The Irish golfer signed for a one over par final round of 71 to finish 13 under par for the tournament, one stroke clear of overnight leader Joakim Lagergren on a dramatic final day.

The 27-year-old climbs to fourth in the season-long Road to Mallorca Rankings with a win and was delighted to come out on top after going shot-for-shot with Lagergren across the entirety of the weekend.

“I’m over the moon and kind of lost for words,” he said. “I’ve waited a long time for this and for it to happen, with all my family out here today, is just amazing.

“The support out there calmed me down. Knowing that they were all there to support me made a difference.

“Joakim is a fierce competitor and a proven winner, and he’s won here before, so I knew not to take him lightly. I’m just pleased because I putted terribly today but I managed to get the job done.”

Purcell started the day one stoke behind Lagergren, but after mixing two birdies with five bogeys on the front nine, made the turn searching for a spark to kick-start his round.

An eagle on the par five tenth did just that, with Purcell joining Lagergren at the top of the leaderboard, before a dropped shot at hole 13 saw him one adrift with five holes to play.

Purcell then birdied the 15th, and when Lagergren bogeyed the same hole, a two-shot swing saw Purcell move into the solo lead for the first time on the final day, before he parred his way home for a memorable victory.

“On 18, it was the calmest I felt all day”

“I knew it was going to be tough but that there were chances on the back nine,” he added. “It was a big momentum swing when I held the putt on the tenth for eagle.

“I missed a chance on 14 to get back level, but made a nice birdie to go one ahead on 15 and then played really good golf coming in.

“On 18, it was the calmest I felt all day. After a few loose shots at the start of the day, I got into the flow of things and felt very in control and knew the job I had to do.

“Every time you can have a win, you can shoot up the Rankings, but there’s still a lot of golf to play over the rest of the year.”

Englishman Jack Senior posted a three under par round of 67 to finish in third, with Frenchman Robin Sciot-Siegrist two shots further back in fourth. Dane Hamish Brown and South African Robin Williams finished in a share of fifth on eight under par.

Purcell now fourth in Road to Mallorca rankings

Purcell climbs 20 places to fourth in the Road to Mallorca Rankings on 683 points, while Dane Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen remains in pole position on 1,061 points. Englishman John Parry sits second on 1,007, and Spaniard Joel Moscatel remains in third place on 870 points.

The Road to Mallorca continues next week with the Irish Challenge taking place at The K Club in Co Kildare from August 1-4.

Select scores after round four with Irish players in bold:

267 C PURCELL 66 65 65 71,
268 J LAGERGREN (SWE) 63 71 61 73,
269 J SENIOR (ENG) 67 69 66 67,
271 R SCIOT-SIEGRIST (FRA) 65 71 65 70,
272 R WILLIAMS (RSA) 69 69 67 67, H BROWN (DEN) 69 68 66 69,
273 L BJERREGAARD (DEN) 68 68 70 67, A QUIROS (ESP) 68 69 67 69, P PINEAU (FRA) 69 66 67 71,
274 R MCGOWAN (ENG) 68 72 67 67, A HALVORSEN (NOR) 72 69 66 67,
275 J FREIBURGHAUS (SUI) 72 69 68 66, O GUILLAMOUNDEGUY (FRA) 67 69 72 67, A CHESTERS (ENG) 68 72 66 69, W BESSELING (NED) 70 64 71 70, T HUNT (WAL) 67 69 68 71,
276 M LINDBERG (SWE) 68 72 71 65, M GIBOUDOT (FRA) 73 68 67 68, L VAN MEIJEL (NED) 71 70 66 69,

281 G HURLEY (IRL) 67 70 69 75,
282 J CALDWELL 70 71 71 70,

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The English duo will battle it out in the final group on Sunday, both hoping to bridge sizeable gaps since their last respective European Tour victories.

It is almost four years to the day since Smith claimed his maiden title at the Porsche European Open. Horsey’s fourth and most recent win came at the 2015 Made in Denmark.

