Justin Rose to make Irish Open return at Portstewart

Justin Rose won the US Open in 2013 and narrowly missed out on a second major at Augusta earlier this month

Olympic gold medallist Justin Rose will make his first Irish Open appearance in seven years when he competes at Portstewart in July.

The Englishman, 36, was pipped to the Masters title by Sergio Garcia in a dramatic play-off earlier this month.

"I'm excited about going back to the Irish Open," said Rose, who won the US Open in 2013.

"Irish fans are always a lot of fun to play in front of, it's always good 'craic' out there!"

The nine-time European Tour winner will be playing on Northern Irish soil for the first time in his professional career in the 6-9 July tournament.

Rose has been a permanent fixture in the top 20 of world rankings for over five years.

"We'll all enjoy the tournament and it's obviously great preparation for the Open Championship too," he added.

"I think it's very good to get some links golf under your belt before the Open.

"Playing the Scottish Open the week before is a great idea, and also playing two weeks before is great because you can have a week before to fine tune.

"The fact that we have these options running into the Open is fantastic and they are top quality events which will hopefully attract not just the top European players, but maybe some players from across the pond in the USA as well."