The Irish government has announced that it has given ‘provisional support’ to Portmarnock Golf Club hosting the Open Championship and the Women’s Open.
The two showpiece events have never been been played in the Republic of Ireland and an Irish government statement described its announcement as a “significant step towards the potential hosting of these major sports events in Portmarnock Golf Club”.
Last October, The R&A said it was it was keen to investigate the possibility of staging The Open or Women’s Open at the famous north county Dublin links course. This followed the Dublin club’s statement that it had contacted the R&A to say that it wanted to explore the possibility of hosting the major championships.
An obstacle to either championship being hosted by Portmarnock was removed in 2021 when the club voted to admit women members for the first time.
“The department of tourism, culture, arts, gaeltacht, sport and media will continue to engage with Portmarnock Golf Club and the R&A to further explore the costs of hosting and to prepare a full business case for the events, in line with the department’s recently published major international sports events policy,” said an Irish government statement. “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.”
Portmarnock has previously hosted R&A events including this year’s Women’s Amateur Championship and the 2019 Men’s Amateur, while the Irish Open has been played at the club 19 times. The course also hosted the 1991 Walker Cup.
Golf Ireland has welcomed the announcement, with CEO Mark Kennelly commenting: “The announcement that Portmarnock Golf Club will likely host both The Open and the AIG Women’s Open is a momentous occasion for golf in Ireland.
“These historic events will not only be a wonderful spectacle of professional golf, but they will also pave the way for impactful legacy programs that will nurture talent and grow the game across all communities.
“We are particularly excited about the prospect of the AIG Women’s Open taking place in Ireland as it would be a fantastic showcase of women’s golf. We thank the Irish Government for their commitment to securing these events and look forward to welcoming golf fans from all over the world to our shores.”