Rory McIlroy is heading back to his old stomping grounds, and he couldn’t be more thrilled. The World Number Three is set to take on the legendary Royal County Down at the Amgen Irish Open this week, with his eyes firmly fixed on grabbing a second title on home turf in Northern Ireland.
McIlroy bagged his first Irish Open win back in 2016 at The K Club, and now he’s hungry for more as the tournament rolls back into Newcastle for the first time since 2015. And this isn’t just any course for McIlroy—it’s practically his backyard.
Growing up in Holywood, a short drive from Royal County Down, Rory honed his game right here, where he learned to rip drives and sink putts as a kid. It’s also where he suited up for Great Britain & Ireland at the 2007 Walker Cup. So yeah, it’s kind of special.
At 35, McIlroy is still at the top of his game, leading the Race to Dubai Rankings thanks to a big win at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic in January and a solid second-place finish at the U.S. Open in June.
With four Race to Dubai titles already in his pocket, he’s aiming to make it five this year. And what better place to extend that lead than in front of the home crowd?
He’s not the only local hero making headlines this week. Shane Lowry, the man who gave us that unforgettable Open Championship win in 2019, is also in the hunt for his second Irish Open victory.
It’s been 15 years since he pulled off his famous win as an amateur at Baltray, but he’s back and ready to make more memories in Northern Ireland.
Rory McIlroy: Good to be home in Northern Ireland. It’s been a while to be back. Nice to refamiliarise myself with the place a bit.
Playing the Irish Open on arguably one of, if not the best golf course in the world in my eyes is a real treat.
We don’t get to play this calibre of golf course on tour, so to be able to play somewhere like this is amazing.
If you look at this golf course, you can hit numerous different clubs off tees. You can hit numerous different clubs around the greens in terms of bump-and-runs or chips or landing it on the green, not landing it on the green.
I think the best golf courses I’ve sort of decided are the ones that provide you as many options as possible.
And as I said at the start, I think there’s a lot of golf courses that we play on tour I don’t think really do that. I think you have to play quite a one-dimensional game.
To have a golf course like this that provides so many options is a real treat.
Then there’s Pádraig Harrington, the grand old master of Irish golf, teeing it up for his 29th straight Irish Open.
The three-time Major winner still knows his way around a course and will be hoping to summon some of that 2007 magic when he edged out Bradley Dredge in a nail-biting play-off at Adare Manor.
Pádraig Harrington: I didn’t realise it was my 29th Irish Open in a row. This must be the one that I’ve played the most. I love coming back and it’s feeling a little tougher this year. I don’t know if I’m older or what it is but I think we’re all feeling that in the couple of practice rounds we’ve played.
I do enjoy it. I enjoy the fact that I grew up with the Irish Open being one of the premiere events on the Tour, and I know we’ve got a tough course here but the players are buzzing about it. They feel that it is the biggest event this week in golf. It’s nice. It’s a nice atmosphere. It’s a nice feel and it’s great as an Irish player that you can be proud of the event, the Amgen Irish Open.
It is feeling difficult at the moment but obviously a lot depends on the weather that we get and then some depends on the setup we get. It’s always better to have a difficult golf course that could be set up easy than to have an easy golf course that they have to trick up to make difficult.
You would expect some middle of green pin positions, just nice pins, because if you hit any green out there in these conditions, you’re playing well.
Adding more spice to the mix is last year’s champion, Vincent Norrman from Sweden, who’ll be defending his crown. Don’t sleep on Denmark’s Søren Kjeldsen, either; he won the last time this tournament was at Royal County Down back in 2015.
And speaking of Danes, keep an eye on young Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen. This breakout star just earned his stripes on the DP World Tour after tearing up the Challenge Tour, and he’s ready to bring some serious game.
This year, the Irish Open is rolling out the welcome mat under a new banner. After acquiring Horizon Therapeutics, Amgen has taken over as the title sponsor through 2027.
And they’re doing more than just putting their name on the trophy—they’re partnering up with the DP World Tour for the Birdies for Wishes campaign.
For every birdie made on the first hole during the tournament, Amgen and the DP World Tour will donate £400 to Make a Wish Ireland.
Harrington, Lowry, and Power, who proudly wear the Amgen ambassador badge, have stepped up to sweeten the deal by pledging £400 for every birdie they nail this week. Talk about putting your money where your putter is!
With a stellar lineup of local legends, global contenders, and a charity drive to root for, the Amgen Irish Open at Royal County Down promises to be a real showstopper.
And with Rory McIlroy at the helm, you can bet the energy will be off the charts. Get ready, everyone—this one’s going to be a thrill ride from start to finish.
