Latest news with #Darbon
Daily Record
06-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Record
Donald Trump camp salutes Scottish Championship blockbuster as DP World Tour throws weight behind Aberdeen venue
R&A chiefs have admitted the US President is an issue around The Open ever returning to Turnberry but that is not the case for the DP Tour Jubilant Eric Trump has saluted landing the Scottish Championship at Trump Links in Aberdeen as the event returns to DP World Tour as part of the closing swing. R&A chiefs have admitted the US President Donald Trump is an issue around The Open ever returning to Turnberry but there is no such problem for the the DP World Tour as they head to the north of Scotland for the first time. Royal and Ancient boss Mark Darbon confirmed they would love to go back but outlined the challenges regarding the size and area of the site plus the looming spectre of the sitting President of the United States of America, But it was all cheer for Donald's son Eric as he saluted the capture of the marquee event. Trump Jr, Executive Vice President of The Trump Organisation, said: 'We are honoured to host the Scottish Championship on the DP World Tour at our iconic property. 2025 is an incredible year for Trump International, Scotland, as we proudly welcome two world-class tournaments and celebrate the highly anticipated grand opening of our new championship links course. This significant milestone reflects the hard work of our team and is a true testament to the exceptional golf and hospitality we deliver in Scotland.' Guy Kinnings, CEO of the DP World Tour, added: 'Trump International Golf Links Scotland has already earned a reputation as one of the best modern links courses in the UK and it promises to be an excellent venue for the return of the Scottish Championship to our schedule.' When asked if Trump's involvement with Turnberry was a stickler to The Open returning, he recently said: 'I think the key issue for us at the moment is these logistical and commercial challenges. We're trying to explore ways to get around those and to mitigate for the future.' Crucially, though, Darbon then added: 'Of course, when it comes to a championship like this, we also want the focus to be on the golf. So that's a factor, too.' Trump, of course, gatecrashed the 2015 Women's Open when he landed a private helicopter at the course during the opening day's play, an attention grabbing move which took attention away from the Championship. Also, with The Open growing into a phenomenal sporting event, it's clear Turnberry faces issues with keeping up in terms of demands and requirements. Darbon gave a detailed explanation on that situation as he said: 'Turnberry's a wonderful golf course and I think some of the recent improvements there have made it even better. 'It's a course that we'd love to return to at some point and I think when we look at our portfolio of venues, of which we're very proud, there are three or four things that inform our choices and where we go. 'We need brilliant courses that challenge the world's best golfers.'
Daily Record
30-04-2025
- Business
- Daily Record
R&A chief provides fresh hope that The Open could one day return to Trump Turnberry
Top brass at the R&A have softened their stance with regards to Trump Turnberry hosting a future Open Championship. Chief executive Mark Darbon confirmed they would 'love to return at some stage' to the famous Ailsa course. However, Darbon measured his comments by highlighting the 'challenges' that would need to be overcome in terms of staging the Open at Turnberry, given its size, the area of the site and access to and from the venue. His comments are, however, in stark contrast to the ones made by his predecessor, Martin Slumbers, Chief Executive of The R&A, back in 2021. He previously stated: 'We have no plans to stage any of our championships at Turnberry and will not do so in the foreseeable future. 'We will not return until we are convinced that the focus will be on the championship, the players and the course itself and we do not believe that is achievable in the current circumstances.' At the time the statement was viewed as criticism of billionaire owner Donald Trump, who has owned Turnberry since 2014. However, speaking at the promotional launch of this year's Open, to be staged at Royal Portrush in July, Mr Darbon, appointed to the chief executive role of the R&A last year, his response was much more favourable. When asked if the US President's involvement with Turnberry was an obstacle to The Open returning, he said: 'I think the key issue for us at the moment is these logistical and commercial challenges. We're trying to explore ways to get around those and to mitigate for the future. 'Of course, when it comes to a championship like this, we also want the focus to be on the golf. So that's a factor, too.' Darbon also pointed out that history will be made at The 153rd Open at Royal Portrush - after it was revealed that 278,000 fans will gather at the Dunluce links from 13-20 July for the largest Championship held outside of St Andrews. And with those numbers in mind, Darbon believes that infrastructure will be a key consideration if the Open ever did return to the Ayrshire venue. He said: 'Turnberry's a wonderful golf course and I think some of the recent improvements there have made it even better. 'It's a course that we'd love to return to at some point and I think when we look at our portfolio of venues, of which we're very proud, there are three or four things that inform our choices and where we go. 'We need brilliant courses that challenge the world's best golfers. 'Given the scale of a modern Open, we have to be really thoughtful about some of the logistical and commercial challenges and opportunities that come with staging an event like this. 'And we want to continue to tell wonderful stories about our championship and we have no doubt when it comes to Turnberry about the first and third of those factors, a brilliant golf course and a wonderful place to tell stories about our game. 'Where we have some challenges is around the logistical and commercial challenges. I think the last time we were there in 2009, we had just over 120,000 people. We just said we're going to have close to 280,000 here (at Portrush) this summer. 'That's really important for us because not only do we want to showcase this wonderful championship to as many people as possible, but it's important for us in terms of our commercial model because everything that we generate from the Open, we then reinvest back into the game all around the world. 'So we've got a few challenges at Turnberry. The road, rail and accommodation infrastructure presents some challenges if we wish to scale our operation there. 'But we've got a good dialogue with the ownership group and we'll continue to look at feasibility as we move forward. We'd love to return at some stage.'
