Latest news with #MarkDarbon
Daily Record
16-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Record
Donald Trump reminded money talks as prospect of Open Championship returning to Turnberry remains a long shot
US President given another warning that Open in Ayrshire is a long shot Donald Trump has been reminded money talks and warned it's a long road back at an Open Championship at Turnberry. The famous Ayrshire-links, which is owned by the President of the United States, has been off the Claret Jug rota since 2009. New R&A chief executive Mark Darbon has made it clear that logistical issues are a stumbling block to a return. Turnberry had 120,000 at their last staging 16 years ago, but the event has grown spectacularly and 278,000 spectators are ready to attend this year's Open at Royal Portrush. Trump's course in Aberdeen has been awarded a DP World Tour tournament this year with the £2 million Scottish Championship being staged in August. However, Rory McIlroy's old coach Pete Cowan, who works with a host of the game's elite stars, says the issues around an Open at the Ayrshire venue remain. Speaking to he explained: 'Turnberry is such a great course but the logistics are a problem. "There's only one road in and one road out. "It's not the course. "Logistics come into when you are talking with the R&A and how many people you can get in and out. "You could get twice as many people at Royal Portrush this year as you can at Turnberry. Money does talk.' You can get all the news you need on our dedicated Rangers and Celtic pages, and sign up to our newsletters to make sure you never miss a beat throughout the season. We're also on WhatsApp, where we bring all the latest breaking news and transfer gossip directly to your phone. Join our Rangers community here and our Celtic community here.
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.
News.com.au
22-04-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
Organisers confident they can manage ‘McIlroy mania' when Open returns to Portrush
The Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews chief executive Mark Darbon has expressed confidence that they can manage "McIlroy mania" on the golf tournament's return to Northern Ireland in July. 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.
USA Today
22-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Record crowds expected for 2025 Open Championship at Royal Portrush, R&A announces
Record crowds expected for 2025 Open Championship at Royal Portrush, R&A announces Going to the 2025 Open Championship at Royal Portrush? So are plenty of others. So many, in fact, the R&A announced Tuesday it will be the most-attended Open Championship, outside of the 2022 Open at St. Andrews, of all-time. The R&A says 278,000 fans will head to Northern Ireland for the 153rd Open Championship, set for July 17-20. There was "unprecedented demand" for tickets in the ballot, as there were more than one million ticket applications submitted. 'The Open is one of the world's great sporting events, and we will do everything we can to make this year's Championship at Royal Portrush an outstanding and memorable occasion for everyone involved from fans to players and the millions watching on TV and digital platforms worldwide," Mark Darbon, Chief Executive at The R&A, said in a release. 'The passion and enthusiasm for golf throughout the island of Ireland is world-renowned and is clearly reflected in the extraordinary demand among fans to be part of this historic occasion. We look forward to welcoming a record crowd to these spectacular links for a true celebration of golf and seeing who emerges from the 156-strong field to become Champion Golfer of the Year.' When Shane Lowry won at Royal Portrush in 2019, the course saw 237,750 fans over the course of the week. That number will be more than 40,000 higher this year. For the four practice rounds, there will be a record 89,000 spectators. The number in 2019 was 61K. The Open is also expected to be the largest sporting event in Northern Ireland's history, with an estimated economic impact of £213 million, or nearly $300 million. Last year, 258,174 fans attended at Royal Troon, the third-most all time, with the three highest attendance totals all coming in the past three years. Open Championship attendance records
