Rory Fever set to double financial impact of Open at Portrush
Rory Fever is expected to help double the financial impact of this week’s Open Championship at Royal Portrush compared to its last visit to Northern Ireland six years ago.
The 2019 Open, won by Irishman Shane Lowry, produced £100m of economic benefit but improved transport links, more accommodation options, and home favourite Rory McIlroy’s return to major-winning form are set to dramatically improve that figure.
“The last time it was reckoned there was £100m of economic benefit, this time it’s likely to double to over £213m as a projected figure for all aspects of the economy,” Northern Ireland Hotels Federation chief executive Janice Gault told the BBC.
“Tourism, retail, hospitality – there’s something in it for everyone.”
More than 275,000 golf fans are expected to descend on Portrush for the 153rd edition of the Open, the sport’s oldest major. Gates opened to the public on Sunday and are due to close at the end of next weekend, when one man will lift the Claret Jug.
McIlroy better equipped for Rory Fever in 2025
McIlroy, from Holywood in Belfast, is among the favourites to win the Open on the Causeway Coast after ending his 11-year major drought – and completing a long-awaited career grand slam – at the Masters in April.
In 2019, he was taken aback by a hero’s welcome and shot an eight-over-par 79 on the first day, but says he is better prepared for his return to Portrush, where he set the course record of 61 while still a schoolboy.
“I think in ‘19 I probably tried to isolate, and I think it’s better for everyone if I embrace it,” said McIlroy on Monday. “I think it’s better for me because it’s nice to be able to accept adulation, even though I struggle with it at times.”
Last year’s Open at Royal Troon pulled in 258,174 spectators and generated £303m in total economic benefit for Scotland, according to a study carried out by Sheffield Hallam University on behalf of the championship’s organiser, The R&A.
That was split between £87m of economic impact – additional money entering the economy – and £216m of destination marketing benefit, studies by the university’s Sport Industry Research Centre and YouGov found.