The R&A has selected Northern Ireland golf course Royal Portrush as the venue for the world’s biggest golf tournament, the Open Championship, potentially in 2019.

This will be the first time the event will return to Northern Ireland since 1951.

The earliest it can be held will be 2019, however, this depends on infrastructure work being completed and approved.

Peter Dawson of the R&A, which organises the Open, said he expected huge interest from the NI public.

He said Royal Portrush was “one of the world’s truly great links courses” and had a “rich golfing heritage”.

A statement from the office of First Minister Peter Robinson also confirmed the news that the tournament could return to the seaside links course.

Robinson said: “This is wonderful news, not only for Royal Portrush Golf Club, but for the whole of Northern Ireland, with an estimated combined tourism promotion and economic return of £70million.

“The decision to bring the Open back to Northern Ireland is a tremendous vote of confidence in the game here and follows the huge success of the Irish Open in 2012, the first in European Tour history to sell out.

“Today’s announcement recognises that Northern Ireland not only has some of the world’s greatest golfers, but some of the world’s greatest golf courses.”

Currently only nine courses, five in Scotland and four in England, are entitled to stage the Open, the oldest of the four major championships in golf.

Nationwide today announced it has selected Ogilvy & Mather Advertising, therapy New York, to develop creative work for its new marketing agreement with  Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning.

The company announced a multi-year marketing agreement with Manning on May 30.

O&M Advertising New York will work with Nationwide to develop a fully integrated brand campaign featuring Manning that promotes Nationwide’s insurance and financial service products. The campaign will also aim to deepen Nationwide’s long-term presence in professional football to better engage with football fans.

“We are proud to add Ogilvy & Mather to our creative family and look forward to developing compelling creative that connects the Nationwide brand with consumers across the nation,” said Matt Jauchius, Chief Marketing Officer for Nationwide. “As the agency that originally helped develop our famous On Your Side slogan 50 years ago, we’re confident in Ogilvy’s unique ability to bring to life the authentic connection that Nationwide shares with Peyton Manning to drive meaningful business results.”

The new campaign featuring Manning will launch during the 2014 football season and the scope of the assignment will cover television, print, digital and out of home.

“We are so proud to be working alongside Nationwide once again, a brand that has deep historical ties with Ogilvy,” said Adam Tucker, President, Ogilvy & Mather Advertising, New York. “As their new partner, we look forward to expanding and building on the success they’ve achieved as a leading brand in the insurance category.”

“Nationwide is a unique company with diverse marketing needs,” Jauchius added. “We partner with a portfolio of creative agencies to help us bring campaigns to life and effectively reach consumers in meaningful and authentic ways.”

French car manufacturer Peugeot has announced it will return to the iconic Dakar Rally in 2015, more than two decades after it enjoyed a dominant spell on the event between 1987 and 1990.

Peugeot has revealed it will enter the gruelling Dakar Rally in 2015 with version of its 2008 small-SUV, driven by former WRC champion Carlos Sainz and Cyril Despres.

Team Peugeot Total’s return comes 25 years after it dominated the annual event between 1987 and 1990, first with the 205 T16 and then the 405 T16. Since then, the event has moved from Africa to its current home in Latin America, traversing a route more than 10,000km in length.

“We are delighted to be returning to the Dakar because it’s an event which enjoys extensive coverage globally,” said Peugeot CEO Maxime Picat. “It is well known in Europe, as well as in such important markets as South America and China. It takes place in South America, with much of the action in Argentina where Peugeot has traditionally enjoyed a strong foothold.”

“[Our decision to compete] obviously follows in the wake of our Pikes Peak victory in 2013. That was a very special moment which showcased what Peugeot Sport is capable of achieving in association with Total and Red Bull. It was a win that gave us wings and led us to take a close look at what other motorsport programmes we could do together. The result of that process was the decision to return to the Dakar.”

Warwickshire County Cricket Club have announced they have entered profit for last season compared to a £668,000 loss in 2012.

The Bears made a profit of £4,500 profit for the year ending September 2013.

Turnover was up £222,000 to £11.74m, helped by the fact that as co-hosts of the Champions Trophy five matches were held at Edgbaston, including the final.

Warwickshire’s catering and hospitality revenues were up 22 per cent year-on-year.

Although Edgbaston was not awarded a Test match this summer, chief executive Colin Povey believes the new T20 Blast competition this season will help their situation continue to improve.

Povey said: “The absence of Test cricket once again in 2014 represents a further challenge before the return of an Ashes Test to Edgbaston in 2015.

“However, hosting India on two occasions and changes to the domestic twenty20 cricket schedule, featuring more Friday night games, are great opportunities that we are looking to make the most of in 2014.”

The 2013 Elite Men’s and Women’s National Road Race Championships will be staged in Glasgow, British Cycling have confirmed.

The event, which takes place on Sunday 23 June, will form part of the proposed course for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games, and with the majority of racing based within Glasgow’s city centre, will provide a spectacular backdrop for an epic weekend of elite level cycling.

The bid to be host city for the National Championships saw British Cycling receive unprecedented interest from towns and cities around the country. Jonny Clay, British Cycling’s Cycle Sport and Membership Director said:

“In recent years we’ve seen our national road championships won by riders who between them have won numerous Olympic and World Championship medals, as well as the Tour de France. The stature of the event and the calibre of the riders who contest it have been reflected in the competition to host the race for 2013.

“We received some great applications and there were several bids that would each have provided a fantastic National Championships. We’d like to express our thanks to all those who bid for the event in 2013 and we hope to reward their enthusiasm by working with many of them to create other new events in the future”

Speaking of their delight at being awarded the event, Councillor Archie Graham, the Deputy Leader of Glasgow City Council and the Executive Member for the Commonwealth Games, said:

“There’s never been a more exciting time for cycling in Britain thanks to the outstanding performances of our cyclists at the London 2012 Olympic Games and last year’s Tour de France. Glasgow is committed to the development of cycling at all levels as shown by our investment in the £113million Emirates Arena which includes the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome.

“Our desire to bring major events such as the 2013 National Road Championships to the city with events such as this and the recent UCI Track Cycling World Cup, which sold out in under half an hour, will help inspire the next generation of cyclists to fall in love with the sport.”

For the first time in its history, the 2013 road championship will see the National Time Trial Championship contested as part of the same weekend as the road race events, meaning the championships will be present in the city for an extended period from Thursday 20^th when the time trials will take place to Sunday 23^rd when the men’s and women’s road races will take centre stage.