The Open Championship or British Open as is it known around the World is heading back to Northern Ireland for the first time since 1951.
Rumours were flying around Belfast last night that a formal announcement is imminent that the Championship will be held at Royal Portrush in 2019.
The venue was the host for the successful staging of the Irish Open in 2012 when it became the first European Tour event to completely sell out all tickets.
There is little doubt that the same will be true in five years time and the news will be another massive boost for sports tourism in Northern Ireland as well as in the Republic.
Fervour
The Giro d’Italia last month prompted a renewed fervour for bringing major events to Ulster that would have been unthinkable only 20 years ago. The management of that event, the detailed preparation and enthusiasm of the general population will not have gone unnoticed among the decision makers who as little as a month ago were still saying a return to the North was ‘some way off’.
Technically that was a valid statement and five years gives plenty of time to build the kind of support and infrastructure that will enable the eyes of the golfing world fall upon Ireland as they have never done before.
The Ryder Cup at the K Club was special but to host the only Golf Major to take place outside the United States is something on a different scale again.
The fact that it could happen one year before a possible hosting of the Euro 2020 Soccer finals and four before a potential Rugby World Cup puts Ireland on a global platform that few would have thought possible in their wildest dreams.
What a time to be involved in sport in Ireland.
