Epic journey to The Open stops off in Portrush
This free public event will showcase Northern Ireland's growing reputation as a must-visit destination for golfers, while sports fans will have the chance to take photos with the world-famous Claret Jug.
Tourism Northern Ireland teed off their Epic Journey at Belfast City Hall on Monday, before the drive to Kerr Street Green in Portrush on Friday (11am until 1pm), and then the short chip shot to Londonderry's Ebrington Square on May 7.
It will also feature a stop in Tullamore, Co Offaly, on May 21 at O'Connor Square - the home of the 2019 Open champion Shane Lowry.
With record-breaking numbers that year, The 148th Open at Royal Portrush was an overwhelming success story and there's no reason to doubt this summer's return to the famous Dunluce Links course – from July 13 to 20 – will be any different.
The action was beamed to more than 100m viewers worldwide in 2019 and the championship generated over £100m in economic benefit for the region.
Aine Kearney, Tourism NI director of events, said the championship created a tangible feel-good factor right across Northern Ireland when it last took place here.
She said: 'Northern Ireland is ready to extend a giant welcome to thousands of visitors from around the globe for The 153rd Open and to showcase the stunning Causeway Coast, and beyond, to a worldwide television audience.
'Bringing the Claret Jug on this epic journey to The 153rd Open allows us all to get involved in the build-up and the excitement to what promises to be an unforgettable week.
'Northern Ireland is made for golf and hosting The 153rd Open solidifies our reputation as a destination for world-class golf, tourism and hospitality and allows us to showcase our rich culture, natural beauty and warm welcome to visitors from around the world.'
The Epic Journey to The 153rd Open will also include a giant #TheOpen letter sculpture, designed by Tourism NI and made out of 4,000 golf balls, which was unveiled by global golfing hero, 2014 Open champion and recent Grand Slam winner Rory McIlroy, ahead of the 2019 Championship.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South Wales Argus
a day ago
- South Wales Argus
Jack Draper taking nothing for granted despite ‘huge step' into top four
Draper ensured he will be the fourth seed at SW19 after reaching the semi-finals at Queen's Club for the first time. The British number one battled past American Brandon Nakashima 6-4 5-7 6-4 on the Andy Murray Arena. Draper is now two wins away from becoming only the second home men's singles winner in the Open era – after the man in whose honour the court is named. But more importantly, Draper has moved above Novak Djokovic and Taylor Fritz in the world rankings to a career-high of four. That means at Wimbledon, the 23-year-old can avoid Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, the world numbers one and two respectively, until the semi-finals. 'I've got to get to the semis first,' he smiled, before adding: 'I think it's a definite huge step for me. 'I remember last year going in ranked around 30 or 40. To be inside the top four one year around, that's massive progress, a testament to my team, the dedication I have had for tennis, the work I have put in on a daily basis. 'You know, I live and breathe the sport, and I'm obsessed with progressing and obsessed with becoming the player that I want to become all the time and achieve the things I want to. 'It's another step in the right direction. At Wimbledon, regardless of seeding, each match is very difficult, because obviously you've got loads of top players in the draw, a bit like this week. 'But it gives me confidence knowing I'm in that position and I'm going to be in the right place for that.' Jacob Fearnley's run at Queen's is over (Ben Whitley/PA) In the semi-finals Draper will face Czech world number 30 Jiri Lehecka, who ended Jacob Fearnley's promising debut run. The British number two looked heavy-legged in an error-strewn 7-5 6-2 defeat. Fearnley was scheduled to play the opening match despite a gruelling three-setter against Corentin Moutet the day before, followed by a win in the doubles – alongside Cameron Norrie – over Lehecka and Fritz. 'Obviously if I'd known I was going to be put on first the day after playing a long match in 32 degrees and playing another doubles match late at night, then I probably wouldn't have played doubles,' he said. 'It's just difficult to predict those things sometimes. It's just about being smart about it, really.' Top seed Alcaraz eased through to the other semi-final after beating Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech 7-5 6-4. Alcaraz, who spent almost three and a half hours on court on Thursday beating fellow Spaniard Jaume Munar, said: 'I could feel better but honestly I thought I would be feeling worse than I am right now. 'But as tennis players we have to do what we have to do and that's to recover and play the next day. I am glad today was one hour and 20 minutes.'
