GOLF CHIEFS are ready to take The Open outside the UK for the first time in its 164-year history.
Portmarnock, near Dublin, aims to become a host course in the near future following the huge success of the 2019 Open in Portrush, Northern Ireland.
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Outgoing R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers has revealed that talks are underway about hosting Ireland’s oldest golf tournament.
He said: “Portrush was incredible. It is very interesting that most people in Portrush have never been to an Open Championship.
“What we have said about Portmarnock is that the club has asked the Irish government for support in putting together a business case to organize our championships on the links.
“And we fully support the club doing this and we are actively engaged in making these assessments. But no decision has been made because we don’t even know if this is possible.”
Many golfers suspect that the Open could one day leave Europe on a world tour – in the same way that football’s rich men want Premier League games to be played abroad.
Portmarnock has hosted the British Amateur Championship, the Irish Open and the Women’s Open. Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and other golf stars have played there.
Slumbers also rejected calls for players on the Saudi-backed LIV tour to have direct channels to get to The Open.
Currently, LIV players must compete in separate qualifying events. Former US Masters champion Sergio Garcia missed Troon this year by two strokes after playing at the West Lancs club last week.
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Slumbers said: “We have 18 LIV players on the field and I think we have all the best players in the world.
“And that’s what we want all the best players in the world to show up for. So I think we created these opportunities.
“Will this evolve in the coming years? I think it depends on how the game evolves.
“But we will continue to want the best players in the world to be able to enter The Open properly.”
The Open has been played in 14 different locations throughout its history, with ten of them rotating at the moment.
Each of these are known as links courses, which are generally built in sandy coastal areas that offer a firmer playing surface than other types of courses.
It is the oldest style of golf, first developed in Scotland.
The 2023 edition of The Open was played at the Royal Liverpool Golf Club.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
