In which year was The Open first held in Ireland? The answer is 1951, when Royal Portrush in County Antrim hosted the championship.
The 1951 Open was the 80th edition of golf’s oldest major championship and marked the first time the event was played outside England or Scotland. Royal Portrush is in Northern Ireland, on the island of Ireland, which is why the year is sometimes described as The Open’s first visit to Ireland or its first staging in Northern Ireland.
England’s Max Faulkner won the championship by two strokes, finishing at 285, three under par. It was his only major title. The tournament was played from 4 to 6 July, with a field of 98 competitors and a £1,700 purse.
A common mix-up is to confuse the first Irish staging with the next one. Royal Portrush did not host The Open again until 2019, when Ireland’s Shane Lowry won. The 1951 event therefore remains the key historical milestone, while 2019 represented the championship’s return to the island after a 68-year gap.