After more than a half-century, British Open will return to Northern Ireland in 2019

PINEHURST, N.C. – For only the second time, golf’s oldest major championship will be played in Northern Ireland when the British Open returns to Royal Portrush Golf Club in 2019.

Media reports from Ireland and the United Kingdom said the Royal & Ancient, golf’s governing body outside the United States and Mexico, will make the formal announcement Monday. The R&A denied reports about Portrush last summer, but the move had been widely speculated for several weeks.

The only time the Open was only played outside England and Scotland was 1951, when Max Faulkner won at Portrush.