The Golfing Calendar -What’s in Store in July
2025 has been a memorable year for world golf, but it has also been a breakthrough for the Irish game on the world stage. There are some huge events still to come, but Rory McIlroy’s scintillating form at Augusta ensured that he finally completed the Grand Slam. The 11-year wait for a big one is over, and now the 34-year-old can concentrate on winning more majors without the constant pressure of being talked up in the online sports betting market.
Soon after the Northern Irishman’s fifth major, the Irish Men’s Amateur Championship came to Seapoint in County Louth for the very first time. It was incredibly well-attended and, like the Masters, went to a play-off that was won by Stuart Grehan. This was a perfect boon for the rest of the summer and a reminder of the depth of talent there is in the Irish ranks.
The homecoming for McIlroy will be particularly sweet during a potentially magical July programme. However, things kick off with the KPMG Women’s Irish Open at Carlton House, Fairmont in County Kildare. The course, which was designed by Masters and Open champion Mark O’Meara, will see a superstar field that is big in depth.
The purse of 450,000 euros will be one of the largest prizes on the calendar. It’s been a tough run for Leona Maguire in recent times, with missed cuts and a steep drop in the rankings. However, she will set her sights on a home crown following a strong finish on the course last year. She became the first Irishwoman to win on the Ladies European Team at the Aramco Team Series in London last autumn.
After a strong showing at the Tenerife Open, 24-year-old Lauren Walsh will also compete, along with exciting rookie Sara Byrne. The Evian Championship will begin a week later, and Maguire has already posted her desire to emulate McIlroy’s feat at Augusta.
For the Masters champion, the real work for the assault on a sixth major starts at the Renaissance Club at East Lothian, where he finished fourth last year behind eventual champion Robert MacIntyre.
Ironically, McIlroy beat the Scot in the 2023 version of the event. 2025 will include a very strong field with seven of the world’s top ten competing. World number-one Scottie Scheffler will be there following his impressive victory at Quail Hollow in the US PGA.
This is all pointing toward the golden return of the Open Championship to Royal Portrush following the success of 2019. County Offaly’s favourite son, Shane Lowry, won the prize in front of a huge crowd of nearly 240,000 spectators, inferior only to the hundredth edition at St Andrews. The crowds are expected to increase by around 40,000 people.
This year’s tournament also brings back bittersweet memories for McIlroy. In 2005, the emerging star set a course record with a 61 in the North of Ireland Amateur Championship on the Dunluce Links. This included nine birdies and an eagle.
When it came to the real thing 14 years later, there was a bitter sting and a difference of 18 shots. He hit his first tee shot out of bounds on the way to a 79 but then stormed back with a 65, including seven birdies. He missed the cut by a single shot. This time, he will be keen to show up for all four days to take on the Stateside claims of Scheffler, Xander Schauffele and the rest.
Other contenders include Northern Ireland’s rising star Tom McKibbin, who made some tongues wag after joining LIV Golf. McKibbin, who won the 2023 European Open and was runner-up in the 2024 Italian Open, qualified after finishing in the top 20 in the Race to Dubai. The Women’s equivalent will take place the week after at the Dundonald Links in Irvine.
The 3M Open on the US PGA Tour may be a new entry, having started in 2019, but it gives Seamus Power another chance to step back up after his end of 2024 and beginning of 2025 were hampered by injury. He withdrew in Toronto with a recurrence of his injury, so it looks as though his issues may persist.
The Waterford-born 38-year-old veteran has a residence in Nevada and enjoyed his run with excellent finishes at the Masters, the PGA and U.S. Open in 2022.
It’s only fitting that the long Irish golfing party in July will finish with a trip to Wales in the AIG Women’s Open at Royal Porthcawl. Hopefully, the next big closing party for the sound of summer will be the Irish Open at the K Club. McIlroy, Power, Lowry and three-time major champion Padraig Harrington are all pencilled in. There should be more star power to add, judging by what’s coming up behind them.
