British Open Weather Forecast: Wet, Windy Conditions Expected at Royal Portrush

British Open Weather Forecast: Wet, Windy Conditions Expected at Royal Portrush article feature image
Credit:

Thomas J. Russo-USA TODAY Sports.

  • The weather in Northern Ireland is just what one would imagine this week, as the golfers at the British Open are expected to see wet and windy conditions all four days.
  • Thursday's forecast calls for showers in the morning and light rain in the afternoon, with winds diminishing later in the afternoon.

When people think of weather in Northern Ireland, they think wet, dark, dreary, raw, etc. Well, that's not really fair to Northern Ireland, is it? I'm sure it's a region that has a wide variety of weather to offer. We shouldn't be jumping to conclusions, should we?

We all know that the forecast can change, but at the moment all four days of the British Open are expected to be wet, dark, dreary, raw, etc. Royal Portrush is living up to the hype, that's for sure.

In fact, the weather is so stereotypical Northern Ireland that it's almost comical. Each of the four days has a high temperature between 60 and 65 degrees.

Each of the four days is expected to feature showers or sustained light rain at one point or another.

And, lastly, each of the four days could see some gusty winds, with Thursday and Sunday looking like the windiest days of the bunch.

Let's focus in on tomorrow, though. You may want to keep this list of tee times handy in case you're interested in first-round leader bets.

The players with the earliest tee times might avoid the 20-25 mph gusts for the front nine, but for the most part, everyone is going to be dealing with some fairly gusty winds. Some models don't even think that will be the case and expect the entire day to feature gusts of 20+ mph.

However, multiple sources agree that sustained winds will be lower toward the end of the day. A peak of 14-15 mph is expected from about 10 a.m. local time to 2 p.m., but is expected to drop down closer to 10 mph after 2 p.m.

In terms of rain, there's about a 30%-50% chance of showers before noon, but more widespread drizzle and light rain in the afternoon. With that said, course conditions may be softer for the later groups than they are in the morning.

Friday and Saturday should see sustained winds closer to 10 mph and gusts in the teens, but Sunday is looking like a windy one — especially for the leaders.

Considering it's several days away, the forecast certainly has time to change. However, if there's a tight field, the players teeing off a couple hours before the leaders may get an opportunity to make up some ground, as sustained winds will rise to ~20 mph with gusts of ~30 mph by around 6 p.m.

It's not the greatest forecast, but the players are lucky they're not playing on Monday, which could have sustained winds in the 20s and gusts in the mid 40s.

How would you rate this article?

This site contains commercial content. We may be compensated for the links provided on this page. The content on this page is for informational purposes only. Action Network makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the information given or the outcome of any game or event.