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Golf

Dubai Duty Free Irish Open "hugely important" in the European Tour's plans

The European Tour insist that The Dubai Duty Free Irish Open remains "very much part" of their pl...



Dubai Duty Free Irish Open
Golf

Dubai Duty Free Irish Open "hugely important" in the European Tour's plans

The European Tour insist that The Dubai Duty Free Irish Open remains "very much part" of their plans for the 2020 season.

The Tour's CEO Keith Pelley says they're looking at three or four potential dates to reschedule the tournament at Kilkenny's Mount Juliet.

He added that The Irish Open is a "hugely important" event on their calendar and that talks are ongoing with organisers:

"The Dubai Duty Free Irish Open is still absolutely critical and is very much part of our plans. I don't want you to think that the Irish Open, because it is not part of this announcement, is less important, because that would give you the wrong message.

"It is hugely important to us. So much so that we have three or four date options for it. We could have announced it today but it wouldn't have been 100 per cent and I didn't feel comfortable with that.

"Like all of the events, there are so many variables that come into moving an event from one date to the other: Title partner support, venue support, government support, the best possible date for that particular tournament; in the case of the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open, Rolex's opinions and comments. There are so many variables that come into it, and now the next one that comes into it is travel and how we can ease the travel and what can the date beside it, both before and after, to minimise the travel.

"I think what was really fascinating, I was privileged to be a member of the committee with Jay Monahan and the PGA Tour and the four majors, was I think the four majors found it very difficult to move one event. But to move 30 events, the only event on our schedule that hasn't moved from the original date at this particular time is the Alfred Dunhill.

"So they have all moved, and it's very, very tricky to move events, but rest easy. The Dubai Duty Free Irish Open is critical for us, and we are having all those conversations you alluded to right now."

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