Galgorm has certainly been a happy hunting ground for Smith, who opened his week with an eight under 62 at the 2020 Dubai Duty Free Irish Open host venue. His bogey-free 65 on day three means he is 13 under par across his two rounds at Galgorm, with his 15 under total moving him one clear at the top.

Horsey has improved his score day-by-day, starting the week with a 67 at Galgorm, following that up with a 65 at Massereene Golf Club before a six under 64 on day three at Galgorm – which included his first bogey of the week at the sixth – moved him to outright second place on 14 under par.

The pair will face off in the final round of the men’s event at Galgorm alongside their playing partner, second round leader Daniel Hillier, who is the closest challenger on 11 under par. Japan’s Masahiro Kawamura and Darius Van Driel of the Netherlands are a shot further back on 10 under.

The women’s event is also set for a thrilling finale as three players share the lead heading into the final round at Galgorm. Pajaree Annanarukarn of Thailand was joined on 13 under by American duo Jennifer Kupcho and Emma Talley and they will tee it up together in the final group, all chasing their maiden LPGA Tour victories.

Day Three Scores

195 J SMITH (ENG) 62 68 65,
196 D HORSEY (ENG) 67 65 64,
199 D HILLIER (NZL) 67 62 70,
200 M KAWAMURA (JPN) 65 69 66, D VAN DRIEL (NED) 70 65 65,
201 V NORRMAN (SWE) 69 65 67, J HARDING (RSA) 70 64 67,
202 O FARR (WAL) 67 68 67, J CATLIN (USA) 69 66 67, A CA?IZARES (ESP) 66 68 68, D GAVINS (ENG) 71 65 66,
203 M SCHMITT (GER) 66 73 64, G PORTEOUS (ENG) 68 64 71, N ELVIRA (ESP) 66 67 70, B WINDRED (AUS) 69 70 64, D LAW (SCO) 67 69 67,
204 A LEVY (FRA) 69 69 66, R MCEVOY (ENG) 68 69 67, J KRUYSWIJK (RSA) 67 69 68, D WHITNELL (ENG) 67 69 68, P PETERSON (USA) 69 69 66,
205 M SCHMID (GER) 64 69 72, H LEON (CHI) 67 73 65, S TARRIO (ESP) 70 67 68, T MCKIBBIN 67 69 69, L BJERREGAARD (DEN) 69 68 68,
206 A CHESTERS (ENG) 68 70 68, R SCIOT-SIEGRIST (FRA) 69 70 67, D DRYSDALE (SCO) 64 70 72, D MCELROY 72 66 68, M ANTCLIFF (AUS) 68 70 68, F LAPORTA (ITA) 69 69 68, G BHULLAR (IND) 72 67 67, M ARMITAGE (ENG) 71 67 68, J WRISDALE (ENG) 69 67 70, C SYME (SCO) 72 66 68, E PEPPERELL (ENG) 66 67 73, J SENIOR (ENG) 68 66 72, A SADDIER (FRA) 69 66 71, B EVANS (ENG) 70 66 70, S SHARMA (IND) 70 69 67,
207 T MURRAY (ENG) 70 68 69, E DE LA RIVA (ESP) 67 72 68, S KIM (USA) 68 72 67, J SURI (USA) 73 67 67, B EASTON (RSA) 70 70 67,
208 M WARREN (SCO) 69 68 71, D COUPLAND (ENG) 71 69 68, G FDEZ-CASTA?O (ESP) 69 71 68, A SULLIVAN (ENG) 67 71 70, C PIGEM (ESP) 70 63 75, C HILL (SCO) 66 72 70,
209 N KEARNEY 69 71 69, D PAPADATOS (AUS) 69 68 72, P ANGLES (ESP) 71 67 71, R LUMSDEN (SCO) 69 70 70, W BESSELING (NED) 69 67 73,
210 J GONNET (FRA) 71 68 71, S THORNTON 70 68 72, T JAIDEE (THA) 67 70 73, A SANDHU (IND) 68 70 72, C SORDET (FRA) 73 67 70, B RITTHAMMER (GER) 71 69 70, B DREDGE (WAL) 68 71 71, J MORRISON (ENG) 67 67 76,
211 N H?JGAARD (DEN) 72 68 71,
212 B POKE (DEN) 68 72 72,
214 B HENSON (USA) 70 68 76

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The event is tri-sanctioned by the European Tour, the LPGA Tour and the Ladies European Tour.

