Jon Rahm Confirms Irish Open Return To Face Rory McIlroy

Jon Rahm takes a shot during LIV Golf Korea — (Image credit: Getty Images)

Jon Rahm has been confirmed in the line-up for the Amgen Irish Open in September as part of his deal with the DP World Tour to remain eligible for the Ryder Cup.

The Spaniard brokered a deal with the DP World Tour in May, which saw him pay all outstanding fines related to playing on LIV Golf and agreeing to appear in several tournaments this year.

The Genesis Scottish Open is one of those, and Rahm's now added the Irish Open - an event he's won twice and is know to be a huge fan of.

“I’m really looking forward to getting back to Ireland for the Amgen Irish Open,” said Rahm.

“Winning this tournament twice means a lot to me and it’s always a place I enjoy playing. The courses, the fans and the challenge of links golf make it a special week.”

Rahm won the first of his 10 DP World Tour titles at the Irish Open at Portstewart in 2017, and followed up with success at Lahinch in 2019.

The 31-year-old will now look for a third Irish Open title at Trump International Golf Links Doonbeg from September 10-13 as part of a stellar field.

Rory McIlroy will headline the event alongside Shane Lowry, Padraig Harrington, Luke Donald and Rahm's Legion XIII teammate Tyrell Hatton.

Rahm has always mentioned the Irish Open as an event he missed playing in since joining LIV and one he'd targeted this year when needing to play in a minimum of DP World Tour events to satisfy Ryder Cup qualifying criteria.

He also plans to play the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth and the Spanish Open and Dunhill Links, although the expected arrival of his fourth child in the autumn may see him miss one of those.

Confirming his place at Doonbeg is also a huge boost for the Irish Open, coming a year before Ireland gets to play host to the Ryder Cup again at Adare Manor.

It's also the chance for Rahm to get more DP World Tour starts under his belt, with the continuing uncertainty about the future of LIV Golf showing no signs of a quick solution being found.

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Paul Higham is a sports journalist with over 20 years of experience in covering most major sporting events for both Sky Sports and BBC Sport. He is currently freelance and covers the golf majors on the BBC Sport website. Highlights over the years include covering that epic Monday finish in the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor and watching Rory McIlroy produce one of the most dominant Major wins at the 2011 US Open at Congressional. He also writes betting previews and still feels strangely proud of backing Danny Willett when he won the Masters in 2016 - Willett also praised his putting stroke during a media event before the Open at Hoylake. Favourite interviews he's conducted have been with McIlroy, Paul McGinley, Thomas Bjorn, Rickie Fowler and the enigma that is Victor Dubuisson. A big fan of watching any golf from any tour, sadly he spends more time writing about golf than playing these days with two young children, and as a big fair weather golfer claims playing in shorts is worth at least five shots. Being from Liverpool he loves the likes of Hoylake, Birkdale and the stretch of tracks along England's Golf Coast, but would say his favourite courses played are Kingsbarns and Portrush.