Open'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.

The R&A said: "Security is a priority and we will assess potential issues.

"It's challenging but we have dealt with protests before. It's not new."

This year's championship is set to attract the largest number of fans to attend the world's oldest major outside of St Andrews, with 260,000 spectators descending on the Wirral coast - a record 290,000 people were at the Old Course in Fife, Scotland for last year's 150th Open.

And in light of animal rights protests at nearby Aintree and two people being arrested on suspicion of criminal damage at Sheffield's Crucible Theatre, the prospect of disruption at other major sporting events this summer is high on the agenda.

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.