R&A chief says good news for Royal Portrush is not bad news for Carnoustie

Carnoustie is still set for the Open in 2018 as no existing venues will be taken off the championship rota as a result of Royal Portrush returning by the end of this decade.

As had been widely expected, the R&A has confirmed the course on the Antrim coast of Northern Ireland, which held Ireland’s only Open in 1951, will return at a date to be confirmed.

Course changes and infrastructure alterations requiring planning permission mean the earliest the Open can return is 2019, with 2020 thereby breaking the five-yearly cycle where the Old Course at St Andrews hosts the championship also a live possibility.

However, R&A chief executive Peter Dawson alleviated any fears that existing Scottish venues on the rota, most notably Carnoustie, Turnberry and Muirfield, would be “squeezed” by the return of Portrush.

“Nothing is coming off the rota, absolutely not,” he said. “We are very happy with all our Open venues.

“I’ve emailed them all today, informing them that Royal Portrush is an addition, not a substitution, and that they all are firmly in our plans for the future.”

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