Louth welcomes Irish Open

A course described as one of golf’s hidden gems hosts the Nissan Irish Open for the first time this week – and both Padraig Harrington and Darren Clarke hope it will see them become the first home winner of the title since John O’Leary in 1982.

County Louth is situated four miles from the historic town of Drogheda at the mouth of the River Boyne and the setting and the challenge ought to make it easy to forget what happened at Royal Troon last week.