The Open: 2019 host Royal Portrush primed for epic championship
There’s still a little more than two months to go before The Open Championship, but the Dunluce Links at Royal Portrush is capable of holding the year’s final major today.
While there’s a considerable amount of infrastructure left to be built, the golf course itself is more than ready to host the game’s best. Golf Advisor was able to play the golf course last week, albeit off mats in the fairways. It was an understandable concession, as the Portrush grounds staff and the R&A work together to host the club’s second Open and first since 1951.
The Harry Colt design has been tweaked in recent years by architect Martin Ebert, who most notably created two new holes, Nos. 7 and 8, using land borrowed from Valley Links. The par-5 seventh is framed by large dunes on each side and gradually rises from tee to green, tipping out at 590 yards. The par-4 eighth is a dogleg left that travels back in the other direction to rejoin the old routing at the ninth tee.
That means Calamity Corner, the 236-yard par 3 over a chasm, will now play as No. 16, ahead of the downhill, drivable par-4 17th and dogleg-right, par-4 18th. The grandstands surrounding the home hole are already in place, as you’ll see in the images and video of the course below.