The Irish Open got off to a spectacular start on Thursday with the Portstewart Golf Club unveiling it’s stunning visual art.
It is a pure links setting, a perfect warmup for the Open Championship in two weeks, perfect place to get used to the way golf is meant to be played.
Today, for your inspection and entertainment, we present 10 reasons to like, or perhaps maybe even love watching or one day attending this event.
NUMBER ONE: Portstewart. All you can say is wow when you take a look on the horizon from some of the elevated tee boxes. The front nine is spectacular, the back nine, pretty close. Play got off to a rousing start with great scoring thanks to no wind to speak of. Wind is the main defense for a links course and there wasn’t much of it on Thursday. A total of 105 players shot under par. Unfortunately, defending champion Rory McIlroy, the home nation favorite, was not one of them. Rory’s still looking for some putting magic but hasn’t found any. He shot even par 72. But man, what a great walk around this club founded in 1896.
NUMBER TWO: Courteous spectators. It’s simply a joy to watch a telecast without some moron screaming “Get In The Hole!!!!” at the top his lungs when a player hits a drive on a 572-yard par five. And none of that ridiculous “Baba-Louie” or “Mashed Potatoes” crapola. Makes Americans look so bad when you have idiots like that inundating the galleries over here on the PGA Tour.
NUMBER THREE: Outwear. There are so many places baking in the summer heat here in the States. It was nice to imagine walking about the scenic grounds of Portstewart sporting outerwear, you know, pullovers, vests and the attire that keeps you comfy when there’s just a hint of a chill in the air.
NUMBER FOUR: This is Ireland! That means there will be no shortages of adult beverages, plenty of pints of stout such as Guiness and Murphy’s. Smithwick’s and Kilkenny are from the Republic while Harp is typically a Northern Irish favorite.
NUMBER FIVE: A great threesome. How about world’s No. 2 Hideki Matsuyama paired with No. 4 and defender Rory McIlroy and No. 11 Jon Rahm? Rahm was everything you’d expect with a day one 65. Hideki held up his end with 67 while McIlroy proved the underachiever of the group with a ho-hum even-par 72. Things were worse for Rory on day two. He looked totally rusty from his lack of play, shot 73 and embarrassingly missed the 36-hole cut. He watched Rahm shoot 67 to get to 12-under, a shot off the lead going into the weekend. Matsuyama put himself on the first page of the leaderboard with a 68 that got him to nine-under and in contention.
NUMBER SIX: Tommy Fleetwood. Might be the hottest man on the planet. Won the French Open last week. Finished fourth at the U.S. Open last month. Leads the European Tour’s Race To Dubai in points. Tommy could pass as the lead guitarist for a rock band. He’s friendly, engaging, showed up at Portstewart clean-shaven after sporting a scraggy beard at the U.S. and French Opens. Really, really good ball striker, has an excellent swing. Would like to watch this guy play. Tommy opened with 70 on Thursday.
NUMBER SEVEN: Championship Village. Not only is there action on the golf course, there’s plenty of entertainment afterwards in the Championship Village. There will be performances by Two Door Cinema Club, Scouting For Girls, The Groove Robbers, Belfast jazz musician Rick Swan and guitarist/singer Jack McNaul. Bartender! Another round please!
NUMBER EIGHT: The Anchor Bar. One of the night hotspots in Port Stewart. This place will be busting at the seams this week.
NUMBER NINE: Harry’s Shack. Everyone loves food and drink on the beach. Harry’s Shack is the place in Portstewart.
NUMBER TEN: Pure Irish Hospitality. This has become a bigger event every year with the Rory Foundation as the beneficiary of the charity dollars. Everyone goes out of their way to make the tournament spectators feel special, on the grounds and in the town.
There you have it.
Ten reasons to like, maybe even love this course, the place and the event.
Play on, laddie.
