Irish Open (golf)

Pub window art in Lahinch for the 2019 Irish Open

The first Irish Open in 1927 was played at Portmarnock Golf Club from 16 to 18 August. There were 18 holes played on the first two days with the leading 60 players and ties playing a further 36 holes on the final day. In a stiff breeze local professional Willie Nolan led after the first day with a course record 72.[2] On the second day Nolan faded after an 83 and the lead was taken by Henry Cotton on 146 with Jack Smith a shot behind. The cut was 165 and exactly 60 players qualified, including 6 amateurs.[3] Conditions were very poor on the final day with the refreshment and press tents blown down and rain falling in torrents. Jack Smith had an excellent 77 in the morning and with Henry Cotton taking 86, Smith had an eight-shot lead over Cotton and Archie Compston. Smith, however, went to pieces and had a final round of 91 and was overtaken by Cotton, who took 81. George Duncan, starting the final round 14 shots behind, scored 74 and finished with a total of 312, beating Smith by three and Cotton by one. Duncan's score of 74 was remarkable in that it was only two strokes over the new course record, on a day when his 74 and Smith's 77 in the morning were the only two rounds under 80 on the final day. Duncan took the Championship Gold Medal and the first prize of £150. Nolan was the leading Irishman, finishing fifth.[4]

After Duncan's win in 1927, the event was dominated by English golfers, the only other non-English winner before World War II being Bobby Locke in 1938. Ernest Whitcombe won in 1928, the first of four wins by the Whitcombe brothers; Ernest won again in 1935 while Charles won in 1930 and Reg won in 1936. Ernest Whitcombe had rounds of 68 and 69 on the first two days of the 1928 event, to take a seven stroke lead. Rounds of 73 and 78 on the final day were enough to give him a four stroke victory.[5] The 1929 championship was played again at Portmarnock and resulted in a three-way tie on 309, just 3 strokes better than Duncan's score there in 1927.[6] There was a 36-hole playoff the following day. Abe Mitchell and Archie Compston were level after the first round on 75 with Len Holland five behind. Mitchell scored another 75 in the afternoon to win by two strokes from Compston and ten from Holland.[7] Charles Whitcombe dominated the 1930 tournament, winning by 8 strokes from defending champion Abe Mitchell. Whitcombe led by four after the first two rounds and full away further on the final day.[8] the 1931 championship was won by a relative unknown, Bob Kenyon, who won by two after a final round 70. Five players tied for second place, including Ernest Whitcombe who finished with a course-record 66 on the Royal Dublin links.[9]

Alf Padgham won in 1932 with steady rounds of 71-71-71-70, one ahead of Bill Davies.[10] Bob Kenyon won for the second time in 1933. Defending champion Padgham had led after two rounds but had a disappointing third round 76 and finished runner-up, two behind.[11] Syd Easterbrook won at Portmarnock in 1934 with a total of 284, 25 better than the winning score there in 1929, to win by 7 strokes from the Irish amateur, Joe Brown, who.recorded the best finish by an Irish golfer at that time.[12] Two of the Whitcombe brothers, Ernest and Reg, tied in 1935. Bob Kenyon had a good chance to win for the third time but had 5s at the last two holes to finish a shot behind.[13] In the playoff Reg had a bad start, taking 7 at the first hole. He recovered to be level early in the second round but had another 7 and Ernest eventually won by three strokes.[14]

In 1932 and 1933, the Irish Open was preceded by an international match between teams of English and Irish professionals. England won the first match 16–2 and the second match 13–3 with two halves.[15][16] The matches followed the same form as the England–Scotland Professional Match that had been played just before the Open Championship.

After his playoff loss in 1935, Reg Whitcombe won in 1936, two ahead of Bill Davies who was a runner-up for the third time. Whitcombe had final day rounds of 68 and 69 for a record low total of 281.[17] Jimmy Adams seemed the likely winner at Royal Portrush in 1937 after finishing on 285. However Bert Gadd finished with two 3s (eagle-birdie) to win by a shot.[18] 20-year-old Bobby Locke, who had recently turned professional, broke the run of English winners in 1938. Henry Cotton had seemed the likely winner but finished 4-5-5-5 while Locke finished 2-4-4-4 and finished a stroke behind.[19] Arthur Lees won in 1939 with a total 287 with Reg Whitcombe two behind. 19-year-old Irish amateur Jimmy Bruen led after two rounds but scored 75 and 81 on the final day to drop into 6th place, leading amateur for the third successive year.[20]

