Golf

Bid to to bring Open championships to Portmarnock Golf Club takes significant step forward

An outlay of between €35m and €40m to be made in bid to secure both men’s and women’s tournaments

The Government has rubber-stamped funding of between €35 million and €40 million to bring the men's and women's Open championships to Portmarnock Golf Club in north county Dublin. Photograph: Andrew Redington/Getty Images
The Government has rubber-stamped funding of between €35 million and €40 million to bring the men's and women's Open championships to Portmarnock Golf Club in north county Dublin. Photograph: Andrew Redington/Getty Images
Philip Reid
Tue Oct 22 2024 - 14:31

The prospect of the famed Claret Jug being lifted aloft on the 18th green of Portmarnock Golf Club at some point in the future, potentially as early as 2030, has moved a significant step closer with the Cabinet’s rubber-stamping of an agreement to support the bid to bring both The Open and the AIG Women’s Open to the north county Dublin links.

The Open is the oldest Major championship in men’s golf, while the AIG Women’s Open is one of five Majors on the LPGA Tour. Both championships are run by the Royal & Ancient Golf Club, based at St Andrews in Scotland, and any move to play the events at Portmarnock would mean the first time either would be staged outside of Britain or Northern Ireland.

A timeline as early as 2030 is understood to be the guide period for Portmarnock playing host to The Open, with additional course work, including a potential rerouting adjustment of the famed links, expected to take place before then.

The likelihood is that the AIG Women’s Open will be first staged at Portmarnock, potentially as soon as 2028, with The Open, for men, to follow and the probability that the agreement with the Government and the R&A would involve a number of stagings (up to three Open championships) going forward.

READ SOME MORE

A recent cost analysis of the benefits of hosting the championships at Portmarnock estimated an economic injection of almost €340 million. The Open is traditionally one of the largest spectator attended events in golf, with crowds of close to 250,000 anticipated through the week (including practice days and four championship days).

The Government’s commitment to support Portmarnock securing the championships – which would also include considerable infrastructural assistance – will involve an outlay of between €35 million and €40 million as part of the recently published Major International Sports Events Policy, which also includes supporting the 2027 Ryder Cup at Adare Manor Hotel & Golf Resort in Co Limerick.

As Minister for Sport Catherine Martin put it in welcoming the Cabinet’s backing: “Ireland is now a step closer to holding the world’s oldest and most prestigious golf championship, which would also see it being held outside the UK for the very first time.

“I welcome today’s decision by Government in relation to the potential hosting of both The Open and the AIG Women’s Open at Portmarnock Golf Club. The hosting of these events and particularly the AIG Women’s Open, in Portmarnock, would represent a significant moment for equality in sport and greater participation in golf and would be one of the biggest women’s international sporting events ever held in Ireland.

“Also, the enormous value that this brings to our tourism sector, and to golf courses, communities and businesses all across the island, is well recognised.”

Taoiseach Simon Harris also welcomed the move: “We already have a reputation as a world-leading golf destination and hosting these events would further enhance Ireland as a global destination for the sport. I look forward to the next steps to hopefully make this happen.”

And Golf Ireland chief executive Mark Kennelly proclaimed the Government’s backing as a “momentous occasion”, adding: “These historic events will not only be a wonderful spectacle of professional golf, but they will also pave the way for impactful legacy programs that will nurture talent and grow the game across all communities.”

Next year’s Open championship returns to Royal Portrush Golf Club on the Causeway Coast just six years after Shane Lowry lifted the Claret Jug there in 2019. The prospect of Portmarnock Golf Club hosting the championship has, with the Cabinet’s rubber-stamping to support the bid to bring it to the north county Dublin seaside links, moved closer to a reality.

Philip Reid

Philip Reid

Philip Reid is Golf Correspondent of The Irish Times