McGinley worried about Irish Open as Covid challenge remains: "It’s incredibly complex"
Paul McGinley
Paul McGinley admits he’s worried about the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open as uncertainty over travel restrictions threatens to scupper plans to attract Rory McIlroy and a bumper field to Mount Juliet from July 1-4.
As a member of the European Tour board and the Ryder Cup committee, McGinley knows the current quarantine restrictions could be devastating for the event, even if the government awards elite status to the golfers.
“I am worried about the Irish Open unless the government brings in elite status,” McGinley said in an interview to promote his hosting of LeadersLoungeLive.com on April 22, when he chats with South African rugby union head coach Rassie Erasmus about leadership.
“But the thing about elite status though is that it’s great if you’re Munster or Leinster rugby or a soccer team because it’s a small number of people and you’re in and out.
“But the European Tour is not just 156 players, it’s also 156 caddies and also the physios, the support staff, the coaches, and the TV crews. They’re all international so you quickly get up to 500-600 people very quickly and that’s obviously a challenge for the government much more so than rugby or soccer who are just in for a day or two and not for a week, as we are.”
McGinley revealed the European Tour CEO Keith Pelley meets daily with the tour’s dedicated Covid contingency team, which is in constant contact with governments around Europe about “the shifting sands” of regulations.
But while the Tour is looking to either increase the €3 million prize fund or offer extra Ryder Cup points to make the Irish Open more attractive for elite players already considering playing the Scottish Opens before The Open, the uncertainty over travel is a problem.
“Players don’t want to commit with the travel restrictions being so stringent,” McGinley said. “So until they get 100 per cent confirmation from governments, they won’t commit.”
Those players include four-time Major winner McIlroy, who last played the Irish Open in 2018.
“Rory won’t make a decision until the Irish government make theirs but he hasn’t dismissed it,” McGinley said, adding that everything depends on changing health regulations in Europe.
“If Rory was to come back and play The Open next week for example he couldn’t because he’s got to do his 10 days in quarantine in the UK,” he said. “But listen, it’s constantly evolving.”
While Ryder Cup qualifying points double from next month, the European Tour is looking to make the Irish Open even more attractive.
“We are looking at all kinds of ways to incentivise the Irish Open,” he said. “We do feel we are going to get a good field and we are looking at all different ways that we can do it without any confirmation how we can do it yet.
“Whether it is increasing the money or increasing the points or putting some kind of incentives in there, we’re trying to work around Covid and make it as easy as possible for the players to come over and play a tranche of tournaments rather than having just one or two.
“At the moment it’s looking like we’re going to have a very strong field because it’s very clear we’re going to have an Open Championship this year and the players are taking the broader view that if they do have to quarantine for The Open, the might as well come over and spend a good bit of time there.
“Players will say, well, there are huge Ryder Cup points available, certainly in Scotland the week before so I might as well do Ireland while I’m there.”
The European Tour is already indebted to Dubai Duty Free, who stepped in to sponsor for an extra year after its deal ended last September.
“Dubai Duty Free have been great and their CEO Colm McLoughlin has been fantastic,” he said. “Their business has been really devastated obviously with very little international travel so it’s been great they’ve struck with us.
“We want to support them as well too. But a big value for them is corporate hospitality and also the pro-ams and at this moment in time we might not have either of those so once you get into it, it’s incredibly complex.”
