Feasibility work on the potential of Portmarnock Golf Club in Co Dublin becoming the first venue outside of the United Kingdom to play host to The Open Championship remains ongoing, with Mark Darbon, the chief executive of the R&A, which runs the event, expecting to have further clarity on the matter “by the back end of the year”.
With Royal Lytham and St Annes confirmed as the host venue for The Open in 2028, the 12th time it will play host to golf’s oldest Major and the first since 2012, Darbon revealed that he remained “cautiously optimistic” about the potential to take the AIG Women’s Open and The Open to Portmarnock in the future.
“We’re working with the Irish Government as we undertake a body of feasibility work. We haven’t completed that work yet. We’re getting there,” said Darbon, pointing to the scale of the infrastructure required and the geographical constraints of Portmarnock – effectively surrounded by water on three sides – as reasons for the complexity of the process.
He added: “Portmarnock and Ireland more broadly has done a wonderful job of hosting Major championships in the past with the R&A and other stakeholders. We’re excited about trying to unlock the venue as a future host. We’ve still got some work to complete but I’m optimistic by the back end of the year we will have a much clearer picture.”
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Lytham returns to the rota for the first time since 2012 and perhaps serves as an indicator to Portmarnock of what can be done. The R&A required Lytham to carry out significant work to create space for the demands of hosting a modern day Open, when up to 300,000 spectators are expected, which involved improvements to the course’s internal road system to provide better access and routing management.
Irish golfers out in force
Ireland’s touring professionals are out in force for this week’s stops, with Lauren Walsh and Stephanie Meadow competing in the Riviera Maya Open in Mexico on the LPGA Tour, while a quartet of players – Anna Foster, Áine Donegan, Annabel Wilson and Olivia Mehaffey – are playing in the MCB Classic in Mauritius on the Ladies European Tour.
Tom McKibbin, meanwhile, moves from LIV Golf to play in the Turkish Airlines Open on the DP World Tour in Belek as the Belfast man gears up for next month’s PGA Championship at Aronimink in Philadelphia.
Word of Mouth
“I’ll always be around for advice. I don’t ever want him to think, oh, I’m Matt’s brother. I feel like this is a stepping stone to continue to move in the direction that he’s his own person.” – Matt Fitzpatrick, who has achieved so much already in his career (including US Open, Ryder Cups), on influencing his brother Alex’s own career path. The two paired up to win the Zurich Classic, which gave Alex – a recent winner of the Indian Open on the DP World Tour – tour card status also on the PGA Tour.
By the Numbers: 1
Shane Lowry is running solo as the only Irish player competing at this week’s Cadillac Championship, the latest of the PGA Tour’s $20 million signature events. Masters champion Rory McIlroy has opted to skip the tournament at Trump Doral’s Blue Monster course. McIlroy also missed the RBC Heritage, another signature event, following his Augusta defence. If he doesn’t play in next week’s Truist at Quail Hollow, it would mean heading into the US PGA Championship without any tournament play since completing his back-to-back green jackets.
On this day: April 28th, 1985
Raymond Floyd would enjoy a wonderful career that comprised four Major wins and, indeed, would have joined the Grand Slam club if he’d managed to win the 1978 Open Championship at St Andrews where he finished in a share of second behind Jack Nicklaus.
The claret jug would be Floyd’s only missing piece of silverware from his Major trophy cabinet. Yet, Floyd would also claim that the most important win of his career came not in a Major, but in the Houston Open at The Woodlands, where he shot a final round 69 for a total of 11-under-par 277 for a one-stroke win over David Frost and Bob Lohr.
“You go back through all my Majors and other victories and, if somebody asked me, I’d tell them this was my most important win,” remarked Floyd after the 19th career win of his PGA Tour career ended a 32 months drought.
The win came after a run of poor final rounds – in the Masters, Greensboro and the Tournament Players Championship – which had started to get to him. “No matter how well you play, there’s always that doubt. It was very important to my career to take advantage of leading and not let another one slip away.”
Social Swing
Congratulations to Anna Abom on a stunning victory in the inaugural Women’s South of Ireland Amateur Open Championship. Anna put on a masterclass all weekend, posting rounds of 70, 68 & 70 to claim a magnificent victory. We are proud to host this landmark event @golfirelandofficial – Lahinch Golf Club’s social media platforms tipping the cap to Irish international Anna Abom of Edmondstown on her historic win.
Automatic in the biggest moments. @NellyKorda put on a clinic off the tee this week. #Qi4D #TeamTaylorMade – The TaylorMade Golf media team bigging up their latest recruit’s Major win in the Chevron.
Wonder why Matt Fitz chips cross handed? It works because it is easier to keep the hands ahead of the clubhead which makes contact much more consistent. Also if your right hand gets too jabby during the downswing, it won’t affect the swing as much as ur left hand will act as a natural buffer. You shouldn’t hit full swing shots cross handed though – PGA Tour player Michael Kim’s analysis of his fellow tour player’s short game grip, after Matt Fitzpatrick teamed up with his brother Alex to win the Zurich Classic.
Know the Rules
Q: In match play, a player marks the position of their ball on the putting green, lifts the ball and sets it aside. By mistake, they putt the ball from the spot where it was aside. What is the ruling?
A: The player loses the hole (Clarification 14.4/1 and Rule 6.3c): the ball was lifted and set aside without the intent for it to be put back in play. When the player made a stroke at the ball which was out of play, they played a wrong ball and the penalty in match play is loss of hole.
In the Bag: Nelly Korda (The Chevron Championship)
Driver: TaylorMade Qi4D (10.5˚)
3-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 (15˚)
7-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 (21˚)
Hybrid: Ping G425 (25˚)
Irons: TaylorMade P770 (5), P7CB (6-PW)
Wedges: TaylorMade MG4 (50), MG Proto (54), Titleist Vokey SM11 (60)
Putter: TaylorMade NK Proto
Ball: TaylorMade 2026 TP5x
