RTE tees up Irish Open rights

Irish public-service broadcaster RTÉ has agreed a three-year deal for rights to the Irish Open golf tournament.

The agreement with the European Tour includes this year's Irish Open at Royal County Down Golf Club from May 28-31, as well as the following two events in 2016 and 2017.

The Irish Open will be shown live on RTÉ2 and streamed online via the RTÉ Player service.

Reigning champion Finland’s Mikko Ilonen (pictured) defends his title this year against a field led by the likes of Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy and US star Rickie Fowler.