The Northern Ireland Open is Northern Ireland’s annual professional golf tournament, which continues to grow every year and is truly a Golf Tournament for all the Family! In 2013, the event attracted over 22,000 spectators, in 2014 over 34,000 visitors attended and in 2015 over 39,000 visitors flocked to the event.
The NI Open is part of the European Challenge Tour’s international schedule. The European Challenge Tour is the second tier of men’s professional golf in Europe, the final stepping-stone to the ‘big time’ of world golf. The NI Open is likely to attract a strong contingent of Irish European Tour players such as Michael Hoey, Damien McGrane, Peter Lawrie, Simon Thornton and Gareth Maybin, rising European Challenge Tour stars Chris Selfridge, Gareth Shaw, Niall Turner and Ruaidhri McGee and rookie professionals Gavin Moynihan, Gary Hurley & Cormac Sharvin, plus a host of former European Tour winners.
The NI Open Food Festival was introduced in 2014 and forms part of Tourism NI’s Year of Food and Drink 2016, which will showcase the best of local produce so bring your appetite! The Food Festival forms part of the NI Open Village where you’ll also find a wide range of Exhibitors, Live Music, Golf Art Exhibition, the Village Bar and Tournament Scoreboard.
The Interactive Zone introduced in 2016 will provide something for all the family. There will be FREE golf lessons for all and you can try your hand at Pitch & Putt on the new Fun Golf Area. For the young ones, the Kids Fun Area will provide plenty of activities to keep everyone happy.