Mount Juliet in mint condition for championship
It is easy to see why Cotter and his team should be thrilled with the way their hard work has been rewarded, as they prepare to come under the scrutiny of millions of television viewers and the thousands who will flock here over the coming days.
Course superintendent Aidan O’Hara has proved himself one of the great masters of his craft, both at Mount Juliet and at Fota Island which has successfully staged the Murphys Irish Open over the past couple of years.
He now plays host to a group of golfers bearing the highest profiles ever to tee it up competitively in this country. Already the compliments have been pouring in from the early arrivals, including recently crowned US PGA champion Rich Beem and Australian Craig Parry, the winner of the NEC World Championship in Seattle.
It is expected that the biggest attraction of all, Tiger Woods, will arrive by private aircraft at Waterford airport around seven o’clock this morning and then helicoptered to the course. Ten members of the US Ryder Cup team and seven of the Europeans are in the 65-strong field. All will be accommodated on site, either in Mount Juliet house or in the luxurious courtyard suites nearby.
“Jon Scott, the senior agronomist on the US PGA Tour and Sir Jack McMillan, consultant agronomist with the European Tour, have been here for the past week and are delighted with the condition of the golf course,” said
Cotter. “It is their task to specify the height of the rough and the speed of the greens which are expected to run at 11 or 11-and-a-half on the stimpmetre without change throughout the tournament. We are delighted at the way everything looks and at the condition of the course.
“Public interest has been enormous. Advance sales have exceeded one million and outside of the Ryder Cup that is the biggest there has been in Europe. Numbers are being limited to 15,000 per day and that number, along with corporate clients and members, will mean a daily attendance of about
22,000. We will sell tickets at the gate but there is no guarantee they won’t be sold out.”
Grandstands, which are free of charge to the public, have been erected at various vantage points throughout the course and have seating for 3,036 patrons. That far exceeds anything seen in Ireland before at either Irish or European Opens.
The entry list of 65 was confirmed on Sunday night with good finishes in the Linde German Masters enabling the winner, Stephen Leaney of Australia, and England’s Gary Evans to claim the last two European Tour places.
There is some doubt over South African Tim Clark who was last night receiving treatment on an injured back.
Forty-nine of the top 50 in the world rankings are competing, the exception being Japanese Toshimitsu
Izawa who declined to travel. Two Irishmen, home club tournament professional Padraig Harrington (ranked 8th) and Darren Clarke (18th), are in the elite field.
