Carton House to host 2005 Irish Open

CARTON HOUSE in Kildare has been confirmed as the venue for the 2005 Nissan Irish Open.

The Colin Montgomerie-designed course - The Montgomerie - a spectacular inland links, will host the Championship next year.

Since acquiring Carton House in 1977, the Mallaghan family have built two top class golf courses, The O’Meara and The Montgomerie, both of which are plotted around the 1,100 acre estate of Carton Demesne, one of Ireland’s great stately homes and one-time ancestral seat of the Earls of Kildare and the Dukes of Leinster.

The transformation of the estate into a first class golf resort began in 1999 with the development of the O’Meara course.

The Montgomerie opened in June 2003. This new course is the Scot’s second course design and his first in Ireland.

Said Monty: “You can’t call it a links course, but it plays like a links and has all the characteristics of a links.

“In designing this course, I attempted to go back to a more traditional design.”

At full stretch - 7,300 yards - the course will provide a stern test.