DID YOU KNOW? – IRISH OPEN
• Fota Island will be staging the Irish Open for the third time in the club’s history. The previous winners were Colin Montgomerie (2001) and Søren Hansen (2002).
• Should defending champion Paul Casey make a successful defence of the crown he won at Carton House in 2013, he would become the first player to achieve this feat since Colin Montgomerie in 1996-97.
• Shane Lowry’s victory as an amateur the Irish Open in 2009 came on his European Tour debut. He was the first player to achieve this feat since Ben Curtis at The Open Championship in 2003.
• Lowry became the third amateur to win in European Tour history, following Pablo Martin (2003 Open de Portugal) and Danny Lee (2009 Johnnie Walker Classic)
• The Irish Open has a rich history of winners, dating back to 1927, the year it was first played. In all, 14 Major Champions have triumphed in the event. They are: George Duncan (1927), Alf Padgham (1932), Reg Whitcombe (1936), Bobby Locke (1938), Fred Daly (1946), Ben Crenshaw (1976), Hubert Green (1977), Seve Ballesteros (1983, 85, 86), Bernhard Langer (1984, 87, 94), Ian Woosnam (1988, 89), José Maria Olazábal (1990), Sir Nick Faldo (1991-93), Michael Campbell (2003) and Padraig Harrington (2007).
• With Lowrry’s extra-time victory over Robert Rock in 2009, the Irish Open extended the record for most European Tour play-offs – a total of 11 since The European Tour’s first season in 1972.
• When winning the 1992 and 1993 Irish Open, Sir Nick Faldo created European Tour history by becoming the only player to win the same event in consecutive years, via consecutive play-offs. In 1992 he beat Wayne Westner and 12 months later defeated José Maria Olazábal.
• Thomas Björn’s 78 in the first round of the 2006 Irish Open matched the highest first round score by a winner in European Tour history. This was first established by George Burns at another Irish tournament, the 1975 Kerrygold International.