The great and good of the men’s and women’s game will compete for the second mixed event on the 2021 Race to Dubai. The first was June’s Scandinavian Mixed hosted by Henrik and Annika.

The victor that week in Sweden, Jonathan Caldwell, happens to be the leading home hope this week. It was the 37-year-old’s maiden title in a roller-coaster career which saw him work in a golf superstore just to keep his European Tour dreams alive.

288 players in the field

Caldwell is sure to get a hero’s welcome when he tees it up at Massereene Golf Club on day one. The 288 players – 144 men and 144 women – will each play a round at Massereene and a round at Galgorm Castle Golf Club over the opening two days, in the separate men’s and women’s 72-hole strokeplay events.

A second round cut will reduce the field for each event to 60 and ties, and then to 35 and ties after the third round, before a male winner and a female winner are decided on Sunday.

Among those joining Caldwell in the men’s field for the second event of the UK Swing are four-time European Tour winner Andy Sullivan, the most recent winner on tour Nacho Elvira and John Catlin – who won the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open at Galgorm last September.

The women’s field – split evenly with LPGA Tour and Ladies European Tour players – is also a strong one, boasting former Major winner Georgia Hall, World Number 14 Jeongeun Lee6 and local rising star Olivia Mehaffey, among others.

Caldwell looking forward to playing at home

Looking ahead to this week’s action on home soil, Jonathan Caldwell admitted:

“It’s going to be great. I’m looking forward to seeing some familiar faces, family and friends out there throughout the week. I’m hoping I can find some form and give them something to cheer about.

“I’m more familiar with Galgorm obviously, having played quite a few events over the years there. It’s certainly playing different this year than it has in years past, a little firmer, less rough. I can see the scoring being better than it was last year at the Irish Open with the rough being so thick and playing softer and longer.”

The action in the ISPS HANDA World Invitational presented by Modest! Golf Management, the 24th of 42 Race to Dubai events, gets underway on Thursday.

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The first of five 36-hole tournaments forming the 2021 EDGA European Tour that will run alongside the Cazoo Open at The Celtic Manor Resort in Wales from July 24-25.

Daphne Van Outen

Daphne van Houten of Holland will tee it up at the inaugural event becoming the first female golfer to participate competitively in the European Disabled Golf Association (EDGA) initiative. The competition takes place under the umbrella of the European Tour’s Golf For Good initiative – the Tour’s overarching Corporate Social Responsibility programme.

The 22-year-old was diagnosed with scoliosis, a condition which causes a sideways curvature of the spine, at age 12. She made the decision to have corrective surgery at age 17. In 2018, she became the European Golf Association’s Champion Women Golfer with Disability, winning the title at her first attempt.

She is the highest-ranked female player on the World Rankings for Golfers with Disability (WR4GD), currently tenth.

“I have done a lot of amazing things with EDGA, playing in Australia, playing here with the European Tour and I played in the Diversity Cup ahead of the Solheim Cup at Gleneagles in 2019,” said van Houten. “I’ve done a lot because of EDGA.

“Golf has always been a part of my life. After my operation they told me I wouldn’t be able to play golf for a year. I worked hard and shortened that to just two weeks. You can achieve anything if you have a passion for it and want to do it.”

Tournaments over next three weekends

Golfers taken from the WR4GD will have the opportunity to tackle the same course set-up as the European Tour professionals. The remaining three qualifying tournaments taking place over the weekends of the next successive European Tour events in Ireland, Scotland, and England.

Each player will participate in two back-to-back tournaments with the entry lists finalised for the EDGA Cazoo Open at The Celtic Manor Resort and the ISPS HANDA World Disability Invitational presented by Brendan Lawlor from July 31 – August 1. It will be hosted at Massereene (Saturday) and Galgorm Castle (Sunday), Co Antrim.

