In a huge boost for the potential return of the Open Championship to Ireland, the 2012 Irish Open will be staged this year at the famed Royal Portrush course.

The European Tour is expected to make an announcement at the club Friday by confirming the tournament will return to Porturush for the first time since 1947.

It was only just a couple of months ago when news was released that the Northern Ireland Government was working to bring the Irish Open back to Northern Ireland.

And despite three Northern Ireland born Major winners in Graeme McDowell, Rory McIlroy and Darren Clarke not many expected the move to come as quick.

www.golfbytourmiss.com was among the first to reveal the 2012 Irish Open was moving from Killarney but with suggestions it was heading to the Dublin region.

News the 2012 Irish Open will head to Royal Portrush will no doubt make the famed Co. Antrim course better in line for staging the Open Championship.

It has been 60 years since the one and only occasion when The Open was held in Northern Ireland with Max Faulkner winning in 1951 at Royal Portrush.

And last year’s Open champion Clarke is among those who believe it is time to bring the world’s oldest major championship back to the north coast.

“The golf course is every bit as good as any of the Open venues,” said Clarke.

“It’s good enough to be in the rota.”

Speaking last summer, Tourism Minister Arlene Foster called on all of the parties involved to make sure the Irish Open is a success in Northern Ireland.

“This will need a major commitment from Royal Portrush Golf Club, the European Tour, sponsors, the Northern Ireland Tourist Board, Tourism Ireland, Coleraine Borough Council and others,” she nsaid.

“But I am confident that we will work well together to make this a world-class event.”

She added: “This will showcase our golf tourism offering all over the world and provide a major boost to our local economy.”

However the Northern Ireland Government and Royal Portrush will need to convince the R & A as organisers of golf’s oldest Major.

For many years R & A CEO, Peter Dawson has been quizzed at the annual ‘pre-Open press conference’ on the viability of Royal Portrush returning to The Open rota but on each occasion Dawson has ruled out such a move on the basis of poor roads, lack of hotel rooms and not the infrastructure to handle such a large sporting event as The Open.