Open and closed case?

This weekend the Irish Open takes place in the wonderful surroundings of Adare Manor with Irish golfers on a high having won an unprecedented three tournaments in a row, culminating in Peter Lawrie’s dramatic sudden-death win at the Spanish Open ten days ago.

This triumvirate of victories has been a much needed fillip to the event as the usual trumpets and furore in the run-in to this weekend’s action have been conspicuous by their absence.

Padraig Harrington, who broke the 25 year John O’Leary curse by winning last year, returns to defend his title but is one of only 6 of the World’s top 50 golfers who will compete this week. This is an increase on last year’s number!

It is a damning indictment that only two years after the K Club hosted the Ryder Cup, that the Irish Open cannot find a sponsor and that the European Open is no longer hosted by the Kildare golf course.

Corporate Ireland cashed in on the Ryder Cup and no longer see value in an association with golf on the island. And yet, Ireland has more golfers playing on the European Tour than ever before.

Without the attraction of the big name golfers, who increasingly follow the big cheques, sponsors have been slow to back the event. Very much catch-22.

The Irish Open’s fall from grace is a sorry sight. Previously hosted on the links at Portmarnock, Co. Louth, Royal Dublin and as far back as Woodbrook, the event was seen as a warm-up to the British Open. Unfortunately that is no longer the case and it has steadily fallen down the European Tour pecking order and no longer holds that prime position one week before the Major.

Tom Kane must be commended for his attitude to the event but his pockets are only so deep.

We can only hope that another Irish victory this weekend can demonstrate the value of this event to a large corporation, because if not, it might not be long before the Irish Open ceases to exist.