The 67th Irish Open, sponsored in 2022 by Horizon, got underway at Mount Juliet in County Kilkenny this morning.
The 2019 Open Champion Shane Lowry, three-time Major winner Pádraig Harrington and
PGA TOUR winner Séamus Power headline the event in front of full-capacity Irish crowds.
For Power, it will his first appearance in his national Open since 2019, and his first since winning a maiden PGA TOUR title at last year’s Barbasol Championship.
Shane Lowry won the Irish Open as an amateur in 2009 while for US Senior Open champion Pádraig Harrington it will be his first tournament since claiming his first Senior major title last weekend.
Mount Juliet Estate is hosting the Horizon Irish Open for the second successive year. The championship was played in front of limited-capacity crowds in 2021.
The County Kilkenny course previously hosted the Irish Open from 1993 to 1995 inclusive. Nick Faldo, Bernhard Langer and Sam Torrance were the respective winners during those years.
Mount Juliet Estate twice hosted the WGC-American Express Championship, in 2002 when Tiger Woods was victorious with a one-stroke victory over South African Retief Goosen. In 2004 when the event returned, Ernie Els was the winner by one shot ahead of Thomas Bjørn.
Lucas Herbert is the defending champion here at Mount Juliet this week, having claimed a wire-to-wire success last year. The Australian claimed a three-stroke victory in 2021 for his second DP World Tour title.
