Open Championship weather forecast: What does Mother Nature have in store at Royal Portrush?

The full Open Championship weather forecast from Northern Ireland…

Last time the Claret Jug was in Northern Ireland, wind and rain wreaked havoc on the tournament. So what can we expect this time?

2025 Open Championship weather forecast

Monday July 14

Intervals of clouds and sunshine with a couple of showers, mainly early; not as warm.

High: 21ºC / 70ºF
Low: 14ºC / 57ºF
Rain: 72%
Wind: 12mph

Tuesday July 15

Turning cloudy with occasional rain and drizzle in the afternoon.

High: 19ºC / 66ºF
Low: 13ºC / 55ºF
Rain: 68%
Wind: 7mph

Wednesday July 16

Partly sunny.

High: 21ºC / 70ºF
Low: 13ºC / 55ºF
Rain: 1%
Wind: 7mph

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Thursday July 17

Partly sunny.

High: 20ºC / 68ºF
Low: 13ºC / 55ºF
Rain: 6%
Wind: 9mph

Friday July 18

Mostly cloudy with a little rain.

High: 20ºC / 68ºF
Low: 13ºC / 55ºF
Rain: 55%
Wind: 7mph

Saturday July 19

A shower in spots in the morning; otherwise, increasing amounts of sun.

High: 20ºC / 68ºF
Low: 14ºC / 57ºF
Rain: 40%
Wind: 7mph

Sunday July 20

Mostly cloudy.

High: 20ºC / 68ºF
Low: 13ºC / 55ºF
Rain: 8%
Wind: 4mph

A brief history of The Open Championship’s worst weather

Despite being played at the height of the British summer, The Open Championship is rarely immune from challenging conditions for at least part of the tournament, with wind often being players’ nemesis. A diabolical storm at Muirfield in 2002 on Saturday afternoon blew Tiger Wood’s calendar-year Grand Slam hopes away, carding an 81 to fall from four under to six over. It was even worse for Colin Montgomerie whose magnificent 64 on day two was made redundant after needing 20 shots more on moving day.

More strong winds at the 137th Open at Royal Birkdale in 2008 led to not a single player finishing the tournament under par. Vijay Singh, one of 19 players to card a score of 80 or more, described his opening round in persistent rain, gusting winds, and unseasonably cold temperatures as “miserable, miserable, miserable.” A first-round scoring average of 75.88 tells you everything you need to know about how challenging conditions were that Thursday at The Open.

The early starters on Saturday at Royal St George’s in 2011 were blown off the golf course as torrential rain and gusting gales swept across the links. None of the first 15 players to take to the course bettered 74 that day, while only one player in the initial 30 groups broke the par of 70 – a fresh-faced Rickie Fowler making just his second Open appearance.

Then there was 2015 at St Andrews where more strong winds on Saturday wreaked havoc at the 144th Open, won by Zach Johnson. Friday’s play had already been delayed when heavy rain briefly flooded parts of the course and forced a suspension of just over three hours. But an increase in wind gusts on Saturday led to another suspension in play with several players having issues with balls moving on greens. The knock-on effect resulted in only the second Monday finish in Open Championship history.

“I don’t even know what day it is,” said Dustin Johnson after finally completing his 36th hole on Saturday evening.

Prolonged and heavy periods of rain across the weekend was one half of the story the 2023 Open Championship, the other deservedly belonging to Brian Harman who conquered the elements in a commanding display of percentage golf and rock-solid work with the putter.