Open fans hail ‘amazing’ time in Northern Ireland

The Open at Royal Portrush produced an “amazing” atmosphere, local and international fans said, as the tournament drew to a close on Sunday.

While the championship produced disappointment for homegrown hero Rory McIlroy, the professionally-run four days of top-quality golf were hailed as a “tribute to the people of Northern Ireland”.

Hundreds of thousands of fans descended on the north coast to see the world’s best golfers tee off at the 153rd Open at Royal Portrush Golf Club, which ultimately saw American Scottie Scheffler claim the Claret Jug.

A scattering of rain showers earlier in the tournament failed to dampen the spirit of attendees who were largely graced with glorious sunshine on Sunday to show off the “immaculate” course.

Hopes of a fairy tale McIlroy victory were ended by his double bogey on the 10th, but enthusiasm remained alive for the thousands that continued to follow his every shot.

There was also great respect and appreciation shown by the home crowd to the peerless Scheffler as he turned what many had hoped would be a drama-filled afternoon into a near serene procession to victory.

In a repeat of 2019, crowds broke through the fences on the 18th to charge down behind the world number one as he approached the green.

Tourism NI could not have hoped for better conditions as the weather held for Scheffler to sink the final putt.

In scenes almost more reminiscent of a Ryder Cup than an Open, bursts of rival chanting rang out from the enthusiastic onlooking fans.

American fans chanted “USA, USA, USA”, while others tried to drown the chorus out with “ole, ole, ole” and “Europe, Europe, Europe”.

Earlier on Sunday, among the huge crowds watching on as McIlroy birdied the second was Lady Mary Peters.

The 1972 Olympic pentathlon champion said she was “absolutely thrilled” to be at the Open.

Peters, who grew up in Northern Ireland, said: “Everybody is having a ball and I think it is so important that we bring people to Northern Ireland and they want to stay.”

Speaking to the PA news agency, she said she was “very emotional” watching McIlroy play “with tears in her eyes”.

“I have only met Rory a few times but I respect and admire him and what he has done for Northern Ireland in general but in particular for golf,” she said.

Regardless of the outcome on the actual leaderboard, she said: “Northern Ireland has won, the tourist board and Invest NI has been so hospitable to everyone.”

Former US senator George Mitchell, who chaired the 1998 Good Friday negotiations to their successful outcome, said it was a “special treat” to return to Northern Ireland for the Open.

He said: “The people of Northern Ireland are energetic, intelligent, active and I think it is a great place to live, work, visit – whether you’re here to watch a golf tournament or do anything else.

“So I think it is, in a way, a tribute to the people of Northern Ireland that the Open is here again and hopefully will be back again often.”

Richard Warke and Shauneen Armstrong, both from Castlerock, described the atmosphere at the Open as “amazing” even with spells of rain but “unreal” in the sunshine.

Richard said: “The set up is so professional, it is just amazing. So many different nationalities as well and everybody is so friendly.”

He said the course was in “immaculate” shape, adding that it was “great our wee country could put this on”.

Shauneen said she found attending the Open as her first-ever golf event to be “overwhelming”.

“It is class to see the amount of people here, from all over,” she said.

Big golf fans Linn Reppen and Finn Bauer, from Kvinesdal, Norway, spent three days at the Open supporting Viktor Hovland and Kristoffer Reitan.

Finn described his first experience at a major tournament as “absolutely amazing”, adding that the course was “unbelievable”.

“It has been a really nice experience – it is not going to be my last major,” he said.

The Norwegians said they would hope to come back to try the course out for themselves.

Neeta and Kaushik Dhorajiwala, a married couple from London, had the opportunity to watch Shane Lowry play.

Neeta said: “It has been organised really well. Lots of people obviously. The queues are massive but then they can’t avoid them, can’t they?”

Kaushik said: “It has been amazing, like a carnival. You see all different kinds of people and cultures here, and that’s very good.”

He said he had been to the Open at Royal St George’s, but added: “This is better.”