IRISH OPEN:THE PROCESS to determine where next year's 3 Irish Open will take place is due to swing into gear over the next few weeks, but any forensic examination of the 2010 tournament at Killarney would indicate it is a no-brainer to bring it back to the same venue again next year.
The title sponsors, 3, who have proved both energetic and innovative in their marketing of the event and particularly in the set-up of the tented village which added a festive element to the tournament, will meet with Fáilte Ireland and the PGA European Tour to assess their options.
And, while other courses and other regions may feel entitled to host the tournament and the consequent spin-off to tourism, there is no doubt this staging went a long way to re-establishing the tournament above that of another regular event on tour and it would seem sensible to consolidate that progress in 2011 before perhaps moving on to another venue.
Certainly, the consensus in the player locker-room was almost unanimously positive. As Paul McGinley put it, “I’m not suggesting we stay here forever but I’d like to see it coming back next year with a little bit more rough. It ticks a lot of boxes and it is back and re-established itself as one of the premier events on tour.”
He added: “The Irish Open is very much viewed along the lines of being great craic and being played on great venues too. Although we’ve had great venues the last number of years, we’ve never had an epicentre, a town close-by that’s been buzzing. I think Killarney bought into that.”
Darren Clarke added his weight to the argument of returning to Killarney. “I really hope that they decide to stay in Killarney for another couple of years. Killarney has come out on top. I think the crowds we’ve had, the venue, I think all of the players have loved it. It’s been hugely positive.”
If all the players seemed to be singing from the same hymn sheet – with Pádraig Harrington, Rory McIlroy and, not surprisingly, new champion Ross Fisher also endorsing the venue and the tournament – it would seem this latest staging of one of the oldest events on the tour has had a rejuvenating effect.
Several factors have aided this renaissance, even if it would be wise to point out that one swallow never made a summer.
The change of date – from May when it was sandwiched between the Players Championship in the US and the European Tour’s flagship championship, the BMW PGA – to the August bank holiday weekend ensured a better prospect of decent weather (which it got) and contributed to the large attendances, which came to a total of 81,738 over the four days, figures last achieved at Portmarnock in 1989.
Also, 3 chief executive Robert Finnegan’s commitment to the event along with the backing of Fáilte Ireland and, it should be pointed out, the European Tour’s own input, enabled it to, as McGinley put it, “tick so many boxes”.
As new champion Fisher said in the aftermath of his win, “I don’t think it’s ever not been a premium event. I think it’s right up there. it’s a national open.
“Besides the Majors, the WGCs and stuff like that, the BMW PGA at Wentworth, which is our biggest event, personally I look on tournaments like Ireland, Loch Lomond, Paris, these sort of tournaments as big, big tournaments.
“It was a great location. There’s no set in stone we are coming back next year, but I really hope it’s here for many more years.”
