Portmarnock expresses interest in hosting The Open Championship and Women's Open in the upcoming seasons
The R&A has recently confirmed its chances to host The Open Championship or the Women's Open at Portmarnock in in the near future. They hinted by saying that they are keenly investigating the possibility of holding the oldest golf major in the Republic of Ireland in the upcoming seasons.
The Dublin club also came up with a response and shared that they have contacted the organizing authority about hosting any of the two majors. They added that they are hopeful that the Irish government will respond with a formal approach.
One of the R&A spokespersons was quoted by the BBC as saying that they feel the Dublin golf club is one of the best links courses in the world, and they believe that a major could be hosted there.
However, he added that a full evaluation is needed to plan for a future Open Championship.
The spokesperson said:
"Portmarnock is undoubtedly one of the world's outstanding links courses. We believe there is the potential to host our major championships there but it is essential that a full evaluation is carried out to assess whether it is feasible and what would be required to make it happen."
Interestingly, The Open Championship or the Women's Open, has never been organized outside of the United Kingdom.
However, it is confirmed that the Men's Amateur Championship and the Women's Amateur Championship will be played at Portmarnock next year.
The R&A spokesperson shared that the governing body has been constantly staging matches in Great Britain and Ireland, and they are hopeful to work alongside Golf Ireland and find a possibility to host the event at Portmarnock.
The R&A spokesperson said:
"We also work with Golf Ireland as the national body throughout the island of Ireland. We would like to investigate the possibility of taking our professional championships to Portmarnock as well."
Irish government is excited to host The Open Championship and Women's Open in the near future
After the R&A shared the statement that they are willing to host either of the two prestigious majors in Portmarnock, Catherine Martin, Irish Sports Minister, and Thomas Byrne, Minister of State for Sport, also shared their responses.
As per the BBC, the ministers of the Republic of Ireland welcomed the exciting news and said in a statement:
"This exciting news has clear potential for sport and tourism on the island of Ireland, and the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media is open to engaging with the club to assess whether government support would be required to underpin a bid by the club to host such events."
The Open Championship 2025 is already scheduled to be played at the Royal Portrush Golf Club in Northern Ireland, the homeland of Rory McIlroy.
With the R&A keenly looking to find ways to host the tournament in the Republic of Ireland, the day is not very far from being achieved.