The top four players from each group of two tournaments qualify for the returning EDGA Dubai Finale. The fifth and final EDGA European Tour event of 2021 will be held alongside the DP World Tour Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates on Friday and Saturday (November 19-20).

Scoring for all five EDGA tournaments will feature on the European Tour’s website and App for fans to follow. The tournament world feed broadcast will also feature updates across the weekend.

Entry List – 2021 EDGA Cazoo Open and ISPS HANDA World Disability Invitational presented by Brendan Lawlor
Kenny Bontz (USA)
Felix Norman (SWE)
Tomasso Perrino (ITA)
Brendan Lawlor (IRE)
Ryan Brendan (USA)
Daphne van Houten (NED)
Mike Browne (ENG)
Timo Klischan (GER)

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Irishman James Sugrue, the 2019 Amateur Champion who played at last week’s U.S. Open at Winged Foot, carded a three under 67 to sit just two shots off the pace – drawing comparisons with a famous amateur victory in this tournament by one Shane Lowry 11 years ago.

Lowry, returning to home soil for the first time as Open Champion this week, struggled to an opening five over 75 while European Ryder Cup Captain Pádraig Harrington carded a one over 71 in his first competitive appearance in six month

Mallow amateur James Sugrue is the leading Irishman in the field, having shot a three under par opening round of 67 to lie just two shots off the lead.

“I was in the U.S. Open last week and going from there to here is a little bit easier to say the least. It was very tough, very penal, you can hit good shots off the tee and end up in the rough where you can only take a wedge out of it” explained Sugrue.

The top amateur, who plans on turning professional after the Masters, was happy with his first round score, but admitted:

“There’s a lot of golf to be played yet but obviously I’m very happy with how I played today. Conditions were tricky although we didn’t get wet, it was gusty and when you’re caught in those holes where there’s trees all around you, you don’t know what way the wind is blowing. You just have to trust it.”

Offaly man Shane Lowry had a nightmare day at Galgorm, shooting a five-over-par round of 75, leaving him 10 shots off the lead after day 1 at the Co. Antrim venue.

“I just struggled today” Lowry said honestly, “Myself and Bo were talking going up the last, and I pretty much did everything really badly today, from course management to decision making to actually pulling off the shots. It was not very nice out there, but I gave it my best, that’s all I could have done, and it ended up in a 75. It’s nice to birdie the last, and if I can go out a shoot a few under tomorrow, hopefully be here for the weekend and hopefully a couple more decent scores. First and foremost my goal tomorrow will be to make the weekend” he added.

The Clara-native found the weather a problem during his round, but was not trying to use that as an excuse for his 75:

“I was very cold out there today. I had my handwarmers and everything, but it was tough out there, very tough out there. There were a few times into the wind I couldn’t get myself enough club. I hit a great shot on number 14, the par three, and I pitched it about 20 yards short of the flag. That was a bit weird. It is what it is, I felt like I could have shot a decent score. I played here yesterday, I like the course. Today I just went out and nothing went right for me. “

Pádraig Harrington, who shot a respectable 71 in his first competitive round in six months, felt the round was very mixed, with some good and some not so good:

“But there was lots of good stuff and even the bad stuff, I just put down to rust, so I was more than happy with it. It was nice to finish with a par, I wanted to birdie it obviously – finishing with a birdie would have got me back to level par. I missed a couple of putts at 16 and 17. I’m just not playing enough. I really should have trusted my driver on my right to left, I haven’t missed anything right all day and I hung onto it and got myself in trouble.”

Round one scores (incomplete, one group still to finish):

