The Open Championship at Royal Portrush will adjust its Saturday tee times to accommodate a loyalist band parade taking place in the Northern Irish town. The Portrush Sons of Ulster are holding their event on the same evening as the golf tournament continues at the nearby course.
Some 77 marching bands and 2,000 people are expected to attend the parade from 8.30pm to 11pm around Portrush town centre on Saturday night. Meanwhile, an estimated 280,000 people – a record attendance for The Open outside St Andrew’s – are in town for the tournament at Royal Portrush Golf Club.
Golf times shifted by 15 minutes
Mark Darbon, chief executive of the Royal & Ancient (R&A), said there will be “marginal adjustments” of about 15 minutes to the golf tee-times on Saturday. The changes aim to ensure both events can take place in a “seamless” way.
“We recognise that when we bring The Open Championship to town, we are a guest in the community in which we operate,” he said. “On many occasions, there are concurrent events that take place around the action that we are very focused on here, within the walls of the venue.”
