Kang family invests €500k to bring golf event to Cork

The Fota Island Resort has revealed its new owners, the Kang family, have invested €500,000 in bringing the Irish Open golf tournament to Cork — and Julie Kang has been one of the driving forces behind the event.

The resort’s chief executive, Jonathan Woods, revealed how the decision for Fota to host the tournament for the first time since 2002 came to fruition.

“The Kang family bought here in September,” said Mr Woods. “They are investing heavily in Cork, €30m in Cork over six months, some here, and also the Kingsley Hotel is currently being renovated and will open during the summer after the Irish Open.

“When myself and Kevin [Morris — director of golf at Fota] and Jonathan [O’Flynn], the general manager of the hotel, were asked what would be a good launchpad for them being in Cork and to give a little bit back, we thought, the Irish Open. In Fota, the Irish Open was one of the biggest events in the history of the golf course so I rang James Finnigan [commercial director of the Irish Open].”

He said the resort is investing €500,000 to host the tournament, including sponsorship and improvements to the course.

Antonia Beggs championship director of the European Tour, said special thanks should be made to Mrs Kang, who had been instrumental with regards to the sponsorship.

“She has shown great interest, popping into meetings when I am meeting with the fire officers or the gardaí to see how everything is going on,” Ms Beggs said. “To have that from an owner is hugely appreciated.”

While 100,000 is being estimated as the attendance for the event, Ms Beggs said they hoped some sunshine would help attract even greater numbers.

Ticket sales had been “very encouraging”, above previous hosts Killarney and Carton House.

Tony Lenehan, head of Golf Tourism at Fáilte Ireland, said: “If we have 100,000 people coming here to watch the golf, they are also experiencing the 19th hole — hotels, restaurants, etc. The international golf tourist is so important to the Irish economy. The spend is huge. The experience is very good.”

Mr Lenehan said the international golf tourist is three times more valuable than the average tourist spending an average of €1,500 each. He said 200,000 international golf tourists came to Ireland last year, meaning a €300m outlay on expenditure.

“We are getting about 1,400 hours of international media coverage,” he said. “That really sets the scene in terms of encouraging people to come to this country to play golf.”

Ms Beggs said more big names are expected to be added to the player line-up.

“We are really encouraged by the support of our players to play in this tournament,” she said. “The Irish Open is currently the second highest attended European Tour golf event after the BMW PGA Championship. It is a place where the players can come and know they will have galleries cheering for them.”