Irish Independent
29-04-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Portmarnock Golf Club members to vote on proposed course changes to host Open Championship
The club confirmed in a statement that a special general meeting will be held (online and in person) to vote on approving proposed modifications to the course by architects Mackenzie & Ebert. 'A meeting of Portmarnock Golf Club members is set for Wednesday, April 30th, to review and vote on proposed changes to the Championship course in the event that major R&A championships are to be held at the venue in the future,' the club said. The architects are understood to have proposed several modifications to the links rather than wholesale changes. These include changing the current 411-yard, par-four second hole to a par-three for an Open Championship or AIG Women's Open. This would improve the flow of play from the first green to a new second tee. There are also modifications proposed for the fifth hole, where the green can come into play for players taking a direct line at the green when playing the right to left curving, 398-yard third hole. The 472-yard 17th would likely be the 18th hole for an Open Championship, given the space available for grandstands. The demanding, 452-yard 18th would then become the first hole if the R&A decided to stage the game's oldest major outside the United Kingdom for the first time. It's understood that a simple majority in favour of the course changes would be all that would be required to take a significant step towards bringing major championship golf to the capital. The R&A insists that no dates have yet been proposed for either the men's or women's Opens as they work with the club on a feasibility study regarding the significant infrastructure required to bring events of this magnitude to a club situated on a peninsula. ADVERTISEMENT Last October, Portmarnock Golf Club and the R&A welcomed an announcement by the Irish government, which said it would support the hosting of The Open and the AIG Women's Open at the north Dublin links to the tune of up to €40 million. 'Portmarnock welcomes the government's announcement of its decision to agree to support the hosting of The Open and the AIG Women's Open at Portmarnock Golf Club, subject to certain conditions being met,' the club said last year. 'This is a significant step on the journey to hosting these events at Portmarnock and while there remain further infrastructural issues to be overcome, this is a major boost to the potential success of the project.' Government support is essential to the project, as the R&A's new chief executive, Mark Darbon, explained last week at Royal Portrush, which hosts the 153rd Open this July. 'We're in the midst of a planning process right now and that is focused on a detailed feasibility study to get under the skin of whether when and how we can stage an Open Championship here (Portmarnock)," Mr Darbon said. "We're really optimistic about that prospect. We're working closely with the local authority [Fingal County Council] and the government to support us in undertaking that feasibility work. "We're not quite there yet, but it's a process that is gathering some pace and we are optimistic about the future." The R&A relies heavily on income generated by the Open to fund its governance of the game outside the USA and Mexico and initiatives aimed at increasing participation in the sport. Royal Portrush has proved a significant success in that regard, and a record 278,000 fans - the biggest attendance at an Open held outside St Andrews - are expected at the Dunluce links from July 17-20. Rory McIlroy's thrilling Masters victory has led to huge anticipation and there were 1.1 million applications for tickets in the ballot. The Irish government said last October that staging an AIG Women's Open and an Open Championship at Portmarnock 'could result in a cumulative gross economic impact of €338 million.' While there has been speculation that the Women's Open could be staged as soon as 2028 and the Open in 2033 or 2034, the R&A has not officially proposed any dates. The 153rd Open is expected to generate more than €250million in total economic benefit, according to an independent forecast by the Sport Industry Research Centre (SIRC) at Sheffield Hallam University. It estimates that the economic impact resulting from The 153rd Open will be €74 million, while the destination marketing benefit for Northern Ireland derived from coverage produced via linear television and digital platforms will exceed €187m.
