The R&A has confirmed that it has invited Royal Portrush to host the Open Championship, with the next available date in 2019.

Members of the club are expected to be asked to vote on whether to accept an invitation to host the event, with a condition being the design of two new holes to replace the current seventeenth and eighteenth. The final two holes occupy some of the flattest areas of the site and would be used to accommodate a tented village during the Championship.

The R&A has recommended the Mackenzie & Ebert firm to carry out the design work, though this is yet to be signed off by members of Royal Portrush. However, this is expected to be something of a formality. 

“We couldn’t be more excited about bringing the Open back here to one of the world's truly great links courses,” said R&A chief executive Peter Dawson. “There is a rich heritage here. It will give the game here and the whole region huge exposure.”