Rory McIlroy will be eyeing a second Irish Open crown when he takes to the field at Royal County Down Golf Club. While the field has other big Irish names, it is the Italian Matteo Manassero who has taken the lead out of the 68 players who made the cut headed to the Saturday round.  He is at 6-under, one stroke ahead of Laurie Canter, and Todd Clements.

McIlroy, Ewen Ferguson, and Alejandro Del Rey have finished with a T4 and are at 4-under. So Manassero will feel he can close in on the win and the lucrative prize money on offer.

What’s at stake for Matteo Manassero if he wins?

One of the oldest events on the Tour, the Irish Open was a pre-European Tour event from 1927-1953. It officially became a regular Euro Tour event in 1975 and became a part of the prestigious Rolex Series in 2017 but that ended in 2019.

The 2024 Amgen Irish Open has the most lucrative prize money for any non-Rolex Series events on the European Tour. The event will have the same amount of prize money on offer as last year when Sweden’s Vincent Norrman beat German Hurly Long by one shot to lift the title.

For this year as well, the total purse is $6 million. If Manassero wins the tournament, he will be taking home a 17% payout as per the prize money distribution chart of the European Tour. Wondering how much that is? a whopping $1,020,000!

The runner-up will take home $660,000, and the second runner-up will bag $378,000. Even the player who finishes in the last position, 68th in this case, stands to make north of  12,000 dollars. Here’s what the final payout by placement for each player looks like:

Beyond the prize money, the winner will also get other benefits. He will be able to bag 28.8 OWGR points to his name, and also a two-plus season exemption on the European Tour. Whoever comes out victorious will automatically get into the upcoming key events of the Tour. But that’s not all.

With just two months until the finale at the DP World Tour Championship, Race to Dubai ranking points are a massive factor. Well, at the 2024 Amgen Irish Open, 5,000 DP World Tour Championship points are available as players battle to finish in the top 110 in the standings, which guarantees a DP World Tour card for next season.

The winner at the  Irish Open gets 1,005 Race to Dubai points and the player holding the most season-long Race to Dubai points at the end of the tournament wins the Race to Dubai and its first-place prize.

If you already have tickets for Northern Ireland to witness, the entire action live from the stands, you are up for a great weekend. However, if you do not want to miss out on it, and still want to be part of the event, you can enjoy it in the comfort of your house.

Catch the Amgen Irish Open live on Golf Channel

On Saturday, the 2024 Amgen Irish Open will be broadcasting from 7:30 am for a five-hour slot. Unfortunately, you will not be able to enjoy the other half of the match on the same day. There will be a comparatively longer gap between the two halves due to tape delay.

On Sunday, you can tune into the Golf Channel from 3:00 am to 5:00 am to witness who will enter the final round in the lead, and who will come out on top at the 18th hole!

Do you think Matteo Manassero will be able to take home the trophy this year? If not, who do you think will win? Let us know in the comments section below!