The Open Championship is one of the four majors of the professional golfing season and has seen numerous famous wins courtesy of Irish golfers in recent history.
The famous tournament has had five Irish winners in its lifespan (dating back to 1947) and there have been four Irish wins since the turn of the century.
Shane Lowry – 2019
Offaly’s Shane Lowry is the current defending champion, having won in 2019.
The Clara native had stiff competition in the first two rounds but a stellar third round put the Claret Jug beyond anyone else’s reach.
Lowry became the first Irish player to win The Open on Irish soil, achieving victory in Portrush, Antrim.
The Republic of Ireland golfer won his first major by six strokes and will defend his title this weekend.
Pádraig Harrington – 2007 & 2008
Pádraig Harrington is the only Irish golfer to win the tournament twice, doing so back-to-back in 2007 and 2008.
The Dubliner achieved his first win at Carnoustie in Scotland, shooting an impressive four-under-par on the final day to earn a play-off against Sergio Garcia, who led all weekend.
Harrington could have tied it up quicker had he not went into the Barry Burn twice on the 18th hole.
The Irishman became the first golfer from the Republic of Ireland to win The Open and the first Irish golfer since Fred Daly in 1947 after his one-shot play-off win.
Harrington repeated his feat the next year at the Royal Birkdale in Southport where everyone struggled throughout the weekend.
The golfer almost pulled out of the tournament because of a wrist injury and fought his way up the scoreboard throughout the weekend to become the second golfer to win the tournament back-to-back in three years, after Tiger Woods achieved the same feat in 2006.
His fantastic back nine on Sunday saw the two-time Champion Golfer of the Year separate himself from the rest of the pack.
Darren Clarke – 2011
Darren Clarke achieved his childhood dream by winning the 140th Open Championship three years later in 2011.
Clarke won at the venue where this year’s Open is being held, shooting five-under-par and leading since the second round.
At 42, the veteran came into the tournament as an outsider and left Sandwich as the champion.
It was a fairytale moment for the Northern Irish golfer whose best finish in a major previous to his win was third in the 2001 Open.
Rory McIlroy – 2014
In 2014, Rory McIlroy became Champion Golfer of the Year after shooting 17-under-par at the Royal Liverpool.
The current World number 11 achieved the first of two majors in the space of a month with a dominant weekend on Merseyside.
The Northern Irishman went bogey-free in the first round and achieved the same score of 66 in the second to take a commanding lead that he extended further on Saturday.
McIlroy bogeyed three times on the final day but his six-shot lead was too much for any chasers to close down.
The 149th Open Championship will take place from Thursday, July 15th – Sunday July 18th.
All Irish tee times are available here.
