Open Championship at Royal Liverpool: R&A's 'robust' security will deal with any protests

Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy was 25 years old when he won the last Open to be staged at Royal Liverpool in 2014

Open organisers are confident in their "robust" security arrangements as they prepare to host the 151st championship at Royal Liverpool from 20-23 July.

During last week's Grand National, 118 people were arrested while this week's World Snooker Championship experienced a disruption when a man scattered orange powder on a table during a match. The R&A stated that they prioritize security and will evaluate potential issues. While acknowledging the challenge, they have dealt with protests before, and it is not a new issue. This year's championship is expected to draw the largest number of fans to the world's oldest major outside of St Andrews, with 260,000 spectators expected to attend the Wirral coast. Last year's 150th Open saw a record 290,000 people at the Old Course in Fife, Scotland. With animal rights protests at Aintree and two people arrested for suspected criminal damage at Sheffield's Crucible Theatre, the possibility of disruption at other significant sporting events this summer is a top concern.

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But the R&A said it would continue to engage with protest groups. "We've seen what's happened in the last couple of weeks," said championships director Rhodri Price, who added that the R&A has the capacity to search all bags being brought into the course. "It's not something we are reactive to, we are very pro-active. We have all of the contingency planning, a monthly security group, intelligence cells that gather all this information. "In fact they engage with all the protest groups to try to make sure we can provide for them if they were to attend. "We've had several in the past that we were able to accommodate so that they can get their message across in a controlled environment." Meanwhile, last year's Open generated more than £300m in economic benefit for Scotland according to an independent study commissioned by the R&A, VisitScotland and Fife Council.