Dubai Duty Free chief Colm McLoughlin wants prize fund of €7m for Irish Open
Airport retail company Dubai Duty Free came on board as Irish Open sponsors in 2015 as Rory McIlroy’s Rory Foundation became tournament host, both for an initial one-year term. That has since been extended for a further three years.
DDF have an option to add two more years to their deal .
The sponsorship has already seen the tournament’s prize fund rise to €4m for 2016 and speaking yesterday at the K Club, Ballinasloe-born DDF chief executive McLoughlin said he wished it to rise further in order to attract stellar fields.
“We spend 2.5% of our top line from Dubai Duty Free on promotion, advertising, marketing,” McLoughlin said, “so €45m was our spend last year and we do see it continuing to grow. We would be encouraging to see prize money going higher and higher.
“I know the Tour is saying €7m, the quicker they do that the better, that’s the way we would like it. When we do an event we have it assessed afterwards to see what the media value to Dubai was and the media value to Dubai Duty Free.
“It was very encouraging last year and we think it’s going to grow from our point of view. We know the Tour have an ambition that it would be one of four or five tournaments in Europe with a prize fund of €7m. Now, I’m not sure what their date for that is but I do see it growing over the next couple of years.
“If we were looking at it from a purely selfish point of view with Dubai Duty Free we would like it very close to the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby (June 25 this year), either the week before it or the week after, which would suit us fine.
“But the schedule of the Tour, I don’t know.”
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