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2025
Welcome Back
Royal Portrush will host the 153rd Open Championship in the summer of 2025.
2019
Irish Eyes Are Smiling
The 148th Open Championship at Royal Portrush proved to be one of the most memorable. In front of 237,750 spectators, second only to the attendance at the Centenary Open at St Andrews, Ireland’s Shane Lowry justified the wait with an emphatic and emotion-charged victory.
2018
Dress Rehearsal
The R&A Boys Amateur Championship was played in Ireland for the first time. With The Open's scheduled return in 2019, the tournament served as an ideal testing ground for changes to the Dunluce Links, including the addition of two new holes.
The R&A Boys Amateur Championship was played in Ireland for the first time. With The Open's scheduled return in 2019, the tournament served as an ideal testing ground for changes to the Dunluce Links, including the addition of two new holes.
2016
Crowning Moment
HRH Queen Elizabeth II attended a civic reception at the Royal Portrush clubhouse, marking Her Majesty’s first official visit to any golf club.
2014
Bradley Beats The Best
Bradley Neil defeated a top-class field, including future World No. 1 Jon Rahm, to win The Amateur Championship.
2012
A European Tour De Force
Royal Portrush took a major step towards the return of The Open by hosting a highly successful, sell-out Irish Open, won by Welshman Jamie Donaldson. Portrush native Alan Dunbar claimed The Amateur Championship, and just two weeks later, Royal Portrush member Stephanie Meadow, who had holed the winning putt for GB&I in the Curtis Cup, was crowned Ladies’ British Amateur champion.
2011
Champion Golfer Of The Year, Darren Clarke
Royal Portrush Golf Club member Darren Clarke joined the Major club at the age of 42 with his victory in The Open Championship at Royal St George’s. The record ninth staging of the British Ladies Amateur Championship saw 16-year-old Lauren Taylor succeed Royal Portrush’s May Hezlet as the youngest winner.
Royal Portrush Golf Club member Darren Clarke joined the Major club at the age of 42 with his victory in The Open Championship at Royal St George’s. The record ninth staging of the British Ladies Amateur Championship saw 16-year-old Lauren Taylor succeed Royal Portrush’s May Hezlet as the youngest winner.
2010
GMAC is a Major Player
Graeme McDowell won the US Open at Pebble Beach, emulating fellow Portrush native Fred Daly, Ireland’s first Major winner. GMAC’s victory marked the first by a European golfer at the US Open in 40 years.
2005
Rory's Record
Sixteen-year-old Rory McIlroy set a course record with a 61 in the North of Ireland Amateur Championship.
1995-1999 & 2004
Senior Status
Royal Portrush Golf Club’s global profile soared as the Dunluce Links became the setting for six Senior British Opens. Gary Player, Arnold Palmer, Tom Watson, Bob Charles, Hale Irwin, and Tom Kite are just a few of the renowned over-50s who walked the fairways.
1993
Out Of The Shadows
Royal Portrush welcomed back The Amateur Championship, marking a significant step forward for both the club and the country after decades of civil conflict. 1985 Amateur champion and long-standing Royal Portrush member Garth McGimpsey secured a record fifth North of Ireland title.
Royal Portrush welcomed back The Amateur Championship, marking a significant step forward for both the club and the country after decades of civil conflict. 1985 Amateur champion and long-standing Royal Portrush member Garth McGimpsey secured a record fifth North of Ireland title.
1980
Double Delight
Maureen Madill, the 1979 Ladies’ British Open Amateur champion, joined her Royal Portrush clubmate Claire Nesbitt in the GB&I Curtis Cup team.
1970
15 For 'Phil'
Philomena Garvey secured the last of her record 15 victories in the Irish Women’s Amateur Close Championship.
1960
Carr Clinches ‘Amateur’ Hat-Trick
Legendary Irish golfer Joe Carr won The Amateur Championship for a third time during its first visit to Portrush.
1956
Inspirational
Zara Bolton, later President of the Royal Portrush Golf Club’s Ladies’ Branch, captained the GB&I team to its second Curtis Cup victory over the USA.
Zara Bolton, later President of the Royal Portrush Golf Club’s Ladies’ Branch, captained the GB&I team to its second Curtis Cup victory over the USA.
1951
Joining The Major League
Royal Portrush Golf Club made history by welcoming The Open Championship, marking the first time golf’s oldest Major was played outside Great Britain since its inception in 1860. Max Faulkner triumphed over defending champion Bobby Locke and a strong field to become the Open champion.
1947
Local Hero
Portrush native Fred Daly became the first Irish golfer to win a Major, securing victory in the Open Championship at Hoylake. A week later, at Royal Portrush, Daly was defeated by Harry Bradshaw in the Irish Open. The North of Ireland Amateur Championship, to be held annually at Royal Portrush, was inaugurated.
1933
Green For Go
Sir Percy Greenaway, Lord Mayor of London, officially opened the Harry Colt-designed Dunluce Links, now regarded by many as the acclaimed architect’s finest work.
1929
On Course For Change
On the advice of Sir Anthony Babington, Royal Portrush enlisted the services of celebrated golf course architect Harry Colt. Having designed over 300 courses during his prolific career, Colt was tasked with creating a championship course to challenge the best in the game.
On the advice of Sir Anthony Babington, Royal Portrush enlisted the services of celebrated golf course architect Harry Colt. Having designed over 300 courses during his prolific career, Colt was tasked with creating a championship course to challenge the best in the game.
1903
Leading Ladies
Rhona Adair secured her second British Ladies’ Amateur title. Along with May Hezlet, both Royal Portrush members, she was a dominant force in the women’s game for almost a decade.
1895
Great Scott
Lady Margaret Scott won the British Ladies’ Amateur Championship, and Sandy Herd defeated Harry Vardon in Ireland’s first professional tournament.
1892 - 1895
By Royal Appointment
The club was renamed the Royal County Club, and H.R.H. The Duke of York became its patron. Three years later, in 1895, the name was changed to Royal Portrush Golf Club, and patronage passed to H.R.H. The Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII.
1892
Breaking New Ground
Ten English players and three Scots were among 32 competitors as Portrush hosted the first national golf tournament in Ireland. Alexander Stuart, from the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers, became the inaugural Irish Amateur Open champion.
Ten English players and three Scots were among 32 competitors as Portrush hosted the first national golf tournament in Ireland. Alexander Stuart, from the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers, became the inaugural Irish Amateur Open champion.
1891
The Pioneers
Members of the County Golf Club played a key role in the formation of the Golfing Union of Ireland, the first of its kind in the world, at the Northern Counties Hotel, Portrush. A Ladies’ and Juveniles’ Branch was established, and in 1893, Portrush became only the third club to join the Ladies Golfing Union.
1889
Old Tom Morris
The legendary four-time Open champion, Old Tom Morris, played an exhibition match and offered advice on a new 18-hole layout.
1888
Founding Fathers
Scots George L. Baillie and Thomas Gilroy played an instrumental role in the formation of the County Golf Club. The club’s first tournament was held on a nine-hole course.