65 A RAI (ENG), D BURMESTER (RSA), J SMITH (ENG),
66 T TREE (ENG),
67 J CATLIN (USA), S GALLACHER (SCO), R KARLBERG (SWE), J SUGRUE (AM) (IRL), O LENGDEN (SWE),
68 S HEND (AUS), J JANEWATTANANOND (THA), G HIGGO (RSA), J HARDING (RSA), L BJERREGAARD (DEN), N LEMKE (SWE), M SIMONSEN (DEN), J GUERRIER (FRA),
69 M ARMITAGE (ENG), N ELVIRA (ESP), S JAMIESON (SCO), R ROCK (ENG), D LAW (SCO),
70 F ZANOTTI (PAR), O FARR (WAL), B STOW (ENG), G STORM (ENG), E FERGUSON (SCO), W ORMSBY (AUS), C SORDET (FRA), J LAGERGREN (SWE), D HUIZING (NED), C HILL (SCO), J SENIOR (ENG), W NIENABER (RSA), D MCGRANE (IRL), J MCLEOD (AUS), M ANTCLIFF (AUS),
71 S BROWN (ENG), L VAN MEIJEL (NED), J LUITEN (NED), P HARRINGTON (IRL), R RAMSAY (SCO), C SYME (SCO), J SURI (USA), D WHITNELL (ENG), A CANIZARES (ESP), D PERRIER (FRA), A MERONK (POL), L HERBERT (AUS), G COETZEE (RSA), J CALDWELL (NIR),
72 M KORHONEN (FIN), S CROCKER (USA), J MORRISON (ENG), D HOWELL (ENG), M FENASSE (FRA), S SHARMA (IND), J HANSEN (DEN), C SHINKWIN (ENG), R MCEVOY (ENG), D COUPLAND (ENG), R BLAND (ENG), L SLATTERY (ENG),
73 A ROZNER (FRA), D DRYSDALE (SCO), G PORTEOUS (ENG), T MCKIBBIN (AM) (NIR), F LAPORTA (ITA), R SCIOT-SIEGRIST (FRA), M SCHMITT (GER), R MCGOWAN (ENG), A ARNAUS (ESP), T KOIVISTO (USA), N COLSAERTS (BEL), L CANTER (ENG), M BALDWIN (ENG), J KRUGER (RSA), D VAN DRIEL (NED), J VEERMAN (USA), J SCRIVENER (AUS),
74 M KAWAMURA (JPN), M SOUTHGATE (ENG), H PORTEOUS (RSA), G MOYNIHAN (IRL), S SODERBERG (SWE), M WARREN (SCO), J STALTER (FRA), Z MURRAY (AUS), M POWER (AM) (IRL), R WATTEL (FRA), E MOLINARI (ITA), L JOHNSTON (SCO), B RITTHAMMER (GER), W BESSELING (NED),
75 G BHULLAR (IND), C MORIARTY (IRL), A COCKERILL (CAN), P DUNNE (IRL), M LEE (AUS), M KINHULT (SWE), R ROUSSEL (FRA), D YOUNG (SCO), M CAMPBELL (NZL), S LOWRY (IRL), S TILEY (ENG),
76 D HORSEY (ENG), A WU (CHN), S KJELDSEN (DEN), Y CHANG (KOR), B POKE (DEN),
77 J WINTHER (DEN),
78 S GARCIA RODRIGUEZ (ESP), O FISHER (ENG), R FOX (NZL),
79 A CHESTERS (ENG),
83 C SHARVIN (NIR), A PAVAN (ITA),
**
C PIGEM (ESP), K REITAN (NOR), C HOWIE (SCO)

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Ardglass-native Cormac Sharvin, who was the leading Irishman at last year’s Dubai Duty Free Irish Open at Lahinch, Co. Clare, is delighted to be back playing in Ireland.

“It’s an opportunity to play on home turf” admitted Sharvin, “I haven’t played great in the last while. I had a good week off last week, reflecting and trying to get back to things that worked for me last year. I’m trying to get back into that trying to tidy up my swing. My game is in the best place it has been all year coming into this week, whether I play well or not is a different story. I feel like I’m moving in the right direction with my game, hopefully I can put four good rounds together this week.”

Discussing the Galgorm course, the Ulsterman, who was 19^th at The English Championship in early August, said:

“I know this course really well. I’ve played a lot of golf here. It’s a good test, the rough is thick. My game is pretty suited to a course like this, you have to drive it well. Tee to green it’s a good test so it should set up pretty well.”

