Des Smyth may not have ever won the Irish Open during his playing days, but that has not stopped him from championing the event as its official ambassador.
The Louth native is looking forward to this year’s event at Lahinch when the biggest day in Irish golf comes to Clare for the first time.
Smyth is no stranger to Lahinch having played in the South of Ireland in his amateur days and also competed in a match-play event at the North Clare venue.
He admits he was pleased when he heard that the Irish Open would be held there in 2019.
“I thought it was great news to have it here. It is a great opportunity for Lahinch and it has been one of the great courses in Ireland for years now. They have improved the golf course and dropped the par down to 70 for the tournament so it will be a very strict par. I think the players will really enjoy the challenge and it will be a really good build up for the Open championship. I have lots of friends around the Lahinch area and I am a really big fan of the course” he said.
Players are expected to start arriving in Clare from Monday next, while a host of sports stars and other celebrities including Shane O’Donnell and Davy Fitzgerald are set to take part in Wednesday’s Pro-Am event. Smyth feels the excitement is really starting to build as the first tee-off moves ever closer.
“There is a great buzz around and it is great to see all the bunting up around Lahinch. There is a really good atmosphere starting to build around Lahinch and the surrounds so that is great to see. Some of the players have events this week so some of them won’t get to start thinking about the Irish Open until after that. The Irish Open is one of the big events of the year because it is a Rolex event and there are only eight of those on the Irish tour. As a tour player, you would be targeting the Irish Open as one that you want to play well in or win if you possibly could. That would give you a great build up the Open Championship then which comes two weeks later” he noted.
The two-time Ryder Cup player feels the recent involvement of Dubai Duty Free and the Rory Foundation has helped put the Irish Open back up the pecking order of the European Tour diary.
“It was the Rory Foundation and Dubai Duty Free who got together and decided to try and elevate this tournament and when Rolex came in and made it one of their events too, it all helped to make it really high profile. The field is fantastic but of course we are sorry that Rory McIlroy won’t be here. He has played for the last four years and has other commitments. He wanted one year out but he has promised us that he will be back next year” said the 66-year-old.
Tournament host Paul McGinley has made a number of changes to the course in Lahinch ahead of the Irish Open with the challenges facing players set to be similar to those that they will encounter at the Open Championship next month. Smyth is confident that players will be tested on the famous links.
He said: “I think these days players have to everything really well to have a chance because the standard is just huge. There are three tours in Europe and you have to be a brilliant player to get on the main tour. I know how tough it is because I am involved with Team Ireland golf and a lot of our younger players are trying to make their way into the pro game and it is so difficult to do that. The standard for the Irish Open is going to be huge. Five of the players in the top 10 going into the last round of the US Open will feature in Lahinch so that is a huge endorsement of both the tournament and the work that Paul McGinley has done as host. He has done amazing work and has been speaking to managers and players at every opportunity, and I know he is really excited about what is going to happen over the week.”
While the golf on show will be the main draw to Lahinch next week, a number of other events are planned outside of that which will hope to provide entertainment for families both during the day and into the evening. It is hoped that over 100,000 people will pass through the village over the course of the tournament, and Smyth feels that the knock on effects for the area will be huge.
“I think people forget the fact that this is going to beamed right around the world for everyone to see. I know that because I used to play on the Champions Tour in America, and I would sit in my hotel room in the morning to switch on the Golf Channel so I could watch what was happening on the European Tour. That goes on all over America and all over the world so millions will be tuned in to watch it and that will be massive. It will be particularly special for the Irish players because their own event will always hold a special place in their hearts. We are lucky that Padraig Harrington has won it, Shane Lowry won as an amateur, and he is coming in on great form. He won the first Rolex event in Abu Dhabi, and then with Graeme McDowell having won on the PGA Tour it means both those guys are playing really well at the moment. I feel Shane and Graeme would be our two strongest home players and hopefully we can get an Irish win” he smiled.
Having played in the Ryder Cup, World Cup and Alfred Dunhill Cups during a stellar career, Smyth is now describing himself as semi-retired, though his love for the game is as evident as ever.
“I will be accused of bias here but I think golf is the greatest game in the world, I really do. We really want to encourage young children to go get lessons at their local clubs or go to the driving ranges and get into the game. Golf is the greatest game for few reasons. You can play it from 6 years of age until you are 86 years of age and beyond. There is no age profile. You might be in your peak until you hit the 50 mark, but you can still keep playing beyond that. You can play with your parents or grandparents, and the handicapping system levels things out. You don’t have to be a Padraig Harrington to play, but you can take Padraig on and beat him off your handicap. There are not too many games where you can play with elite players at their level, but you can do it with golf” said the eight-time European Tour winner.
So who is Des Smyth tipping to take the title in Lahinch?
“I would love an Irish player to win it but I have a sneaking suspicion that Louis Oosthuizen is going to win it. He won the Irish Amateur many years ago and after that he went on to win the Open Championship. He hasn’t been back in the Irish Open for some time and I think he is on a bit of a mission and this could be the hat-trick for him” he said.
A native of Ennis, Colin McGann has been editor of The Clare Champion since August 2020. Former editor of The Clare People, he is a journalism and communications graduate of Dublin Institute of Technology.