PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland — Hello, friends, and happy Wednesday from Royal Portrush! It is a stunning day here in Northern Ireland and I could not possibly be enjoying this trip more.
My Tuesday evening in Portrush is going to be hard to beat. Then again, it’s Open week, so I wouldn’t be totally shocked if we had another surprise or two before Sunday evening.
My coworkers and I went to the Harbour Bar for dinner and drinks last night, and we hung out outside and chatted while waiting to be seated. I ordered Harp Lager and sipped on it while taking it all in, and let me just say that the people watching was second-to-none. There were caddies, agents, other media members, locals and golf fans in town for the Open, along with a few players. Including Jon Rahm.
My coworker Emma Devine was taking a few photos of James Colgan, Dylan Dethier and I when we noticed that someone had hopped in our photo. By the time it registered to the three of us that it was Jon Rahm, he was getting into his car and being driven away.
This was one of the most unexpected encounters I’ve had while on site for a golf tournament. I’m a fan of the fact that Rahm: 1) was hanging out at a bar during the Open week alongside us regular people; and 2) was willing to have some fun with a photobomb (or as some people on X are calling it, a “photoRahm”) on his way out.
I arrived to the course this morning and went to the range for a bit before heading back into the media center to eat breakfast and then attend the R&A press conference. After that, I had some lunch and headed out to follow Rory McIlroy’s practice round. It was like 60 degrees out with a slight breeze, and the crowds following the hometown favorite were massive.
I’ve noticed that there are a lot more kids at the Open than at other golf tournaments I’ve attended. And I don’t just mean teenagers. There are 4- to 12 year-olds everywhere. Every last one of them seems to be having the time of their life, and they all want to see Rory McIlroy.
Padraig Harrington is obviously known for his golf talent and more recently, his ability to help average players improve their game thanks to his YouTube channel. But the two-time Open champion and noted “Scoop” alum has a secret third and equally important talent: a deep, deep knowledge of ice cream.
Harrington is a certified ball-knower when it comes to ice cream, specifically 99s. If you’re like me and had never heard of those before spending time in Europe, allow me to introduce them to you. 99s are soft-serve ice cream with a flake chocolate bar served in a cone. It turns out Harrington hasn’t just been teeing it up in Open Championships over the years, he’s been conducting research.
Harrington says Royal Portrush has the best 99s of any Open venue, and we can take his word for it, because a quick Getty Image search proves that he’s enjoyed 99s in many Open Championships past.
As an ice cream connoisseur myself, I had no choice but to try a Royal Portrush 99 of my own, and it did not disappoint.
I’ll make sure to enjoy a few more of them this week just to make sure Harrington’s claim is correct.
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