Portrush is ready for Rory-Lowry mania

Portrush, N Ireland: The 153rd edition of the Open was a sellout long back; almost six months ago, say some. Then came Northern Ireland’s favourite son Rory McIlroy’s career grand slam with the dramatic Masters victory at Augusta National. Add to that, the winner last time at Portrush in 2019 was Irishman Shane Lowry, a win that played a big role in the quick return of the Open to Portrush in six years.The heady cocktail of Rory, Lowry and Portrush has turned the 2025 Open into a mania like never before. The town, which had a little over 6,150 people as per the 2021 census, is hoping to welcome almost 280,000 people. Organisers said almost 1.1 million people applied in the public ticket ballot last year, with 278,000 securing tickets across the practice days and four tournament days.That was about 41,000 more than attended the 2019 Open, which was the first time the Open had been played in Northern Ireland since 1951.For the record, the highest attendance at an Open came in 2022 at St Andrews when 290,000 attended the 150th staging of the tournament. Rooms are just not available in this tiny seaside resort of Portrush, where there are three sandy beaches – the West Strand, the East Strand and White Rocks. Fans will be driving in each day from as far as 60–80 miles away and there are multiple special Translink trains to Portrush each day.The main part of this stunningly pretty town is the railway station, which has an imperious tower clock indicating its proud presence. Nearby are most of its hotels, now sharing the space with the omnipresent bed-and-breakfast places and alongside are the restaurants and bars on the Ramore Head. The tip of this one-mile peninsula points northwest and on it lies Portrush’s busiest area.Yet, the best-known landmark of Portrush is the Royal Portrush Golf Club, the only golf club outside of Great Britain to have hosted the Open — in 1951, in 2019 and now. The organisers are confident they can manage McIlroy–Lowry mania. A special monitoring cell will keep an eye on all that happens at the venue and in the town, and yet none of it is obtrusive and neither does it take away the fun that golf fans hope to have.Sometime back, the R&A chief executive Mark Darbon, who oversees his first Open, acknowledged that the prospect of McIlroy teeing off on home turf at Portrush as a Masters champion, who had completed a career slam, added to the excitement. “I think it’s brilliant for the sport of golf, not just our own championship,” Darbon had commented.The clamour for tickets had reached a feverish pitch even before McIlroy had completed his career Slam at Augusta. Over the years, the Open has positioned itself as more than just a golf event. It is not just the world’s oldest golf major, but is probably one of the biggest sporting majors in the world.An independent forecast by the Sport Industry Research Centre at Sheffield Hallam University estimates the 2025 Open at Portrush will generate more than £213 million in total economic benefit for Northern Ireland. That would make it the biggest sporting event ever staged in the region. It could also pave the way for a future Open’s return to the island of Ireland and the possibility of holding a future Open at Portmarnock near Dublin.