It’s just under a month until one of the most popular events on the Legends Tour returns to Ireland as final preparations get underway at Mount Juliet for the OFX Irish Legends from May 15-17.
Adilson Da Silva, the 2024 champion, will return to defend his title in what promises to be another thrilling tournament in the beautiful countryside of Kilkenny while Robbie Fowler, Niall Quinn, Liam Brady, Keith Duffy and Daniel O’Donnell among others have been confirmed for the celebrity pro-am on the 15th.
The OFX Irish Legends has had four extremely successful editions in Rosapenna and Seapoint respectively and Legends Tour CEO Phil Harrison believes the tournament will go from strength to strength as it returns to Mount Juliet for the first time since 1999.
“We’ve had two great years in Rosapenna, a great couple of years in Seapoint and they were both classic venues. Having the hotel on site this year will create a great atmosphere and we wanted it to be somewhere with a history of hosting events. Mount Juliet reached out to us about it and it was just a perfect fit, great timing for us,” said Harrison.
“OFX have been brilliant, we have a great relationship with them, they’ve been a great sponsor for us and a title sponsor. They are a great team and they like the engagement the event brings.
Mount Juliet is well versed in hosting the cream of the crop having welcomed Tiger Woods to the fairways at World Golf Championships while it was recently an Irish Open venue. Some of the players competing in the OFX Irish Legends might think of it as a homecoming of sorts.
“It’s not a links course but it’s hosted big events which a lot of our players would have played in so they are excited about going back there,” Harrison continued.
“We did a day over there a few weeks ago and I played nine holes on the course and stayed in the hotel and it’s just fabulous.”
Harrison is excited by the test that Mount Juliet will present and he feels the course has the perfect balance between birdie opportunities and potential disaster, particularly down the closing stretch.
“The course has a great finish and in the Irish Open they have had some disasters down that last hole. There are a few holes that get your attention and you have to make sure you’re on the fairway or on a small green with water around it. We can make it challenging enough for our legend players but fun enough for our amateur guests. It’s also in a lovely part of Ireland in a beautiful part of the countryside.
“I think we will have a strong field with most of our ambassador players teeing it up.”
Adilson da Silva claimed his 6th Legends Tour title at Seapoint Golf Links winning the OFX Irish Legends in 2024 after three holes of play-off drama with Sweden’s Patrik Sjöland. The Brazilian enjoyed a well travelled career on the main tours but has found the winning touch in his fifties, winning eight times in the previous two seasons.
“We know players like Adilson has been a very good player his entire career. He’s been really competitive into his 50s,” added Harrison.
“He saw senior golf as the start of a new career for him. In the last two years he has won eight tournaments. He won the Order of Merit last year. He’s a great guy as well but he might not be a household name but he’s a great ambassador for us.
“James Kingston is the same, he’s a great guy, great with the amateurs and a great player and that’s what this tour is about. If you said to any of these guys to do a kids clinic they would say absolutely no problem.
“Da Silva will continue to play well this year because he is very motivated to do so.”
The Legends Tour has enjoyed a renaissance over the last few years with former Ryder Cup players and major winners packing their fields.
Part of the global appeal for the Legends Tour is the pro-am and celebrity pro-am element which has seen the calendar stretch to the likes of Switzerland, Mauritius, Barbados Mexico and India in recent years.
Harrison is delighted with the family atmosphere that has been created with many of the amateurs and professionals maintaining friendships and playing together regularly in tournaments.
“How do you actually be different from the other tours with these players who all have interesting backgrounds, lives and careers. When the amateurs are competing with the guys on the tour it’s a completely different experience and it’s gone down really well.
“It’s been a way to take the tour globally. When the players see the prize money growing and there is more tournaments, they have engaged with it. We now have amateurs who play on a regular basis with the pros and it’s become a family environment and the amateurs are key to this.”
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