Another magical moment in the incredible history of the Irish Open took place yesterday afternoon as a former World Number Three returned to the winner's circle in spectacular fashion at Carton House. Paul Casey played one of the rounds of his career in conditions which at times bordered on brutal and even unplayable, on a course set up to test the best and provide a links style challenge even though it was 25 miles from the sea. With a wobble at 15 and 16 throwing the championship wide open Casey shut the door with a magnificent eagle at the 72nd hole to close yet another stunning chapter in the history of one of Europe's greatest golf tournaments.
Joost Luiten began the final round with the lead at 13-under-par, one stroke clear of Pablo Larrazabal and four ahead of Paul Casey, the conditions were much tougher than the previous three days and during the middle of the round resembled the scenes at Muirfield on the Saturday in the 2002 Open Championship.
It was through this brutal stretch of play in the final round that Casey played some truly superb golf, knocking the ball down under the wind and making five birdies in six holes, five three's in a row and reaching the 15th tee 5-under-par for the round. This was Casey at his very best, playing the kind of golf which saw him win the 2009 BMW PGA Championship and rise to the world number three spot in the summer of that year before injury struck. Personal problems and further injury issues had caused the Englishman to slip as low as 169 in the world but the golf he played on the Montgomerie course yesterday proves he has the ability to be back inside the top 10 sooner rather than later. Then came a wobble with back-to-back bogeys at 15 and 16 that gave new hope to Joost Luiten and Robert Rock, and a wayward tee shot on the par five 18th seemed to have opened the door even more, but if ever we needed any further evidence Paul Casey was back we were about to witness it.
Renowned for his fitness and strength the 35-year-old muscled a long iron out of the rough from under the branches of a tree to the front edge of the green from 235 yards, leaving himself 70 feet and a chance of birdie to tighten his grip on the trophy. We were then treated to the magic moment of the day when Casey's ball found the middle of the hole, a pure putt which he could tell was tracking into the hole from around 20 feet out. It was an inspirational moment and one which will add to the lore of this great championship. And it was a great championship despite the early exit of Ireland's big four, with Jose Maria Olazabal providing another story on Sunday when he birdied four of his first ten holes to move into a tie for lead, before bogeying four of the last 8 to finish 8-under-par.
The 2013 Irish Open was billed as the return of Ireland's big six to the country including Rory McIlroy, Graeme McDowell, Padraig Harrington, Darren Clarke, Shane Lowry and Paul McGinley, but none contended on the weekend. Indeed of the six only Lowry made the cut. A disappointing week for the home challengers and another frustrating week for Rory McIlroy, who must wonder when his form will improve and if this is a blip or something more long term.
The 2013 Irish Open was another hugely successful week with 24,173 people attending on the Sunday to boost the overall crowd up to 81,379 for the week. The crowds were less than Portrush but a record for the three Irish Open's played at Carton House. But the question is where does the Irish Open go from here? The sponsorship profile including Emirates, BMW and Heineken puts the event on solid ground moving forward and it still has the full backing of the Irish and Northern Irish Tourist Boards, but as yet no announcement has been made as to future venues and the tour continues to search for a title sponsor willing to exceed a commitment of €4million a year.
There has been plenty of speculation and a source told me over the weekend that Royal County Down has been slated to host the Irish Open in 2016, but already there is a social media campaign to convince the powers that be to take it to Newcastle in 2014.
Let's make it happen #irishopen2014 Royal County Down @NITouristBoard @DiscoverIreland @Caddysview @RCDproshop http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/golf/irish-open/irish-open-stand-by-for-a-2014-return-at-royal-county-down-16180453.html …
All I will say is that taking the Irish Open to Royal County Down would completely energize this championship, and it has the potential to attract one of the best fields ever seen on British or Irish soil outside The Open Championship. The course is by far the best in Ireland and among the best in the world, it attracts several iconic names to play it during the lead up to The Open every year including Tiger Woods, and it is a course which Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell adore playing.
It has big event pedigree having staged three Senior Opens and one Walker Cup, yes the crowds were limited but with a good level of planning there is no doubt there is enough room especially when using the adjacent Annesley Links which has holes running throughout the championship layout. In my opinion though taking it there in 2014 would be a mistake, because it does need planning to get the very best out of this venue and create the very biggest Irish Open possible so I would wait until 2016. The Irish Independent reports that the owners of Carton House are keen to host another Irish Open in 2014, on the O'Meara course and it is possible that Killarney, Adare Manor or County Louth could stage the event in 2015. Nearly three years of planning would give the tour, the club and the local government time to plan thoroughly the logistics of staging the Irish Open over these incredible links, deciding where to put seating and how spectators can travel around the course along with preparing the space for a large scale tour event would take longer than 12 months.
If it can happen then the Irish Open will be the winner, because there is no question that the world's best will want to test their games against this magnificent course in close proximity to the 2016 Open Championship at Royal Troon just across the Irish Sea.
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