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The Course |
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Royal Birkdale
The Open will pay its ninth visit to Royal Birkdale this year, having first visited the club in 1954. The event was originally due to be played at the course as early as 1940, but the outbreak of war meant that the championship was not held that year and it took a further 14 years for the Open to come to this corner of North West England. Since then, however, it has proved a superb and extremely popular venue, and of the courses which are currently used for The Open only St Andrews has hosted the event more often.
The club was founded in 1889, though the current layout was created in 1922 by renowned course architect Fred Hawtree in partnership with one of the ‘great triumvirate’ of the late 19th and early 20th century, J. H. Taylor; a man who himself won The Open five times.
At the time, designs for links courses tended to ask golfers to play up and over the sand dunes, which while interesting often lead to the creation of blind shots. At Birkdale, however, this approach was rejected in favour of a routing which allowed the holes to follow the valleys running between the dunes. This makes for generally flatter lies on the fairways, giving rise to the course’s reputation for fairness that contributes to its popularity among professionals. It also creates an impression of seclusion, with many holes being routed in such a way that you see no other hole except the one that you are playing; and it leaves the dunes free for spectators to enjoy some of the best vantage points available at any of the courses which host The Open.
You can find out more about Royal Birkdale at the club’s website Changes to the course
All but two of Royal Birkdale's holes have been altered in the preparations for the staging of the 2008 Open Championship. These alterations are focused on tightening rather than lengthening: at 7,173 yards, the course will be playing just 155 yards longer than it did when Mark O'Meara won in 1998. The key to this tightening is the addition of twenty new bunkers - 16 fairway and four greenside - and the significant mounding that has been added to seven of the greens, calling for a greater variety of imaginative recovery shots.
In addition, new strategic options have been introduced by changes to the lines of play on five holes: 3, 9, 11, 16 and 17. The greatest of these changes come into play on the 9th and 17th holes: the 9th fairway has been moved 25 yards to the left; and the par-5 17th has an entirely new green, which is both 25 yards further back and raised above the fairway to create a more challenging approach shot, particularly for those who attempt to get home in two. Once again, the hope is that the Open venue will present a traditional links test, with hard, fast fairways and plenty of roll, though as The R&A’s Chief Executive Peter Dawson explained at the recent Open Championship media conference, “we’re always in the lap of the gods with the weather.” No matter what the conditions are, however, visitors to The Open will enjoy a superb spectator experience: Royal Birkdale's sand dunes have always provided many natural vantage points, and further new mounds have been added on five holes to provide even better views of the action.
Birkdale’s Opens1954 – Australian Peter Thomson, one of the greatest players in the history of the Open, wins the first of his five Open titles. 1961 – Arnold Palmer thrills British crowds winning his first Open title. 1965 – Peter Thomson wins his fifth title, and his second at Royal Birkdale. 1971 – Lee Trevino wins his first Open as little-known Taiwanese player Lu Liang-Huan – affectionately known as “Mr Lu” – comes within a stroke of an incredible victory. 1976 – Johnny Miller defeats an unknown Spanish teenager called Severiano Ballesteros. 1983 – Tom Watson wins his fifth Open, which is his eighth major title in nine seasons. 1991 – Ian Baker-finch produces a blistering streak of birdies in his final round to ease himself to victory. 1998 – Mark O’Meara wins his second major in the space of three months after a tight play-off with Brian Watts. Great moments at Birkdale
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| pos | players | holes | par |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Padraig HARRINGTON | 18 | -7 |
| 2 | Sergio GARCIA | 18 | -7 |
| 3 | Andres ROMERO | 18 | -6 |
| T4 | Richard GREEN | 18 | -5 |
| T4 | Ernie ELS | 18 | -5 |
| T6 | Hunter MAHAN | 18 | -4 |
| T6 | Stewart CINK | 18 | -4 |
| T8 | Ben CURTIS | 18 | -3 |
| T8 | Mike WEIR | 18 | -3 |
| T8 | KJ CHOI | 18 | -3 |