Dublin golf club to seek government support to host Open Championship

Portmarnock Golf Club in Dublin is to seek support from the Government for a potential bid to host the Open Championship for what would be the major tournament’s first staging outside the UK.

The club has had informal engagement with tournament organisers, The Royal and Ancient, about using the course as a future venue for both the Open and Women’s Open.

Portmarnock has played host to both the Walker Cup and men’s Amateur Championship in the past and will be the venue for the Women’s Amateur Championship next year.

Ministers in Dublin have said they would be open to engaging with the club to assess whether government assistance would be required to underpin any bid for major championship golf.

Last month, Rory McIlroy said an Open in the Republic of Ireland would be “amazing”.

The tournament’s return to Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland was viewed as a huge success by The R&A and the Open will again be played at the north coast venue in 2025.

South of the border, Lahinch in Co Clare will stage the Walker Cup in 2026 and the following year the Ryder Cup will be played at Adare Manor in Co Limerick.

The R&A said Portmarnock was one of the world’s outstanding links courses and said it had potential as a major championship venue. But it said it was essential that a full evaluation was carried out to determine the feasibility of staging such events at the venue.

Portmarnock captain Niall Goulding said he was excited about the opportunity to host major championship golf.

“The club has had informal contact with The R&A regarding the possibility of hosting the AIG Women’s Open and The Open at Portmarnock in the coming years,” he said.

“Without a detailed survey, it is not possible to verify the ability of the property to act as