Jump to content

Northern Ireland Open (golf)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Black Desert NI Open
Tournament information
LocationBallymena, Northern Ireland
Established2010
Course(s)Galgorm Castle Golf Club
Par70
Length7,105 yards (6,497 m)
Tour(s)Challenge Tour
PGA EuroPro Tour
Clutch Pro Tour
FormatStroke play
Prize fund£250,000
Month playedJuly
Tournament record score
Aggregate265 Ryan Fox (2016)
265 Calum Hill (2018)
To par−19 as above
Current champion
Republic of Ireland Conor Purcell
Location map
Galgorm Castle GC is located in Northern Ireland
Galgorm Castle GC
Galgorm Castle GC
Location in Northern Ireland

The Northern Ireland Open is a professional golf tournament currently played on the Challenge Tour. It was played for the first time in June 2010 on the PGA EuroPro Tour at Galgorm Castle Golf Club in Ballymena, Northern Ireland. It also featured on the Clutch Pro Tour schedule from 2021 to 2023.

History

[edit]

In 2017, the event was changed from 72 holes of stroke play to a "Super 6" style format. The format was similar to that used for the World Super 6 Perth. The main difference was that the 6-hole matches were determined by stroke play rather than match play. It retained the 156-player field, with the cut being made at the top-60 and ties after 36 holes. After 54 holes, the field was cut to a fixed 24. Ties for 24th place were determined by a sudden-death playoff. There were then five six-hole knock-out rounds on the final day. The leading eight after 54 holes received a bye in the first round. The remaining 16 were randomly paired. The six holes used on the final day were 17, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 18. There were a number of other matches for the minor places.[1]

In 2018, the event reverted to 72-hole stroke-play.

The 2020 event returned to the Challenge Tour as the Northern Ireland Open with backing from The R&A.[2] The tournament was played on the Clutch Pro Tour between 2021 and 2023,[3] with the event returning to the Challenge Tour schedule in 2024.[4] It was later confirmed in June 2024 that the Black Desert Resort in Utah would become the title sponsor of the event.[5]

Winners

[edit]
Year Tour(s)[a] Winner Score To par Margin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
Black Desert NI Open
2024 CHA Republic of Ireland Conor Purcell 267 −13 1 stroke Sweden Joakim Lagergren
Northern Ireland Open
2023 CPT England Brandon Robinson-Thompson 201 −9 3 strokes England Daniel Smith
2022 CPT Northern Ireland Dermot McElroy 205 −8 7 strokes Republic of Ireland Tim Rice
2021 CPT Republic of Ireland John Murphy 135 −5 4 strokes Northern Ireland Dermot McElroy
2020 CHA United States Tyler Koivisto 267 −13 2 strokes Norway Kristian Krogh Johannessen
2019: No tournament
Galgorm Resort & Spa Northern Ireland Open
2018 CHA Scotland Calum Hill 265 −19 1 stroke Scotland Scott Henry
Wales Stuart Manley
2017 CHA France Robin Sciot-Siegrist 20[b] −3 2 strokes Italy Alessandro Tadini
Tayto Northern Ireland Open
2016 CHA New Zealand Ryan Fox 265 −19 4 strokes Germany Dominic Foos
South Africa Dylan Frittelli
England Max Orrin
Germany Bernd Ritthammer
Northern Ireland Open
2015 CHA France Clément Sordet 267 −17 1 stroke United States John Hahn
Northern Ireland Open Challenge
2014 CHA Sweden Joakim Lagergren 271 −13 1 stroke France Adrien Bernadet
2013 CHA Netherlands Daan Huizing 271 −13 Playoff England Oliver Wilson
Ulster Bank Open
2012 EPT England Paul Reed 204 −12 1 stroke Scotland Elliot Saltman
England George Woolgar
Galgorm Castle Northern Ireland Open
2011 EPT England Chris Hanson 202 −14 Playoff England Graeme Clarke
2010 EPT England James Hepworth 201 −15 Playoff Australia Daniel Gaunt

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ CHA − Challenge Tour; CPT − Clutch Pro Tour; EPT − PGA EuroPro Tour.
  2. ^ The 2017 event used a knockout format. This is the score in the final.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Shootout Sunday". www.niopen.golf. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
  2. ^ "Northern Ireland Open added to 2020 Challenge Tour schedule". Irish Golfer. 17 July 2020. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
  3. ^ "Murphy and O'Rourke hit the front at Clutch Pro Tour's NI Open". Irish Golfer. 14 June 2021. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  4. ^ "Northern Ireland Open returns to Challenge Tour schedule". European Tour. 8 January 2024. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  5. ^ "Black Desert Resort announced as NI Open title sponsor". Irish Golfer. 11 June 2024. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
[edit]