Tiger Woods is set to design the first new links course in Northern Ireland in over 100 years.

The new course will be in Bellarena, County Derry, between Coleraine and Limavady, and last year luxury hospitality group Galgorm Collection revealed plans to invest more than €35 million to build it.

It will be the first new championship links course in Northern Ireland in over 100 years, as research shows the golfing sector’s value has risen by almost 66% since 2019, when The 148th Open was hosted at Royal Portrush.

And now, according to Coleraine Now, Tiger Woods is set to design the course. In a report from the outlet, they said: ‘This week a Causeway Coast and Glens councillor has revealed that Tiger Woods has been enlisted as the course designer. “We received a briefing, and it was confirmed to us that Tiger Woods has been signed up to design the course at Bellarena,” they said.’

Meanwhile, a Galgorm spokesperson told Coleraine Now: ‘We are progressing plans for a proposed championship course at Bellarena, on Northern Ireland’s Causeway Coast. We look forward to confirming a design appointment in due course.’

Woods, 50, is considered one of the best golfers of all time, and the new Bellarena course will be his first design in Ireland, having previously worked on El Cardonal at Diamante in Mexico, Bluejack National in Texas and Payne’s Valley in Missouri.

This news comes as Pádraig Harrington recently announced he will design the new golf course at Seapoint, County Louth, which is also eyeing a future Irish Open.

Portmarnock golf course in Dublin is expected to be added to The Open rota in the near future, subject to a sizeable amount of work that will need to be done to bring the course up to standard.

Royal County Down submitted a ‘major application’ for a ‘significant upgrade’ to its course, as reports indicate it may also look to host The Open in the future.