All the ingredients for a memorable Open

Having been prevented by work commitments from attending the successful return of the Open to Royal Portrush in 2019 I was keen not to miss it again. To do full justice to this famous and spectacular links I therefore caught a crack of dawn flight to Northern Ireland on Tuesday morning. This made it possible to spend a practice day exploring the improvements which have been made in the last decade.

The availability at Gatwick of free hard copies of the New York Times, China Daily, the FT and the I newspaper was a good start and a very welcome contrast to the soulless British Airways business lounge in Heathrow Terminal 5 where reading matter of any kind is conspicuous by its absence.

Even better, when I landed in damp grey Belfast just after 7 am, was seeing Frank Casey Jnr. After a pleasant round with Frank at Royal St George’s last summer he’d kindly invited me to combine a trip to the Open with a pilgrimage to northwest Donegal. There he and his younger brother John are busy creating a remarkable golfing paradise under the courteous yet rigorous gaze of their father, Frank Snr.

I’ll have plenty more to say about this in my next post. For now, suffice it to say that a van decked out with a smart livery “Home Golf Travel” miraculously appeared to whisk my suitcase and clubs away as soon as I exited the oversize baggage area of Belfast airport. Now, visiting well over sixty countries across every continent except Antarctica may just about qualify someone as moderately well travelled but I’d never before heard of Home Golf Travel.

The penny soon dropped. My travel companions were the accomplished course architect and builder Clyde Johnson and golf networker extraordinaire David Home, already familiar to ONLY FRIENDS subscribers. Home Golf Travel was the product of Frank Jnr’s fertile imagination.

As Frank Jnr drove us swiftly into town, we passed an enormous field full of spectators getting out of their cars and queuing to board park and ride buses to make a further fifteen minute journey to the course. This tedious start to a day watching golf is the direct consequence of the substantially increased numbers which the R&A now want to attend their showcase event.

Having recently heard an alarming rumour that in future potential host clubs may have to change their courses so that bigger galleries can be accommodated, I urge the R&A to consider very carefully the impact of this on the quality of the spectator experience.

Less really can be more. A keen pre-teen age golf fan, the kind of thoughtful girl or boy already attracted to golf by its traditions and finer points rather than the sight of ever longer hitting, may be put off by frustratingly long journeys to courses which are so crowded that, apart from getting into a stand which itself usually involves another queue, it’s not possible to see the stars in action.

At the very least, before huge galleries are allowed to become de rigueur, let’s consider carefully the examples of both the Masters and Wimbledon. These two deliver highly prestigious and financially successful events in golf and tennis respectively. Neither of them secures that desirable outcome by chasing spectator numbers.

Back to the spectator experience on Tuesday. Frank drove us straight into the centre of town, just across the road from the ticketholders’ pedestrian entrance. Opposite this was a tiny car park guarded on all sides by a fierce looking steel fence. As we approached, a friendly face opened the gate and waved us towards a space, one of barely a dozen, bearing our name.

This was the perfect start to a practice day. The crowd following Rory McIlroy was large but it was possible to see him hit some shots. We walked out to inspect Dunluce Lodge, the all suite hotel just completed on the right of the fourth fairway on a prime site which was a private home belonging to a Portrush member when I first played here. I enjoyed refreshments in its garden more than once early in a round. Close to the new hotel is the house rented by Rory this week.

A little further on we enjoyed the fine view from behind the fifth tee where the course turns left and down towards the sea. This was also a perfect spot to watch players practicing their approaches to the tricky fourth green. A little later we adjourned to the Clubhouse for an agreeable informal lunch, followed by a further course walk before a glorious drive westward to Donegal.

Yesterday was spent at the course dodging the rain, meeting friends old and new, and seeing plenty of great golf. It was notable also for a magnificent lunch efficiently served in the Clubhouse and hosted by Conor Rankin, one of the Club’s best golfers and a member of a distinguished Portrush family.

At the start the overnight scores seemed set up for Rory to capitalise on a steady opening round of 70. A solid birdie at the first and a brilliant recovery to save par on the second after being forced to take a penalty drop was a very promising start. Alas he was unable to build on this to match the momentum which others showed. Slipping out of the top ten to five or more shots behind three past major champions leaves him needing a couple of 65s to have a realistic chance of victory.

It’s an unusually interesting leaderboard. Without time to check, I’ll hazard a guess that it’s the first time that the half way top ten of a major contains a pair of twins, the Danes Rasmus and Nicolai Hojgaard, a golfer from the People’s Republic of China and the world’s current top ranked player.

Personally, I find it hard to look far beyond the top ten for the eventual winner. Scottie Scheffler has to be the man to beat and if he maintains yesterday’s form it’s hard to see who will catch him. But Fitzpatrick and Harman are breathing down his neck and only a brave punter would rule out the chances of Tyrell Hatton.

Rory may now benefit from a lowering of expectations over the weekend and the excitement if he moved back into contention would be almost unbearable. If that cannot happen then a first time major winner might be good for the game. Whatever the outcome, nothing will drag me from the large tv screen this afternoon or tomorrow.

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This week was the first time I’d been to Donegal since I was a small child and I’d largely forgotten the stunning beauty of its mountain and coastline scenery. It won’t only be golf that tempts me back here. The warmth of the welcome from its people and their friendly informal approach to life is infectiously appealing.

As for the potential for the golf offering being skilfully developed by the Casey family, the sky is the limit. More of that anon.

ENDS