Northern Ireland steps up bid to host Open

Northern Ireland's success in golf has renewed calls for the Open Championship to return to its shores. The tournament has been hosted in the region just once, at Royal Portrush on the north coast in 1951.

While local golf fans have long hankered for the UK's major championship to come back to the links, the feats of successive US Open winners Rory McIlroy and Portrush's own Graeme McDowell have given added impetus to the campaign. Establishing a berth on the rota of courses which host the event is a rare honour, with only 14 having staged it in 139 previous outings. But as the first nation other than the US to retain the US Open, Northern Ireland's politicians and tourism bosses believe the region should once again host The Open.

With the Portrush course rated as one of the finest in the British Isles, there is no doubting the club's credentials to challenge the world's top players. The issue of bringing back the Open has instead focused on logistics. But supporters insist that concerns about infrastructure in the Portrush area can be overcome. The first opening in the tournament rota is in 2016.

Club officials wish to host the event and are working with the Stormont administration in an effort to bid for the Irish Open. Royal Portrush secretary-manager Wilma Erskine said that the club would need financial support from the Government in order to host a top-ranking event. She said: "We would be very happy to a host a major tournament. We have recently hosted the British Ladies Amateur Open championships and the R&A (Royal and Ancient] are hosting the Senior Open Amateur Championship here, so we are focused on tournaments.

"But with most things, funding is vital and we are working with the Government on that issue."

Robert Cully, director of business development at the Northern Ireland Tourist Board, added: "Following Rory's win at the weekend and Graeme's success at the US Open last year, the positive PR that is generated for Northern Ireland on a global stage is creating unprecedented interest in our golf offering."