Homegrown heroes add to Killarney hype

HAVING one current and two former Major winners in the field, all homegrown, is a tournament organiser’s dream.

Adding another two just weeks before the first round?

Well, Irish Open organisers are pinching themselves.

Newly-minted British Open champion Darren Clarke has been added to the roll of honour for Killarney Golf & Fishing Club in nine days, joining US Open champion Rory McIlroy, three-time Major winner Pádraig Harrington and 2010 US Open winner Graeme McDowell in a blockbuster quartet of Irish stars.

It couldn’t get much better than that and during his victory press conference at Royal St George’s on Sunday night, Clarke confirmed: “I will be in Killarney.

“I may not be sober for the Irish Open, but I will be in Killarney.”

Clarke will be back at Royal Portrush today for his official homecoming and, inevitably, questions about the likelihood of a British Open returning to his home course on the back of a wave of local success involving McDowell, McIlroy and now him, have increased significantly.

R&A chief executive Peter Dawson yesterday reiterated the R&A’s view that plenty of work still had to be done to get the logistics and infrastructure up to scratch before any go-ahead could be given.

However, he promised to take a fresh look at the venue’s potential.

The R&A has confirmed venues for the British Open up to 2014, with tradition dictating a likely return to St Andrews for 2015 for it’s five-yearly appearance on the championship rota.

That would mean 2016 at the very earliest and, in the meantime, Clarke was positive about a possible staging of the Irish Open at Portrush as a showcase for the feasibility of a Major on the Antrim coast for the first time since 1951.

“It definitely could,” Clarke said yesterday. “We’ve been struggling with the Irish Open now the past couple years. Since 3 pulled out, we’ve had a very tough time, and the Irish Open has been one of the oldest and most established tournaments on the European Tour. This year we’ve been fortunate that we’re still down in Killarney. I think if Portrush is part of an opportunity to keep it going that would be wonderful.”

Dawson had earlier acknowledged that Clarke’s success raises the pressure on the R&A, adding: “I have agreed to have a look. The usual mixture of a great course and plenty of infrastructure combined with a prospect of commercial success is what’s needed.”

The political situation could be a factor as well.

“Things seem to be getting an awful lot better, but I have been reading of some difficulty in the papers lately,” added Dawson.

“I have no idea how exaggerated or otherwise those are. It’ll be one of the things we take into account, although I don’t think it’s right at the forefront of our mind.”