Irish Open Preparing For a Sell-Out Crowd of 100,000 Next Week

Next week's Irish Open golf tournament at Royal Portrush will be "the first sell-out the European Tour has ever had," according to the London DAILY MAIL. No tickets remain for the final two rounds, and "none will be available" for the opening two days after 5pm GMT on Friday. It is the first time the tournament has been held in Northern Ireland since '53. Irish golfers Rory McIlroy, Darren Clarke and Graeme McDowell are all taking part along with USPGA champion Keegan Bradley and three-major winner Padraig Harrington (DAILY MAIL, 6/21). Irish Open Championship Dir Antonia Beggs said, "We are preparing for a crowd around the 100,000 mark for the week of the Championship, and with a particularly large spectator audience expected for the weekend, we felt it prudent to stop selling tickets for Saturday and Sunday” (BELFAST TELEGRAPH, 6/21).