McIlroy confirmed to play Irish Open
Rory McIlroy has been confirmed to take part in the 3 Irish Open at the Killarney Golf and Fishing Club from July 29 - August 1.
The 21-year-old was playing under a dark cloud before his stunning victory at the Quail Hollow Championship, having suffered a loss of form due to a combination of injury and uncertainty surrounding his game.
McIlroy looked like a troubled man as he spoke of taking a break from golf after missing the cut at The Masters Tournament, but a trip home to the North to spend time with his straight-talking friends and family soon put his life into perspective.
“I just started to enjoy myself again and realise that not a lot of people get the chance to do what I do and just stop getting so het up and tense about golf,” said McIlroy, who produced an unforgettable final round of 10 under par 62 to win at Quail Hollow by four strokes from Masters Champion Phil Mickelson.
“I went out and played some golf with my friends and sort of realise why I started to play the game in the first place – because I love it. You could definitely say there was a little bit of a kick up the backside from my mates. These are all boys my age that I have known for years and they were telling me to take a look at myself and realise what I have and enjoy it because not many people get that chance in life.
“Even the first two rounds at Quail Hollow weren’t great. It was the Saturday 66 that something clicked and that’s what I needed to do, just have fun and let it happen and it was definitely something to do with getting home and playing with my friends and just getting back to being me.
McIlroy is excited at the prospect of playing the Killeen Course at the Killarney Golf and Fishing Club for the first time, and is expecting a world class field to assemble in the south west.
He said: “It’s a different course that I haven’t actually played before but the new date is a big bonus for the tournament. It’s the bank holiday weekend in Killarney so hopefully we will have big crowds, decent weather and great tournament.
“I can’t say I remember Faldo winning his Irish Opens at Killarney – I was one or two years old! I do know that the course will be a good test if Faldo won round there twice, and we will have a very strong field – I know Lee Westwood is coming over so we will have at least two or three players from the top ten in the world.”
“It would be huge to win it," he added.
"Padraig (Harrington) always says that outside the Majors, the Irish Open is the one he wants to win above all the others and I feel the same way about it.”
