Portrush Orange parade gives the Open an embarrassing problem | Ewan Murray

The conclusion of the third round of this year’s Open will be greeted by flutes and drums in Portrush and a depressing look back to a Northern Ireland beset by sectarian division

When the Portrush Sons of Ulster’s Facebook page becomes essential reading, you realise this year’s Open is no ordinary championship.

As the third round of the final major of the year concludes, spectators will exit Royal Portrush to the sound of flutes and drums. The R&A wants us to cast our minds dreamily back to 1951, when Max Faulkner triumphed on Antrim’s north coast; Saturday evening will instead catapult us back to 1690 and the Battle of the Boyne.

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