Irish Open 2015: Title sponsor agrees Royal County Down deal

The Irish Open has been without a title sponsor in recent years

The Irish Open has received a massive boost with the news that a title sponsor for the 2015 event at Royal County Down has been secured.

Dubai Duty Free, an Irish-owned company, has agreed a one-year contract, with an option to extend.

Rory McIlroy's charity, The Rory Foundation, has helped land the deal.

Among the names already committed to take part in the event from 28-31 May are Rickie Fowler, Sergio Garcia, Ernie Els and Lee Westwood.

They will come up against Northern Ireland major winners McIlroy, Graeme McDowell and Darren Clarke, plus Ireland's Padraig Harrington.

Tournament organisers have said that tens of thousands of tickets have already been sold for the event.

"This is another step in the right direction towards making the Irish Open one of the major events on the European Tour," said former US Open winner McDowell.

"Royal County Down is following in the footsteps of Royal Portrush in 2012 and the field is going to be amazing.

"It should be quite a tournament and it's good to get the event back on the map.

"The European Tour has to be focusing on home events like the Irish Open, giving us a great date on the schedule to get the best players in the world to compete."