When the event resumed at Portmarnock in 1946, Fred Daly became the first Irish winner. The tournament turned in a contest between Daly and Bobby Locke, Daly eventually winning by 4 strokes. No one else was within 10 shots of Daly.[21] There was a second Irish winner at Royal Portrush in 1947 when Harry Bradshaw won the title, two ahead of Flory Van Donck. Max Faulkner led after three rounds but a final round 76 dropped him down to third place.[22] Dai Rees won in 1948, his total of 295 being two better than Norman Von Nida. Faulkner again led after three round but a 77 left him tied for third place.[23] Bradshaw won for a second time at Belvoir Park in 1949. Bobby Locke came close to matching him but finished a stroke behind.[24] The 1950 tournament was won by the Australian Ossie Pickworth, two ahead of John Panton and Norman Von Nida.[25]

The event was not held in 1951 or 1952 but was held again in 1953 at Belvoir Park. Eric Brown won with a score of 272, a stroke ahead of Harry Weetman. 22-year-old Peter Alliss had taken an early clubhouse lead on 274 but was eventually beaten by Weetman and then Brown, finishing in third place.[26] After 1953, the event was not played again until 1975; plans to revive the tournament in 1970 were abandoned after backers Pepsi pulled out.[27][28]

Since 1963 Carroll's had sponsored a major tournament, the Carroll's International at Woodbrook Golf Club, which had been a European Tour event since the tour started in 1972. For the 1975 European Tour season the Carroll's International was dropped and Carroll's became the sponsor of the revived Irish Open, which took its place on the tour and was played at Woodbrook in the first year.[29] Christy O'Connor Jnr became the third Irish winner, finishing one ahead of Harry Bannerman, and took the first prize of £5,000.[30]

Portmarnock

Royal County Down

Royal Portrush

Royal Dublin

Cork

Malone

Belvoir Park

Woodbrook

Killarney

Mount Juliet

Druids Glen

Ballybunion

Fota Island

County Louth

Carton House

Adare Manor

K Club

Portstewart

Ballyliffin

Lahinch

Galgorm Castle

Locations of the venues on the island of Ireland

• Connacht province has never hosted the event

The Irish Open has been played at a variety of dates from mid-May to the end of August, but since the start of the Rolex series in 2017 it has been held in early July, two weeks before the Open Championship.

The tournament enjoys one of the largest galleries on the European Tour. In 2010, the Irish Open at Killarney Golf & Fishing Club had an attendance of 85,179 over four days, second only to the BMW PGA Championship. In 2011, Killarney Golf & Fishing Club tallied in excess of 86,500 over four days. This was again the second highest on the European Tour to the BMW PGA Championship. In 2012, Royal Portrush Golf Club had a record attendance of 112,000 over four days; 131,000 over the six days. This was the only time a European Tour event had sold out prior to play on all four days and was the highest attendance ever recorded on the European Tour.

Since 2008, it has been the only European Tour event played in Ireland. The European Open was held at the K Club in Straffan for thirteen years from 1995 to 2007 while the 2007 Seve Trophy and the 2006 Ryder Cup were the last important men's professional team competitions played in Ireland.

Following the departure of Nissan as title sponsor in 2006, Adare Golf Club, part of the Adare Manor Hotel and Golf Resort in County Limerick, had planned to host the tournament for three years, from 2007 to 2009. After two years, it was announced in January 2009 that they could no longer sustain the losses incurred by hosting the event for a third year. In early March, the European Tour confirmed the national championship would return to County Louth Golf Club, Baltray, which had last hosted in 2004, with a new sponsor, 3 Mobile.[31]

Fáilte Ireland, the National Tourism Development Authority of the Republic of Ireland, agreed to sponsor in 2011, but with a reduced purse, cut in half to €1.5 million.[32] In 2015 the event was sponsored by Dubai Duty Free in conjunction with the Rory Foundation. In October 2015, it was announced that Dubai Duty Free had extended their sponsorship to 2018 along with the Rory Foundation.[33] In May 2018, it was announced that Dubai Duty Free would extend their sponsorship to 2022.

