DARREN CLARKE VIEWPOINT

Time for Royal Portrush to be on

Open championship roster

FROM THE BELFAST TELEGRAPH WEBSITE
The time has come for the Royal Portrush to be considered as a venue for The Open Championship again, according to Ryder Cup star Darren Clarke.
It is 58 years since the tournament was last played in North Antrim, the only Northern Ireland course to host the major championship.
However, as this year’s competition got under way at Turnberry, Clarke said arguments about the lack of infrastructure are paper-thin.
“If they think Turnberry now answers all the questions regarding such matters, then Portrush does so and more,” Clarke said.
The possibility of returning to the course was looked at six years ago by the R&A championship secretary David Hill, himself from Portrush.
He concluded that while Portrush would be a fantastic venue, accommodating the huge crowds would be a major problem.
However, Clarke said: “Turnberry answers all the accommodation problems, does it? With the new road (to Portrush), you're no more than 40 minutes from Belfast, where there's plenty of accommodation.
“There's plenty of room around the course for tented villages and so on, while the new tees mean that the course is plenty tough enough.
“The bottom line is we're talking about a links course as good as any in the world, where the arguments against are less strong than they are for the return of Turnberry.”
Meanwhile, Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy steps up onto golf’s biggest stage today carrying all the weight of expectation that comes with his playing talent.
In this week of the Open Championship, his manager Chubby Chandler has predicted that the Holywood golfer will be a “multi-Major champion and number one in the world”.
But this particular Major on the Turnberry links “may be an Open too early”.
It is a comment designed to calm some of the expectation that follows McIlroy everywhere he goes.
“This week is another learning experience,” his manager told the Belfast Telegraph.
The Holywood golfer goes into the championship ranked 22nd in the world and fifth on the European money list.
“I’d say he’s probably gone just a bit quicker than we thought would happen,” Chandler said on the progress of his player.
He also praised McIlroy’s parents — Gerry and Rosie: “I think his mum and dad are amazing,” he said.
Two years ago at Carnoustie, Rory was the top amateur in the Open Championship and turned professional just a few weeks later.
His Bangor-based coach Michael Bannon joined him in Scotland on Tuesday.
“He likes the golf course,” said Bannon.
“If you like the golf course you’re more likely to play well on it,” he continued.
And pointing to his recent results in the US Open and the Masters, he said: “He’s able to pull himself up for the big ones.”
Irish golfer Padraig Harrington is chasing three Open wins in a row and Tiger Woods is the bookies favourite. Rory’s uncle Colm, who will travel to Turnberry for the weekend play, has his nephew backed £50 at 22/1.
“He’s third favourite,” Colm said — “the bookies must be expecting something big”.
“If he gets a couple of putts in early, gets the pace of the greens, he could go very close,” he added.