Business of Sport: Royal Portrush gets ready to Open for business in 2019

By the time the Open Championship reaches Portrush in 2019, it will be worth in the region of €90 million to the North, writes Brian Keogh at Hoylake.

Rory McIlroy watches his tee shot on the first hole during the Open Championship in Liverpool last week. Picture: Getty

It’s not just the biggest golf tournament in the world, it’s also massive business, estimated to be worth close to €90 million to the local economy.

The Open – the oldest and most prestigious of golf’s four major championships — will return to these shores from 2019 at the earliest, with organisers the R&A inviting Royal Portrush back onto the rota of courses used for the event.

The small County Antrim seaside town ...