It was a star studded field at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open, hosted by Rory McIlroy and The Rory Foundation. The tournament was held at Royal County Down Golf Club, one of the best golf courses in the world. Typical of Ireland, the weather was cool and the wind was blowing, making it tough for players to shoot par. Over 106,000 spectators attended the DDF Irish Open and they were treated to some high-quality golf.
Heading into the tournament, Rory McIlroy was definitely the favourite, however, he would not play well in the conditions at Royal County Down. Rory, who won in dominant fashion two weeks ago at the Wells Fargo Championship, has missed the last two cuts in his last two starts (BMW PGA Championship, DDF Irish Open). His next start will be at the 2015 US Open at Chambers Bay.
On the final round Sunday, it would be Soren Kjeldsen of Denmark, who recovered from a final-round collapse, to secure his fourth European Tour victory after a three-way playoff. Kjeldsen (76), England’s Eddie Pepperell (69) and Austrian Bernd Wiesberger (73) all finished two under and played the par-five 18th at Royal County Down for the playoff. Kjeldsen would birdie the hole to clinch the victory. Kjeldsen had gone six years without a European Tour win, but collected the £294,000 first prize and perhaps more importantly, secured a spot at the 2015 Open Championship at St. Andrews.
Interestingly enough, 8 years ago, Soren Kjeldsen played with Rory McIlroy in Rory’s first ever professional event. Yesterday, Rory handed him the Irish Open trophy as World Number 1 and a multiple time Major Champion.
Source: European Tour
