Giants gather on the Causeway

GOLF:LOGIC, BASED on the unprecedented and scarcely believable success in Majors of golfers bred within roaring distance of the Giant's Causeway and its unique columns of basalt rock, somehow decreed that a way had to be found to get the Irish Open played here.

That such inveiglement won out is a major result in its own right; and the perfect conclusion would be for a home-grown winner to emerge over the next four days on this magnificent links at Royal Portrush.

Unlike the baggage which afflicted Irish players for decades, the rather recent successes of Pádraig Harrington (2007) and Shane Lowry (2009) have taken that particular monkey off many a back. And, in particular, Rory McIlroy – seemingly cast in the role of favourite for whatever tournament in which he tees up – is ready to stand up to the plate on this occasion.

McIlroy, who once upon a time shot a 61 on the old course as a teenager before it was, as Graeme McDowell put it, “Rory-proofed”, said: “To be honest, the last couple of years I didn’t enjoy the tag of (being) the home favourite. I didn’t feel comfortable. This year, I really want to embrace that (home advantage).”

Ah, but he is not alone. Indeed, rarely can a course on the European Tour ever have entertained a tournament where so many players believe they have an edge. McDowell grew up on the old links. Darren Clarke, once introduced to seaside golf, fell in love with it. Harrington, a perennial visitor to the North of Ireland championship in his amateur days, proclaims it to be his favourite course of all. Anywhere. And there are more both beguiled and energised by it.

So it is that the build-up to this Irish Open on this links – with the white rock cliffs and ancient Dunluce Castle providing the short of picture postcard backdrop in place – has created a vibe of something special, of something bigger. The prize fund of €2 million is not to be sniffed at, but, as G-Mac explained yesterday, it is more than about financial recompense. “We joke about it being the fifth Major to us, but any Irish player would be very proud to have the Irish Open on his CV. To win, would be very special,” said McDowell.

As can only be expected in this golden age of Irish golf, the Big Four of McIlroy, McDowell, Clarke and Harrington have hogged the limelight. But the presence of American Keegan Bradley, the USPGA champion on something of a homecoming, along with no fewer than 11 players who have tasted success on the tour this season, most recently Danny Willett, adds spice to the mix. It is a block-busting list of characters, with McIlroy – the usual suspect – cast in the lead role.

Can he pull it off? For sure he can; but the 23-year-old Ulsterman – who missed the cut in his last outing at the US Open – is aiming to impose himself on the newly beefed-up course in much the way he did before it was toughened up. “I’ve put in 10 days of really good work (since San Francisco) and my game feels in good shape. In a way, it couldn’t be a better time to come back here and play Portrush. It brings back some many good memories. You can feed off that . . . if you play really good golf, you get rewarded around this golf course.”

McIlroy, too, conceded he had changed his approach to playing in tougher conditions. “I want to try to become a better wind player and better bad weather player . . . definitely, in the past, if things haven’t gone my way, the fight goes out of me pretty quickly. That’s something I’m working on and something I’m trying to get better at.”

Certainly, there’s no fear of McIlroy backing off here of all places. He got a precursor to the tournament when, in yesterday’s pro-am, his first drive was to a fairway framed on either side by crowds three and four deep. As such, this tournament is out of the norm in terms of being a “regular” tour event. As McDowell put it of an event on his doorstep, “I’d rank it just up behind the Majors, put it up there with the WGCs or The Players or Wentworth. These are great huge events with lots of money, but its about titles and winning in front of your home fans.

“Winning has its financial repercussions but, as a player, a win is emotional and something you’ll remember and enjoy. To win here this weekend? There will be a kick-ass party somewhere in town. It would be one of the most special moments of my career, right up there with winning (the US Open) at Pebble Beach and the (winning Ryder Cup) putt at Celtic Manor.”

For sure, it will be a cherished title; perhaps more than ever on the event’s return to the North for the first time since 1953. But there can be just one winner, one giant on this Causeway Coast. McIlroy, McDowell et all won’t have it all their own way.