Colm was general manager of Shannon Duty Free in 1983 when the Government of Dubai contracted the Irish aviation authority, Aer Rianta, to set up Dubai Duty Free and Colm headed up the Irish team. When Dubai Duty Free opened for business in December of that year, Colm was asked to stay on as General Manager and he has continued as head of the operation, which last year recorded record sales of US$2.015 billion.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a company, we really liked the choice of Lahinch as venue for this year\u2019s tournament because of that link with Shannon, County Clare and the entire duty free industry. It\u2019s going to be extra special for everyone involved with Dubai Duty Free this year.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlso, my wife Breeda is from County Clare so she\u2019s very happy that the tournament will be played in her home county!\u201d added McLoughlin, who was himself a member of Lahinch Golf Club when he worked in Shannon.<\/p>\n
Since Dubai Duty Free took over the title sponsorship in 2015, the growth of the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open has been astonishing. Already one of golf\u2019s oldest and most historic events, having been played since 1927, it became part of the European Tour\u2019s prestigious eight-event Rolex Series in 2017 which saw the prize fund increase to a whopping US$7 million, making it one of the biggest events on the Race to Dubai schedule. For the past four years four-time Major champion Rory McIlroy has been the figurehead of the tournament but this year marks the start of a new era where the modern greats of the Irish game will form a \u2018pool\u2019 of hosts who will rotate each year. First up is 2014 victorious European Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley while Major champions Darren Clarke, Padraig Harrington and Graeme McDowell as well as Rory McIlroy will all join the roster.<\/p>\n
McGinley too, has a special connection with Lahinch having won the prestigious South of Ireland Championship, which has been played at the venue since 1895, in 1991. The four-time European Tour winner has promised a \u2018festival\u2019 vibe at this year\u2019s Dubai Duty Free Irish Open, with music and entertainment featuring alongside the golf and the unusual layout of the stunning Alister MacKenzie designed links course, parts of which meander right into the town, set to create an extra special atmosphere.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Dubai Duty Free Irish Open has a rich history and tradition of being hosted on great golf courses,\u201d said McGinley. \u201cThe Irish heritage is built on fun, sociability and laughter. When asked to become the tournament host I wanted to help create the right environment and canvas to accomplish a meeting of both ideals.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know Colm has a soft spot for Lahinch from the days he played in County Clare and I have fond memories myself of winning the South of Ireland Championship at Lahinch in 1991. So, Lahinch is that special place for me and Colm and I can\u2019t think of a better place to stage the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open. It\u2019s going to be a wonderful week in spectacular surroundings by the shores of the Atlantic Ocean.\u201d<\/p>\n
As well a strong Irish contingent of McGinley, Clarke, McDowell, Harrington, Shane Lowry and 2016 Olympian Seamus Power, who was invited to play by Dubai Duty Free, a host of big international names has joined the field including Ryder Cup legends Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood, 2017 Race to Dubai champion Tommy Fleetwood, 2010 Open Champion Louis Oosthuizen, two-time Major champion Martin Kaymer, 2018 winning Ryder Cup captain Thomas Bj\u00f8rn and of course, defending champion Russell Knox.<\/p>\n
It was today announced that Dubai\u2019s favourite adopted son, 2012 Omega Dubai Desert Classic winner Rafa Cabrera Bello, has also added his name to the star-studded field.<\/p>\n
The Spaniard has enjoyed some strong results on Irish soil and this year\u2019s event will mark his 11th<\/sup> consecutive appearance.<\/p>\n His best performance at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open came seven years ago at Royal Portrush \u2013 venue for this year\u2019s Open Championship \u2013 when the 35 year old birdied three of the final four holes to make a late charge for victory but finished in a share of second behind winner Jamie Donaldson.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve always enjoyed the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open and playing in front of the Irish crowds so I\u2019m really looking forward to going back,\u201d said Cabrera Bello.<\/p>\n \u201cI love playing links golf courses and I have heard Lahinch is a true test of golf and with Paul McGinley as host, I am sure it is going to be great week. I have also heard it is a big surfing town so I\u2019m hoping to get out and catch a few waves during the week!\u201d<\/p>\n Keith Pelley, Chief Executive Officer of the European Tour, said: \u201cDubai Duty Free have been an invaluable partner to the European Tour since coming on board as title sponsor of the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open in 2015, a relationship which, of course, was elevated last year when they also became an Official Partner of the European Tour.<\/p>\n \u201cThe vision and commitment of Colm McLoughlin and his team over these past five years has helped the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open become one of the most prestigious and eagerly anticipated weeks on our calendar and this year is no exception. I know our visit to Lahinch and County Clare has special resonance for Colm and his wife Breeda and, like them, we are all eagerly anticipating another superb week.\u201d<\/p>\n McLoughlin added: \u201c<\/strong>We\u2019re pleased with the growth of the tournament and from a sponsorship point of view, we\u2019re happy with the Return On Investment (ROI) that is generated. The TV coverage generated during last year\u2019s tournament is valued at US$158.5 million and of that US$50.2 million is for the DDF brand, and this is one of the key measures by which we gauge the sponsorship\u2019s success.<\/p>\n \u201cWe also measure the quality of the players in the field and this year\u2019s line-up is very exciting. Paul McGinley has put in a huge effort to attract many of the top players to confirm, and he has done a great job.\u201d<\/p>\n The 2019 Dubai Duty Free Irish Open takes place at Lahinch Golf Club from July 4-7.<\/p>\n The 2019 Dubai Duty Free Irish Open will be laced with nostalgia for the leading airport retailer\u2019s Executive Vice Chairman and CEO Colm McLoughlin. The tournament is set to be held at Lahinch Golf Club in County Clare for the first time from July 4-7 and it\u2019s a venue, and a county, of great significance […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20403,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20400","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.dubaicityguide.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20400","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.dubaicityguide.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.dubaicityguide.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.dubaicityguide.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.dubaicityguide.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20400"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blog.dubaicityguide.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20400\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20405,"href":"https:\/\/blog.dubaicityguide.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20400\/revisions\/20405"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.dubaicityguide.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20403"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.dubaicityguide.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20400"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.dubaicityguide.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20400"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.dubaicityguide.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20400"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blog.dubaicityguide.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/B-5.jpg\")
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