Harrington delight at Irish Open sponsor

DOUBLE British Open champion Pádraig Harrington has welcomed the announcement that the Irish Open will have a new sponsor, communications giant, 3, for next year’s tournament, which is expected to be held in Mount Juliet.

Harrington said: “I’m happy that the Irish Open has got a good sponsor behind it, and the organisers are trying to grow it, to bring it back to what it was.

“It’s an uphill battle – they’ve got to work hard, players have a lot of choices nowadays. Even with today’s economy the way it is there’s still a lot of choice for players, so bringing the Irish Open back is great.