Epic journey to The Open stops off in Portrush
Tourism Northern Ireland teed off their Epic Journey at Belfast City Hall on Monday, before the drive to Kerr Street Green in Portrush on Friday (11am until 1pm), and then the short chip shot to Londonderry's Ebrington Square on May 7.
It will also feature a stop in Tullamore, Co Offaly, on May 21 at O'Connor Square - the home of the 2019 Open champion Shane Lowry.
With record-breaking numbers that year, The 148th Open at Royal Portrush was an overwhelming success story and there's no reason to doubt this summer's return to the famous Dunluce Links course – from July 13 to 20 – will be any different.
The action was beamed to more than 100m viewers worldwide in 2019 and the championship generated over £100m in economic benefit for the region.
Aine Kearney, Tourism NI director of events, said the championship created a tangible feel-good factor right across Northern Ireland when it last took place here.
She said: 'Northern Ireland is ready to extend a giant welcome to thousands of visitors from around the globe for The 153rd Open and to showcase the stunning Causeway Coast, and beyond, to a worldwide television audience.
'Bringing the Claret Jug on this epic journey to The 153rd Open allows us all to get involved in the build-up and the excitement to what promises to be an unforgettable week.
'Northern Ireland is made for golf and hosting The 153rd Open solidifies our reputation as a destination for world-class golf, tourism and hospitality and allows us to showcase our rich culture, natural beauty and warm welcome to visitors from around the world.'
The Epic Journey to The 153rd Open will also include a giant #TheOpen letter sculpture, designed by Tourism NI and made out of 4,000 golf balls, which was unveiled by global golfing hero, 2014 Open champion and recent Grand Slam winner Rory McIlroy, ahead of the 2019 Championship.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mirror
20 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Rory McIlroy told to change character as Open champion's dad makes £296m claim
The Open Championship gets underway at Royal Portrush on Thursday, with 2014 champion Rory McIlroy among the major contenders to get his hands on the Claret Jug The 153rd Open Championship returns to Royal Portrush this weekend, with Rory McIlroy in serious contention to win on home soil. However, Xander Schauffele will be a tough man to beat as he defends his title in Northern Ireland. McIlroy is in top form for his homecoming, having just finished second in the Genesis Scottish Open. Twelve years after first winning the Claret Jug, the 36-year-old is back in fray and has received some sage advice from two former champions. One previous Open winner is eager to see McIlroy triumph but is acutely aware of the pressure on his shoulders this weekend. Another wants to see the world No. 2 opt for the light-hearted approach following a tricky few months. In other news, Schauffele's father has disclosed the hefty price it would take for his son to abandon the PGA Tour for LIV Golf. And the figure might not be what the organisers of the Saudi-funded series were hoping for. £296m LIV claim made by star's dad Despite many stars leaving the PGA for lucrative deals with LIV, Schauffele has remained loyal to the tour that made him famous. However, this loyalty was tested when the Californian was offered between £112million and £148m to join the deserters. These figures were mentioned by Stefan, Schauffele's dad, as well as his long-time swing coach and agent, in a recent interview with The Times. But according to Schauffele Sr, even doubling that offer wouldn't have been enough to persuade his son to leave. "They could've doubled the money and we still wouldn't do it," said Stefan. For the Schauffele family, securing the ranking points needed to qualify for major championships remains the top priority. Given this stance, there's may be no realistic sum LIV could present that would tempt Schauffele, who pocketed £2.3m for his Open triumph last year, to abandon the PGA Tour. The defending Open champion will once again put his reputation on the line as he attempts to become the tournament's first consecutive winner since Padraig Harrington in 2008. Open winner offers McIlroy guidance Speaking of Harrington, the Irishman feels for McIlroy as he arrives at Royal Portrush carrying enormous expectations. Having ended his major drought this year and completed the career Grand Slam by capturing the Masters, he's now in excellent form and competing in familiar territory. Everything appears perfectly positioned for the Northern Irish sensation to mount a serious challenge on a course he knows intimately. However, Harrington warned of the potential pitfalls that can emerge when things seem almost too favourable. "Yeah, poor Rory, everyone seems to build up the pressure on him being the favourite," he told BBC Sport. "But if you want to be at that level the pressure's always going to be on you. Clearly, he knows Portrush very well, he'll have the support and there's no doubt we'd love to see an Irish winner." McIlroy's recent runner-up finish at the Scottish Open has quelled the drama surrounding his driver. And Padraig Harrington believes McIlroy is set for more major wins, regardless of this weekend's outcome. "Him going with the Masters' jacket, I think it's enough for him to just swan around and wave to the crowds," the three-time major winner opined. "He doesn't have to win. The people always want him to win the next major or whatever, but it doesn't have to be this one. I know it would be nice to be Portrush, but he'll win plenty more majors." McIlroy told to lighten up After his victory at Augusta, which ended an 11-year drought for a major title, McIlroy seemed on top of the world. However, trouble soon followed when his Masters-winning driver was deemed to be non-conforming with regulations at the PGA Championship. Forced to abandon his most reliable club, McIlroy faced a series of disappointing performances. And in order to deal with any outside pressure coming his way, six-time major champion Lee Trevino suggested McIlroy should handle such situations with a sense of humour. "He's going to the tee, these guys are full of Bud and they're saying, 'Rory, is this driver legal?' You don't need that s***," he told The Times. "He could have used some humour. I'd have said, 'I'm trying to be No1, and if I can get another five or six illegal clubs in this bag, I'm going to try.'" Perhaps that's not McIlroy's approach, as he'd rather allow his performance on the fairways speak for itself. And having rediscovered his form with the driver, The Open could be precisely the right moment to prove his point.
