Martin Dempster: Links swing change would be sensible
According to Paul McGinley, the European Tour is to look at moving the Irish Open to a different slot on the schedule as from next year rather than have it the week before the Scottish equivalent.
There is sense in that because the two events appear to be vying with each other when it comes to attracting the biggest names due to the fact it’s highly unlikely you’ll get one of the top players wanting to play in both in the build up to The Open.
“We in the European Tour are going to reconsider and re-look at this links swing,” said McGinley, who hosts this year’s Irish Open at Lahinch, in an interview at the weekend. “Because [for] a lot of players, three weeks in a row on a links is probably too much.”
A September slot, either before or after the re-positioned BMW PGA Championship, could be a better option going forward or, alternatively, either side of the long-running Dunhill Links Championship.