Killarney lose out as Open goes east

THE venue for next year’s Irish Open could be revealed as soon as Tuesday next, with Killarney definitely ruled out.

The certainty now is that the championship, to be played from June 28-July 1, will return to Dublin for the first time since 2003 at Portmarnock.

A high ranking European Tour official told me this week that the tournament will be held at a parkland course in the general vicinity of the capital. That clearly rules out the two obvious links venues, Portmarnock and Royal Dublin, largely because of a gender issue. Neither club admits women as members and accordingly Fáilte Ireland, who remain key part-financiers of the event, could not be associated with either venue.