No change to Irish date

George O'Grady, the executive director of the PGA European Tour, has confirmed that the Irish Open will again occupy the same place in the tour's calendar next season, putting it in the week immediately following The Players championship in America, writes Philip Reid.

"There's no automatic right to be shoved into a good date," said O'Grady. It was felt that the quality of field for the Irish Open at Adare Manor - won by Padraig Harrington - was below par, given its tremendous history. Only two of the world's top-50 ranked players, Harrington and Lee Westwood, competed.

Harrington received only 28 world points for his victory, while the clashing tournament on the US Tour, the AT&T Classic, had 36 points for its winner, Zach Johnson. Although the prize fund for the Irish Open could be upped to as much as €4 million next year, from the €2.5 million that was on offer last week, it will again follow The Players on the international schedule and will have to wait until the 2009 season for a possible change when The Players is due to be played a week earlier.

"I define strong tournaments as ones with history, ones with commitment, ones with quality golf courses in good condition, (that) can make the players feel very welcome. And high prize money . . . for many years, the Irish Open had that. The Irish Open ran into troubled with uncommitted support and the underwriter was the European Tour by my predecessor Ken Schofield which, I personally thought, was a very far-sighted desire to keep a great championship alive," said O'Grady. He added: "We would like to see the Irish Open restored to its prominence and, I think, with the partners we are working with, that will happen . . . we are committed to the Irish Open and we have a financial stake."

The problem with it being played a week after The Players is that many players see the week following a major as a natural break. Although The Players isn't a major, it is the self-styled "fifth major".

It would seem that it is a case of grin and bare it as far as the Irish Open is concerned and take the same place in the schedule again in 2008 and then, hopefully, get the place two weeks after The Players and the week before the BMW Championship at Wentworth in 2009.