Historic site of an historic Championship: The British open at St Andrews
The British Open Championship is one of the oldest golf tournaments in the world and sees some of the world’s most distinguished players in attendance. This year makes the 150th anniversary of Open and is taking place at the equally historic St Andrew’s old course, the undisputed home of golf.
Twenty-eight years before the first American golf course was opened, the British Championship, known throughout Europe as simply the Open, was taking place on the Scottish links. Originated in Scotland during the 14th century, Scots enjoyed the windy links course where bunkers were the result of sheep burrowing into the ground.
The links style of course is specific to Europe. There are links courses in America, Pebble Beach for example, but American links are not as harsh as their European counterparts. Located along an ocean coast line, the links course has very few trees thus is very windy. It takes a skilled golfer to manoeuvre the natural bunkers and turbulent winds.
Golf at St Andrews dates back 400 years. St Andrews hosted the first Open Championship in 1860 where Willie Park won the first tournament with two strokes and a score of 174. Monetary prizes were introduced in 1873, when Willie Park again triumphed and received £10. The Old Course at St Andrews hosted the tournament until 1894 when other venues were added.
The Open has been played at other historical courses such as Carnoustie, Royal Birkdale, and Royal Troon. It is considered one of the most prestigious golf events because of its rich history and the number of legendary golfers who have participated in it and won. Harry Vardon, Arnold Palmer, Ben Hogan, Sam Snead, Bobby Jones, Tom Watson, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, and Tiger Woods are all winners of the Championship.
This year the Royal & Ancient club has made several changes to the old course at St Andrews to give it a new kick. The most talked-about change is the extension of the Road Hole. In an attempt to bring more excitement to the championship, for both the players and spectators, 36 metres have been added to the par four 17th. The treacherous hole is 450 meters long, and a “monster” in the opinions of many golfers.
St Andrews is also known for its narrow greens. The 17th hole is notoriously narrow and in order to reach it players have to get by a hellish bunker on the left and the path protecting the green on the right. A gamble that could pay off would be to tee off with a driver and then go with a long iron for the approach.
“It's an absolutely pivotal hole. There's a lot of strategy involved on 17...It's a real monster. It's the toughest hole out here, there's no doubt,” said golfer Adam Scott, who is participating in the tournament this week. His goal this tournament is to still be in contention by the time he reaches the Road Hole, a shot at the historic green “would be a dream come true.”
Tiger Woods saw his dreams coming true on the St Andrews course. He won the Open in 2000 with an eight stroke lead and set the record for the lowest score to par, -19, in any major tournament. He won the tournament in 2005 when it was held at St Andrews again, and the bets are high for him to come back this week.
Woods has been disappointing on golf courses as of late. A comeback at St Andrews would do wonders for his flat-lining career. It is entirely possible; Woods has dominated that course on two occasions and considers it his favourite links. Still, wishful thinking only gets you so far, and right now Woods doesn’t have the track record to back up his bid for 2010 Open champion.
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