The excitement for this year’s return to Royal Portrush will be palpable. Ticket sales are assured and the turnout is likely to exceed the 250,000 spectators that last attended an Open there in 2019.

The event marks the third time that golf’s oldest major championship will be played on Northern Ireland soil.

But what many do not realize is that one specific country within the United Kingdom has never hosted the event — Wales.

While The Open has never been played in Wales there have been other key events played there.

The most notable venue is Royal Porthcawl – located just 33 miles from the Cardiff — the largest city in Wales — the famed club has been the stage for a range of important events.

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This year’s AIG Women’s Open will be played at Royal Porthcawl (July 31-August 3) – the first time the event is being hosted in Wales.

The only possible venue that would be considered by the R&A for any Open Championship is Royal Porthcawl given its required links connection and the quality of the design.

Wales is no stranger to elite competitions. The 2010 Ryder Cup matches were played at Celtic Manor. But in the 15 years that have passed since that event the requirements for hosting a major championship have increased many times over.

The general footprint for any major venue needs to be considerable. The first emphasis is on the stature of the host site. Royal Porthcawl is among the finest of links courses in all of the UK but given the nature of what elite level men’s pro golf is about it’s highly likely that various adjustments to the existing course would need to happen.

That happened with the Dunluce at Royal Portrush. The course was changed to include new holes and eliminate others. Additional course length was also carried out. Securing adjoining land to the club would be a critical necessity in order to do just that.

The present Royal Porthcawl plays to a championship yardage of 7,152. In all likelihood that figure would need to be closer to the range of 7,400 to 7,500 yards.

Beyond that aspect, the footprint of the property would need to provide for other key aspects such as the media center, the broader merchandise area and include improvements to the practice facility.

Royal Porthcawl would need to expand its existing property but adjoining landowners — a number of them farmers — have rebuffed such offers. Without the added land footprint, the likelihood Royal Porthcawl could successfully be considered for an Open by the R&A is likely remote.

The Welsh government has expressed interest, however, the need for infrastructure improvements in getting people to and from the immediate site would also require significant planning and much-needed financial resources. Having a coordinated parking plan and the usage of transportation alternatives via rail and bus would be essential.

The Open is the chief fund raiser for the R&A and a number of key preliminaries will need to be in place before a final commitment is made.

Royal Porthcawl remains a contributor to championship golf in having hosted the Senior and this year’s AIG Women’s Open.

Nonetheless, Wales will remain on the sidelines until an expansion of the footprint of the property for Royal Porthcawl happens.

Until then – the clock continues to tick onward — with Wales waiting.

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