Dustin Johnson latest to be asked to Royal County Down by McIlroy

The box office appeal of Rory McIlroy is beyond dispute. He has that x-factor, and it seems to be catching as far as the Irish Open is concerned with Dustin Johnson, winner of the WGC-Cadillac Championship and newly ranked seventh in the world, seriously considering adding his name to the entry list at Royal County Down on May 28th-31st.

“We’ve talked about it,” said Johnson of his discussions with McIlroy, who is hosting the tournament through The Rory Foundation.

"Hopefully we will make it work. I am just not sure of my schedule at this stage but I am going to try and make it work," added Johnson, who also revealed – smiling – that he is under pressure to play from his friend, businessman Dermot Desmond. "I told him if he sends his plane I might think about it!"

Johnson added: “Rory made a pretty strong case [to play], but right now I’m still on the fence as I haven’t fully finalised my schedule around that time of the year. I like Royal County Down a lot, it’s a great course. I’ve great memories from the Walker Cup [in 2007].”

Big names

McIlroy’s input into garnering big names for the tournament is clearly working. Already,

Sergio Garcia

,

Rickie Fowler

and

Lee Westwood

– along, of course, with the quartet of Irish Major champions – are entered and, it has also emerged,

Adam Scott

is considering playing. The Australian is defending his Colonial title on the PGA Tour the week before the Irish Open but said he could yet play.

“I’d love to. It looks like a good week coming up in May. I had some good fun at the Irish Open back in my youth when I was on the European Tour.”

As things stand, and with the genuine prospect of further big names to come on board, the field for the Irish Open looks set to be one of the strongest in the tournament’s rich history. And it is believed that McIlroy has also been involved in negotiations to get a title sponsor for the tournament, with anticipation that a global brand leader is set to come on board possibly within the coming week.

The Irish Open has been without a title sponsor since telecommunications giant 3 completed its deal with the 2010 tournament staged in Killarney.

Rivalry

Irish Open aside, Johnson - winning for the first time since his return to the sport after a six-month lay-off to deal with “personal issues” which he says were alcohol-related – is intent on challenging McIlroy going forward and establishing a rivalry with the Northern Irish man.

“I’m not afraid of him, and that’s for sure,” said Johnson. “Clearly, Rory is a really great player, won Majors, but I think I can play with him. He’s a great golfer and I think I am too. I would really like the chance to come down the stretch with him and see what we’re made of. I know I am up for the challenge.”

McIlroy left Doral with other things on his mind, as he builds up to next month’s Masters. He wasn’t firing on all cylinders on the Blue Monster and even admitted to being “scared to play certain shots” and opting to hit away from flags rather than play an aggressive game.

As he put it, “I’m just playing quite conservatively, which is very much unlike me . . . I’ve got to try and figure it out. I’m getting the two-way miss, double-crossing it, hitting it left or hitting a slicy block out to the right.”

On the 18th green on Sunday, his caddie JP Fitzgerald turned to the world number one and remarked, “I think we left our game in the desert.”

Fitzgerald was referring to McIlroy’s runner-up finish in Abu Dhabi followed by a win in the Dubai Desert Classic. McIlroy is playing Augusta National in the coming days as preparation for the Masters and will hope to have alleviated those double-crossing problems by the time he returns in a month’s time.

Of what he will be trying to get from his practice rounds this week, McIlroy said:

“It’s about getting comfortable with the place again. You don’t really get Augusta at tournament speed until the week of the tournament, so just reacquaint myself and try and play the shots that I’ll need and try to get some visuals going in the next couple of weeks.”

Schedule

McIlroy’s only tournament before teeing up in the Masters, where he will be chasing a third straight Major win to go with his back-to-back successes in the British Open and the US PGA last year and also seeking to complete the final leg of the career Grand Slam, is next week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill.

Is there any concern with his schedule? Any plans to add on additional tournaments? “No,” said McIlroy, with a shake of his head.

“I have no concerns about that [itinerary] at all. It’s not something that I need to play my way out of. It’s just something that I need to stand on the range and beat balls until I feel comfortable with it again.”

Shane Lowry has changed his plans about factoring in a practice visit to Augusta ahead of his maiden appearance in the Masters.

Instead, the Offaly man has decided to postpone his arrival to the course until the Sunday before the event starts. Lowry has a week off before returning to the US to play in next week’s Bay Hill Invitational and the following week’s Valero Texas Open.