BBC News
24 minutes ago
- BBC News
'The Open is probably the most emotional major for me'
Justin Rose said that he has hit the winning putt for the Open Championship in his mind "more than 1,000 times" during the early stages of his 44-year-old will tee off at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland on Thursday for the 153rd edition of The has never won the British major but has twice finished second, in 2018 and more recently last year as Xander Schauffele lifted the Claret Jug at Royal Troon."The Open is probably the most emotional major for me," Rose told BBC Sport."As a British player it is one that I'd dearly love to win and is the one I've dreamed about winning the most as a kid, out on the putting greens as a youngster I've holed the putt to win The Open in my mind a thousand times or more."You can read more of Dan George's interview with 2013 US Open champion here.
Scottish Sun
an hour ago
- Scottish Sun
‘People believe what they want to believe' – Golf star Shane Lowry's prickly response to question about his drinking
FORMER Open champion Lowry won the Claret Jug at Royal Portrush in 2019 and celebrated in style LOW BLOW 'People believe what they want to believe' – Golf star Shane Lowry's prickly response to question about his drinking Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) FORMER Open champion Shane Lowry gave a prickly response to a question about his drinking. Lowry, 38, won the Claret Jug at Royal Portrush in 2019 and celebrated in style with selfies of him hitting the nightspots of Dublin. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 5 Former Open champion Shane Lowry at The Open in Portrush Credit: AFP 5 Shane Lowry takes to the links during a practice round Credit: Reuters The Irishman is back in Portrush for this week's Open Championship, and was immediately reminded of his boozy celebrations six years ago. 'That's an interesting first question, isn't it? We're here to talk about golf and all anybody wants to talk about is drinking,' the Ryder Cup star said. Rewind to 2019 and Lowry gave the world an exhibition on how to celebrate a sporting triumph with a week-long party. He also shared plenty of images on Instagram of his party to toast his victory at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth in 2022 when he was joined by pop star and avid golf fan Niall Horan. It's an image that Lowry is keen to downplay these days… although needless to say he would probably do it all again should he triumph this weekend back at his favourite course. Lowry said: Golf's a funny game where you lose more than you win, so when you win you need to enjoy those victories. "I'll let people believe what they want to believe (about my drinking). The people close to me know what I'm like. 'I do enjoy it from time to time but I know when I need to put my head down. "You can't be at the top of any sport unless you apply yourself." 5 Shane Lowry celebrated his BMW PGA Championship in 2022 5 Lowry was left cursing 'the morning after the night before' after his post-BMW party BEST ONLINE CASINOS - TOP SITES IN THE UK Lowry admitted that he failed to spot the giant mural celebrating his Open win - even though it is about 25 feet high! The painting of Lowry raising the Claret Jug at Portrush covers the entire side of a house, and is just around the corner from the course. But when he made his first trip back to the scene of his greatest triumph, just before the Irish Open last September, Lowry and his team forgot to make the small detour. He said: 'I'll be completely honest, we were in a rush leaving Portrush, and we totally forgot about going in to see it! 'I swear to God, we were ten miles down the road, and we suddenly realised we didn't get a picture of me standing in front of it, which we'd fully intended to do. 'By then it was too late to turn back, because we were on our way to the Irish Open at County Down. But I've seen it since, and I think it's pretty cool what they did there. 'People keep sending me pictures standing beside it - some of them I can't say what they're doing in it! 5 The mural of Shane Lowry being created on a house in Portrush Credit: Reuters "I've done something special in my life, and they've acknowledged that, and I think that's pretty cool too.' Lowry is currently 18th in the world rankings and so far this season has finished tied for 42nd at The Masters, and missed the cut at the US Open and the PGA Championship. He admits he has struggled to work out why it all clicked at The Open in 2019 and why he has been unable to repeat the feat since. Lowry said: "I've spent six years trying to work that out. My results were really good going into it. 'I was playing solid golf, then I came to a place I knew and loved. It all clicked. I was playing some of the best golf of my life. 'A few people close to me have said they knew I was ready - I wish they'd told me because I didn't think it. 'I was quite up-tight about it but that's just because you want to play so well. You never really know why. It just happened and I count myself quite lucky.' Lowry said the key could be playing poorly in the practice rounds, so his expectations are lowered and his focussed sharpened. He said: 'Here in 2019, I had a meltdown because I felt like I wasn't going to play well but that focuses me. 'If I get my complacency away and my expectations down, I'm at my best. I played well the last two days so that's not good. "I just need to play s**t for a few days and everything will be alright.'
