An interesting article raised the possibility of the Irish Open heading to Royal Portrush as soon as 2013 as a first step towards the Open Championship returning at some future time.
Given the current business, economic and political climate plus cadre of significant golfers from Northern Ireland there is a very strong emotional argument for the Open to return to Royal Portrush. There is little dispute that the venue is a world class links course admired and enjoyed by many. The challenge must surely be the sheer size that the Open has become. In the same way that there is a risk associated with the logistics of returning the U.S. Open to Merion due to the logistics of the event (notwithstanding the length of the course), Royal Portrush will have to satisfy any number of concerns before we are likely to see the Open being held there.
From a golf travel perspective an Open Championship would have an enormous impact on golf and tourist traffic to Northern Ireland, indeed I think it reasonable to say that the possibility of a return to Portrush has a greater ongoing impact to tourism than the Ryder Cup being hosted at the K Club.
I would like to see the Open returning to Portrush but that is an emotional perspective and far from considering all of the implications which doubtless the R & A will carefully ponder. It seems that if this long-shot were to ever occur (much like 3 major winners from Northern Ireland in the space of 13 months!), the Irish Open is a needed first step in the process.
About the Author: Gordon Dalgleish is the Co-Founding Director of PerryGolf, the leading provider of international golf vacations. You can find him on Google+
