[caption id="attachment_68316" align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="Rory McIlroy playing in the 2011 Irish Open in Killarney during the summer."]
Golfer Rory McIlroy has confirmed that he will play in next year’s Irish Open from June 28-July 1. A venue has yet to be confirmed for next year’s event, with Killarney favorite to host the Open again. Confirmation that McIlroy will play should help the organizers secure a sponsor after telecommunications company “3” ended their sponsorship last year; the Open went ahead without a sponsor in Killarney this year. There had been speculation that the 22 year-old would play at the AT&T National which is due to take place at Congressional on the same weekend. Congressional was the venue where McIlroy won the US Open this year. But McIlroy said: ‘‘For me the Irish Open has always been, and will continue to be, one of the most important events on the global golf calendar. It’s our national Open and it’s obviously a title that I would love to win at some stage in my career.’’
