Paul McGinley has added his voice to the growing number that believe an Open Championship at Portmarnock may become a reality in the not-too-distant future, though believes it could be a decade before the world’s oldest major arrives south of the border.
Speaking at the opening of St Columba’s College Golf Academy in Dublin, McGinley said “I think it’s a reality and it’s got more chance of happening than not happening, but the timeline is open.
“A lot of ducks have to be lined up before it could happen. But it’s certainly a potential reality. Who would have thought that 10 years ago?”
Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers was also being questioned about the possibility and said he would “welcome” it.
Rory McIlroy was the first to publicly state that the desire was there from both the R&A and the historic Dublin links, and since then, Minister for Sport, Catherine Martin stated her intent to ask her officials to engage with Portmarnock in order to hold “what would be very significant for the game of golf in Ireland and our international profile as a must visit destination for golf tourism.”
The club themselves announced last month that they had 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,” adding that “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.”
Slumbers, despite being open to the idea, reiterated that there were several hurdles that would need to be surmounted before any kind of concrete plans could be put in place.
“One is Portmarnock Golf Club has asked the Irish government to help them explore how they can solve some of the infrastructure issues to be able to make a credible presentation to the R&A that they could stage the Open,” Slumbers told Golf Digest on Thursday where he is attending the Asia Pacific Amateur Championship at Royal Melbourne. “It’s very much in their court and needs government investment to do it.
“The second piece is, there are some huge impediments to be overcome before we can get to the conversation, but that’s very much with the club and the Irish government.
“But the golf course is magnificent. I mean, it is a wonderful links course. We have staged many much amateur championships there. Had [the 1991] Walker Cup there, The Amateur championship four years ago and the Women’s Amateur Championship next year. It is a world class golf course that I think will be tremendous to see the world’s best players playing on it.”
McGinley, who grew up a short distance away on the south side of Dublin City, said Portmarnock would be as good as “or better than anything on the current rota.
“The biggest challenge is getting in and out. With the Ryder Cup in 2027, wouldn’t it be wonderful to have something in the diary for 2030? But I think that timeline’s too short. I’d say realistically, we’re looking at nearer to 10 years from now.”
Working against Portmarnock, as McGinley pointed out, is the fact that the 129-year-old course, which sits on its own Peninsula, has limited access in and out with just one road, and an Open Championship can be expected to host more than 200,000 spectators over the course of a tournament week, meaning large grandstands and adequate space for hospitality and catering have become commonplace.
But its proximity to Dublin airport, the nearby trainline, and the newly branded Jameson Links at the neighbouring Portmarnock Hotel all work in its favour and should the government and the club successfully navigate the current roadblocks, the omens are good that a first ever Open Championship staged in the Republic of Ireland will become a reality.
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