GOLF: The Nissan Irish Open will move to a new date of May 19th-22th next year when the Montgomerie Course at Carton House Golf Club, outside Maynooth, plays host to the championship for the first time.

The tournament has been brought forward from the July date immediately after the British Open which it has occupied for the past two years when the quality of the field was affected by players taking a week off after the season's third major and ahead of the US PGA, the final major of the year.

The move to May, a week ahead of the Volvo PGA and part of a crucial build-up of tournaments to the US Open, should certainly contribute to a stronger field for the championship which is one of the oldest on the international schedule.

"The new date is a great opportunity for the Nissan Irish Open to attract some of the leading players on the European Tour. By securing this new date coupled with a superb venue like Carton House we are confident that we can now realistically achieve our goal of attracting Europe's elite players," said Gerard O'Toole of Nissan Ireland.

John O'Donoghue, the Minister for Sport, welcomed the date change "as a constructive move that will manifest itself in a positive light . . . the early season golfing appetite is whetted by the prospect of the event being separated from the sporting clutter of high summer," he added, claiming it was a "revitalising date" for the tournament.