McIlroy foundation to start hosting The Irish Open

SnowDrifts

Rory's foundation will start to host The Irish Open from next year. Positive news and fair play to Rory for trying to give something back. Hopefully this will attract new players and new financial interests.

http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/season=2014/tournamentid=2014048/news/newsid=236732.html

Barnaboy

Well done Rory, credit where it's due.

Benny Cake

Fair play, how much cash is he likely to be putting up here per annum?

Norfolk Enchants_

Great news considering the worrying comments he made a fews weeks ago, fair play to him.

Mantis Toboggan

Fair play, that's an excellent gesture.

slave1

Kudos

Rikand

Just reading about this on the european tour app. Fairplay to him indeed.

Keano

Would think a few bigger names might come over to it with him backing it.

FixdePitchmark

lol,

I put that up as an idea last year.

Class.

Now that is how to win back the Irish Public.

Dealerz

Fair play to him

aster99

Excellent. Could mean a few "bigger" names there next year!

markthespark77

fair play.

The Big Easy

Could make it one of the biggest events on the European Tour again. Hope he lets it down South once in a while

FixdePitchmark

The Big Easy wrote: »

Could make it one of the biggest events on the European Tour again. Hope he lets it down South once in a while

I did fear when I was thinking about it - that Rory would make a Northern Ireland Open.

But this is perfect.

lester76

Good man rory fairplay to him

bigtimecharlie

Would him backing say "Northern Ireland Tourism" or "Failte Ireland" not be better as a whole.

Seems a bit early in his career to be supporting/bailing out a regular tout event. (Thomas Bjorn does sponsor a challenge tour event)

ForeRight

JP convinced him to do it. Fair play Japes

FixdePitchmark

ForeRight wrote: »

JP convinced him to do it. Fair play Japes

That seriosus - your almost the boy who cried wolf now ForeRight

jokser250

Great gesture by rory in fairness

DuckSlice

This could bring his good friend tiger back to irish soil? Would be great for the irish open. Mcillroy and woods in the last pairing on the opening day!

John Divney

Now he can miss the cut guilt free!

Jokes, this is great news, hopefully it means playing some top links courses again.

FixdePitchmark

It is absolutely genius the more it settles in.

The only way to get over small minded bigotry that has hung over poisoned minds about Rory - is to act above it all.

gordongekko

What does this actually mean? There is not a lot of details in the article?

Tones69

gordongekko wrote: »

What does this actually mean? There is not a lot of details in the article?

Basically it means hes pumpin a lot into it to get some big big names over! I think we will deffo see the likes of tiger, rickie and stenson etc. If we are honest the reason why a lot of big names dont play here is because the cash prizes are small. We can expect to see a leap in those prizes next year. The event has struggled in recent years due to recession, sponsors etc etc

gordongekko

Tones69 wrote: »

Basically it means hes pumpin a lot into it to get some big big names over! I think we will deffo see the likes of tiger, rickie and stenson etc. If we are honest the reason why a lot of big names dont play here is because the cash prizes are small. We can expect to see a leap in those prizes next year. The event has struggled in recent years due to recession, sponsors etc etc

Where does it say that? I read it as his foundation is basically the official charity of the open. It looks like the Irish open are just doing whatever they can to ensure he continues to play in the tournament.

stooge

Will be great to see the Irish Open return to Royal County Down after nearly 80 years. What a spectacular course. Hopefully the weather is decent to show off that part of the world to a wider audience. Fair play to Ror!

big_drive

If he can talk the likes of Fowler into playing it will be a massive draw

BigChap1759

gordongekko wrote: »

Where does it say that? I read it as his foundation is basically the official charity of the open. It looks like the Irish open are just doing whatever they can to ensure he continues to play in the tournament.

That's how I read it - they are still looking to secure main sponsors for the event. Think it's a bit of a leap to expect to see Tiger etc....

PARlance

gordongekko wrote: »

What does this actually mean? There is not a lot of details in the article?

I think it means that Rory's charity becomes a charity of choice with the European Tour and in particular the Irish Open.

With Rory's name being associated with the Irish Open, it should mean that a bigger and better field enters. Rory said on Sky that he'll be leaning on "friends" on both tours to play. So I think it's safe to assume that there'll be some big names coming.
Sponsorship and prize money will increase if/when some of the top players flock here.

There'll prob be a nice donation from the Tour to the Charity. Iirc, the Irish Open, despite it's struggle to get main sponsors (prizemoney for players) is a very healthy event for the Tour (they pocket the ticket sales) anyway so I'm not sure the charity would stand to benefit greatly in a Financial sense as it was prob going to be a sell out anyway and attracting big players won't boost that contribution massively.
The big win for the charity is probably notoriety and PR, which in itself, is great.

But there'll be a lot of positive spin offs.
I'm guessing the ranking points available will jump, making it a much more important/attractive event.
New sponsors will be attracted boosting the prize pool and more people will be watching (it may be given some decent coverage in the US) it which will be great for tourism.