The twenty-eight-year-old has struggled with the bubble professional golfers have found themselves in recent weeks, since the re-starting of competition:

“From the outset I was saying I wasn’t struggling and that I didn’t mind it. But on reflection it’s something I have struggled with. I find it hard separating my golf from chilling at the hotel. I feel like I’ve been uneasy with the whole thing, but I’ve done work on it to try and reframe it and get myself in a good place going into weeks rather than feeling like I’m pushing. It felt like I was rushing my weeks and wasn’t relaxed – I couldn’t wait to get out the bubble. I’m going to have to adapt and get better at dealing with it. I met with my team last week and we’re reframing it in a way that is beneficial to me.”

Reflecting on the usual experience of having to play without crowds at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open, Sharvin says:

“It’s a good chance to do well this week. The big challenge is going to be playing without crowds. I’ve played here a lot, even at Challenge Tour events we get good crowds and I seem to get a decent following – I’ve fed off that. It’s something I’ll have to look at this week and I’ll have to gee myself up.”

Greystones golfer Paul Dunne fully agrees with Cormac Sharvin about the strange feeling surrounding this year’s competition:

“It feels a bit weird, it almost doesn’t feel like we’re at home. The Irish fans are usually so loud and they come out in big numbers. It’s different, but it’s nice to be driving my own car, staying relatively close to home, home comforts. Hopefully I can perform.

The Irishman feels he’s adapting well to the ‘new normal’ on the European Tour, stating:

“I’m adapting OK, it is what it is. The weeks are a little bit more mundane than they usually are, you can’t get out and about and do things and your dinner companions are the same every night. Look, it beats sitting at home being locked down, it’s a much better alternative.”

The twenty-seven-year-old spoke about the challenge of the Galgorm, Co. Antrim course, offering:

“The course is all about your tee shots, it’s pretty narrow off the tee. It doesn’t give you much respite. It’s all about keeping it – you would say between the tree line – but there’s decent room between the tree line, but the fairways are fairly narrow and the rough between the fairway and the trees is extremely thick. Especially when it’s wet, you can’t get much out of it at all.”

With the Dublin-born player experiencing problems with a hand injury of later, he states his current goals are “just to get back fit and get my game back in a shape where I feel like I can move forward.  I don’t have any short term goals because I don’t know what the future holds.”

Back on home soil this week should give Dunne an opportunity to fully access where his game is right now, and he is “just ready to go out and play and be able to practice as free as I can.”

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The 49-year-old was due to be captaining the European Ryder Cup team at Whistling Straits in the USA, but the postponement of golf’s greatest team event to 2021 means he will instead take to Galgorm Castle Golf Club for the first time.

Harrington last played on the European Tour at January’s Omega Dubai Desert Classic, while his last competitive appearance came at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March, before the Covid-19 pandemic curtailed his season.

The Dubliner is excited to return to the Irish Open, which he won in 2007 prior to a famous winning streak which yielded three Major titles in 13 months.

“I’m really looking forward to returning to competitive golf at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open,” said Harrington. “It’s obviously a tournament which holds a very special place in my heart and I guess it’s a nice coincidence that it falls on the week that was originally scheduled for The 2020 Ryder Cup.

“It has been a long time off for me so I’m not sure what to expect, especially without the home fans who always spur me on, but I’m excited to get the competitive juices flowing again and hopefully put on a good performance for all the viewers watching on television.”

Harrington will be joined by reigning Open Champion Shane Lowry 14 months after his famous six-stroke win over England’s Tommy Fleetwood at Royal Portrush Golf Club.

The 33-year-old Offaly-native  lifted the Claret Jug in front of his home fans last year and will arrive at Galgorm Castle Golf Club in search of a second title in his home open, which will this year take place without general spectators in line with the European Tour’s medical health strategy and Public Health England guidance.

It will be the fourth time in nine years that Northern Ireland hosts the historic event, and the first time it will be played at Galgorm Castle. The Antrim venue has played host to successful Challenge Tour events for each of the past eight years, the most recent of which took place last week.

In 2012, Northern Ireland hosted the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open for the first time in 59 years at Royal Portrush. Royal County Down went on to welcome the event for the first time in 2015, while Portstewart Golf Club hosted in 2017.

