R&A in no hurry to pitch up on McDowell’s Portrush patch

THE chances of the British Open returning to Portrush any time soon appear to be remote following a less than enthusiastic endorsement of the Co. Antrim links by R&A chief executive Peter Dawson yesterday.

The success of Portrush’s own Graeme McDowell and fellow Ulsterman Rory McIlroy has prompted a resurgence in support for a first British Open on the famous course since 1951. Dawson acknowledged that but hinted the infrastructure surrounding the Irish links could not sustain the tournament.

“Obviously there’s much emotion about Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy’s victories and why don’t we go back to Northern Ireland and perhaps Portrush in particular, and I understand that,” Dawson said during the R&A’s press conference at Royal St George’s yesterday.