Loyalist parade could clash with Open as R&A rethink tee times

The tee times for day three of The Open could be shifted to accommodate a loyalist parade in Portrush.

The Portrush Sons of Ulster parade starts at 8.15 pm and is set to clash with the end of the third round at the Dunluce Links, which could present logistical problems.

It is believed the R&A, the organisation that runs the championship, could amend when players tee off on Saturday, July 19 to ease congestion. The Belfast Telegraph reported that the band rejected a £20,000 offer to postpone their plans.

“They (the R&A) are only doing it because of the traffic problem. There are 64 bands booked to go to this parade,” Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) councillor Russell Watton said to the paper.

“They came in and did a presentation to the council six months ago, but they should have been at that long ago, not at the last minute.

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“There are people there getting paid to run the thing. They knew the parade was always on that Saturday after the 12th. They knew it, and everybody else knew it.”

In a statement to the Guardian, an R&A spokesperson said: “We are working on plans to minimise disruption for our fans leaving the championship due to the event taking place in Portrush on the Saturday evening.”

As Watton alluded to, over 60 bands and 2,000 people are expected to march through Portrush, at a time of the evening when nearly 50,000 golf fans could be exiting the golf course and looking for various transportation links back to their accommodation. The parade is due to finish at 10.30 pm.

According to the Ulster Band forum, the route of the march will begin from the fire station car park and carry on like so: Eglington Street, Kerr Street, Lower Main Street, Upper Main Street, Causeway Street, Victoria Street and back to the fire station car park.

In 2024, Dan Brown and Shane Lowry teed off in the final pairing of the third round at Royal Troon at 3.45 pm. If the R&A stick with this structure, a build-up in Portrush could be on the cards.

Tee times aren’t determined at random, however. The tournament will have to juggle the priority of the US television window with the flow of traffic in the surrounding area of the host golf course, which was last used in 2019.

If you’re heading to day three of The Open in 2025, make sure to plan accordingly for the Sons of Ulster Portrush parade.

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