So in summary, the linking of the Charity may be a small enough thing directly but the knock on effects could and should be massive.
Think it's time for the Irish Open to grab the bull by the horns and use this link as well as the fact the qualification spots are now available to The Open (British) and make a decision to play the Irish Open at a links course from here on (as much as possible obv.)

Tones69

gordongekko wrote: »

Where does it say that? I read it as his foundation is basically the official charity of the open. It looks like the Irish open are just doing whatever they can to ensure he continues to play in the tournament.

It doesnt and wont say it, but if you seen the interview with rory, "il be doing my best to get some of my friends from both tours to play" etc. you know what that means. Of course he will be pumping money into it

take everything

Fair play to him.
This is why i like this guy.

PARlance

The timing of the announcement is very positive too and probably planned

Just before the Ryder Cup... Plenty of time for Rory to get 10 teammates and maybe a few competitors, that wouldn't normally play, to play.
I would expect a few big announces shortly after the Ryder Cup re the Irish Open leaving plenty of time for the commercial guys to get cracking on the Sponsors.

PARlance

Tones69 wrote: »

It doesnt and wont say it, but if you seen the interview with rory, "il be doing my best to get some of my friends from both tours to play" etc. you know what that means. Of course he will be pumping money into it

Not directly. A charity that starts pumping money into golf wouldn't be a charity for too long.

If he gets some big names to come, the sponsors will follow them with the cash.

Seve OB

FixdePitchmark wrote: »

lol,

I put that up as an idea last year.

Class.

Now that is how to win back the Irish Public.

that's only cause I told you it was on the cards

this has been more or less a done deal for a good while now so I think it was pretty good timing in holding off the official announcement till now

Rikand

stevieob wrote: »

that's only cause I told you it was on the cards

this has been more or less a done deal for a good while now so I think it was pretty good timing in holding off the official announcement till now

Does Stevie have the inside track on everything related to golf ?

Ryder Cup Pairings, people breaking 36 points, whats to become of the Irish open....

DirtyLeeds14

Rory is a class act.

Really stepping up to the plate not only as a Golfer but as a role model. Fair play to him. Enjoyed him on Goals on Sunday yesterday too.

Seve OB

Rikand wrote: »

Does Stevie have the inside track on everything related to golf ?

Ryder Cup Pairings, people breaking 36 points, whats to become of the Irish open....

it's not just the golf I know about

Rikand

stevieob wrote: »

it's not just the golf I know about

Ah yes, I heard at the weekend you had a great understanding of Poultry!

Johnny_Fontane

Irish open really needs a positive kick. Fair dues to him.

Complete lack of quality (bar the irish lads) last few years on courses that dont really do anything to promote Irish golf.

Week before the open every year in venues like the european, royal portrush, portmarnock would bring back the big boys.

cant see scotland losing that slot though.

the ranking points for european tour events is generally half of what Pga tour events are....such a shame.

Seve OB

Johnny_Fontane wrote: »

Irish open really needs a positive kick. Fair dues to him.

Complete lack of quality (bar the irish lads) last few years on courses that dont really do anything to promote Irish golf.

Week before the open every year in venues like the european, royal portrush, portmarnock would bring back the big boys.

cant see scotland losing that slot though.

the ranking points for european tour events is generally half of what Pga tour events are....such a shame.

Disagree, Fota this year was nothing short of Spectacular. The Irish Open consistently ranks as one of the best attended events on the European tour, and yes there might be a lack of world beaters in the field, but it's no major!

BigChap1759

stevieob wrote: »

Disagree, Fota this year was nothing short of Spectacular. The Irish Open consistently ranks as one of the best attended events on the European tour, and yes there might be a lack of world beaters in the field, but it's no major!

They need to seriously increase the purse and ranking points if they hope to attract a significantly better field

Seve OB

BigChap1759 wrote: »

They need to seriously increase the purse and ranking points if they hope to attract a significantly better field

I agree, but the purse is pretty much as good it gets in relation to a European tour event. PGA Events are just crazy in comparision

Johnny_Fontane

stevieob wrote: »

Disagree, Fota this year was nothing short of Spectacular. The Irish Open consistently ranks as one of the best attended events on the European tour, and yes there might be a lack of world beaters in the field, but it's no major!

Yes agreed that it will always be well attended. But Fota is not 'spectacular'. Royal portrush is definitely spectacular.

I think outside of the Irish guys in the worlds top 50, there were only 4 other top 50 golfers at fota if I remember correctly?

Seve OB

Johnny_Fontane wrote: »

Yes agreed that it will always be well attended. But Fota is not 'spectacular'. Royal portrush is definitely spectacular.

Subjective. not everyone thinks the same and the world is a better place for that. How many Links courses do they play on the PGA tour? It doesn't have to be links to be spectacular you know!

JP told me that after their practice round in Old Head before the Irish Open this year, they thought (without any exception) it was the most spectacular course in the country, but it's far from the best!

Fota is not so spectacular, but it is a better golf course and in turn it brought a great mix of everything good about golf (except the links element). Standing up on the left of the 10th tee, just blew my mind away and for my money, it's one of the best holes in Ireland.

