The Open returns to Portrush where the cheers still echo

What some thought could be a question—the return of the Open Championship, the British Open, to Northern Ireland after decades—instead turned out to be a celebration.

That was 2019, and the pain of the difficulties of years past, the violence between the English and the Irish, known euphemistically as “the troubles,” seemed swept away by a fortuitous sporting event. And an Irish winner, Shane Lowry.  

The cheers and chants—“Ole, ole, ole”—still echo in the mind.

 The Open comes back this week with no doubts, and with as much excitement as possible for the oldest tournament in the game.

Royal Portrush, a plot of land that is spectacularly beautiful––and for golfers, agonizingly difficult—sits on the Atlantic where the waves crash, the wind blows, and more often than not, the rain falls.

As challenging as any course, where the Open has been held in its 152-year history, Portrush offers huge dunes and a hole, the 17th, named Purgatory.

It’s long been golf country. Graeme McDowell grew up in Portrush and went on to win a US Open at another seaside course, Pebble Beach, in 2010.

Rory McIlroy, who was the favorite for that 2019 British Open and will be among the favorites this time, is also from Northern Ireland. As is Darren Clarke, who won the British Open in 2011, along with David Faherty, who kept us entertained on television after he stepped away from competition. 

The Open is traditionally held on links courses, where the bunkers are deep and numerous golfers are almost as dependent on the weather as they are on their swings. It’s been said there is too much luck involved on links courses, that a crazy bounce can determine who ends up in first place. But the great Jack Nicklaus often said the people who hit the best shots usually get the best bounces. 

Nicklaus won The Open. So did Tom Watson. And of course, so did Tiger Woods—and those guys were hardly surprised champions. Wherever the tournament goes week to week, Scottie Scheffler inevitably is the choice, along with McIlroy, Sepp Straka, and Justin Thomas.

Yet golf is different from other sports. You have no control over what another player does, only what you do.

True, McIlroy and Scheffler won the year’s first two majors, the Masters and the PGA Championship. But longshot J.J. Spaun took the US Open.

Who knows what to expect for The Open, which last year was won by Xander Schauffele. Maybe Rory, having completed his personal Grand Slam with the victory at Augusta, will follow up with a triumph at The Open. He’s determined to atone for his problems of 2019 when he hit his opening tee shot into the crowd and eventually missed the cut. The gloom was as thick as the rough.

The win by Lowry, who’s from the Republic of Ireland, helped eliminate that gloom. Yes, two different countries, but ask the residents of either and they will say, “We are all Irish.”

McIlroy was measured in describing his thoughts for this Open and his chances.

“We all want to do better. We all think we can just get a little bit extra out of what we have,” said McIlroy. “It has been an amazing year.” 

“The fact that I’m here at Portrush with the Green Jacket, having completed that lifelong dream, I want to do my best this week to enjoy everything that comes my way, enjoy the reaction of the fans, and enjoy being in front of them and playing in front of them.”

“But at the same time, I want to win this golf tournament, and I feel like I’m very capable of doing that.