While the apparent saving of the Irish Open on the European Tour calendar is great news for Irish golf fans, the knight in shining armour had a pretty interesting comment to make. The hero in question is the much maligned (and seemingly unsackable!) Martin Cullen, currently Minister for Sport in the Irish government.
Having done copious amounts of good work behind the scenes, it now seems that the 2009 event will be held in Mount Juliet under the sponsorship of 3, the mobile telecommunications company. It's quite a coup for the minister to get new (and increased) sponsorship in this economic climate and he was adamant that it was vital to do so.
Asserting that golf was one of Ireland's few "natural resources", Mr Cullen felt it was imperative to preserve the status of the event. We are not sure however, if he has plans to dig up the Old Course in Ballybunion and export it to a foreign buyer!
Thursday, 11 December 2008
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2 comments:
I Think its a great coup for him to get '3' to sponsor the Open. Even better that its coming to Mount Juliet. Tried logging on to www.mountjuliet.ie expecting news but nothing so far!
Thanks for your comment, Hans.
Apparently, Mount Juliet don't want to commit to holding the Irish Open until they are sure that the course will be in top condition.
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