All set for a fantastic weekend in Killarney

KILLARNEY and the 3 Irish Open in midsummer… it’s a mouth watering proposition and everything points to a great week on the shores of Lough Leane.

Nineteen years have elapsed since the competition was played here and 10 since it was last contested in the Kingdom. Its return is all the more welcome because of the outstanding form of the leading home players, led by recently crowned US Open champion Graeme McDowell, the exciting 21-year-old Rory McIlroy, another winner on the US Tour this year, and three-time major champion and 2007 winner Pádraig Harrington.

With Shane Lowry emerging as a serious candidate to retain the title he claimed as an amateur in 2009, along with the appointment of Darren Clarke and Paul McGinley as Colin Montgomerie’s assistants at the Ryder Cup, the image of Ireland as a powerful golfing nation is being enhanced by the day.