PARlance

Not having the Irish Open on a links is pretty much lunacy imo.
Fota looked class but so does nearly every other parkland we see nearly every week of the year.

Think both the Irish Open and The European tour are missing a trick by not running it Irish -> Scottish -> British in consecutive weeks and turning it into a mini links "season".

We're not playing to our strenghts. Let's be honest, people don't come here to play our parklands. And if we went 100% links then it'd be a no brainer for the European Tour to run them consecutively imo. Many pros don't like playing the Scottish Open as it's too close to The Open. The Irish Open could become a perfect warmup for those that like a break beforehand.

Seve OB

PARlance wrote: »

Not having the Irish Open on a links is pretty much lunacy imo.
Fota looked class but so does nearly every other parkland we see nearly every week of the year.

Think both the Irish Open and The European tour are missing a trick by not running it Irish -> Scottish -> British in consecutive weeks and turning it into a mini links "season".

We're not playing to our strenghts. Let's be honest, people don't come here to play our parklands. And if we went 100% links then it'd be a no brainer for the European Tour to run them consecutively imo. Many pros don't like playing the Scottish Open as it's too close to The Open. The Irish Open could become a perfect warmup for those that like a break beforehand.

I can't fault that argument. And it's not as if we don't have enough of them!!!

cairny

PARlance wrote: »

Not having the Irish Open on a links is pretty much lunacy imo.
Fota looked class but so does nearly every other parkland we see nearly every week of the year.

Think both the Irish Open and The European tour are missing a trick by not running it Irish -> Scottish -> British in consecutive weeks and turning it into a mini links "season".

We're not playing to our strenghts. Let's be honest, people don't come here to play our parklands. And if we went 100% links then it'd be a no brainer for the European Tour to run them consecutively imo. Many pros don't like playing the Scottish Open as it's too close to The Open. The Irish Open could become a perfect warmup for those that like a break beforehand.

I don't think we (me included) really understand how a course gets selected.

I do know that they have to pay the European Tour a huge fee for the privilege. Also the obvious great links courses here would have to give up a week or so of prime time green fee income. At €600+ per tee time every 10 mins that's a lot of income. There are also infrastructure issue with Links course but I think that's a secondary issue.

I thought Fota looked really good on TV this year, far better than most other courses played on the Tour, also Sky lads keep referring back to it as being stand out.

rrpc

cairny wrote: »

I don't think we (me included) really understand how a course gets selected.

I do know that they have to pay the European Tour a huge fee for the privilege. Also the obvious great links courses here would have to give up a week or so of prime time green fee income. At €600+ per tee time every 10 mins that's a lot of income. There are also infrastructure issue with Links course but I think that's a secondary issue.

I thought Fota looked really good on TV this year, far better than most other courses played on the Tour, also Sky lads keep referring back to it as being stand out.

As well as foregone income, the big issue with courses that host these events is the ability to handle large crowds and huge volumes of traffic. Lots of our links course are in out of the way places without the proper infrastructure around them.

PARlance

rrpc wrote: »

As well as foregone income, the big issue with courses that host these events is the ability to handle large crowds and huge volumes of traffic. Lots of our links course are in out of the way places without the proper infrastructure around them.

A fair point, but I'd much prefer to see Failte Ireland giving grants to these courses rather than (having to) pumping it into sponsorship each year and Mikko taking it back to Finland.

It's a chicken and egg scenario, but if we were part of a links circuit as mentioned previously, then there'd be little hassle getting big sponsors imo and Failte Ireland could step back from having to fork up and pay the prize pool (or most of it).
It would be better spent on "compensating" the top links courses and improving facilitates and ultimately way better for tourism in Ireland.

There's no way I can see about getting around having to have less crowds. That's a trade off I would take to see it on links tbh.

Russman

The links circuit is a good idea in theory but ultimately the guys go where the purses and ranking points are, by and large. There was never an issue getting a great field to Loch Lomond each year, just before the Open, a combination of prize fund (& appearance fees no doubt) and a good date on the calendar. Hopefully Rory's status in the game might equal out the fact that the Irish Open has neither of those in recent years. An even bigger hope would be that sponsors would be attracted to the event now that it's associated with him.

superhooper

PARlance wrote: »

Not having the Irish Open on a links is pretty much lunacy imo.
Fota looked class but so does nearly every other parkland we see nearly every week of the year.

Think both the Irish Open and The European tour are missing a trick by not running it Irish -> Scottish -> British in consecutive weeks and turning it into a mini links "season".

We're not playing to our strenghts. Let's be honest, people don't come here to play our parklands. And if we went 100% links then it'd be a no brainer for the European Tour to run them consecutively imo. Many pros don't like playing the Scottish Open as it's too close to The Open. The Irish Open could become a perfect warmup for those that like a break beforehand.

Agree

Failte Ireland would be better served promoting a links course. Its a no brainer in my mind when most of the high spending golf tourists(mostly US) only want to play links. As fantastic as Fota was Americans have this and better. Might work for the European market but there biggest gripe are costs.
The mini-links swing idea is fantastic.