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Rory McIlroy with Dubai Duty Free Executive Vice Chairman Colm McLoughlin Photo credit: Getty Images |
IRELAND. Dubai Duty Free Executive Vice Chairman Colm McLoughlin has hailed the success of the Irish Open, of which the company is the title sponsor.
Home favourite Rory McIlroy overcame a strong challenge from Scotland’s Russell Knox to win the tournament at The K Club in County Kildare, securing his first professional win on Irish soil and 13th European Tour title.
“This has been a remarkable week, capped off by an incredible performance by our tournament host, Rory McIlroy. We are thrilled to be part of this spectacular tournament, and look forward to continuing to work with our partners at the Rory Foundation, Rory McIlroy and the European Tour,” said McLoughlin.
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“Our aim is to make the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open one of the most exciting golf tournaments in the world, and this week will go a long way towards helping us achieve this ambition.”
He noted that sports sponsorship was a key part of the company’s global marketing strategy. “Through this title sponsorship, our brand has been beamed into the homes of people all around the world who have also been able to enjoy seeing a superb display by our champion, Rory McIlroy,” he said.
McIlroy sealed victory with an eagle after a sensational five-wood to three feet on the 72nd hole. The four-time Major Championship winner came into the final round with a three-shot lead, but was overtaken by Knox with three holes to play before two stunning approach shots gave him a birdie-par-eagle finish and a 12 under total.
That handed him a three-shot win over Knox and Wales’ Bradley Dredge, who had made a final day surge of his own with a birdie-birdie finish in a 66.
The weather had an impact, with hailstorms leading to a one hour suspension, but the sun made an appearance for the dramatic finale and McIlroy sent the 25,270 fans home happy with his victory.
McIlroy donated his winner’s cheque of €666,660 to host charity The Rory Foundation.
McIlroy commented: “Golf-wise this week, it’s obviously very important to me but the work that we’ve put into this tournament and the work that we’ve put into the foundation, and the people that we are going to help from this week, that’s probably more important.
“We’ve already raised over half a million Euros going into today for the three chosen charities, and then all the winnings go towards that, so we’ve broken the million Euro mark this week, which is absolutely incredible. I don’t usually get emotional about golf or about wins, but this one, it means just a little bit more, because it’s not just for myself. It’s for a lot of other people. So it’s a day I’ll not forget for a while.”
