{"id":260698,"date":"2025-07-13T04:40:15","date_gmt":"2025-07-13T04:40:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/260698\/"},"modified":"2025-07-13T04:40:15","modified_gmt":"2025-07-13T04:40:15","slug":"local-hero-boosts-golf-as-northern-ireland-hosts-open","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/260698\/","title":{"rendered":"Local hero boosts golf as Northern Ireland hosts Open"},"content":{"rendered":"

At Morelli\u2019s ice cream parlour in Portrush, the face of golf champion Rory McIlroy beams down. Made entirely from multicoloured sugar sprinkles it is a good-luck charm for the local legend as one of the sport\u2019s most prestigious tournaments comes to Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n

\u201cRory mania\u201d is in full swing on hopes the newly crowned Masters champion will delight home fans at the Open in Royal Portrush next week. Asked who would win, caddie Jim Wilson had no doubt: \u201cRory, of course.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whether McIlroy<\/a> wins or loses, the tournament\u2019s return to Northern Ireland promises a boost for the region\u2019s economy, which was hit by challenging falls in tourism and visitor spend last year.<\/p>\n

The prospect of seeing Northern Ireland<\/a>\u2019s McIlroy \u2014 one of only six men to have won the Masters, the US Open, the Open and the PGA championship to cement a career grand slam \u2014 is just one of the draws in a region once synonymous with a brutal three decades-long conflict.<\/p>\n

\"\"Rory McIlroy tees off the 11th during day one of The Open Championship 2019 at Portrush \u00a9 David Davies\/PA Wire<\/p>\n

Northern Ireland lures visitors with its stunning scenery, whiskey distilleries and Game of Thrones film sets, but it rarely hosts major sporting events. It was dumped as a venue for the Euro 2028 soccer championship because of a political row over the cost<\/a> of a new stadium. <\/p>\n

Sheffield Hallam University estimates the tournament, played at the course overlooking the Atlantic Ocean that regularly ranks as one of the world\u2019s best, will deliver a \u00a3213mn boost to one of the UK\u2019s poorest regions.<\/p>\n

Hosting major events is \u201creally, really compelling way of selling Northern Ireland abroad\u201d, said Andrew Webb, chief economist at consultancy Grant Thornton.<\/p>\n

Overlooking the fourth fairway, where players will practice from July 13-16 and compete from July 17-20 before an expected 278,000 fans, stands the Dunluce Lodge, the region\u2019s first five-star hotel in almost a decade. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe owners are from Dallas \u2014 they saw a gap in the market for a luxury property,\u201d said Sin\u00e9ad McNicholl, director of sales and marketing at the hotel, which opened in February. \u201cIt\u2019s a legacy from the 2019 Open.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"\"Sinead McNicholl, Director of Sales and Marketing pictured at the new Dunluce Lodge \u00a9 Charles McQuillan\/FT<\/p>\n

Northern Ireland\u2019s tourism sector had a challenging 2024, in which visit numbers fell 13 per cent and tourist spend dropped 10 per cent<\/a> from the previous year.<\/p>\n

But golf tourism at the region\u2019s more than 90 courses is booming, earning a record \u00a386.2mn in 2024, 66 per cent up on 2019, when Northern Ireland hosted the Open for the first time since 1951.<\/p>\n

Wilson, who has been a caddie at Royal Portrush for 15 years, said demand from visiting players has soared, mostly among Americans but also Japanese, Chinese and Koreans. The club has 160 caddies on its books now, up from 60 to 70 in 2010, he said. \u201cPeople see the course on telly and want to play it,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Visitor numbers rise even further when cruise ships arrive in Belfast, said Michael Garton, who works in operations at Royal Portrush. \u201cThe Open is a massive money-spinner \u2014 people went mental for it last time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Jim Wilson \u00a9 Charles McQuillan\/FT<\/p>\n

Rory mania has helped drive huge demand for tickets, resulting in the fastest sellout in the ticket ballot in the Open\u2019s history<\/a> and record sales for premium experiences, according to the organisers.<\/p>\n

McIlroy<\/a>, 36, currently ranked world No 2, began turning heads when he smashed the course record at Royal Portrush aged just 16.<\/p>\n

His stunning victory at the Masters in the US in April boosted his popularity, fuelling hopes that a \u201ccurse\u201d that saw him wait an agonising 11 years without a major trophy has now been lifted. McIlroy bombed at the Open in 2019, when Ireland\u2019s Shane Lowry raised the victor\u2019s Claret Jug.<\/p>\n

Hosting the Open will \u201ccelebrate the sportsmanship of those heroes as well as demonstrate our fantastic 19th hole offer \u2014 what happens after the golf\u201d, said \u00c1ine Kearney, director of events at promotion body Tourism NI.<\/p>\n

Recommended<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

Portrush is a 15-minute drive from both the Giant\u2019s Causeway, a remarkable rock formation that is a Unesco World Heritage site, and Bushmills, the world\u2019s oldest licensed whiskey distillery.<\/p>\n

And among golf tourists \u201cFor every pound spent in terms of tee time, around \u00a34 is spent off the course,\u201d Kearney said. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a brilliant atmosphere for us,\u201d said Daniela Morelli-Kerr, one of five siblings running the family ice cream business including the shop on Portrush\u2019s main street that will stay open \u201cas long as people come out\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"\"Daniela Morelli-Kerr, Director at Morelli\u2019s Ice Cream \u00a9 Charles McQuillan\/FT<\/p>\n

But up the road at an amusement park, an institution for the past century, some fear the town will be inaccessible in daytime while the Open is on.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe rely on the summer season,\u201d said Marnie, who runs a mini golf attraction. If for one week, Portrush is [essentially] closed, that\u2019s a massive loss of earnings.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Rajesh Rana, managing director of Andras Hotels, which opened the Marcus Portrush last month, saw \u201cthe next four years of benefits\u201d. <\/p>\n

Nearby Bushmills has hired extra staff, eyeing a golf-driven bump to record 2024 visitor numbers that hit 200,000, said master blender Alex Thomas. <\/p>\n

And Judith Owens, head of Northern Ireland\u2019s top draw, Titanic Belfast, a museum devoted to the ill-fated liner, said it would cast a \u201cbrilliant halo effect and legacy\u201d region-wide.<\/p>\n

For Niall McKenna, chef and owner of the Waterman House and James St restaurants in Belfast: \u201cWe\u2019ll have two Christmases in one year.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"At Morelli\u2019s ice cream parlour in Portrush, the face of golf champion Rory McIlroy beams down. Made entirely…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":260699,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5011],"tags":[1144,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-260698","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-northern-ireland","8":"tag-northern-ireland","9":"tag-uk","10":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114844088811056553","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/260698","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=260698"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/260698\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/260699"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=260698"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=260698"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=260698"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}