Nissan Irish Open returns to Portmarnock
IN: News | European PGA | Nissan Irish Open (2003) | Preview | by Bruce Young | 23 Jul 2003
The Nissan Irish Open returns to one of the great courses of Irish and, indeed, World golf this week when Portmarnock, near Dublin, hosts the event. The course has not staged the Irish Open since 1990 but prior to that was a regular venue.
Opened in 1894 as a nine hole course then two years later as an eighteen hole facility, the course became twenty seven holes in 1971. Surprisingly, given modern day trends, much of the work was done by the various club committees in place at the various construction stages, with advice from professional advisers. The original design work had been done, in the main, by the brainchild behind the project, W.C. Pickeman who had rowed across to the peninsula of Portmarnock in 1893. There had been a small private golf course on the land until then but things soon changed.
There are some stunning and brilliant holes at Portmarnock and is one of the must play courses on a golfing trip to Ireland.
Recent winners of the event have included Soren Hansen, Colin Montgomerie, Patrick Sjoland and Sergio Garcia but the last winner at Portmarnock was Jose Maria Olazabal.
The field includes local favourite Padraig Harrington, Darren Clarke, Thomas Bjorn Peter Lonard, Phillip Price, Ian Poulter and Jose Maria Olazabal.
Australasians other than Lonard are Peter O'Malley, Peter Fowler, Richard Green, Jarrod Moseley, Michael Campbell, Brett Rumford, Terry Price, Stephen Scahill and Greg Turner.
