A feasibility study is underway to potentially host the British Open at Portmarnock, as the championship at Royal Portrush is set for July, with Shane Lowry defending his title from 2019.
R&A chief executive Mark Darbon shared that plans for the men’s and women’s Open in Dublin are progressing, despite no confirmed dates yet.
This year’s event at Portrush will accommodate 278,000 fans, marking it as the best attended championship hosted outside St Andrews.
Mr Darbon addressed concerns exist about Donald Trump’s Turnberry hosting an Open due to infrastructure challenges, despite the improvements made to the course.
R&A chief executive Mark Darbon shared: “we need a brilliant golf course to challenge the world’s best players, we need a site that works for us logistically and commercially, because a modern Open Championship is not just one of golf’s majors but one of the biggest sporting events in the world, and we need a venue that can showcase that properly.
We want a location that continues to help us to tell the wonderful stories of an Open Championship and Portrush ticks the box for all of those criteria in spades, so we can’t wait to get back here.
“We’re really optimistic about the prospect of Portmarnock. We’re working closely with the local authority and the government to support us in undertaking that feasibility work. “We’re not quite there yet but it’s a process that is gathering some pace and we are optimistic about the future.”
“We have to finish the feasibility work to begin with, but we’re really optimistic about bringing both the AIG Women’s Open and the Open Championship here.”
Turnberry golf course is magnificent. If anything, it’s better now than it ever has been, given some of the improvements that have been made to the course. But there are some challenges around the road and rail network, some of the accommodation provision in the surrounding area, and so we’re working on what a model could look like for the future.”