European Tour event (1975–)

#	Year	Winner	Country	Venue	Score	To par	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up	Winner's share (€)
Dubai Duty Free Irish Open
65th	2020	John Catlin	United States	Galgorm Castle	270	−10	2 strokes	Aaron Rai	208,334
64th	2019	Jon Rahm (2)	Spain	Lahinch	264	−16	2 strokes	Andy Sullivan Bernd Wiesberger	1,034,478
Dubai Duty Free Irish Open hosted by the Rory Foundation
63rd	2018	Russell Knox	Scotland	Ballyliffin	274	−14	Playoff	Ryan Fox	998,425
62nd	2017	Jon Rahm	Spain	Portstewart	264	−24	6 strokes	Richie Ramsay Matthew Southgate	1,019,362
61st	2016	Rory McIlroy	Northern Ireland	The K Club	276	−12	3 strokes	Bradley Dredge Russell Knox	666,660
60th	2015	Søren Kjeldsen	Denmark	Royal County Down	282	−2	Playoff	Eddie Pepperell Bernd Wiesberger	416,660
The Irish Open
59th	2014	Mikko Ilonen	Finland	Fota Island	271	−13	1 stroke	Edoardo Molinari	333,330
58th	2013	Paul Casey	England	Carton House	274	−14	3 strokes	Joost Luiten Robert Rock	333,330
57th	2012	Jamie Donaldson	Wales	Royal Portrush	270	−18	4 strokes	Rafa Cabrera-Bello Anthony Wall Fabrizio Zanotti	333,330
Irish Open presented by Discover Ireland
56th	2011	Simon Dyson	England	Killarney	269	−15	1 stroke	Richard Green	250,000
3 Irish Open
55th	2010	Ross Fisher	England	Killarney	266	−18	2 strokes	Pádraig Harrington	500,000
54th	2009	Shane Lowry (a)	Ireland	County Louth	271	−17	Playoff	Robert Rock	500,000*
Irish Open
53rd	2008	Richard Finch	England	Adare	278	−10	2 strokes	Felipe Aguilar	416,600
52nd	2007	Pádraig Harrington	Ireland	Adare	283	−5	Playoff	Bradley Dredge	416,600
Nissan Irish Open
51st	2006	Thomas Bjørn	Denmark	Carton House	283	−5	1 stroke	Paul Casey	366,660
50th	2005	Stephen Dodd	Wales	Carton House	279	−9	Playoff	David Howell	333,330
49th	2004	Brett Rumford	Australia	County Louth	274	−14	4 strokes	Pádraig Harrington Raphaël Jacquelin	316,660
48th	2003	Michael Campbell	New Zealand	Portmarnock	277	−11	Playoff	Thomas Bjørn Peter Hedblom	300,000
Murphy's Irish Open
47th	2002	Søren Hansen	Denmark	Fota Island	270	−14	Playoff	Richard Bland Niclas Fasth Darren Fichardt	266,600
46th	2001	Colin Montgomerie (3)	Scotland	Fota Island	266	−18	5 strokes	Darren Clarke Niclas Fasth Pádraig Harrington	266,600
45th	2000	Patrik Sjöland	Sweden	Ballybunion	270	−14	2 strokes	Freddie Jacobson	267,319
44th	1999	Sergio García	Spain	Druids Glen	268	−16	3 strokes	Ángel Cabrera	233,320
43rd	1998	David Carter	England	Druids Glen	278	−6	Playoff	Colin Montgomerie	223,988
42nd	1997	Colin Montgomerie (2)	Scotland	Druids Glen	269	−15	7 strokes	Lee Westwood	159,090
41st	1996	Colin Montgomerie	Scotland	Druids Glen	279	−5	1 stroke	Andrew Oldcorn Wayne Riley	178,571
40th	1995	Sam Torrance (2)	Scotland	Mount Juliet	277	−11	Playoff	Stuart Cage Howard Clark	155,550
39th	1994	Bernhard Langer (3)	Germany	Mount Juliet	275	−13	1 stroke	Robert Allenby John Daly	138,271
Carroll's Irish Open
38th	1993	Nick Faldo (3)	England	Mount Juliet	276	−12	Playoff	José María Olazábal	135,282
37th	1992	Nick Faldo (2)	England	Killarney	274	−14	Playoff	Wayne Westner	106,784
36th	1991	Nick Faldo	England	Killarney	283	−5	3 strokes	Colin Montgomerie	85,344
35th	1990	José María Olazábal	Spain	Portmarnock	282	−6	3 strokes	Mark Calcavecchia Frank Nobilo	81,036
34th	1989	Ian Woosnam (2)	Wales	Portmarnock	278	−10	Playoff	Philip Walton	61,296
33rd	1988	Ian Woosnam	Wales	Portmarnock	278	−10	7 strokes	Nick Faldo José María Olazábal Manuel Piñero Des Smyth	54,166
32nd	1987	Bernhard Langer (2)	West Germany	Portmarnock	269	−19	10 strokes	Sandy Lyle	50,174
31st	1986	Seve Ballesteros (3)	Spain	Portmarnock	285	−3	2 strokes	Rodger Davis Mark McNulty	44,380
30th	1985	Seve Ballesteros (2)	Spain	Royal Dublin	278	−10	Playoff	Bernhard Langer	28,000
29th	1984	Bernhard Langer	West Germany	Royal Dublin	267	−21	4 strokes	Mark James	25,662
28th	1983	Seve Ballesteros	Spain	Royal Dublin	271	−17	2 strokes	Brian Barnes	25,662
27th	1982	John O'Leary	Ireland	Portmarnock	287	−1	1 stroke	Maurice Bembridge	18,742
26th	1981	Sam Torrance	Scotland	Portmarnock	276	−12	5 strokes	Nick Faldo	18,659
25th	1980	Mark James (2)	England	Portmarnock	284	−4	1 stroke	Brian Barnes	16,730
24th	1979	Mark James	England	Portmarnock	282	−6	1 stroke	Ed Sneed	14,000
23rd	1978	Ken Brown	Scotland	Portmarnock	281	−7	1 stroke	Seve Ballesteros John O'Leary	14,000
22nd	1977	Hubert Green	United States	Portmarnock	283	−5	1 stroke	Ben Crenshaw	11,200
21st	1976	Ben Crenshaw	United States	Portmarnock	284	−4	2 strokes	Brian Barnes Billy Casper Martin Foster	9,800
20th	1975	Christy O'Connor Jnr	Ireland	Woodbrook	275	−21	1 stroke	Harry Bannerman	7,000

