Galgorm landed Irish Open with notice of just 10 days
IT took just 10 days for plans to come together that saw the Irish Open confirmed for Galgorm Castle next month.
When May’s event was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, the intention of the European Tour was always to reschedule given that it is one of their most popular events every year, and the initial plan was still holding it at Mount Juliet.
But it quickly became apparent that would not be possible. With the Republic of Ireland’s enforced quarantine restrictions on people travelling in from outside the country, there would be no way of jetting in over 100 golfers for a week and playing a tournament, leaving the Tour no choice but to move on from the initial host.
Mount Juliet’s loss — for a year at least, as it is slated to host the event in 2021, knocking back Portstewart to 2022 — is very much Galgorm’s gain.
With quarantine exemptions for elite athletes, the world’s top golfers can fly into Belfast without having to isolate for 14 days, which opened up the possibility of playing an event north of the border.
So, just 10 days after determining Mount Juliet was no longer viable, and after consultations with the NI Executive and the club itself, the European Tour announced they would be bringing the tournament to Galgorm.
Galgorm’s managing director Gary Henry said: “We’re delighted, everybody’s worked really hard. We are fortunate with how everything’s worked out this year in that the event couldn’t go to the south, but we’re delighted to have the opportunity.”
And why wouldn’t they be? Although Galgorm have had experience of hosting big events in the past, from the NI Open on the Challenge Tour to last year’s ISPS Handa World Invitational, stepping up to the European Tour will be another level.
Indeed, the club have gone from strength to strength over the years, the success of the events and the popularity among the players reflected in how the NI Open rapidly graduated from the Europro Tour to the Challenge Tour, and then evolved into last year’s World Invitational that added some elite women’s names into the mix.
Another plus is the presence as a consultant of former Royal Portrush general manager Wilma Erskine, a key figure in securing The Open for Northern Ireland last year.
In the space of just 10 years, the club have emerged as one of Northern Ireland’s leading golfing venues, and now they will take a new step by bringing some of the biggest men’s names to Ballymena for the Irish Open.
“We’ve been full steam ahead for 10 years. We’ve come a long way since the Europro Tour days and it’s great to get an opportunity like this,” added Henry.
“We didn’t sit in year one and say we were going to do the Irish Open, but it naturally gained traction and grew each year. While it’s amazing and we feel very privileged to get to host the Irish Open, we had another clear vision of creating our own event because that allows you to manage it how you want.
“We had the vision of both and were able to take control of the opportunities when they came along, and it’s great that they’ve both come to fruition.”
Of course, the Irish Open is the second Tour event to be held at Galgorm this year, with the NI Open set to return on the Challenge Tour on September 3. While still a strong event in its own right, it will provide a good chance for the club to perform a dry run for the main event. We’re preparing the course as we would for the NI Open, and then immediately after that we’ll have a complete review and look at different areas, such as do we want to increase or decrease the rough in certain areas,” said Henry.
“So, yes, the NI Open is a great opportunity to prepare.
“It’s a great event in its own right, absolutely, but we can definitely use it as a dry run because it’s not easy to prepare for an Irish Open in five or six weeks. We are seeing it as an advantage.”
The Irish Open coming to Galgorm is another massive step for Northern Irish golf. And if anyone can pull it off, it’s Galgorm Castle.