2019 Open: R & A & # 039; s Slumbers backtracks on Royal Portrush Brexit worry comment

R & A CEO Martin Slumbers said Tuesday that the Brexit led to "considerable worries" about the Open

R & A chief Martin Slumbers followed his comment that the Brexit caused "considerable worries" for The Open at Royal Portrush by say it will be "one of the big sporting events".

Slumbers spoke a possible no-deal about the logistical headache on Tuesday. Brexit caused the R & A

However, the R & A chief issued a further statement on Wednesday.

"I have no doubt that it will be a historic event," said Slumbers from the July 18-21 event.

"We are determined to deliver an excellent championship at Royal Portrush and the largest ever ever sporting event ever held on the island of Ireland.

" It is a privilege to visit The Open return to Royal Portrush for the first time since 1951 and we are all looking forward to it.

"We work with our partners and local agencies in Northern Ireland to organize a fantastic championship that everyone will be proud of."

Slumber comments lead to banner headings in NI

Slumbers' comments on Tuesday at a press conference to announce that Royal Liverpool would organize The Open in 2022, led Wednesday to newspaper headlines in Northern Ireland.

The director of R & A said that the organizers "let it happen", but admitted that he would be happy if the sold-out event was over.

The decision to take the event to Portrush was announced in October 2015, eight months before the referendum to leave the European Union.

Since then there has been uncertainty about being able to keep an open border on the island of Ireland, which is a cause for the management of the wave.

"We are concerned that we are starting to build in April," told Slumbers Tuesday to BBC Sport. "What will the situation be? Will there be a limit or not? We need some security, we need to know what rules we have to comply with."

"We have developed several contingency plans, we have served a few others, but others postponed, but like every company we try to work out contingency plans in an uncertain environment."

The Open returns to Northern Ireland for the first time since the staging in 1951 of the Royal Portrush event

Slumbers added: "Should I want to do Portrush afterwards in the year that we might leave the European Union without deal?

"We have more than 2000 containers, some of which are as far away as the Middle East, to cross the Irish Sea and we start building on 2 April.

"The problem is that we do not know if we need to re-introduce our containers via Dublin (Republic of Ireland), whether we have to move them through Belfast (Northern Ireland), whether we want them from the UK

"It is not a threat to the staging, we will make it happen. It is just more complicated than we expected.

"It is a bit more difficult for insiders, but for everyone outside it has no influence at all, they will not notice it."