Stage is set as Trump Doonbeg hosts star-laden field for Amgen Irish Open

Mathieu Wood

Doonbeg, a small village on the west coast of Ireland, is the centre of men's golf’s global attention this week as it welcomes the DP World Tour for the Amgen Irish Open.

Hot on the heels of the Walker Cup at Lahinch, approximately 30 minutes further up the Wild Atlantic Way, a host of former Great Britain & Ireland players including Rory McIlroy, Robert MacIntyre and European Ryder Cup Captain Luke Donald are on show at the island of Ireland’s national open.

McIlroy is the headline name in a 138-player field that is one of the strongest in the tournament’s recent history as the six-time Major champion and reigning two-time Masters winner defends his title at Trump International Golf Links & Hotel, Ireland, Doonbeg.

First designed by Greg Norman and opened by the former Australian World Number One and Pádraig Harrington in 2002, the County Clare venue was bought by The Trump Organisation in 2014 and underwent a redesign in 2016 by acclaimed links architect, Dr. Martin Hawtree.

Now, a decade on, championship golf arrives in Doonbeg, and there is naturally palpable excitement among those associated with the County Clare venue, where the most recent tournament of international standing was the Palmer Cup - an annual team competition for college golfers contested between United States and an International team representing the rest of the world - in its initial year of opening.

"The Palmer Cup was a bang of an opening and then we just rolled with it," said Brian Shaw, who has been the club professional since the course opened.

"We have had unbelievable support from the local community, from Shannon, Limerick and Clare, and now this culminates with us hosting our national open."

A major economic driver that supports local jobs and tourism in West Clare, Trump Doonbeg - through the Irish Open - will bring tens of thousands of visitors and international media attention to the local community. That is only further enhanced by the anticipated visit of US President Donald Trump as part of a two-day visit to Ireland.

Dublin-born Shaw added: "The local communty have embraced the tourism project for the last 25 years.

"It was a massive diruption from day one, it was something a sleepy village didn't expect and they've just been the most wonderful community to deal with and become part of.

"Everybody that comes to work here becomes a local."

First held in 1927, the Irish Open has formed part of the DP World Tour schedule since 1975 and is this year celebrating its 71st edition.

Testament to Ireland's enduring passion for golf, sell-out crowds are confirmed over the weekend as Trump Doonbeg becomes the 467th different venue on the DP World Tour since its inception in 1972 and the sixth first-time venue this season.

"I think there's a buzz among the Irish fan base," said Shaw.

"Historically, the Irish Open has always been really well attended and with a great atmosphere and knowledgeable fans.

"With the views of the ocean, beach and crowds, I just think it's going to be off the charts [as a sporting spectacle]."

The third event on the Back 9, made up of nine of the most historic and storied international events on the DP World Tour, a US$6m prize fund is being played for with the winner set to take home $1.02m.

Joining the World Number Two and career Grand Slam winner McIlroy are six of his team-mates from last year's Ryder Cup at Bethpage, with fellow former event winners Jon Rahm and Shane Lowry providing further star quality.

Rahm, a winner at Portstewart in 2017 and Lahinch two years later is - like Lowry - a player who relishes the challenge that a links course brings.

Add to the mix the presence of five-time Major champion Brooks Koepka and Race to Dubai Rankings Delivered by DP World leader Patrick Reed, along with Tyrrell Hatton, Sepp Straka and twins Nicolai and Rasmus Hojgaard, who pipped McIlroy to the Irish Open at Royal County Down in 2024, and fireworks are expected on the course.

"Someone is going to have to play extremely good golf to win this," said Shaw, who was the head professional at Adare Manor prior to joining Doonbeg.

"It won't be a putting fest. It'll absolutely be about skill, how you manoeuvre the ball around... and the short-game element."

As with any tournament held over a links course, the role mother nature plays is never to be underestimated and the early forecast is that players will experience "classic links" conditions.

On Monday, players making early arrivals were met by a wet and windy welcome.

