McIlroy among leading stars for DDF Irish Open

Dubai - 12 of the top 50 golfers in the world to take part in May event

The second Irish Open to be sponsored by Dubai Duty Free (DDF) promises even bigger fare for the sport of golf.
The event, hosted by the Rory Foundation, has this year a star cast field where 12 of the top 50 golfers in the world will take part at the K Club in County Kildare, Dublin from May 19-22, it was announced at a media gathering in Dubai on Monday.
The 156-player field includes eight Major champions in the Official World Golf Ranking. Rory McIlroy heads up the Irish contingent of Major champions, which includes 2007 Irish Open Champion Padraig Harrington, Darren Clarke and Graeme McDowell, with Germany's Martin Kaymer, Korea's YE Yang and South Africa's Trevor Immelman making up one of the strongest fields in the tournament's history.
McIlroy's presence on the course and direct involvement in its promotion has once again attracted the top men to play in the Open. The European Tour announced an increase in prize money from ?2.5 million to ?4 million for the Irish Open this season, making it one of the highest purses on the 2016 Race to Dubai. Also, the Euro Tour leg draws more interest as the big events later this year including the Olympics, will spur the players seeking more qualifying points.
"The terrific inaugural tournament at Royal County Down last year, plus the fact that the Rory Foundation will continue to host the event was central to our decision to extend our sponsorship to 2018. The Rory Foundation and DDF make a great team together as was proved last year," said Colm McLoughlin, executive vice chairman, DDF. 
"The Foundation led by Rory has some terrific people in it and with his personal contributions and natural ways of being charitable and indeed helpful to people in need, makes this involvement by DDF even more meaningful."
"At last year's event it felt to me a bit like the re-birth of the tournament, with Dubai Duty Free and the Rory Foundation behind it. Having been without a title sponsor for a number of years it's been a great boost for the event," McLoughlin added.
In his message, McIlroy said: "The support we had last year from all our on-going sponsors, including fellow Dubai sponsors Emirates Airline and Jumeirah Golf Estates, fans, volunteers and Royal County Down with a 'sell-out' tournament, attracting more than 100,000 spectators was incredible."
The Rory Foundation was established in 2013 to raise funds and offer support to children's charities with a special meaning and purpose for Rory. Beneficiaries of the Foundation so far include the Cancer Fund for Children and Mencap NI, both based in Northern Ireland.
moni@khaleejtimes.com