The 2026 Irish Open is heading to a new home this week, with Trump International Golf Links & Hotel in County Clare hosting the tournament for the first time. Rory McIlroy returns as the defending champion after winning last year’s event at The K Club, giving this edition a familiar headline but a different backdrop for one of golf’s biggest national opens.
The move to Doonbeg gives the tournament a fresh setting 16 miles from Lahinch, where Great Britain and Ireland won the Walker Cup before play shifted west. It also lands the Irish Open in a busy stretch of the schedule, with the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth coming the following week. That timing always adds a little extra significance, especially with players using the event as a final tune-up before another major stop on the tour calendar.
McIlroy leads a field with proven Irish Open winners
McIlroy’s return is the main attraction, but he is far from the only player with a strong Irish Open record. Shane Lowry won the event as an amateur in 2009, Jon Rahm claimed victory at Portstewart in 2017 and then again two years later at Lahinch, and the mix of past champions adds real depth to the week in County Clare. McIlroy, a three-time major champion and two-time PGA Tour winner, beat Joakim Lagergren in a play-off 12 months ago, underlining how narrow the margins can be at this event.
That makes the trip to Doonbeg more than just a venue change. It is a chance to see whether McIlroy can stay on top while another Irish Open chapter begins in a setting that has not previously staged the championship. It also comes against the backdrop of ongoing uncertainty around LIV Golf’s future, which continues to hang over the wider professional game even as the DP World Tour pushes ahead with its own marquee weeks.
What comes next on the schedule
After the Irish Open, attention turns quickly to Wentworth and the BMW PGA Championship. For McIlroy and several of the other big names in the field, this week offers both a title opportunity and a useful bridge into one of the DP World Tour’s biggest events. With the venue debut, the defending champion and a strong list of names involved, the 2026 Irish Open should provide plenty of reasons for Irish golf fans to watch closely.
