There was no Irish winner at the U.S. Open in San Francisco's Olympic club last weekend but Graeme McDowell and Padraig Harrington placed themselves in the Irish golf record book with their respective joint second and fourth finishes.
And the form of the two top Irish players - and a hoped for return to form of Rory McIlroy and return from injury of Darren Clarke - is nothing but good news for the upcoming Irish Open at Royal Portrush in County Antrim, which tees off on Thursday, June 28.
"Once again Ireland's golfers played themselves into contention at this year's U.S. Open. The tremendous final day performances by both Graeme McDowell and Padraig Harrington in particular put a spotlight on the island of Ireland as a great golfing destination and as the media waxed lyrical about the challenges of the links where each champion honed their skills," was the reaction to the top ten placing of the two from
Alison Metcalfe, Vice President Marketing, USA for Tourism Ireland.
"In particular, the many references to Northern Ireland as home to both Graeme and Rory McIlroy provided an excellent opportunity to highlight Royal Portrush as the upcoming host to the 2012 Irish Open.
"The heightened interest in Ireland also provided a fitting backdrop for Tourism Ireland's 'Home of Champions' golf advertising campaign running on the Golf Channel and on golfchannel.com and designed to encourage more U.S. golfers to visit Ireland and follow in the footsteps of Rory, Graeme, Padraig and Darren," she said.
