‘3’ pull plug on Irish Open

THE FUTURE of the Irish Open Championship hangs in the balance after telecommunications company 3 yesterday dropped their sponsorship of the tournament.

The decision came as a major shock to the European Tour who had a three-year agreement with 3 to cover the 2009, 2010 and 2011 Irish Opens and entertained hopes of extending the deal.

3 chief executive Robert Finnegan said his company were keen to concentrate their focus on a contract with the Irish football team which he claimed “will deliver the most commercial value for the brand into the future”.