Rory McIlroy To Headline Irish Open At Mount Juliet

The four-time Major winner returns to Europe and his national Open next month

Rory McIlroy To Headline Irish Open At Mount Juliet

Rory McIlroy will make his first start in Europe since September 2019 at next month's Irish Open.

The 2016 Irish Open winner returns to the tournament for the first time since 2018 after controversially skipping it in 2019 and then missing it again last year due to the pandemic.

Rory chose the Scottish Open over his national Open in 2019, missing the event for the first time in his career, to help his Open Championship preparation.

He'll headline the field at Mount Juliet next month alongside fellow island-of-Ireland Major champions Shane Lowry, Padraig Harrington and Graeme McDowell.

“I am really excited to get back and play the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open,” said McIlroy.

“I have so many incredible memories of this event down the years, not least my victory in 2016, and I think it is going to be a pretty special week this July with the fans returning.

"I’m really excited to play in front of them again.”

The Irish Open takes place two weeks before The Open Championship at Royal St George's, which returns for the first time since 2019 after it was the only men's Major to be cancelled last year.

McIlroy will be looking to win the Claret Jug for the first time since 2014 and will hope to go better than last time out at Portrush when he missed the cut in front of his home fans.

How to get tickets for the 2021 Irish Open

A limited number of tickets for the return of the Major-winning quartet will go on sale on Thursday, June 10, with a percentage of tickets donated to key frontline workers in recognition of their dedicated work throughout the pandemic.

Fans who purchased tickets for the 2020 edition but could not attend due to Covid-19 restrictions, as well as those who have pre-registered their interest in tickets, will be given an exclusive three-hour priority access window to purchase tickets from 2pm (BST) on Thursday, June 10. Remaining tickets will then go on general sale from 5pm (BST).

Tickets for each of the four Dubai Duty Free Irish Open competition days will be priced at €10 for juniors (13-17 years), €35 for concessions and €40 for adults. Tickets for the Celebrity Pro-Am on Wednesday June 30 cost €20.

Under-13s can attend for free, however they must be registered and have a ticket. Please contact customerservice@europeantour.com with your Under-13s request, quoting your booking order number in the email subject header.

The only official sales channel to purchase tickets for the 2021 Dubai Duty Free Irish Open is via the ticketing platform Eventbrite. The resale of tickets on unofficial platforms contravenes the European Tour’s ticket terms and conditions and such sales render the ticket void.

To be the first to hear ticket and event news, fans can register interest at ET.GOLF/DDFIO2021.