Tournament Preview And How To Watch

STRAFFAN, IRELAND – SEPTEMBER 07: Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland celebrates with his caddie Harry Diamond after an eagle on the 18th green on day four of the Amgen Irish Open 2025 at The K Club on September 07, 2025 in Straffan, Ireland. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)

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Some of golf’s biggest stars are in the Emerald Isle this week for the 71st playing of the Irish Open. Rory McIlroy looks to defend his title and also become only the fifth player ever to win the Irish Open three times, which would join an illustrious list that includes Seve Ballesteros, Bernhard Langer, Nick Faldo and Colin Montgomerie.

As the 2026 DP World Tour season comes down the home stretch, McIlroy is looking to win his 5th consecutive Race to Dubai title and is also looking to match Colin Montgomerie for the most DP World Tour season long titles with eight.

McIlroy spoke with the press on Wednesday and described this tournament stretch of the Irish Open, the BMW PGA at Wentworth, the Middle East swing, and the Australian Open, as “very meaningful to me.” He also went on to discuss the state of his game and some swing changes he has been working on, saying, “I played Memphis and played very poorly, and was looking at my swing on video and just didn’t like where it was,” he said. McIlroy decided to make some simple swing changes, explaining: “not changes that are unfamiliar to me. Changes that I’ve had to make before.”

The year’s playing of the event will be at Trump International Doonbeg, which used to go by the name of just Doonbeg, until the current President of the United States purchased the property in 2014.

Originally designed by Greg Norman in 2002, Doonbeg features sweeping dunes and beautiful vistas as the course sits very close to the Atlantic Ocean. Besides the dunes that lead to some blind shots for players, they will also be faced with the Irish weather. The potential for windy and wet conditions is always a factor when golfing in Ireland, so players will undoubtedly face a test from Mother Nature this week at the Amgen Irish Open.

Mike is a founding member of Break80 Golf and a contributing golf and sports writer for Forbes with PGA Tour and LIV Golf media credentials. Mike can be reached at break80podcast@gmail.com for inquiries or story leads.