking forward to seeing it all for the first time.”
