Ireland’s national Open takes place on the DP World Tour this week and fans can expect a stacked field. Rory McIlroy heads the lineup in his home county and will bid for a second Irish Open title. This week’s venue, Royal County Down, is just an hour from where the four-time major champ grew up and he returns 20 years after making his debut in the event. His Ryder Cup teammate and fellow past champion Shane Lowry will also tee it up in what he describes as “one of the greatest tournaments in the world.” Plenty of other home favourites will be in action, too, including Padraig Harrington, Seamus Power and Tom McKibbin. It’s only the second time the Ulster venue has hosted the Irish Open, and the first since 1928 – when England’s Ernest Whitcombe lifted the title.
Here’s everything you need to know about this week’s tournament…
Course: Royal County Down, Northern Ireland
Course Stats: Par 71 Yards 7,186
Defending Champion: Vincent Norrman
Purse: $6,000,000
Winner’s Share: $1,020,000
Odds will be published soon. Please gamble responsibly.
Thursday, September 12: Sky Sports Golf, 13.00
Friday, September 13: Sky Sports Golf, 8.00
Saturday, September 14: Sky Sports Red Button, 12.00
Sunday, September 15: Sky Sports Xtra, 12.00
All times shown are BST
The 2024 Amgen Irish Open will take place from September 12th to 15th at Royal County Down in Newcastle, Co Down. It is a DP World Tour event and while it no longer has Rolex Series status, it is still an important event on the schedule – only five regular DP World Tour events have a bigger prize fund. Early Ryder Cup points for 2025 are also on offer.
The Irish Open is on RTÉ2 from 12.45pm on Thursday and from 7.55am on Friday with a break from 1.05pm to 4pm before returning from 4pm to 6pm. On Saturday and Sunday it is on at 12.30pm. On Sky Sports, you can watch from 1pm on Thursday, 8am on Friday on Golf and Main Event. On Saturday, it goes to the Sky Sports Golf red button from 12pm due to the clash with the Solheim Cup, while on Sunday it is on Sky Sports Xtra at 12pm.
The tee times will be updated here when they are made available.
As good as it gets, best in the world status. It has been named so by Golf Digest magazine on many occasions. Along the northeast coast with Slieve Donard and the Mourne Mountains in view, it is the perfect balance of scenic with great course design. It can be exceptionally difficult too if the weather is wet or breezy, McIlroy shot 80 in the opening round the last time it hosted the Irish Open in 2015. Soren Kjeldsen won in a playoff at just two under, with only five players under par. A rarely seen sight in any non-Major professional tournament.
He is indeed, this is one of his favourite courses in the world too, growing up not too far away. So it is very much a home event for Rory and he hopes it will go better than the 2015 Irish Open when he missed the cut. McIlroy had a mixed season with two victories and some good displays, but it was a year that will ultimately be defined by a few costly missed putts, agonisingly finishing second in the US Open by one shot. A second Irish Open win at RCD, however, would be one of the highlights of his year.
Shane Lowry leads the Irish contingent after what he considers the “second best year of his career”. Fresh off a top 10 in the FedEx Cup, he is in fine form and will also fancy a second Irish Open title. There is also Séamus Power, carving out a solid PGA Tour career for himself, multiple Major winner Pádraig Harrington and another North home favourite Tom McKibbin. Other Irish in the field are professionals Mark Power, Conor Purcell, Gary Hurley, Simon Thornton, and amateurs Max Kennedy and Sean Keeling.
Robert MacIntyre is the next biggest star in the field outside the Irish players, the Scotsman won twice on the PGA Tour this season, including the Scottish Open on a links course. Dane Nicolai Hojgaard was on the European Ryder Cup team. Other than that there is a lack of star power compared to previous years, with Billy Horschel an unfortunate late withdrawal through injury.
Ticket Prices
Yes, there are. They are £55 for Thursday and Friday, £60 for Saturday and Sunday. If you fancy something different, it is £30 on Wednesday to attend the Pro-Am where the likes of Patrick Kielty, Johnny Sexton and Tommy Bowe will be in action with the pros.
Prize Money
The winner’s prize is just under a million euro, €951,046, with €615,383 for second place.
Weather Forecast
The weather this week in Newcastle is expected to be relatively dry but chilly for this time of year, 11 degrees on Thursday a far cry from the 25 degrees it was at the K Club last year. As always, prepare for showers on the Irish coast. It will also be breezy on Thursday and Saturday, with gusts hitting 32km/h.
David Gorman is a sports journalist with The Irish Times
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