Irish Open organisers have the assurance of Rory McIlroy teeing-up and now they have a prime 2020 date, so all that is needed is rubber stamping of a host venue.
The European Tour has confirmed Ireland’s premier golf event will be held from May 28th to 31st next year.
That’s two weeks after the PGA Championship and a week prior to the Jack Nicklaus-hosted Memorial on the PGA Tour.
It’s around a month earlier than in recent years and will occupy a date previously taken by the BMW PGA Championship that has now been moved to September.
There were some fears if the Irish Open kept to its first week in July date, it would clash with the WGC – FedEx St. Jude Invitational in Memphis.
McIlroy, however, in speaking last fortnight to www.golfbytourmiss indicated that would not be the scenario and the World No. 2 was correct.
McIlroy, along with fellow Irish-born Open Champions Padraig Harrington and Shane Lowry have already confirmed their attendance at next year’s Irish Open and with rumours very ripe Mt. Juliet will play host.
“Yes, I will be playing next year’s Irish Open and for the next two years in a row,” said McIlroy.
“I saw that the dates changed to the end of May it looks like, and if that’s the case, I will definitely make the trip. I will definitely make the trip back over for that event.”
The scheduling means next year’s Irish Open will clash with the PGA Tour’s Rocket Mortgage Classic but the weight of a Rolex Series event, coupled with Jon Rahm having already confirmed he’ll be back to defend his title, along with McIlroy in the field, should mean that the week of May 28 on the global golfing calendar is one of great appeal to the stars of the world game.
The Tour announced the full 2020 European Tour schedule that features a minimum of 46 Race to Dubai events in 29 different countries, including eight Rolex Series events.
The Rolex Series returns for its fourth consecutive year, beginning with the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship (January 16-19) followed by the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open (May 28-31), and the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open (July 9-12) and with the BMW PGA Championship (September 10-13) and the Italian Open (October 8-11) take place a fortnight either side of The Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits.
The season then concludes with three consecutive Rolex Series events; the Turkish Airlines Open (November 5-8), the Nedbank Golf Challenge (November 12-15) and the season-finale, the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai (November 19-22) where the 2020 Race to Dubai champion will be crowned.
There are several date changes elsewhere on the 2020 schedule including the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters hosted by the Sergio Garcia Foundation, which moves to April 30-May 3. The tournament at Real Club Valderrama, host venue of The 1997 Ryder Cup, launches phase two of the qualification campaign for Europe’s 2020 Ryder Cup Team, with points earned in Spain and at subsequent counting events through to the end of the BMW PGA Championship multiplied by 1.5.
Other dates changes include the Trophée Hassan II and Scandinavian Invitation, both of which move to the start of June, taking place from June 4-7 and June 11-14 respectively. The Open de France moves back to its previous date of July 2-5, while the Betfred British Masters takes place from July 30-August 2, with Lee Westwood returning as host at Close House Golf Club.
The Betfred British Masters will be immediately followed by a new event in the UK from August 6-9 which is set to be announced later this year.
In addition to the Race to Dubai events, GolfSixes Cascais (May 9-10) returns for the fourth consecutive year and the Olympic Games men’s golf competition takes place in Tokyo from July 30- August 2, before Team Europe travels to Whistling Straits, in Wisconsin, to defend The Ryder Cup from September 25-27.
