The Open Champion (or British Open, if you prefer) is one of the most fascinating tests in all of professional golf, and this week will be no different at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland.
No championship on the men’s professional golf schedule — PGA Tour or LIV — provides the sort of test the Open championship rota throws at players. Some of the oldest courses in the world played in the links style present the sorts of questions for the world’s elite golfers they don’t often see in an increasingly homogenized professional circuit.
And then there’s also the British Open weather.
Fans and players alike often spend just as much time looking at the weather forecast as they do the leaderboard during British Open week. This part of the world offers unique and often challenging weather with wind and precipitation on the menu just about every year. And despite the tournament coming in the middle of July, it’s not unusual to see ski caps and heavy sweatshirts for early-morning tee times.
British Open Weather Will Be Major Royal Portrush Storyline
This week at Royal Portrush is shaping up to be no different.
Thursday: “Thundery showers and a gentle breeze,” per the BBC … Temperatures in the low 50s to start the day with midday highs nearing 70 … The highest chance for rain comes mid-morning with 70% of precipitation between 11 am and 4 pm local time.
Friday: “Light rain and light winds,” per the BBC … Temperatures will be just a touch cooler … Chances for rain are decreased, and the sun could come out in the afternoon … Wind won’t be much of a factor.
Saturday: “Light rain showers and a gentle breeze,” per the BBC … Temperatures the same as Friday … More than 50% chance for precipitation throughout the entire day … Wind won’t be much of a factor.
Sunday: “Light rain a gentle breeze,” per the BBC … The coolest temperatures of the week but nothing extreme … The highest chance for rain comes earlier in the day and should clear out by the end of the day … Right now, the forecast calls for sunny skies as the tournament wraps up.
One major caveat: Royal Portrush, like all Open courses, is on the water, and the forecast is subject to change at the drop of a hat.
To that point: WindFinder.com’s initial forecast calls for some trickier conditions. According to those forecasts, there should be some sustained breezy conditions on Thursday with gusts over 20 mph in the morning. Friday and Saturday look absolutely tame, especially by comparison, and the early forecast for Sunday indicates the most difficult day of the weekend. There will be some rain overnight into the early-morning hours that gives way to the sun, but the wind speed will approach 20 mph with gusts into the mid-20 mph range for the entire day.
How Weather Could Affect 2025 British Open
By British Open weather standards, that’s still a pretty tame four-day forecast, and while it could change, it appears the players have dodged a bullet.
However, even the slightest shift — from day to day, hour to hour or even minute to minute — could make a huge impact on the championship. Players experienced that in 2019 at Royal Portrush when wet, soggy conditions made the backdrop for Shane Lowry’s first career major win.
“I think we saw it back in ’19 — Portrush is a nice, solid test of golf, and a lot of it, like a lot of links courses, it’s so dictated by which direction the wind’s blowing and the kind of weather we get,” Rickie Fowler, who finished tied for sixth in 2019, told Golf. “We’re hoping not to get the amount of rain we got last time we here.”
Despite for forecasts of rain, as Golf’s Todd Lewis pointed out, the sandy-based soil means the course won’t get drenched. However, he noted the course will play longer, which means the big hitters might get a slight advantage in a tournament that length is often neutralized by the course and its conditions.
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