The Open Championship organisers have made a change to the bunkers to make them even more difficult at Royal Portrush

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The Open Championship has returned to Royal Portrush, with the venue certain to provide a very tough test this week.

Xander Schauffele is the defending champion at The Open, the fourth and final major championship of 2025.

And the first round has almost arrived, with the field doing their best to get to grips with the links course before Thursday.

Royal Portrush last welcomed The Open to Northern Ireland in 2019, when Shane Lowry memorably secured the Claret Jug.

He is once again in a star-studded field in County Antrim, along with world number one Scottie Scheffler and home hero Rory McIlroy.

The Open organisers make change to the Royal Portrush bunkers

Royal Portrush has renamed two holes ahead of The Open, with another change now emerging which is set to have a much more significant impact on proceedings.

Sharing the change to the bunkers, Smylie Kaufman wrote on X: “The rakes this week have wider gaps and longer teeth, so the bunkers are leaving deeper marks.

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“Balls are settling down into those grooves more, which makes it harder to get spin around the greens. Just another element added to the list.”

R&A chief shares other big bunker change for The Open at Royal Portrush

Bunker changes haven’t stopped with the design of the rakes, with the Royal & Ancient (R&A) chief Mark Darbon having been discussing the features in further detail.

Asked if bunker rakers have been employed for the week, he said: “No, I think this week we’ve got the caddies raking the bunkers. It’s a change for us but we think a good one.”

READ MORE: Three reasons why Rory McIlroy can be quietly confident about winning The Open Championship at Royal Portrush

And when asked for the reason behind that decision, he replied: “A number of factors. We just think it’s a good model for us here at Portrush.”

The decision has, however, already received criticism before a ball has been hit or a bunker has been found.

Last year’s runner-up Billy Horschel, who is currently out of action after undergoing hip surgery, wrote on X: “No designated bunker rakers this week is such a disappointment. I know the caddies love them, as well as the players. Very odd decision by The Open not to have them.”

Intriguingly, Jack Nicklaus annoyed one player with a bunker change at Muirfield Village, which plays host to The Memorial Tournament.

It remains to be seen if the R&A will recreate such anger at Royal Portrush this week, but their feature is certain to cause plenty of difficulty around the greens.

Potential thunderstorms and windy conditions will already make the event difficult, with an all-round golfer likely to be the one holding the Claret Jug come Sunday.