As the likelihood of Portmarnock hosting the Open Championship continues to grow, Pádraig Harrington believes that a first staging of the game’s oldest major outside of the UK could open the door for it to become truly global.
Talking to Bunkered.co.uk, Harrington admitted that bidding an emotional farewell to the tournament on home soil would be a fitting end to a championship career that’s seen him twice lift the Claret Jug, and with 2032 looking the likeliest date for an Open Championship at the North Dublin links, the stars could well align.
“It would be very nice if it was my last year in 2032,” Harrington said. “That would be a year that’s open to going to Portmarnock. It would be a nice send off. I believe I’d still be playing and competitive. It’s a great championship course. It would be tremendous, the crowds that would turn out in Dublin. It would be a really successful Open.
“I think it would be significant for the R&A. It’s called the Open because they run golf all around the world. This is the Open Championship. It’s a big step if the Open goes outside of its traditional home of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.”
Harrington is no stranger to the links at Portmarnock, of course, but he fells that opening the door to venues outside of the UK could lead to going further afield in the future as there are many courses capable of hosting an event such as the Open Championship.
“If it goes outside of the UK and comes down south to the Republic, you’re kind of saying it can go anywhere,” Harrington added. “I’m not saying now, but who knows in 100 years we could be down in the sandbelt in Australia. Even 20 years.
“There are people who will not want it to happen too, so it’s not as easy as you think. It is a big step if they do it, but going to somewhere like Portmarnock is a very progressive step.”
Dublin is, of course, a short trip from mainland UK and on the same island as Royal Portrush that is set to host the Open Championship for a third time later this year, but the proud Dubliner doesn’t see that as a reason why the R&A couldn’t look further afield in the future.
“Why not?” he queried. “I’m not saying it’s going to happen soon. This is why there may be a push back to the Open being in Portmarnock. But there’s also great links golf courses in the Netherlands. France have great links courses. I don’t think it should ever go off a links course.
“But who says we shouldn’t go down to the great links in New Zealand? The R&A is a global entity and they run golf around the world, they do a great job.
“Bringing their championship to different parts of the world, its a big step to say yes, ‘we’ve taken responsibility.’ It’s putting a marker down that they are truly the Open Championship.”
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