Daily Record
24-04-2025
- Business
- Daily Record
Donald Trump dream of bringing Open Championship back to Turnberry is about more than golf
Donald Trump's dream of seeing the Open Championship return to Turnberry is about more than golf. The five-star hotel and golf resort in South Ayrshire is at the centre of a major political and diplomatic wrangle. Trump bought the legendary course in 2014 and has invested around £200m in upgrading its impressive facilities. But the Open was last played there in 2009 . The UK Government has since gone out of its way to accommodate Trump after his return to the White House. Labour ministers want to avoid upsetting the Republican chief as far as possible while negotiations continue to secure a trade deal with the US . While foreign affairs are a reserved matter, there is a similar approach within the Scottish Government. Protecting hugely valuable industries like Scotch whisky from the threat of American tariffs is an absolute top priority. A sure-fire way of pleasing the President would be confirming the Open will indeed return to Turnberry in the near future. The problem is, it's not up to politicians in Holyrood or Westminster to decide. Choosing where the Open is played each year is the responsibility of the R&A, the St Andrews-based organisation which plays a massive role in the global governance of golf. This is an issue already being discussed at the top level. During Starmer's first visit to the White House as PM earlier this year, Turnberry was discussed privately by members of the President's team with their British counterparts. Politics has got in the way of Trump's dream before. R&A bosses previously made it clear the Championship would not be added back to the Open rota. In 2021, the organisation said that it would not host the tournament at Turnberry because of the January 6 attack on Capitol Hill that year. And last November, outgoing R&A boss Martin Slumbers said this position had not changed, saying he did not want 'media noise' detracting from the game. But the organisation now has a new boss. Mark Darbon said this week he "would love" the Championship to return to Turnberry. The issue stopping it are not just political, but logistical. Darbon said this week: "At Turnberry, there are definitely some logistical and commercial challenges that we face around the road, rail and accommodation infrastructure. "We're doing some feasibility work around what it would look like to return to that venue and the investment that it would require.' Turnberry is a 30 minute drive from Ayr, although there is limited rail service to nearby Girvan, a 10 minute drive from the course and hotel. This year's Open will take place at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland, with the R&A announcing on Tuesday that a record attendance of 278,000 fans is expected at the event. Darbon added: "The last time we were there [Turnberry], I think we had just over 120,000 people. "We've just announced that this summer we're going to welcome nearly 280,000 people [at Royal Portrush]. A modern Open Championship is a large-scale event. What we know for sure is the golf course is brilliant, so at some point we'd love to be back there." Those in the UK and Scottish Governments will be hoping that point will come sooner rather than later. To sign up to the Daily Record Politics newsletter, click here
Sunday World
23-04-2025
- Sport
- Sunday World
Portrush chiefs preparing for Rory McIlroy mania when they host the Open
Rory McIlroy and Harry Diamond The 153rd Open at Royal Portrush is set to become the second-best attended in history, with almost 280,000 fans having snapped up tickets for the final major of the year. The event was already a complete sell-out before home favourite Rory McIlroy completed the career grand slam with his dramatic Masters victory at Augusta National. Almost 1.1million people applied in the public ticket ballot last year, with 278,000 securing tickets across the practice days and four tournament days. That is around 41,000 more than attended the Open when Shane Lowry triumphed at Royal Portrush in 2019. That year marked the first time the Open had been played in Northern Ireland since 1951. While the tickets for this year's tournament were allocated long before the nerve-shredding conclusion at Augusta, recently appointed R&A chief executive Mark Darbon acknowledged the prospect of McIlroy teeing off on home turf as a Masters champion had added to the excitement around the Open's third hosting in Northern Ireland. 'I think it's brilliant for the sport of golf, not just our own championship,' Darbon said. 'It was an amazing, emotional win. 'We're delighted to see Rory etch his name in the history books.' The record attendance at an Open came in 2022 at St Andrews when 290,000 attended the 150th staging of the tournament. Asked if the hype around McIlroy would present crowd management issues at Portrush, Darbon said he was confident the understandable spectator desire to catch a glimpse of the five-time major winner could be managed. 'I think you're always thinking through how do you manage the crowd effectively, how do you get the experience right for spectators and other groups that we look after at one of these big events,' he told the PA news agency. 'I think it's important to realise that the Open is more than just a golf event. 'It's clearly one of golf's majors, but it's one of the biggest and best sporting events in the world, and so we spend a lot of time in planning and thinking through how we orchestrate movements of crowds and other groups around the golf course. And this will be no different.' The Open's return to the island of Ireland comes as the R&A continues to scope out the feasibility of holding a future Open at Portmarnock, near Dublin. 'We're going through a big feasibility study exercise right now, with support from the local authorities and the (Irish) Government,' he said. 'We're really getting under the skin of whether and how and when we can stage a championship at Portmarnock. Clearly, it's a great golf course, and so we're optimistic for the future.' As for whether Turnberry will host an Open while it remains owned by President Donald Trump, Darbon reiterated the R&A's stance that the focus of any Open must be solely on the golf and also voiced concerns around the infrastructure around the Ayrshire course. 'The golf course is magnificent,' Darbon said. 'If anything, it's better now than it ever has been, given some of the improvements that have been made to the course. 'But there are some challenges around the road and rail network, some of the accommodation provision in the surrounding area, and so we're working on what a model could look like for the future.'