(a) indicates an amateur golfer. In 2009 the winner's share was awarded to leading professional, Robert Rock.

Source:[34][35]

Pre-European Tour (1927–1953)

#	Year	Winner	Country	Venue	Score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up	Winner's share (£)	Ref
Irish Open
1954–74: No tournament
19th	1953	Eric Brown	Scotland	Belvoir Park	272	1 stroke	Harry Weetman	700	[26]
1951–52: No tournament
18th	1950	Ossie Pickworth	Australia	Royal Dublin	287	2 strokes	John Panton Norman Von Nida	400	[25]
17th	1949	Harry Bradshaw (2)	Ireland	Belvoir Park	286	1 stroke	Bobby Locke	400	[24]
16th	1948	Dai Rees	Wales	Portmarnock	295	2 strokes	Norman Von Nida	400	[23]
15th	1947	Harry Bradshaw	Ireland	Royal Portrush	290	2 strokes	Flory Van Donck		[22]
14th	1946	Fred Daly	Northern Ireland	Portmarnock	288	4 strokes	Bobby Locke		[21]
1940–45: No tournament due to World War II
13th	1939	Arthur Lees	England	Royal County Down	287	2 strokes	Reg Whitcombe		[20]
12th	1938	Bobby Locke	South Africa	Portmarnock	292	1 stroke	Henry Cotton	150	[19]
11th	1937	Bert Gadd	England	Royal Portrush	284	1 stroke	Jimmy Adams		[18]
10th	1936	Reg Whitcombe	England	Royal Dublin	281	2 strokes	Bill Davies		[17]
9th	1935	Ernest Whitcombe (2)	England	Royal County Down	292	Playoff (36 holes)	Reg Whitcombe		[13][14]
8th	1934	Syd Easterbrook	England	Portmarnock	284	7 strokes	Joe Brown (a)		[12]
7th	1933	Bob Kenyon (2)	England	Malone Golf Club	286	2 strokes	Alf Padgham		[11]
6th	1932	Alf Padgham	England	Cork Golf Club	283	1 stroke	Bill Davies		[10]
5th	1931	Bob Kenyon	England	Royal Dublin	291	2 strokes	Bill Davies Bert Hodson Abe Mitchell Mark Seymour Ernest Whitcombe		[9]
4th	1930	Charles Whitcombe	England	Royal Portrush	289	8 strokes	Abe Mitchell		[8]
3rd	1929	Abe Mitchell	England	Portmarnock	309	Playoff (36 holes)	Archie Compston Len Holland		[6][7]
2nd	1928	Ernest Whitcombe	England	Royal County Down	288	4 strokes	Archie Compston	150	[5]
1st	1927	George Duncan	Scotland	Portmarnock	312	1 stroke	Henry Cotton	150	[36]

In the 1929 playoff Mitchell scored 150, Compston 152 and Holland 160. In the 1935 playoff Ernest Whitcombe scored 148 while Reg Whitcombe scored 151.

(a) indicates an amateur golfer

• 2021 – Mount Juliet

• Official website
• Coverage on the European Tour's official site