Padraig Harrington hoping Portmarnock hosts Open before his exemption ends in 2032

THE OPEN IN IRELAND: Padraig Harrington tees off the 16th during a practice round ahead of The Open at Royal Troon. Photo credit: Owen Humphreys/PA Wire.

Padraig Harrington is holding out hope that The Open can be held at Portmarnock before his exemption to continue playing the tournament as a former champion expires at the age of 60 in eight year’s time.

“It would be very nice if it was my last year in 2032, if the Open came to Portmarnock in my last year,” the two-time champion said from the driving range at Royal Troon on Wednesday. “Hopefully something can happen on that.”

The likelihood of that happening is still uncertain. The 52-year old certainly can’t see it becoming a reality any time before 2030 but he is clearly taken with the idea of the tournament being played outside the UK for what would be the first ever time.

And intrigued by the wider doors that would open.

“It would justify the fact that we call it ‘The Open’. It would solidify that the R&A is in charge of golf all over the world and it would open up the possibility for The Open in time going to Australia or places like that, maybe not the time of the year, but why not?”

R&A CEO Martin Slumbers confirmed earlier that Portmarnock remains a live possibility to host while reiterating again that access issues in terms of the size of crowds expected at one of golf’s four majors remains the key.

The Dublin course is based on a peninsula and coming up with a logistical structure and transport plan to facilitate the numbers involved will probably decide whether the famous course is afforded the ultimate honour.

“The club has asked the Irish government for financial support to stage our championships on the links and we are fully supportive of the club doing that and we are actively engaged in making those assessments,” said Slumbers at Royal Troon on Wednesday morning.

“But no decisions have been made so we don’t even know if it is possible.”

Portmarnock has hosted the Irish Open 19 times, the last of them in 2003. It has also hosted the Amateur Championship twice, in 1949 and 2019, as well as the 1991 Walker Cup. It was the venue for the Women’s Amateur Championship last month.

Slumbers described the issues at play as “not trivial” and went into further detail.

“Well, it's all about getting people in and out of the peninsula. It's a tight little area, and to move that number of people you need to be able to treat the people, not just properly, but you need to have safety and health and all sorts of things that are really important. So those are issues that need to be resolved.”

It goes without saying that a men’s Open Championship in the Republic of Ireland would be an enormous deal and that having the event on the doorstep of a capital city that is already a globally known tourist destination would bring its own unique flavour.

Ultimately, The Open is a money-making machine with the funds generated pumped back into the R&A’s development efforts for the game of golf around the world. So, it has to make sense on that level or the idea would be dead in the waters of Dublin Bay.

“I think you need to look at what happened in Portrush [in 2019]. I mean, Portrush was amazing. But what Portrush did — it's a very interesting piece of the equation — is that the vast majority of the people who came to Portrush had never been to an Open Championship before.

“So it wasn't all the people that are coming here saying we're going to travel across and go to it. It was a different audience. There were more Americans but it wasn't dominated by Americans. It was about 20% from the United States. So it opened up a new market and that's good for business and good for golf.”

Padraig Harrington reacts as he is inducted during the World Golf Hall of Fame Induction. Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images.

Rory McIlroy and Paul McGinley are among the voices to have previously given their fulsome backing to what would be a truly historic occasion if given the green light.

Royal Portrush will host The Open again in 2025 with Shane Lowry capping a sensational week on the Antrim coast five years ago. The 2026 tournament is already booked in for Royal Birkdale in Southport.

The importance of footfall has been obvious to the R&A in the ten years that Slumbers – who steps down from the role in the coming months– has been the CEO with attendances at The Open climbing pretty much year on year lately.

There will be approximately 250,000 spectators at the Ayrshire links this week. That will be 70,000 more than in 2016 when the championship was last here and this is basically the reason why Royal Lytham has fallen off the roster since 2012.

“I think I said in this room a few years ago [that] big-time sport needs big-time crowds,” Slumbers said at his annual pre-tournament press conference. “It surprised me when I came here in 2016, 170,000 people in a week around this golf course.

“It sort of felt empty. Grandstands weren't full very often. The image wasn't that great. The weather wasn't terribly good on Friday, was it?

“But I think big-time sport is so much better when there's lots of crowds and there's lots of noise and there's lots of enthusiasm. Yeah, I mean, every year since then we've hit a record during my time, and I'm sure my successor will be looking to do exactly the same.”