The European Tour returns to The K Club’s Palmer Course for the first time since The 2006 Ryder Cup, when Ian Woosnam’s European team recorded their third consecutive win over the United States.
With a star-studded line-up teeing off in County Kildare, we give you the lowdown ahead of the Tour’s return to the continent after a four-week absence…
Rewind
DaneSøren Kjeldsenended a six year wait for a European Tour title as he won a three-way playoff last year.
He started the final round two strokes ahead, securing his place in the playoff after carding a final round 76. He thenbirdied the first extra holeto deny Bernd Wiesberger and Eddie Pepperell and win his first event since the 2009 Open de Andalucía de Golf.
Kjeldsen goes into this year’s edition at The K Club in fine form after securing three top ten finishes in his last six events. Should he win, he would become the first player to successfully defend the crown he won at Royal County Down last year since Colin Montgomerie did an Irish Open double in 1996-97.
Bite-sized history
Shane Lowry’svictory as an amateur in 2009 came on his European Tour debut. He was the first player to achieve this feat since Ben Curtis at The Open Championship in 2003.
A total of14 Major Championshave triumphed in the event, including Sir Nick Faldo, Ian Woosnam, José María Olazábal and, most recently,Padraig Harrington.
Sergio Garciabecame the youngest winner of the Irish Open in 1999, winning the title at Druids Glen at just 19 years and 176 days old.
Willett returns
The 2016Masters Champion, Danny Willett, will make his first European Tour appearance since his incredible win at Augusta National last month.
Willett’s participation in this year’s Masters Tournament was in doubt as he and wife Nicole awaited the birth of their child, but baby Zachariah arrived eight days before the tournament teed off.
Following hisfive-shot victory over Jordan Spieth, he took a month off, but makes a welcome return to European Tour this week at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open hosted by The Rory Foundation.
The field
Four-time Major winnerRory McIlroyheads the field and is joined by six of the top ten in the Race to Dubai Rankings.
Shane LowryandPadraig Harrington, both former winners of their home Open, are two of 14 Irishmen in the field.
The 11 former winners teeing off at The K Club include Jamie Donaldson, Thomas Bjørn and Lowry, the last Irishman to win this tournament seven years ago.
Following his back-to-back victories at the Trophée Hassan II and AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open,Jeunghun Wangcould become only the third player in European Tour history to win three consecutive events after Sir Nick Faldo in 1983 and Seve Ballesteros in 1986.
The course
The K Club’s Arnold Palmer-designed course is a beast at nearly 7,350 yards and is a true test of risk and reward golf as the field will have to contend with the River Liffey, which is a feature on a number of holes, and swirling winds.
The course was opened in 1991 and, in the build-up to Europe’s famous Ryder Cup win ten years ago, Paul McGinley said that ‘the course has matured with age, much like a fine wine’.
