History of the Open Championship at Royal Liverpool
- History
The third hole of Royal Liverpool Golf Club photographed in 2006.
Royal Liverpool was the inaugural men's amateur championship host in 1885, which became The Amateur Championship. It was host to the first ever international match between Scotland and England in 1902. It hosted the first Home International matches between Great Britain & Ireland and the United States in 1921, an event which became the Walker Cup. In fact, it is Royal Liverpool Golf Club's contribution to the amateur game that has set it apart from all other clubs in England. Although, at the end of the nineteenth century, it was the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews that took on the role of the governing body in golf as the game developed, it was at Royal Liverpool that the rules of amateur status were laid down. The Open at Royal Liverpool was also the scene of the second leg of Bobby Jones' historic Grand Slam in 1930.
Many comments have been made over the years about the quality and toughness of the links. The wind’s absence was conspicuous during the benign Open week in 2006. However, such was winner Tiger Woods' respect for the need for strategic play that he only hit his driver once during the tournament, with the course baked out due to dry conditions, and playing very fast. The course is mostly level, but the holes nearest the coast run through sandhills. The course underwent a variety of changes in advance of the 2023 (151st) Open Championship, including a new par-3 that will play as the 17th hole during The Open.
- Notable moments at Royal Liverpool
The course has also hosted a number of professional tournaments on the European Tour and before its foundation in 1972. Royal Liverpool has been the site for many tournaments for ladies, seniors, and boys, and various regional and representative events. It hosted The Open Championship for the first time in 39 years in 2006; Tiger Woods won his third Open Championship, two strokes ahead of runner-up Chris DiMarco. It was an emotional victory for Woods, who had lost his father to prostate cancer just two months earlier.
Royal Liverpool hosted the 2010 English Men's Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship for the Brabazon Trophy; the event was won by Darren Wright. The links had earlier staged the Brabazon on four occasions. In 1961, Ronnie Shade was champion, followed in 1972 by Peter Moody, a former University of Cambridge captain. Sandy Lyle lifted the trophy in 1977, while the 1989 event saw a tie between Craig Rivett from South Africa and Neil Roderick from Wales.
Royal Liverpool hosted the Women's British Open for the first time in 2012. The championship was won by South Korea's Jiyai Shin, who set a new record for the largest winning margin in the event (9 strokes) and a new women's course record of 64 in her second round.
- 2023 British Open television coverage
The 151st Open Championship will broadcast live on Sky Sports for British and European viewers, while NBC Sports broadcast live for North American viewers.
For live updates and scoring, visit OpenGolf.com!
