Rory McIlroy, Darren Clarke, Graham McDowell, Padraig Harrington and one of the finest fields of the year on the European Tour are underway this morning for the Irish Open at Royal Portrush.
The final ‘Sold Out’ sign was hung out yesterday and there are no walk-up tickets available for any of the four days of the tournament.
This is the first occasion in the history of the Tour that each day has sold out, a remarkable achievement and testament to the pulling power of this golden generation of home town golfers.
27,000 tickets have been sold for each day and over 120,000 will have enjoyed the atmosphere during the tournament and the practice sessions and pro-am.
That is more than 60% the number who attended the US Open this month at the much more accessible Olympic Course in San Francisco and bodes well for the future prospect of major golf events returning to the island of Ireland.
It will be interesting to glean from Fáilte Ireland the number of overseas visitors are attending and whether it has achieved a good return on its investment as a main sponsor.