Mount Juliet has pulled out of the running to host next year’s Irish Open.
Last week mobile phone company 3 saved the event by coming in as sponsor, and it was widely expected that the Jack Nicklaus-designed course would host the tournament.
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But a statement from the Kilkenny club said that it had "reluctantly" decided against staging the event.
"Mount Juliet has just now completed a detailed assessment of the many complex factors involved in staging a major golf tournament and has, reluctantly, come to the decision that it is not feasible for it to host the tournament,” said the statement.
"This decision is based on Mount Juliet's extensive existing contractual obligations at that time of year across the entire estate site."
The Irish Open is one of the European Tour’s longest running tournaments and is scheduled for 14-17 May 2009.
Mount Juliet hosted the event from 1993 to 1995 when it was won by Nick Faldo, Bernhard Langer and Sam Torrance, and for the last two years it has been staged at Adare Manor, where England's Richard Finch triumphed this season. Where next?
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