"They'll get the four seasons, trust me!" said Shaw.

"As much as part of you would like to see sunshine for four days, as a golf professional I want to see them tested and how they as players will manouevre it around our golf course. It's a really great test of golf."

Lowry, fellow Irish golfers Mark Power and amateur Thomas Higgins, along with PGA Tour winner Thomas Detry are among players to have made scouting trips in recent weeks.

"Lowry understands west coast golf," added Shaw of a player who frequently returns to his native home to play recreational golf.

"There's a little bit more drama than the east coast, just basically because of the nature of the weather.

"The dunes are more dramatic, they're bigger, wilder."

Behind the stellar condition and presentation of the course that awaits players this week is Scott Marr, head greenkeeper and golf course superintendent.

Since the course closed to members and visitors on August 24th, final preparations have ramped up ahead of the 14th of 16 national opens on the DP World Tour schedule this season.

Last week, Marr estimates he and members of his 36-strong team worked 75 hours, with support from volunteers bringing the numbers involved across the various responsabilities to 68 people.

Measuring 6,838 yards, the par-70 features a single loop of nine holes out and nine back, with the front nine playing with the prevailing wind and the back nine playing predominantly into.

Ahead of staging the Irish Open, English-born course architecht Hawtree oversaw revisions last winter, notably the reimagined first and 18th holes.

The tee box on the opening hole has been moved left along the coastline, transforming what was once a straight par five into a dogleg left framed by ocean views.

The 18th, entirely redesigned, is the longest par four on the course at 462 yards. It now plays uphill to an elevated and undulating green. In addition, a series of bunkers both off the tee and for your second shot demand further focus.

"The new 18th hole is fantastic," said Marr, who joined Doonbeg from Trump International Golf Links in Aberdeen in 2014 and has international championship experience as a greenkeeper from his time at Muirfield Village through the Memorial Tournament and the Presidents Cup.

"I think it's one of the best finishing holes in golf.

"You would used to leave the 17th green and cross the first fairway to get to the 18th tee so now there's no crossover.

"It plays into the prevailing wind which makes it a lot tougher. If we still had the old 18th in play it would be a driver for the guys and a small flick of a wedge, whereas now it's a really great test for a finishing hole."

The course features three par fives, ten par fours and five par threes, widely regarded as among the best in Ireland.

From the seventh measuring the longest at 225 yards to the downhill 14th measuring 137 yards into the wind, no tee shot is the same.

"The good thing about our par threes is they are all different," added Marr.

"You've got a variation of golf shots. With the 14th, it's straight into the wind. You may look at the scorecard and think it's nothing but if the wind picks up it's not going to be an easy hole.

"You could be hitting a wedge on a calm day and the next day hitting a six iron."

Shaw, meanwhile, said: "They have different angles into the prevailing breeze and they're all absolutely postcards. They're beautiful to look at.

"I know that these guys are just going to absolutely love every single one of them."

Hawtree, who is in Doonbeg this week, also fashioned both championship golf courses at Trump International Golf Links in Aberdeen, Scotland, where the Nexo Championship has been held for the last two years.

Last month, strong winds meant scoring proved tough again for the second year - something Marr attributes to the Aberdeenshire venue's length.

"Trump Aberdeen has more teeth in it," he said. "We're shorter, Trump Aberdeen is a monster.

"We're looking at maybe extending a few holes this winter. You'd see a completely different test of golf course with four different sets of tee changes."

But that's for the future, with Doonbeg's reputation as a bucket list venue for amateur golf enthusiasts from around the world as part of a wider tour in south Ireland only set to be enhanced.

Such is the interest, there has already been strong numbers of tee-sheet bookings for not just next year but also in 2028.

"They'll see the condition of the golf course, they'll see the crowds, the great golf shots that they are hitting and they'll want to emulate what they see on TV," Shaw said.

For this is an event that is set to be beamed around the world to a global audience. The stage is set and Doonbeg is ready for its Amgen Irish Open debut.