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The 33-year-old Offaly man lifted the Claret Jug in front of his home fans last year following a six-stroke win over England’s Tommy Fleetwood at Royal Portrush Golf Club.

It will be Lowry’s first appearance on the European Tour – outside of the WGC-Mexico Championship, WGC-FedEx St Jude Invitational and US PGA Championship – since February, when he claimed a top 15 finish at the Saudi International powered by SoftBank Investment Advisors.

The Clara player’s Open victory last year was his fifth European Tour title and came six months after the he had broken a five-year winning duck at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship presented by EGA, sealing his first Rolex Series title.

“I’m really looking forward to getting back home to play the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open,” said Lowry.

“As a proud Irishman, this event means a lot to me and is always one of the most important tournaments on my schedule each year. While it’s been extremely challenging for all players to plan their global tournament schedules this season, I wanted to do everything possible to get home to play the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open and I’m delighted that I’ve been able to commit to this year’s tournament given the circumstances.”

“Obviously I was really looking forward to playing in front of our home fans as the Open Champion this year, which would have been really special, but sadly it’s not to be” he added.

“I’m sure everyone will be supporting from home and watching the event on TV, so hopefully I can put in a good performance at Galgorm Castle and give the Irish fans something to shout about. I’ve been fortunate enough to win the Irish Open already and I would dearly love to win it again.”

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It will be the first time the venue will host Ireland’s national Open with the event moving into the date vacated by the rescheduling of The 2020 Ryder Cup to 2021.

The 2020 Ryder Cup would have been a celebration of Irish golf with three-time Major Champion Pádraig Harrington captaining Europe in the contest at Whistling Straits – the third Irish golfer to captain Europe in the past four contests. While that will now happen next September, the 2020 Dubai Duty Free Irish Open at Galgorm this September will mark a new chapter in the tournament’s history.

The 2020 Dubai Duty Free Irish Open was originally scheduled to take place at Mount Juliet Estate, Co. Kilkenny from May 28-31 last, but was postponed on March 30 due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

With quarantine restrictions for travellers into the Republic ongoing and the ban on mass gatherings still in place, the European Tour made the decision to move the tournament to the north where it will be subject to similar guidelines to the current ‘UK Swing’ events, including being played behind closed doors. The European Tour has also confirmed that planning remains on-going for the tournament to return to Mount Juliet in 2021.

The 2020 Dubai Duty Free Irish Open will now have a prize fund of €1.25 million and therefore will not be part of the Rolex Series.

Keith Pelley, European Tour Chief Executive, said: “The Dubai Duty Free Irish Open is an integral part of the European Tour’s schedule and despite the obvious challenges of staging any event in the current circumstances, we felt it was important to continue with the tournament providing we could do so safely.

Colm McLoughlin, Executive Vice Chairman and CEO of Dubai Duty Free, said: “We are pleased that the Galgorm Castle Golf Club in County Antrim has been selected as a suitable venue, with the Galgorm Spa & Golf Resort as the official accommodation. Without a doubt, the tournament will be different this year but we think that the players and fans are going to enjoy this return to world-class golf on the Island of Ireland.”

Gary Henry, Managing Director Galgorm Castle, said: “To host the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open is an historic moment and wonderful opportunity to showcase the world-class facilities at Galgorm and demonstrates that Northern Ireland is open for business. The Northern Ireland Open, supported by The R&A on the European Challenge Tour will also be played at Galgorm at the start of September and so the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open will be another welcome boost to the local economy.”

Galgorm Castle Golf Club has hosted the Northern Ireland Open on the European Challenge Tour since 2013, including last year’s innovative tournament – the ISPS Handa World Invitational Men|Women presented by Modest! Golf Management which featured both a men’s and women’s competition.

Despite hosting the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open from September 24-27, the Co. Antrim venue will continue its involvement with the Challenge Tour by also hosting the Northern Ireland Open hosted by The R&A from September 3-6.

The Dubai Duty Free Irish Open at Galgorm Castle Golf Club is the fourth time the tournament has been played in Northern Ireland since 2012 when Royal Portrush became the first course north of the Irish border to host the tournament since 1953.

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