It had been a 68-year wait from 1951 to 2019 for golf’s oldest major to return to Royal Portrush hosted the Open Championship now we have official confirmation the Northern Ireland links gem is on the Open rota and in 2025 will host the 153th Open

The news, and revealed by www.golfbytourmiss.com five days ago was confirmed this morning a press conference hosted by the R & A at the Royal Portrush club.

Martin Slumbers, CEO of the R and A, confirmed the news saying:

“I’ve often said that big time sport needs big time venues and big time crowds, as well as an outstanding golf course. That means venues which can offer the space and facilities needed to accommodate substantially more than 200,000 during the week (Slumbers later confirmed an attendance in 2019 to be 237,500).

“It means a transport infrastructure that can enable tens of thousands of people to come and go from the championship at the same time
as the wider community go about their daily lives with minimal disruption. It means public agencies and local authorities being able to invest resources, energy, and time in being able to work with us to make this all happen over years of preparation.

“We undoubtedly received that support here in Northern Ireland, and that’s why we are so excited about what can be achieved here in the future. We see huge potential for Portrush to continue to develop and enhance its status and perhaps achieve the same iconic status for golfers throughout Northern Ireland as St Andrews enjoys in Scotland.

“There’s a lot that needs to fall into place for that vision to be achieved, however, and the continuing support of the Northern Ireland Executive, its agencies, and the local authority will be essential. But if we can all do that, then the sky really is the limit.

“Turning back to more immediate matters, I would now like to make today’s formal announcement, and that is I am delighted personally and for The R&A and for Royal Portrush and for Northern Ireland to confirm that the 153rd Open will be played here at Royal Portrush from the 13th to the 20th of July, 2025.

“We look forward immensely to staging The Open here again, and the countdown starts now. Thank you very much. I’d like to hand over to the first minister.”

Slumbers was then asked in the question and answer section of the conference a very relavant question and that was ‘This news of Royal Portrush hosting a second Open within the space of seven years place the course on the Open Championship rota”.

“Oh, it’s firmly on The Open rota,” Slumbers replied convincingly.

“It’s one of the ten, and it ain’t going anywhere as far as I’m concerned”.