The European Tour has announced that the 2020 Dubai Duty Free Irish Open will be played at Galgorm Castle Golf Club in Northern Ireland from September 24-27.
The tournament was originally scheduled to take place at Mount Juliet Estate in the Republic of Ireland from May 28-31, but was postponed on March 30 due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
With quarantine restrictions for travellers into the Republic ongoing, and the ban on mass gatherings still in place, the European Tour made the decision to move the tournament to Northern Ireland, where it will be subject to similar guidelines to the current ‘UK Swing’ events, including being played behind closed doors.
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Planning remains on-going for the tournament to return to Mount Juliet in 2021 providing all health guidelines in place at that time can be met.
Following the changes to the date and the venue, allied to the overall disruption to the schedule, the 2020 Dubai Duty Free Irish Open will have a prize fund of €1.25 million and therefore will not be part of the Rolex Series.
Keith Pelley, European Tour Chief Executive, said: “The Dubai Duty Free Irish Open is an integral part of the European Tour’s schedule and despite the obvious challenges of staging any event in the current circumstances, we felt it was important to continue with the tournament providing we could do so safely.
“We did that, first and foremost with the support of Colm McLoughlin and everyone involved with our title sponsor Dubai Duty Free who once again showed commitment and understanding of the current global situation, and proved what a wonderful partner of the European Tour they are. We also did it with the support of the Northern Ireland Executive who deserve our sincere thanks.
“With the ongoing restrictions in the Republic of Ireland, we opted to move the tournament to Northern Ireland and are extremely grateful to Gary Henry and everyone at Galgorm Castle Golf Club for stepping up to host us.
“I also want to thank Damien Gaffney and everyone at Mount Juliet, our original venue. Everyone at the Kilkenny course was ready to host the tournament this year until circumstances outside their control made that an impossibility. Hopefully, things will be different next year to allow us to return.”