It is unfortunate that two of the headline events of the season clash but such is life when there are so many tournaments crammed into a few months of the year.
The golf season has been hectic, nine major championships and an Olympics which will be topped off by the Amgen Irish Open and the Solheim Cup, both of which are taking place this week.
Amgen Irish Open
There won’t be a more picturesque setting on the DP World Tour than Royal County Down this week as the cream of Irish golf and a sprinkling of stardom from afar take to the Newcastle links on Thursday.
Rory McIlroy can expect a hero’s welcome this week and it will be one he needs after a torrid couple of months performance wise while his fellow Holywood star Tom McKibbin will be looking to land a maiden home title.
The 21-year-old has fallen to 17th in the Race to Dubai Rankings, meaning he is two spots outside the ten available cards for next season’s PGA Tour.
Shane Lowry arrives following his best ever season on the PGA Tour and he will be hoping to shake off any fatigue for a run of three huge events to boost his Race to Dubai hopes.
Seamus Power and Pádraig Harrington are also in the field while Conor Purcell and Gary Hurley have been handed invites as have amateurs Seán Keeling and Max Kennedy.
Newcastle native Simon Thornton is set for a dream homecoming week as Mark Power returns to the tournament which began his professional career last year.
Solheim Cup
Leona Maguire will look to improve her sensational Solheim Cup record on her third appearance in blue as Europe seek to retain the Solheim Cup for a historic fourth contest in a row.
Maguire has a 75% winning record in her previous ten Solheim Cup matches which is something her teammate Georgia Hall thinks will be a massive factor heading to Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville.
“She’s definitely the most feisty player that we have on the team. She wins a lot of her matches just on her mentality I think,” said Hall who is expected to partner Maguire in the contest.
“She’s got a 75% record in our matches I played with her twice in both her Solheim’s and we’ve been unbeaten in four balls, our games blend together quite well in that format and it’s great to be a partner in that.”
Challenge Tour
Conor O’Rourke, Cormac Sharvin, Ronan Mullarney, John Murphy, Jonathan Caldwell and Dermot McElroy are teeing it up in the Open de Portugal at Royal Obidos.
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