Irish Seniors to play at Ballyliffin

The Irish Seniors Open will be played over one of Ireland’s finest links courses with the announcement that the 2008 edition will be played at Ballyliffin Golf Club in the North West of Ireland, from June 20-22. It will be the first time the Irish Seniors Open has been hosted by a links course in its 12 year history with the tournament being played over The Old Links. The Irish Seniors Open will continue to receive support from Failte Ireland as part of their continued commitment to the European Tour Group and AIB as Associate Sponsors. Ballyliffin Golf Club, perched on the stunning Inishowen Peninsula, is one of the world’s finest links resorts with two outstanding courses. The Old Links, which has recently been refined by Faldo Design, the design company of The 2008 Ryder Cup Captain Nick Faldo who joined the senior ranks in July 2007, undulates in the glory of its natural terrain. The new Glashedy Links is fashioned around the incredible dunes, and is notorious for its peat riveted bunkers and its three challenging opening par fours. These magnificent links offer expansive panoramic views of countryside, coastline and ocean. Ballyliffin Golf Club is no stranger to The PGA European Tour Group having previously hosted the 2002 North West of Ireland Open, a dual ranking event which counted for both The European Tour and the Challenge Tour, won by Sweden’s Adam Mednick. Seamus Brennan T.D., Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, said: “I am delighted that once again the Irish Seniors Open will be supported through the Fáilte Ireland International Sports Tourism Initiative. The event provides a great opportunity for us to showcase Ireland as a world class golf and holiday destination and for visitors to enjoy the unique and beautiful surroundings of the North West.” Ballyliffin Golf Club General Manager, John Farren, commented: “Ballyliffin Golf Club and its 1400 members are delighted to welcome the European Seniors Tour to the North West of Ireland. “The staging of the prestigious Irish Seniors Open on The Old Links is testament to the significant investment by the club in recent years in the original Ballyliffin Links which has been substantially improved by Faldo Design. “Both links are now regarded as being amongst the best in world and Ballyliffin is one of the premier destinations for golf visitors to Ireland. Ireland has a third of all links courses in the world and this will be an important showcase for links golf in Ireland.” Billy Andrews, General Manager of AIB Bank, said: “Our association with the Seniors Tour provides us with an opportunity to travel the Seniors Open to prominent venues around Ireland. Ballyliffin’s links course in Donegal is a good example of this. Bringing the tournament to thousands of golf fans and our customers around the country is in line with our ‘supporting clubs, supporting communities’ sponsorship strategy.” Ballyliffin is one of 12 member clubs who form North & West Coast Links, a marketing company which has been instrumental in the increasing awareness and popularity of golf in this region, aided also thanks to convenient air access via City of Derry and Belfast Airports. Andy Stubbs, Managing Director of The European Seniors Tour, said: “The Irish Seniors Open has always been one of the most popular events on our schedule and we are excited to be taking it to what is undoubtedly one of Ireland’s greatest links courses at Ballyliffin Golf Club. Our thanks go to Faílte Ireland and AIB for their continued support and commitment to the European Seniors Tour.” The Irish Seniors Open has always provided great drama and worthy champions including the two most recent winners. In 2006 Scot Sam Torrance won the title to become the first player to win both the regular and senior versions of the Irish Open, while last year another Ryder Cup player, Costantino Rocca of Italy, won his maiden Seniors Tour title.