Royal Portrush Favourite For 2025 Open Championship

The Open Championship could return to Northern Ireland as early as 2025

Royal Portrush Favourite For 2025 Open Championship

Royal Portrush, the host venue for the last Open Championship in 2019, is favourite to land the 2025 edition according to a report in The Guardian. Although no official word has yet been given by the R&A or the golf club itself, it is understood that talks are progressing positively after the success of the 2019 event when Shane Lowry won by six shots in front of an adoring and passionate home support.

It was the first time the championship had been back to Northern Ireland since Max Faulkner lifted the Claret Jug in 1951, and a return as quickly as 2025 would be in line with the R&A’s plan to stage the tournament there twice in 10 years.

The oldest championship in golf was postponed last year for the first time since World War II because of the Covid-19 pandemic but will go ahead in 2021, with Royal St. George’s the venue.

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Consequently, St Andrews will now host the 150th Open Championship in 2022, while the scheduled editions at Royal Liverpool and Royal Troon have also been pushed back to 2023 and 2024 respectively.

If Royal Portrush is announced for 2025, it means there will have been at least three venues that have hosted the event twice since it was last played at Royal Lytham & St Annes and Muirfield in 2012 and 2013 respectively.

As for the Trump-owned Ailsa course at Turnberry, which was last used in 2009, Chief Executive of the R&A Martin Slumbers recently announced it won't be considered for any of its championships for the foreseeable future.

“We had no plans to stage any of our championships at Turnberry and will not do so in the foreseeable future,” Slumbers said in a statement back in January.

“We will not return until we are convinced that the focus will be on the championship, the players and the course itself and we do not believe that is achievable in the current circumstances.”