Leader Live
a day ago
- Leader Live
Jack Draper taking nothing for granted despite ‘huge step' into top four
Draper ensured he will be the fourth seed at SW19 after reaching the semi-finals at Queen's Club for the first time. The British number one battled past American Brandon Nakashima 6-4 5-7 6-4 on the Andy Murray Arena. Draper is now two wins away from becoming only the second home men's singles winner in the Open era – after the man in whose honour the court is named. YEEESSSS!! @jackdraper0 is a semi-finalist at the #HSBCChampionships for the first time ❤️🔥#BackTheBrits 🇬🇧 | @QueensTennis — LTA (@the_LTA) June 20, 2025 But more importantly, Draper has moved above Novak Djokovic and Taylor Fritz in the world rankings to a career-high of four. That means at Wimbledon, the 23-year-old can avoid Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, the world numbers one and two respectively, until the semi-finals. 'I've got to get to the semis first,' he smiled, before adding: 'I think it's a definite huge step for me. 'I remember last year going in ranked around 30 or 40. To be inside the top four one year around, that's massive progress, a testament to my team, the dedication I have had for tennis, the work I have put in on a daily basis. 'You know, I live and breathe the sport, and I'm obsessed with progressing and obsessed with becoming the player that I want to become all the time and achieve the things I want to. 'It's another step in the right direction. At Wimbledon, regardless of seeding, each match is very difficult, because obviously you've got loads of top players in the draw, a bit like this week. 'But it gives me confidence knowing I'm in that position and I'm going to be in the right place for that.' In the semi-finals Draper will face Czech world number 30 Jiri Lehecka, who ended Jacob Fearnley's promising debut run. The British number two looked heavy-legged in an error-strewn 7-5 6-2 defeat. Fearnley was scheduled to play the opening match despite a gruelling three-setter against Corentin Moutet the day before, followed by a win in the doubles – alongside Cameron Norrie – over Lehecka and Fritz. 'Obviously if I'd known I was going to be put on first the day after playing a long match in 32 degrees and playing another doubles match late at night, then I probably wouldn't have played doubles,' he said. 'It's just difficult to predict those things sometimes. It's just about being smart about it, really.' Top seed, top form 🥇@QueensTennis | #HSBCChampionships | @carlosalcaraz — ATP Tour (@atptour) June 20, 2025 Top seed Alcaraz eased through to the other semi-final after beating Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech 7-5 6-4. Alcaraz, who spent almost three and a half hours on court on Thursday beating fellow Spaniard Jaume Munar, said: 'I could feel better but honestly I thought I would be feeling worse than I am right now. 'But as tennis players we have to do what we have to do and that's to recover and play the next day. I am glad today was one hour and 20 minutes.'
Leader Live
a day ago
- Leader Live
Jack Draper clinches important Wimbledon seeding by reaching Queen's semi-finals
The British number one battled past American Brandon Nakashima 6-4 5-7 6-4 on the Andy Murray Arena. Draper is now two wins away from becoming only the second home men's singles winner in the Open era – after the man the court is named in honour of. But more importantly, Draper has moved above Novak Djokovic and Taylor Fritz in the world rankings to a career-high of four. YEEESSSS!! @jackdraper0 is a semi-finalist at the #HSBCChampionships for the first time ❤️🔥#BackTheBrits 🇬🇧 | @QueensTennis — LTA (@the_LTA) June 20, 2025 That means at Wimbledon, the 23-year-old can avoid Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, the world numbers one and two respectively, until the semi-finals. 'I've got to get to the semis first,' he smiled. 'But last year I went there ranked 40th and now I'm fourth. To get to that position is an incredible feeling. It is testament to the work me and my team have done and I'm proud of that.' In a hard-fought first set Draper saved six break points as Nakashima tried to haul back an early break. Draper then made hard work of taking the opener, finally getting the job done on his sixth set point. In the second set Nakashima eventually converted one of his chances when Draper sent a tired-looking forehand long to take the match the distance. At 3-3 in the decider Draper brought up two breaks points and thought he had made the first with a backhand out wide, but the crowd's cheers had drowned out the automatic line call. However, he thudded the second out of Nakashima's reach, saved two break points as he served for the match and wrapped up another hard-fought win in two hours and 22 minutes. 'It means the world to me, the support I've received this week has been amazing,' added Draper after becoming Britain's first semi-finalist since Cameron Norrie in 2021. 'At times I've not played great tennis but I've tried to believe in myself.' In the semi-finals Draper will face Czech world number 30 Jiri Lehecka, who ended Jacob Fearnley's promising debut run. The British number two looked heavy-legged in an error-strewn 7-5 6-2 defeat. Fearnley was scheduled to play the opening match despite a gruelling three-setter against Corentin Moutet the day before, followed by a win in the doubles – alongside Norrie – over Lehecka and Taylor Fritz. 'Obviously if I'd known I was going to be put on first the day after playing a long match in 32 degrees and playing another doubles match late at night, then I probably wouldn't have played doubles,' he said. 'It's just difficult to predict those things sometimes. It's just about being smart about it, really.'
