Fourteen years ago this week, as he calmly strutted up the 18th fairway at Royal St. George's Golf Club — his first and perhaps only major championship firmly in his back pocket — Darren Clarke admits there was a feeling of joy that swept over him like none he'd ever felt.

Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom, but it's not on the island of Great Britain. So why is it hosting the “British” Open this week?

Players and spectators will want to keep an umbrella or poncho handy as golf's final major gets underway later this week in Northern Ireland.Fast FactsThe 153rd edition of The Open Championship is being hosted at Royal Portrush Golf Club on the Northern Ireland coast,

This is about the Open, a championship in its 153rd year. And it’s about Portrush, a seasonal town of 6,000 or so, one with a Ferris wheel and a long swath of beach, and dogs off leashes, and a gem of a links course that’s carved its place in the Open rota. And it’s about Irish golf.

PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland — A hole-by-hole look at Royal Portrush Golf Club, site of the 153rd Open Championship to be played July 17-20.