Nine Holes at The Open Championship

The Open Championship at Hoylake is less than two weeks away and I can hardly contain my excitement for golf’s oldest and grandest stage. Some of golf’s greatest champions (Vardon, Jones, Hogan, Palmer, Nicklaus, Woods) have won The Open and I’m looking forward to seeing which winner will be revealed in 2006.

Join me on a quick nine as I explore The Open Championship…

Hole One
Commonly called The British Open (at least by those daft enough to live outside the British Isles), the official name of the event is The Open Championship.

Hole Two
The 135th Open Championship will be hosted at Royal Liverpool Golf Club for the 11th time. Royal Liverpool last hosted the Open Championship way back in 1967. Four-time PGA Tour winner Roberto de Vicenzo took home the trophy. He wasn’t exactly a “four win wonder” as he had 230 international events in his pocket.

Hole Three
Harry Vardon holds the most Open victories with six (1896, 1898, 1899, 1903, 1911, 1914) over an 18-year stretch. He came up with that grip you may use called the Vardon Grip. The Vardon Trophy is awarded annually to the player with the lowest stroke average on the PGA Tour.

Hole Four
Youth Tom Morris kept the original trophy, The Champion’s Belt, after winning The Open three consecutive times. The belt was red and had a silver buckle. The Claret Jug properly called The Golf Champion Trophy replaced The Champion’s Belt.

Hole Five
Prestwick Golf Club’s twelve-hole course was the site of the first Open Championship. Eight professionals played three rounds in a single day and Willie Park Senior took home the trophy. Prestwick was dropped from the rotation in 1925 but not before it had hosted 24 Opens.

Hole Six
Nine courses are in the current Open rotation: St. Andrews, Muirfield, Royal St. George’s, Royal Liverpool Golf Club, Royal Troon, Royal Lytham & St. Annes, Carnoustie Golf Links, Royal Birkdale, and Turnberry. The Open Championship is always played on links courses.

Hole Seven
The youngest winner: Young Tom Morris at 17 years, 5 months, 8 days. The oldest winner: Old Tom Morris at 46 years, 99 days.

Hole Eight
Lowest score in relation to par: -19 by Tiger woods in 2000 (66-68-69-64).

Hole Nine
Three players have been champions in three decades: Harry Vardon (1896, 1903, 1911), J.H. Taylor (1894, 1900, 1913), and Gary Player (1959, 1968, 1974).

Hopefully you’ll be able to grab a swing trainer, popcorn, and the remote like me in a couple of weeks and enjoy one of the greatest events of the year.

Photo Credits: © The Open Championship .com, © Wikipedia.