Pádraig opens up on Portrush

It took 17 years for Pádraig Harrington to return to his favourite golf course in the world and just 18 holes around Royal Portrush to convince him it was a worthy venue for not just an Irish Open but an Open Championship as well.

Two of Harrington’s three major victories have come on the traditional links of an Open Championship and the Dubliner, back on the course where he twice finished a runner-up as an amateur, believes the “inspired” decision to bring an Irish Open to the North for the first time since Belvoir Park hosted the 1953 edition will lead to the R&A bringing their prestigious major back to Portrush for the first time since 1951.

“I would love to play The Open here. It would be just unbelievable, especially on a course I love,” said Harrington, who won the Claret Jug in 2007 and 2008 and finished second at the North of Ireland Championship in 1993 and 1995.