Players support plans for Euro Tour event in N Ireland 27/10/2010 |
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Graeme McDowell and Darren Clarke have thrown their weight behind plans to stage a European Tour golf event in Northern Ireland.
US Open champion and Ryder Cup hero McDowell revealed that the European Tour is keen for the Irish Open to be staged north of the border.
"A lot of players want it to happen too," McDowell told BBC Sport.
Clarke added that he would put his "full weight behind" the attempts to stage a tour event in Northern Ireland.
3's sponsorship of the Irish Open enters its final year when the tournament is played at Killarney next July, but McDowell is hopeful that the event could take place in Northern Ireland in 2012.
"All I would say is 'watch this space'. There's an opportunity for someone [a sponsor] to get involved," added McDowell.
"I'll certainly be on board and guys like Rory McIlroy and Darren Clarke will be on board. We're up for it.
"Golf is a 32-county sport in Ireland and it's important that both north and south shares the big events.
"Also, we have so much talent up in the north and it wouldn't be fair not to have a European Tour event.
"I'm confident it's going to happen. If not next year, then in the next couple of years."
McDowell believes his own Portrush club would be the ideal location if the European Tour was to journey to Northern Ireland.
"It would be amazing and it's always been a dream of mine to play a big event at Portrush," he continued.
Clarke also believes that Portrush would be the "perfect" location to stage a major European Tour event.
"It's got everything,” he said. “Links is the purest form of golf and this is the best links course in the world.
"It presents so many difficult challenges. The new tees that have been put in as well make the course much more of a modern-day challenge.
"Of course getting an event will be a lot of hard work with the current economic climate and the sponsorship required.
"You're looking at 4m euro by the time you look at prize money and the hosting fee but we have an amazing product here."
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