Open tee times ‘tweaked’ because of band parade in Portrush

The start of The Open Championship in Portrush on Saturday is being brought forward due to a band parade in the town.

More than 70 bands and about 2,000 people are due to be involved in the event which has been organised by Portrush Sons of Ulster on Saturday evening, as the golf tournament finishes for the day nearby.

The chief executive of the Royal & Ancient (R&A), Mark Darbon, said there would be “marginal adjustments” of about 15 minutes to the golf tee-times on Saturday to try to ensure both events could take place in a “seamless” way.

More than 275,000 spectators are expected to descend on Portrush over the coming days, making it the largest sporting event held in Northern Ireland.

The Open was first played at Portrush in 1951 and was last hosted in the town in 2019.

Organisers say The Open generates more than 5,000 hours of global television coverage, with the competition beamed into 500 million homes.

“We recognise that when we bring The Open Championship to town, we are a guest in the community in which we operate,” Mr Darbon said, at a press conference.

“On many occasions, there are concurrent events that take place around the action that we are very focused on here, within the rules of the venue.

“So, recognising the events that are taking place on Saturday, we have worked collaboratively with the organisers and across multi-agency groups to ensure, primarily, both events can run as seamlessly as possible.

“We are making a slight tweak to tee times to try and finish – it’s not dramatic, maybe 15 minutes or so earlier.

“At the same time, this is an outdoor sport; the weather can play a big role.

Asked about reports that the organisers of the band parade had been offered £20,000 to postpone their event, Mr Darbon did not answer the question directly.

He said the R&A had contributed “incremental costs” to the logistical operation involved on Saturday evening.

The Open normally finishes after 19:00 GMT on a Saturday.

No exact times are ever known due to weather and playing conditions on the day.

The band parade is due to begin at about 20:30, according to the Parades Commission website.

In a post on social media on Wednesday, Portrush Sons Of Ulster said the band has made it clear from the start of meetings that “we were having our parade and that hasn’t changed”.

“It has taken a serious amount of work for us to get where we are at today,” they said in their post on Facebook.

They urged people attending the event to plan ahead “due to the volume of golfers and parade goers” in the town on the same day.

“As is well known, our parade already draws a massive crowd but this year we expect it will be even bigger due to the publicity it has received,” they said.

Meanwhile, more than 4,800 people are staying at The Open’s camping village throughout the week.

Tents and glamping tee-pees have been set up on the grounds of Ulster University’s Coleraine campus.

Tom Crutchley, who manages the campsite, said the idea started in 2016 as a way of encouraging young people to attend the golf tournament.

“The R&A said that one of the biggest barriers for youths and young families coming to The Open was the cost of accommodation so The Open Camping Village was created,” he said.

“We started with about 120 tents, which my team and I have put up ourselves, and we have now grown to 772 tents and we operate a bit like a hotel.

Ronan Cooper and his son, Alex, are huge golf fans and travelled up from Dublin on Tuesday for the tournament.

Mr Cooper stayed at the glamping site during The 152nd Open at Royal Troon last year with his father, and enjoyed it so much that he decided to use it again in Portrush with his wife and son.

“The accessibility to the course from the glamping site is great, and it’s great value with everything set up for you as well,” he said.

Ronan and Alex said they were very fortunate to attend a practice session earlier this week as well and got a selfie with US golfer Cameron Young.

Alex told BBC News NI that he was delighted to get a load of signatures on their Open flag, including that of Norwegian golfer Viktor Hovland.