R&A: No deal yet on Portrush Open

The R&A insists it remains "some distance" from being able to stage the British Open in Northern Ireland for the first time since 1951.

Reports of the Open returning to Royal Portrush have been circulating for some time, with reports yesterday claiming a deal had been done for 2019, 68 years after Max Faulkner won the only Open staged outside England and Scotland.

However, the R&A’s response on Twitter labelled such reports as “Portrush rumours” and a statement read: “As part of our commitment to examine the feasibility of staging an Open Championship at Portrush, the R&A continues to discuss this at a conceptual level with Royal Portrush Golf Club and the Northern Ireland Executive.