2019 European Tour Tracker

OGIO is proud to announce its partnership as the official luggage supplier of the European Tour. Every tournament we will be bringing stories from around the world as OGIO carries the load across 5 continents, 31 countries and over 139,064 miles course to course. This unique partnership brings a great challenge but with the quality of the bags combined with the professionalism of the staff, we know we will continue to carry the tour from success to success year on year. 

This week: Dubai Duty Free Irish Open

Who:

Neil Ahern, Senior Press & Communications Officer at the European Tour

What: European Tour Event: Dubai Duty Free Irish Open
Where: Lahinch Old Course
Miles Travelled:

1,166 miles

Gear:

Alpha Convoy 320 Backpack, Layover Travel Bag, Terminal Travel Bag

My Role This Week:

I’m the Press Officer for the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open at Lahinch Old Course. I’m looking after local media requests, helping arrange interviews for our broadcast partners and producing reports from the tournament.

Short Description:

This week, the Rolex Series – which incorporates our eight premium tournaments on the Race to Dubai – returns with the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open at beautiful Lahinch Golf Club. Personally, this is my favourite event of the year as a proud Irishman who has regularly attended this event from a young age. Some of my greatest childhood sporting memories have come at the Irish Open. Upon arrival on Sunday I could already tell that everything is set up this week for something very special and I have no doubt many of the kids attending will come out of it with memories to last a lifetime.

Lahinch is also a place which holds a special place in my heart, having holidayed here and covered tournaments here in my past life as a journalist – indeed I watched Padraig Harrington win his first Major Championship on TV in the clubhouse while covering an amateur event here in 2007! It is a very small village but with huge character, helped by the fact that every other building on the main street is a pub! The people here in Lahinch and the wider West of Ireland community have take this tournament on with so much passion and enthusiasm, it has made for an incredible atmosphere.

Another man who holds Lahinch in the highest esteem is Paul McGinley – the 2014 Ryder Cup-winning Captain and this week’s tournament host. Anyone who knows Paul will know his attention to detail, his business nous and his passion for the European Tour and the Irish Open are almost unrivalled in the sport. I have never seen a host get so involved in the organisation and planning of a tournament, while always letting the European Tour Championship team get on with what they do best and trusting their judgement. He was rewarded this week with Honorary Membership to Lahinch Golf Club, a pretty prestigious honour for a club of this stature and a very deserved one.

As I mentioned before, the locals have got behind this tournament like their lives depend on its success! The crowds have already been out in force early in the week and there is even a possibility we may sell out completely at the weekend – a rarity in golf when you consider the size of the venues we work with. There is a real buzz about the place with many predicting it could be one of the great Irish Opens in the tournament’s long history.

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