Irish Open needs home challenger, says Lowry

Shane Lowry believes it’s crucial an Irishman contends for Irish Open glory at Carton House this weekend and helps create the festival atmosphere to safeguard the tournament’s tenuous future.

Without a title sponsor for the past three years, the European Tour is confident up to 100,000 fans will fill the wide open spaces of the Montgomerie Course this week, justifying €1.5m of public money that has been invested in the tournament via Fáilte Ireland. With Government funding only decided on a year-by-year basis, there is no guarantee that the Irish Open will continue to collect from the goose that lays the golden eggs.

And nobody knows better than Carton House touring professional and 2009 Irish Open champion Lowry the importance of the fans turning out in force.