A replica of the Claret Jug, the most prized trophy in golf, currently lies on display in a cabinet in the Royal Portush clubhouse. It was donated to the club by one of its own, Darren Clarke, after his victory in the 2011 British Open. But, come 2019, there won't be any need for imitations: the real thing itself will be on every golfer's wish list!
With yesterday's confirmation from the R&A that the Open Championship will be fought for on these redesigned links in four years time, a staging estimated to be worth in excess of £70 million (€95 million) to the Northern Ireland economy, the oldest Major of them all will return to the Causeway Coast.
It was last staged on the Dunluce links in 1951, when it was won by Max Faulkner.
Huge success
For Clarke, this announcement, aided and abetted by the huge success of Irish golfers which has yielded nine Majors since Pádraig Harrington’s breakthrough in the 2007 British Open at Carnoustie, provided proof of how times have changed – sporting-wise and politically – since he first played the old links as a starry-eyed child with his own dream of one day holding aloft the Claret Jug.
“I played a lot of my golf here and I lived here and I was a proud member here. Did I think we would get through the dark times that Northern Ireland has had to get the biggest and best tournament in the world? I’d be very foolish to say yes.
“Nobody could foresee that coming about during the bad old days but to see how far we have all come, how far we have moved this part of the country on, it has been brilliant,” said Clarke.
Spectator village
Royal Portrush will become the 10th course – and the only one outside of Scotland and England – on the R&A’s rota for the championship with golf course architect
Martin Ebert
overseeing the significant redesign incorporating two new holes (being built on the adjoining Valley course) to replace the existing 17th and 18th holes, which have been relinquished to enable that area be used for the spectator village and infrastructure.
The overall length of the course will increase in length by just under 200 yards, to 7,337 with a par of 71.
When the Irish Open was staged at Royal Portrush in 2011, it became the first sold out event on the European Tour with an attendance of 112,000 over the four tournament days. It is anticipated that over 200,000 spectators will attend the British Open when it is staged on July 18th-21st, 2019.
