Big summer for - Backspin Golf Magazine

ISSN 1393 - 9122
EDITOR’S COMMENT...
sets his sights on a
spectacular summer
Masters champion
BUBBA WATSON
2012 SUMMER ISSUE €2.95 incl. VAT
Salute to
GOLF’S BIG 3
THE MAJORS
Big summer for
OPEN SEASON
THE IRISH OPEN &
THE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP
Also inside:
PARKLAND PARADISE
SNAG JUNIOR GOLF
FAIRWAY FOCUS
9 771393 912027
FOCUS ON CALLAWAY AND PING PRODUCTS
FRONT COVER:
Photo of Rory McIlroy supplied by © Getty
Images/The European Tour on the
announcement of his participation in the
Irish Open at Royal Portrush (June 28th-
July 1st)
The Heritage Resort
07
Rory McIlroy’s primary focus in the months ahead will be
chasing Major titles, but you can bet your bottom dollar
that victory in the Irish Open at Royal Portrush would rank right up there alongside
his finest achievements.
Reigning USPGA champion Keegan Bradley and Irish Major winners - Padraig
Harrington, Graeme McDowell, Rory McIlroy and Darren Clarke - will headline the starstudded
event from June 28th - July 1st.
McIlroy, who returned to the World No. 1 spot as this issue went to press at the start
of May, has many fond memories of the famous Dunluce course on the beautiful
North Antrim Causeway coast. He fired an incredible 61 around the fearsome links
as an amateur.
When Royal Portrush was announced as the venue for this year’s Irish Open, Rory
remarked, “It would be incredible to win. I haven’t played competitively at Royal Portrush
since 2005, so to go back there and have the chance to win my National Open is something
that is very, very important to me. Hopefully I can give it a real good go this year.”
“For the Irish Open to come to Portrush is a huge thing for any golfer from Northern
Ireland. So for myself and the likes of Graeme [McDowell], Darren [Clarke] and Michael
Hoey to play the Irish Open in Northern Ireland is a dream come true for us.”
It promises to be a wonderful festival of golf with huge numbers of fans expected to
attend from north and south of the border.
For the players it will provide a glorious opportunity to
get to grips with one of the finest links courses in the world
in the countdown to The Open Championship at Royal
Lytham & St. Annes in July (see pages 10 & 11).
Royal Portrush hosted The Open Championship in 1951
and the Senior British Open on six occasions in more recent
times. There are hopes that The Open may return to Royal
Portrush in the future, but for now the focus is on the 2012
Irish Open being a spectacular success and a great
advertisement for Irish golf.
Yours in Golf,
PARKLAND PARADISE Pages 30-36
DECLAN O’DONOGHUE, Publisher / Editor
Publisher / Editor:
Declan O’Donoghue
Guest Writers:
Mark Jones, Ewen Murray, Philip Quinn, Colm Smith
Photography & Art:
Reuters-Action Images (London), Alan Bleakley,
Pat Cashman, Noel Kelly
Creation & Design: The Golf Business
Typesetting & Colour Repro: Esther Behan
Printers: GPS Colour Graphics
Distribution: EM News, Newspread, The Golf Business
Advertisement Sales: The Golf Business
Cover Price: €2.95 (incl VAT)
NEXT ISSUE: Majors Review/Autumn 2012
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