Portrush a magnet to attract biggest names

WITH the Irish Open set for Portrush in June, it will be fascinating to see if Darren Clarke, Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy can attract the quality of field that has been so conspicuously absent for much of the last decade.

Their cause will be helped, however, by the host venue, a fabulous links course, and the fact that it takes place three weeks before the British Open.

It is understandable that Killarney Golf Club and the people of Kerry feel slighted by the move and more so by the decision to stage the 2013 championship at Carton House. However, the call has now been made and everybody with the interest of the country’s flagship tournament at heart will wish it well on its first visit north of the border since 1953.