PORTMARNOCK HAS BEEN IN contact with the R&A about staging either The Open Championship or Women’s Open.
The north Dublin club said it has had “informal contact” with the R&A over hosting either major in the coming years.
The Open has never been hosted by a club outside the UK. It was last held on the island of Ireland in 2019 when Shane Lowry won the Claret Jug at Royal Portrush.
Last month Rory McIlroy confirmed the R&A were looking at Portmarnock as a potential venue, having previously hosted the Walker Cup and the Amateur Championship.
Portmarnock voted to admit women members for the first time in May 2021, which removed an obstacle to the club hosting either competition.
Niall Goulding, captain of Portmarnock, is excited about the opportunity to welcome two major events to their club.
“The club has had informal contact with The R&A regarding the possibility of hosting the AIG Women’s Open and The Open at Portmarnock in the coming years,” said Goulding.
“Without a detailed survey, it is not possible to verify the ability of the property to act as host to a major championship, given the significant infrastructural requirements of such an event.
“The club has determined that government support would be critical for a project of this magnitude and, consequently, will now approach the relevant Government authorities to establish their position on providing support for a formal application by Portmarnock to The R&A to host a major championship.”
A request government support would be engaged with “positively” according to a statement by Catherine Martin, Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and the Media, and Thomas Byrne, Minister of State for Sport and Physical Education.
“We welcome today’s announcement that there has been contact between Portmarnock Golf Club and the R&A regarding a possible future hosting of The Open and the Women’s Open,” the statement read.
“This exciting news has clear potential for sport and tourism on the island of Ireland, and the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media is open to engaging with the Club to assess whether Government support would be required to underpin a bid by the Club to host such events.
“Our Department has supported the hosting of a range of major events across a number of sports, including golf, and the hosting of the 2027 Ryder Cup at Adare Manor in Limerick will be especially significant.
“The Department assesses each request for support to a major event on its own merits. In particular, it is imperative to ensure that economic, participation and sports benefits are derived from any State investment. Should a request for such support be received from Portmarnock Golf Club we will ask our officials to engage positively with such a request.”
