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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Sport
Mark Donlon

Shane Lowry happy with Irish Open date for 2023 as tournament moved to September

Shane Lowry has come out in support of the moving of the Horizon Irish Open from early July to a fresh date in September.

The tournament has been played in early July five out of the last six years and it meant that the likes of Rory McIlroy missed the action.

But now the event has been moved to later in the year; the K Club will host the 2023 event from September 7-10.

READ MORE: Johnny Sexton talks down Ireland's number one ranking ahead of Springboks clash

The Straffan venue will also host the tournament in 2025 and 2027, according to plans.

And Lowry took to Twitter to back the news.

He said: "Moving the Irish Open to a new date in September weeks before next year’s Ryder Cup makes the 5th major even better."

The event will not count towards the Ryder Cup given the fact that it falls after the final qualifying date of September 3 - however a strong field is still expected.

Earlier this year, just five of the world's top 50 took to Mount Juliet to play the tournament - and world number one McIlroy was the biggest absentee.

Lowry himself has previously thrown his support behind a date change for the tournament - as he himself would love to see the likes of 2016 tournament winner McIlroy participating in the event.

He said: “Personally, I do feel like the date could be looked at.

“We talk about this every year.

"I've talked about it with the Tour every year and we'd love to have the date where we can guarantee Rory coming back and playing here every year.”

Reacting to the announcement, K Club General Manager Paul Heery was elated that the venue would host multiple Irish Open events in the near future.

He said: “The K Club has always had a strong reputation as a venue for hosting successful, international golf events.

"Now, with the guidance and fresh energy from new ownership, we are delighted to be back hosting tournaments of this calibre.

“Supporting the golfing community in Ireland is an extremely important focus for us at The K Club.

"Our team is incredibly proud to be making this long-term commitment to Irish golf which will see us host six years of high-profile tournaments in Ireland.

“The new date for the Horizon Irish Open will attract a stronger field of golfers, resulting in a more exciting and engaging event for both competitors and followers.

"We very much look forward to welcoming players from all over the world to our Arnold Palmer designed courses and watching the dramatic action unfold on the fairways.”

CEO of sponsor Horizon Therapeutics Timothy P Walbert pointed to the benefits which have been reaped since the tournament came under its sponsorship.

He said: "This year’s Horizon Irish Open was a success with record crowds, a significant amount of money raised for Make-A-Wish Ireland and a first-time DP World Tour winner.

"This tournament holds a significant place in Irish golf tradition and we are very pleased with the collaboration between the tour and the K Club to build on that tradition in September of 2023.”

The BMW PGA is likely to be the final Ryder Cup qualifying event as it takes place from August 31 - September 3.

The Irish Open will thus take place just three weeks out from the beginning of the Ryder Cup in Rome which gets underway on September 29.

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