“Breakfast golf” season has arrived for American golf fans this week as the PGA Tour and DP World Tour hosted the Genesis Scottish Open at Renaissance Club.
Because of the five-hour time difference between the East Coast and the British Isles, millions of Americans wake up earlier than usual every summer to watch the world’s greatest game take place in Scotland. (Yes, I’m one of those crazy people who sets my alarm for 4 a.m. EST to watch the world’s greatest game.)
But the great thing about this year’s Scottish Open is that it’s the perfect appetizer for golf’s oldest major, the British Open, which will be held next week on Royal Troon’s famous Old Course. The tournament will give players – and fans – a taste of the style of play most commonly found in the British Isles: links golf, a weather-dependent course played along the coast.
Links golf also requires creativity, forcing players to hit a variety of shots – in the air, on the ground, on the bump and run, stingers that stab into the wind and the occasional deep, deadly pot bunker that forces players into some diabolical stances. Whatever the shot, links golf is always fun and is the favourite style of play for many – just ask five-time Claret Jug winner Tom Watson.
Therefore, we need more links golf in the professional game. Evin PriestIn an article posted early Thursday morning by an Australian reporter for Golf Digest, there are suggestions for how the PGA Tour could improve going forward.
Let’s make the Irish Open even more exciting!
The Irish Open should be moved back to July and made into a PGA Tour co-sponsored event, similar to what was done with the Genesis Scottish Open.
This year’s Irish Open will be held at Royal County Down in Northern Ireland, a course repeatedly ranked by Golf Digest as one of the best in the world. However, Irish golf fans will have to wait until September to see the top players compete in the national open, by which time unfortunately many of the top golfers will have finished their season.
Nevertheless, Rory McIlroy will be there – he’s a regular at the Irish Open, winning in 2016 – as will Shane Lowry, from County Offaly, who won the Irish Open in 2009 as an amateur in County Louth, another great venue on Ireland’s east coast.
But like the Scottish Open this week, the Irish Open, like the entire Emerald Isle, has a magical mystique about it. Perhaps it’s the incredible courses that Ireland has to offer. Or maybe it’s the inimitable charm that every Irish man and woman possesses. Either way, the Irish Open should be a key tournament on the PGA Tour and DP World Tour. Make it the DP World Tour’s equivalent of a Rolex Series event on the PGA Tour, and the British Isles the place to visit in July.
Those who enjoy watching and cheering on the John Deere Classic may not like this opinion, but the John Deere should be a co-sponsored event of the PGA Tour and run at the same time as the Irish Open. No disrespect to TPC Deere Run, which has produced thrilling finishes and great tournaments for nearly 25 years, but the Quad Cities course does not have the track record of Royal County Down or many of the other courses that have hosted the Irish Open, such as Portmarnock, Lahinch, Ballybunion and Royal Portrush.
Unfortunately, the John Deere Classic hasn’t had a strong field in a while and scores over 20 under par have been inflated.
But that’s the beauty of the idea: Some players get to play in the Quad Cities, while other top players make the trip to Ireland — many of whom made the trip to Scotland this week.
Let’s make the Irish Open bigger and bring the best players in the world to the best courses in the world. Ireland has the world’s best golf course, according to Golf Digest.The 100 best golf courses in the worldSo why doesn’t professional golf take greater advantage of this little island’s charms?
The Irish Open is already on a rotation system, playing many of these top courses, plus others such as the K Club and Adare Manor, both Ryder Cup venues, and it’s also one of the most well-attended events on the DP World Tour each year. The Irish love golf.
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If they adopt my proposal, the championship would undoubtedly generate greater attendance and viewership, resulting in increased revenue for the PGA and DP World Tours.
So, with a view to the 2025 calendar, here are my suggestions for the future: I hope that these ideas will attract more top players to Ireland, providing even more enjoyment for golf fans around the world.
July 3-6: Irish Open / John Deere Classic
July 10-13: Scottish Open/ISCO Championships in Kentucky
July 17-20: 153rd British Open at Royal Portrush
This will be the third straight week of links golf, which not only means an even longer “breakfast golf” for American fans, but also more familiarity for many of the top players with links golf. And as Justin Thomas said after Thursday’s round, he loves links golf. He likes to play courses other than the tournament venues whenever he’s in the British Isles. He even said he’d like to play another course other than Royal Troon before the British Open next week. That’s a major week?! That’s how good the golf is in this region.
So, knowing all this and taking into account the fact that the National Open is a special event, how about making the Irish Open even bigger?
Jack Mirko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation Playing Through. Follow For more golf articles, follow us on Twitter Jack Mirko In the same way.
