Why is The Open heading back to Royal Portrush this summer just six years after it last staged the Claret Jug event when Turnberry hasn’t hosted it since 2009 and Muirfield last welcomed the world’s top male professionals in 2013? It’s a question, in fairness, that lots of people could well be asking in the countdown to the 153rd edition in July as a whopping 278,000 fans prepare to flock to the Country Antrim coast instead of the Ayrshire or East Lothian ones. In truth, there are a number of reasons and it is probably worth looking at where Turnberry and Muirfield currently stand when it comes to The Open before examining why Royal Portrush, having waited 68 years to get The R&A event back in 2019, will be in the spotlight instead again after a much shorter gap on this occasion. Speaking at this year’s venue on Tuesday, Mark Darbon, The R&A’s new chief executive after succeeding Martin Slumbers in November, talked about Turnberry being a “wonderful golf course” that was now “even better” following more recent improvements carried out by Martin Ebert and admitted “it’s a course we’d love to return to at some point”. The latter comment was turned into a headline by some media outlets, which, in fairness, was not really surprising, and there’s no denying that the current crop of top players - both men and women - should get the opportunity at some point to tackle the Ailsa Course and experience its sheer beauty. It was other remarks Darbon made about Turnberry, though, that explained why uncertainty remains about its exact position when it comes to The Open and, yes, part of the issue is that it is now owned by US President Donald Trump, who, when running for that post the first time, turned the 2015 AIG Women’s Open into a circus by flying in that week. “We want the focus to be on the golf,” declared Darbon of that scenario possibly being repeated. Perhaps an even bigger factor, however, is that a return to Turnberry, where Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson fought out their infamous duel in 1977 but the event has only been held three times since then, would be a huge headache for The R&A in terms of “logistical and commercial challenges”. From a logistical point of view, it’s the “road, rail and accommodation” element, though Maybole, of course, now has a bypass, while the commercial challenge is purely down to whether or not Turnberry could get the tills ringing like Royal Portrush, Royal St George’s, St Andrews, Royal Liverpool and Royal Troon have in recent years. “I think the last time we were there in 2009, we had just over 120,000 people and we’re going to have close to 280,000 here this summer,” said Darbon of close to 41,000 more fans set to be at Portrush than 2019 for what will officially be the largest sporting event in Northern Ireland. “That's really important for us because not only do we want to showcase this wonderful championship to as many people as possible, but it's important for us in terms of our commercial model because everything we generate from The Open we then reinvest back into the game all around the world.” Bearing in mind that just over 140,000 fans attended the 2013 event at Muirfield, that could also be viewed as a factor in its wait to get the tournament back, though that, of course, has been influenced by the East Lothian club falling out of favour with The R&A for a short spell by initially voting against the admission of women members. The way The Open is now marketed, you’ve got to think that getting close to what seems to be a magical 250,000 figure for ticket sales would be achievable at Muirfield - Turnberry, too, for that matter - meaning something else is holding things back in terms of the East Lothian venue. As Slumbers hinted in one of his final interviews, it seems that is likely to be the practice facility, which, even with a huge 80-100 foot net in place, was inadequate in 2013 due to players hitting balls over the top of it and landing on the eighth hole. Just a thought, but could The Renaissance Club next door with its top-class practice facility solve that issue? Royal Liverpool, after all, uses Hoylake Municipal Golf Club for that purpose when it stages the world’s oldest major. With editions at Royal Birkdale, where some interesting course changes have been made since Jordan Spieth’s success there in 2017, and St Andrews to come after this one at Portrush, the next slot up for grabs is in 2028 and, though there has been no indication of when that will be announced, you’ve got to think that Muirfield is a frontrunner. As for why the event is back at Portrush after just six years, that’s simple. The Dunluce Links is a fabulous test of golf, with its elevation changes from the climb up to the first green all the way to the steep drop down to the 17th green making it a bit different to most of the other courses on The R&A rota. Two new holes for the 2019 event - the seventh and eighth - now look as though they’ve been there as long as all the other holes on the course, which twists and turns after the opening four holes are played in the same direction and nothing is guaranteed in terms of a score until ‘Calamity Corner’ - the brilliant par-3 16th measuring 236 yards off the championship tees with a huge drop on the right of the green - has been tackled. Ticking that commercial box in a huge way is another factor, of course, for Portrush’s popularity in the eyes of The R&A and there’s also now the possibility of Portmarnock becoming a future Open venue as well, adding another element into that mix when it comes to Muirfield and Turnberry, as well as Royal Lytham, where the event was last held in 2012.