R AND A DENY REPORT THAT 2018 OPEN IS GOING TO ROYAL PORTRUSH

FROM THE SKY SPORTS.COM WEBSITE

The Royal and Ancient have dismissed speculation that they have agreed to stage the 2018 Open Championship at Royal Portrush.

The breathtaking links lay-out is the only course outside England and Scotland to have hosted the Open, with Max Faulkner lifting the Claret Jug in 1951.
The RandA are keen to take the tournament back to the County Antrim course, but they are wary of the lack of options in travelling to and from the venue.
Hopes were raised after Portrush successfully staged the Irish Open last summer, and a report in the Irish Sun claimed the Open Championship will be played there in 2018.
But an RandA spokesman insisted: "No decision has been made for 2018."
RandA chief executive Peter Dawson admitted earlier this year that Portrush is "a fantastic golf course," but concerns remain over the infrastructure required to stage a major and Dawson felt the current nine-course (five in Scotland, four in England) Open rota is "about right."