As the PGA Tour kickstarts its post-season with the Procore Championship, the DP World Tour lands in Northern Ireland for the Amgen Irish Open. The Procore Championship has drawn a few big names out of their off-season den because of the Presidents Cup. The Irish Open, on the other hand, will see a few big names because of the history associated with it. 

Rory McIlroy is arguably the biggest needle-mover at Royal County Down Golf Club. His good friend and Zurich Classic partner, Shane Lowry, will also tee off. Both are eyeing their second Irish Open. Whereas, Tour’s rising stars, Nicolai Hojgaard and 2x PGA Tour winner, Robert McIntyre, will also travel to Newcastle for a $1,020,000 million paycheck. Here is how you can catch all the action live. 

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Golf Channel will broadcast the Irish Open in the US

The Thursday round will be telecast from 8 AM on the Golf Channel and the NBC Sports App for five hours. Whereas, the second round coverage starts at 3 AM on Golf Channel. It will go on till 6 AM. After a 30-minute break, the coverage will move to the NBC Sports App. It will then run for another two hours till 8.30 AM. Again, after a break, the Irish Open will resume at 11 AM ET on the NBC Sports App for another two-hour coverage. 

The moving day broadcast will start at 7.30 AM for a five-hour slot. However, the Saturday coverage will stop at 12.30 PM. The rest of the round will be telecasted the next morning from 3-5 AM (tape delayed). 

The final round will also be split into two phases. The NBC Sports App will start streaming the Irish Open at 7.30 AM. It will run till 12.30 PM. The rest of the final round will be broadcast tape-delayed on Golf Channel from 12 PM to 3 PM.

While a bunch of big names will tee up at the Irish Open, there is little doubt that all eyeballs will be on Rory McIlroy. Firstly, it’s his native country, and the home support he enjoys is unparalleled. Secondly, the Ulsterman himself has emphasized how important this tournament is to him. 

Rory McIlroy calls it one of the biggest tournaments

McIlroy has won three times this season already. However, two major slip-ups—the U.S. Open and the Olympics—have turned the relatively decent season sour. Add to the fact Scottie Scheffler has won eight times this season, including the gold at Le Golf National, and Xander Schauffele won two majors. There is little surprise that McIlroy felt a ‘distant’ third compared to world no. 1 and world no. 2.

So, the Irish Open, even though it won’t lift him in the OWGR—it allocates world ranking points but not enough to pull McIlroy up—has an increased value.“ “From an outsider, it probably wouldn’t be as meaningful as some of the other wins that I’ve had. But for me, it would be up there with one of the biggest wins that I’ve had.” There is, of course, a bucolic joy in soaking up the home support. But after what the Ulsterman endured this season, it would mean much more than that.

So, are you excited to see McIlroy tee off at his homeland? Let us know in the comments below.