Departing R&A CEO Martin Slumbers confirmed that Portmarnock Golf Club have asked the Irish government for financial support to host the Open Championship but insists there are logistical issues that still need to be sorted out including the fact that the links sits on a peninsula, not an island.
Last October the R&A confirmed that they were exploring the possibility of Portmarnock hosting the AIG Women’s Open and the Open Championship but Slumbers who will be stepping down from his position at the end of the year couldn’t confirm whether the Dublin club would get either championship just yet.
“The club has asked the Irish government for financial support to stage our championships on the links and we are fully supportive of the club doing that and we are actively engaged in making those assessments. But no decisions have been made so we don’t even know if it is possible,” said Slumbers.
Slumbers was on site for the Women’s Amateur Championship last month in Portmarnock and while the spectator and infrastructure size was minuscule compared to what an Open Championship would need, it proved a successful test event on the road to eventually booking a battle for the Claret Jug in years to come.
There are logistical issues, particularly the narrow road that connects the golf club to the town of Portmarnock. It remains the only way in and out.
“Yes, they have spoken to the government, as have I. You were in Portmarnock for the Women’s Amateur. We were exploring the things that would need to happen to be able to and they’re not trivial,” continued Slumbers.
“Well, it’s all about getting people in and out of the peninsula. it’s a tight little area, and to move that number of people, you need to be able to treat the people not just properly, but you need to have safety and health and all sorts of things that are really important. So those are issues that need to be resolved.”
After a sensational edition in 2019, The Open Championship will head to Portrush next year where a record crowd is set to attend.
A huge American market swarmed the fairways five years ago and an Open Championship in the Irish capital city of Dublin makes perfect sense from a financial point of view for the R&A.
“I think you need to look at what happened in Portrush to answer that question. I mean, Portrush was amazing. But what Portrush did — it’s a very interesting piece of the equation — is that the vast majority of the people who came to Portrush had never been to an Open Championship before,” added Slumbers.
“So it wasn’t all the people that are coming here saying we’re going to travel across and go to it, it was a different audience. There were more Americans. But it wasn’t dominated by Americans, it was about 20% from the United States. So it opened up a new market. And that’s good for business and good for golf.”