Fears that this year’s Dubai Duty Free Irish Open could be in doubt due to the ongoing Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak have increased following the European Tour’s decision to suspend ticket and hospitality sales for all its 2020 tournaments.

The Masters Tournament has announced it will postpone this year’s tournament to a date to be determined later in the year.

As the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic escalated quickly over the last two days, the PGA Tour was forced to react during its flagship event on Thursday.

Patrick Reed insists he is unconcerned by the possibility of being heckled during this week’s Players Championship at Sawgrass.

While an abundance of precaution and concerns regarding the coronavirus spin at an ever more frantic pace in the sports and entertainment realms, it remains business as usual at the Players Championship this week.

THE professional game beckons for James Sugrue after a stellar 2019, but the Mallow golfer will not rush into the paying ranks on anything but his own terms.

At different ends of the hallway leading to the locker rooms at Neptune Stadium, there was a stark contrast in light and mood.

As the curtain falls on 2019, we asked our writers to share the moment which encapsulated all that is good about sport this year..

One of the year’s most satisfying assignments doesn’t even necessitate a pair of street shoes much less a crack-of-dawn flight or a winter bobble hat.

There was another night to remember at the end of a remarkable year as the Irish Golf Writers’ Association crowned Open champion Shane Lowry its Professional Player of the Year at its annual Allianz-sponsored awards.

After winning four times in 2019 and racking up 19 top-10 finishes from 25 starts to win the PGA Tour Player of the Year award, it’s been a memorable season for Rory McIlroy.

England’s Tyrrell Hatton pocketed the first prize of €1.8million

Open champion Shane Lowry has switched his focus from parental responsibilities to trying to reclaim top spot in the Race to Dubai at the Italian Open.

Tiger Woods has announced he has undergone surgery on his left knee to repair cartilage damage.

Rory McIlroy has questioned both the radical new format and the focus on the $15m (€13.5m) first prize at this week’s season-ending Tour Championship.

European Ryder Cup captain Padraig Harrington is looking to go one better than last year in the D+D Real Czech Masters, which tees off in Prague today.

Shane Lowry has recovered from a shaky start to card a two-under par 69 on the opening day of the Northern Trust.

On Tuesday, Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry, and Graeme McDowell enjoyed a friendly nine holes of practice at Liberty National Golf Club ahead of the Northern Trust Open, the first event in the FedEx Cup Play-offs.

Masters champion Tiger Woods played down an injury scare on the eve of his first appearance since missing the cut in the Open Championship as he attempts to play back-to-back events for just the second time this season.

Rory McIlroy fears legalising conventional gambling in the US may increase the number of fan heckling from outside the ropes at Tour events.

Former Masters winner Danny Willett has advised new Open champion Shane Lowry to be “selfish” when it comes to approaching the next 12 months as a first-time major winner.

The scenes on Sunday evening in Portrush, Clara and pretty much everywhere across the country following his emphatic Open Championship victory confirmed Shane Lowry’s status as one of Ireland’s most popular sports stars.

As your American-based golf correspondent, I’ve got a confession to make. I didn’t fancy my first pints of Guinness. In fact, I didn’t acquire a taste for it until my first trip to Ireland a little more than a decade ago and a visit to Temple Bar’s cobbled streets between the River Liffey and Dame Street in Dublin.

Leave it to Maureen Madill to put into perspective how big a deal hosting the 148th Open Championship is to the membership at Royal Portrush and all of her native land.

Jon Rahm is hoping an accommodation switch can lead to a reversal of fortunes in the Open Championship at Royal Portrush.

Tiger Woods will favour quality over quantity in a bid to prolong his career after admitting he was emotionally and physically drained by his Masters triumph.

It will not be in the nature of the tournament host to have slept easily last night on the eve of the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open but his efforts to make this €6.2m European Tour event a success have already earned Paul McGinley the right to relax just a little.

The best non-fiction books for the summer transport you from the White House to Hollywood and from pristine greens at Augusta to sweaty gyms in Belfast. Richard Fitzpatrick dips between the covers

Such is the bond between the two Ryder Cup veterans, Ian Poulter needed little persuasion from tournament host Paul McGinley to commit to this week’s Dubai Duty Free Irish Open.

Charlie Mulqueen Tickets to the Masters tournament at Augusta are as precious as gold dust and usually available only to long-standing patrons and the very privileged.

Call him the Prince of Pebble or perhaps The Mayor. Jim Nantz, the longtime voice of golf for CBS Sports, can live anywhere in the world and he loves nothing more than calling Pebble Beach home.

Forget Tiger Woods and his remarkable victory at the Masters in April. The greatest comeback in golf that I know of is Dennis Walters who went from promising young golfer one day to a paraplegic the next. On Monday, at the Sunset Center, Jack and Barbara Nicklaus introduced him as he was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame along with Retief Goosen, Jan Stephenson, Billy Payne, and the late Peggy Kirk Bell.

Phil Mickelson believes winning the US Open to complete the career grand slam is the only thing which can redefine his career, but whether it would restore his reputation remains up for debate.

After Brooks Koepka blistered Bethpage Black with a seven-under 63, he was asked to name the best hole at one of America golf’s toughest golf courses.

In July 2017, Tiger Woods arranged for his two kids to meet Argentine forward Lionel Messi while Barcelona were in Florida for a pre-season match.

After his disappointing finish at Augusta National, Rory McIlroy couldn't help reliving the disappointment.

Rory McIlroy fired a five-under-par round of 66 to move into contention for a third career victory at the Wells Fargo International in Charlotte.

Rory McIlroy has warned that a rejuvenated Tiger Woods could have 10 years left as he attempts to overtake Jack Nicklaus' record of 18 major victories.

Ireland international James Sugrue will fly to England on Saturday confident he is in the best possible shape to impress Walker Cup selectors and kick-start a special season amongst the game’s amateur elite.

Tiger Woods admits he has yet to come to terms with winning his fifth Masters title at Augusta National.

Shane Lowry’s rollercoaster form rather than steady-Eddie consistency is the secret to real success on tour, believes Paul McGinley, who regrets not having the same golfing DNA as his fellow Irishman.