ONE OF GOLF’S rising stars, Jon Rahm, is the latest player to add his name to a quality field for July’s Dubai Duty Free Irish Open at Portstewart.
The world number 12 joins Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose and Danny Willett in confirming his attendance for the tournament which takes place between 6-9 July.
Rahm’s meteoric rise has been one of the stories of the year with the 22-year-old from Spain seamlessly making the step-up from the amateur game to the professional ranks.
In a matter of 10 months, Rahm has jumped from 539th in the world rankings to 12th after finishing in a tie for 23rd in last year’s US Open and tied for 27th in the recent Masters.
Rahm, currently ranked third on the European Tour’s Race to Dubai standings, wants to emulate the achievements of his compatriots at the Irish Open when he travels to Northern Ireland in July.
“I’m really looking forward to playing on the European Tour this summer,” said Rahm.
“As a European, it has always been an ambition of mine to be part of the European Tour and hopefully one day play in a Ryder Cup, so I can’t wait to get going.
“I have some great memories as a kid watching the Spanish players competing in the big European Tour events on TV and it will be special to be able to now play in them myself. Obviously Seve, José Maria and Sergio have all won the Irish Open over the years, so it will be great to try and follow in their footsteps at Portstewart. Also, I’m really pleased to support Rory and everything he is trying to do for the event through his Foundation.”
With the Irish Open included in the European Tour’s new Rolex Series for the 2017 season, the prize fund has increased to a record €7 million with this year’s edition expected to be the biggest in the tournament’s history.
Other players already confirmed to be in the field are Shane Lowry, Pádraig Harrington, Graeme McDowell, Darren Clarke and Lee Westwood.
Today marked 50 days to the start of the tournament with tickets still available for all four days.
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