When is it on?
The 2024 Amgen Irish Open will take place from September 12th to 15th at Royal County Down in Newcastle, Co Down. It is a DP World Tour event and while it no longer has Rolex Series status, it is still an important event on the schedule – only five regular DP World Tour events have a bigger prize fund. Early Ryder Cup points for 2025 are also on offer.
How can I watch it all?
The Irish Open is on RTÉ2 from 12.45pm on Thursday and from 7.55am on Friday with a break from 1.05pm to 4pm before returning from 4pm to 6pm. On Saturday and Sunday it is on at 12.30pm. On Sky Sports, you can watch from 1pm on Thursday, 8am on Friday on Golf and Main Event. On Saturday, it goes to the Sky Sports Golf red button from 12pm due to the clash with the Solheim Cup, while on Sunday it is on Sky Sports Xtra at 12pm.
What are the tee-times?
Rory McIlroy will play with fellow Holywood native Tom McKibbin and defending champion Vincent Normann for the first two days, while Shane Lowry will be out with a friendly grouping of Bob MacIntyre and Ryan Fox.
Selected tee times (Irish in bold)
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Thursday
- From the 1st tee
- 8.10am Gary Hurley, Dan Bradbury, Max Kieffer
- 9.20am Julien Guerrier, Sam Bairstow, Max Kennedy (a)
- 12.40pm Shane Lowry, Robert MacIntyre, Ryan Fox
- 12.50pm Thriston Lawrence, Niklas Norgaard, Romain Langasque
- 1pm Rory McIlroy, Tom McKibbin, Vincent Normann
- 2.20pm Seán Keeling, Hurly Long, Aaron Cockerill
- From the 10th tee
- 7.40am Luke Donald, Frederic LaCroix, Rasmus Hojgaard
- 7.50am Séamus Power, Aaron Rai, Sebastian Soderberg
- 8am Pádraig Harrington, Nicolai Hojgaard, Thomas Detry
- 9.30am Simon Thornton, Ricardo Gouveia, Manuel Elvira
- 12.40pm Marcus Armitage, Mark Power, Jannik De Bruyn
- 12.50pm Conor Purcell, Maximilian Rottluff, Alexander Knappe
Friday
- From the 1st tee
- 7.40am Marcus Armitage, Mark Power, Jannik De Bruyn
- 7.50am Conor Purcell, Maximilian Rottluff, Alexander Knappe
- 12.40pm Luke Donald, Frederic LaCroix, Rasmus Hojgaard
- 12.50pm Séamus Power, Aaron Rai, Sebastian Soderberg
- 1pm Pádraig Harrington, Nicolai Hojgaard, Thomas Detry
- 2.30pm Simon Thornton, Ricardo Gouveia, Manuel Elvira
- From the 10th tee
- 7.40am Shane Lowry, Robert MacIntyre, Ryan Fox
- 7.50am Thriston Lawrence, Niklas Norgaard, Romain Langasque
- 8am Rory McIlroy, Tom McKibbin, Vincent Normann
- 9.20am Seán Keeling, Hurly Long, Aaron Cockerill
- 1.10pm Gary Hurley, Dan Bradbury, Max Kieffer
- 2.20pm Julien Guerrier, Sam Bairstow, Max Kennedy (a)
What is Royal County Down like as a course?
As good as it gets, best in the world status. It has been named so by Golf Digest magazine on many occasions. Along the northeast coast with Slieve Donard and the Mourne Mountains in view, it is the perfect balance of scenic with great course design. It can be exceptionally difficult too if the weather is wet or breezy, McIlroy shot 80 in the opening round the last time it hosted the Irish Open in 2015. Soren Kjeldsen won in a playoff at just two under, with only five players under par. A rarely seen sight in any non-Major professional tournament.
Is Rory McIlroy playing?
He is indeed, this is one of his favourite courses in the world too, growing up not too far away. So it is very much a home event for Rory and he hopes it will go better than the 2015 Irish Open when he missed the cut. McIlroy had a mixed season with two victories and some good displays, but it was a year that will ultimately be defined by a few costly missed putts, agonisingly finishing second in the US Open by one shot. A second Irish Open win at RCD, however, would be one of the highlights of his year.
Who are the other Irish players in the field?
Shane Lowry leads the Irish contingent after what he considers the “second best year of his career”. Fresh off a top 10 in the FedEx Cup, he is in fine form and will also fancy a second Irish Open title. There is also Séamus Power, carving out a solid PGA Tour career for himself, multiple Major winner Pádraig Harrington and another North home favourite Tom McKibbin. Other Irish in the field are professionals Mark Power, Conor Purcell, Gary Hurley, Simon Thornton, and amateurs Max Kennedy and Sean Keeling.
Who else has come to play?
Robert MacIntyre is the next biggest star in the field outside the Irish players, the Scotsman won twice on the PGA Tour this season, including the Scottish Open on a links course. Dane Nicolai Hojgaard was on the European Ryder Cup team. Other than that there is a lack of star power compared to previous years, with Billy Horschel an unfortunate late withdrawal through injury.
What is the Irish Open winner’s prize?
The winner’s prize is just under a million euro, €951,046, with €615,383 for second place.
What is the weather forecast?
The weather this week in Newcastle is expected to be relatively dry but chilly for this time of year, 11 degrees on Thursday a far cry from the 25 degrees it was at the K Club last year. As always, prepare for showers on the Irish coast. It will also be breezy on Thursday and Saturday, with gusts hitting 32km/h.
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