2013 Irish Open - Carton House Located in Maynooth County, Kildare, the Carton House will once again host this year's Irish Open. The tournament will be played June 27th through the 30th at the Montgomerie course on the beautiful Carton House grounds. History Of The Irish Open Staged for the first time in 1927, the Irish Open tournament officially became a European Tour stop in 1975. In its long history, the Irish Open has been hosted by 16 different courses throughout the country. Hosting more than any other course, has been Portmarnock, in north Dublin. Throughout its existence, the Irish Open has seen four three-time champions, including course designer Colin Montgomerie, Bernhard Langer, Nick Faldo and Steve Ballesteros. Irish Open Sponsorship In recent years, the Irish Open has had some difficulty finding and keeping sponsors for the event. When Nissan parted ways with the event in 2006, the Adare Golf Club agreed to host the tournament for the following three years. However, after two years, the club announced that they could no long sustain the losses incurred by hosting the event. So, in 2009 the tournament returned to County Louth Golf Club, Baltray with a new sponsor, 3 Mobile. This year's tournament will be sponsored by yet another new sponsor. Failte Ireland, the national tourism development authority in Ireland, will be the sponsor of the 2013 tournament. It should be noted, though, that Failte Ireland agreed to sponsor the event with a reduced total prize money of 2 million euro. About The Course The Montgomerie course at Carton House was officially opened in 2003. Designed by 31 time European Tour winner Colin Montgomerie, the course is a massive links style course that stretches across 7300 yards (6676 meters) and features head-high pot bunkers. The 2013 Field The 2013 Irish Open will feature several of the game's top players, notably major winners Rory McIlroy, Padraig Harrington, Graeme McDowell and Darren Clarke. The players will be competing for a top prize of 333,000 euro. The field will be playing in front of what promises to be a tremendous gallery. The 2012 event broke records, with attendance numbers in excess of 130,000 people. In addition to the incredible attendance at the tournament, the event was viewed on television by 350 million households. Despite the struggle with sponsorship, the Irish Open has been and continues to be one of the premier events of the European tour. Boasting some of the most beautiful courses in Europe, coupled with the tremendous fan support, the Irish Open promises to once again be a fantastic event.
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