After K Club stunner, surely the PGA TOUR will co-sanction Irish Open

The Ryder Cup atmosphere arrived early, as Rory McIlroy delivered another iconic moment in his legendary career at the K Club on Sunday. The passion, the volume and the numbers of Irish fans were on display for all to see this week at the 2006 Ryder Cup venue, and it all peaked on the 72nd hole as their favourite son buried a putt which will become as iconic as Seve in the days of Royal Dublin and Portmarnock.

In the 70 editions of the Irish Open there cannot have been a more popular winner, and surely no more dramatic winner. He came home with a Green Jacket, and a bucketload of expectation on his shoulders, and in the land of fairy tales, McIlroy wrote another late on Sunday afternoon. 9 years after his first Irish Open victory, which was also won with a spectacular finish, McIlroy added the Irish Open title to wins at Pebble Beach, Sawgrass and Augusta in a year never to be forgotten.

Rory was the most recent Irish winner of the Irish Open before today, back in 2016, but home wins have been rare with only Shane Lowry and Padraig Harrington matching McIlroy in lifting the trophy at home since 1982. So when an Irish golfer does win it becomes a truly special occasion, just as it was in Canada back in 2023 when Nick Taylor defeated Tommy Fleetwood in a playoff to become the first Canadian winner of the Canadian Open in 69 years. In the wake of that dramatic, exciting and meaningful triumph, some in the American media finally came around to the idea that National Opens were an important part of the sport.

The Genesis Scottish Open has now been co-sanctioned by the PGA TOUR for the last four years, joining the Opens of Canada and Mexico on the FedEx Cup schedule, but surely the success of this year's Irish Open must open the eyes of new CEO Brian Rolapp to the possibility of adding the Irish Open as another co-sanctioned National Open. The Irish Open could be moved to July once more, and played prior to the Genesis Scottish Open, and as was perfectly illustrated this week, it does not need to be played on a links course every year. Sure, we could have a great stretch of championships at Royal County Down, another great Scottish links and The Open, but the island of Ireland has some of the world's great parkland courses, and they should be part of the rota too.

There can be no doubt that the Irish economy can also sustain a $20-million event, so the PGA TOUR need to look at adding National Opens to the 'Signature event series', because National Opens are the signature events of golf outside the Majors. They have the Argentina Open on the Korn Ferry Tour, why not elevate that and play it in the weeks preceding the Masters, or The PGA Championship? VISA would surely up the prize fund if they knew the best golfers in the world were going to play every year.

The Masters and The Open have recently announced that the Scottish Open, Japan Open, Spanish Open, South African Open, Australian Open and Hong Kong Open will be awarded spots in the 2026 editions of the Major Championships. If the PGA TOUR had imagination and a global ambition they could easily co-sanction these tournaments too, and hey-presto, we have the World Tour we have wanted for so long. Imagine if the 'Signature events' and Majors produced this series of events:

The Masters

PGA Championship

US Open

The Open

The Players

Arnold Palmer Invitational

Genesis Invitational

Pebble Beach Pro-am (played at Pebble Beach and Cypress Point)

Memorial Tournament

Truist Championship

Miami Championship

WM Phoenix Open

Irish Open

Scottish Open

French Open

Spanish Open

Argentina Open

Canadian Open

Australian Open

New Zealand Open

Japan Open

South African Open

Dubai Desert Classic

Indian Open

This would be a 24-event top tier of championships which would reflect golf's global popularity and the strength of American golf also, it would also reflect the importance of the middle east to the modern global development of the sport. 24 also happens to be the same number of events which are on the Formula 1 World Championship schedule. 11 of the 24 events would be in the United States (12 in North America), with 4 in Europe, 2 in Australasia, 3 in Asia, 1 in Africa, and 1 in South America.

Having celebrated its 70th edition in the most spectacular way possible, the Irish Open deserves a place at the very top table of golf. It is down to the next generation of golf leaders, and the golfers themselves to ensure this happens.

SHANK, written by Matt Hooper