The K Club is to move into new ownership after businessman Michael Smurfit confirmed he is selling the golf resort.

The K Club was placed on the market for sale last year with a guiding price of €80m. It has now been re-listed with a significantly lower asking price of €60m.

In the wake of his Canadian Open victory on Sunday, Rory McIlroy was asked if he intended returning to the country next year to defend his crown.

Rory McIlroy might have added Ryder Cup stars Martin Kaymer, Luke Donald and Patrick Reed to a stellar field but the world No 1 is chasing an even bigger name for next month’s Dubai Duty Free Irish Open — Phil Mickelson.

Pre-tax losses at the group that operates the five-star K Club golf resort, in Co Kildare, totalled €3.725m in 2013, new figures show.

Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley has thrown down the gauntlet to Pádraig Harrington to produce the form that will make a pick on Europe’s team to face the United States at Gleneagles this September.

A plan aiming to restore Killarney’s reputation as one of the premier parkland golf resorts in the country has just been launched.

The failure by the K Club to write down the value of its assets has resulted in its auditors issuing an adverse opinion on the company’s latest accounts.

THERE are hotels we stay in and hotels we savour. Functional to fancy.

THE greatest week in the history of Irish ladies’ golf has arrived with the 12th Solheim Cup clash of the United States and Europe set for the Jack Nicklaus-designed Killeen Castle near Dunshaughlin, Co Meath, on Friday.

Darren Clarke was clearly making the most of his first day as a major champion today – and he hopes it is only four weeks until Lee Westwood is doing the same.

Darren Clarke, as proud as anyone about what is already a golden era for Irish golf, has the chance this weekend to add another chapter to the remarkable story.

Darren Clarke, happy again and engaged to be married, continued the remarkable Irish golfing story of recent years with a second successive 68 in The Open at Sandwich today.

CORK accountant Finbarr Buckley and former K Club director of golf, Paul Crowe, have been ordered by a judge to pay the Ryder Cup resort almost €18,000 in service charge arrears.

IRELAND’S premier golf resorts are offering huge incentives and one-off spring offers in a bid to kick-start the season.

WHILE a victory is the uppermost priority, Darren Clarke heads into a new season taking comfort he will be teeing-up in next year’s Race to Dubai ‘winners only’ season opener in Bahrain.

IT WAS in the gloom of a cool October Sunday five years ago when Tiger Woods stood to the back of the 18th green at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club and watched his American teammates celebrate a Presidents Cup win over the International Team.

THE discussion about fencing Croke Park rumbles on and on, flooding the airwaves and the papers, rolling out, spilling across, very much like a... well, like a pitch invasion.

Darren Clarke, no stranger to playing well in bad weather, did it again at Loch Lomond today and stood four clear of the field after a superb second-round 67 in the Barclays Scottish Open.

Darren Clarke consolidated his lead at the rain-soaked Scottish Open in Loch Lomond today, sparking memories of his 2006 Ryder Cup heroics in similar sodden conditions.

Darren Clarke’s golf career appears on the up again – and his personal life certainly is.

PÁDRAIG HARRINGTON has gifted Irish golf tourism the ultimate mulligan by agreeing to front Fáilte Ireland’s new €1.5m worldwide “marketing blitz” free of charge.

TIGER WOODS last night withdrew from his own Chevron World Challenge tournament due to begin at the Sherwood Country Club in the Thousand Oaks suburb of Los Angeles on Thursday.

Phil Mickelson, who announced an "indefinite" break from golf after his wife Amy was diagnosed with breast cancer last month, is set to return in Memphis next week.

AFTER what happened at Augusta in April everybody in golf was looking forward to the coming US Open on New York’s Long Island.

The start of the second round of the Quinn Insurance British Masters has been delayed because of fog.

Phil Mickelson charged into an early lead at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational as second-round play got under way at the Firestone Country Club today.

Darren Clarke admits he is revelling in his position at the top of the BMW Asian Open leaderboard as the Irishman heads into the final round chasing an overdue victory on the European Tour.

Darren Clarke is in prime position for a first win on the European Tour in five years after an impressive five-under-par 67 in the third round of the BMW Asian Open put him one stroke clear at the top of the leaderboard.

Darren Clarke believes he is starting to the see the benefit of improvements he has made to his putting technique as the Northern Irishman sits one stroke off the top of the leaderboard going into the final two rounds of the BMW Asian Open.

Robert-Jan Derksen and Zhang Lian-wei both carded a three-under-par 69 to take a one-stroke lead into the weekend of the BMW Asian Open as world number 13 Henrik Stenson’s challenge faded after a disappointing round.

Former Scottish Open winner Peter O’Malley secured a one-stroke lead at the end of the opening round of the BMW Asian Open after today carding a five-under-par 67 at the Shanghai Pudong Golf Club.

England’s Oliver Wilson continued his recent good form to card a four-under-par 68 and take a share of the clubhouse lead midway through the opening round of the BMW Asian Open.

France's Gregory Bourdy denied David Howell what would have been an amazing victory on Sunday night, winning the Portuguese Open at the third hole of a play-off at Oitavos Dunes.

The Portuguese Open has attracted more big names than normal this week, but as David Howell admitted today: “We’re here because we’re not playing that well.”

Graeme McDowell is determined to make up for lost time and use his victory in the Ballantine’s Championship as a springboard for Ryder Cup qualification.

Nick Dougherty returned to action today for the first time since the biggest win of his career – happy to be free of any inner soul-searching.

A notorious conman who swindled thousands of pounds from eBay customers was put behind bars today for committing fresh offences on the internet auction website.

Sergio Garcia believes the Irish supporters made the 2006 Ryder Cup unique.

IN the end there was such a love-in, it felt wrong to have forced the two sides in the Ryder Cup to play each other at all.

Ingenico is preparing to support the Ryder Cup by providing payment services during the tournament in conjunction with AIB.

Sergio Garcia has backed Ian Woosnam to do “a good job” following the furore over Thomas Bjorn’s criticism of the Ryder Cup captain.

Thomas Bjorn has been fined by the European Tour for his “unacceptable” criticism of Ryder Cup captain Ian Woosnam.

Greenkeepers at the exclusive K Club, home of the 2006 Ryder Cup, are to meet tonight to discuss a proposed 50% pay increase which could see their wages rise to €15 an hour.

RYDER CUP chiefs are to discuss extending the event to four days from the traditional three.

Tiger Woods has confirmed he is to return to the World Match Play Championship at Wentworth this September for the first time since 1998.

Former Kerry footballer Liam Hassett, who recently announced his retirement from the inter-county scene, is spearheading a fundraising drive by the Killorglin Branch of the Kerry Mental Health Association.