ROYAL TROON TO HOST NEXT YEAR'S SENIOR BRITISH

OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

By STEVEN FRANKLIN
Press Officer, European Seniors Tour

Royal Troon Golf Club has been announced as the venue for next year's Senior Open Championship, continuing the championship’s close affiliation with The Open championship rotation.
One of the great links courses in Scotland, the Old Course at Royal Troon will host the 2008 Senior Open Championship from July 24-27 when the cream of international Senior golfing talent will compete for the replica Claret Jug.

Since the Open of 2004, the Royal Troon clubhouse has had a major "facelift," which has seen the main entrance switch from the opposite side of the clubhouse from the 18th green to the east end of the clubhouse (pictured above), facing the members' car park.

It will be the fourth consecutive year the over-50s' championship has been staged in Scotland and the first at Royal Troon. The Scottish sequence began at Royal Aberdeen Golf Club in 2005, followed by the Westin Turnberry Resort in 2006 and Muirfield, which is staging this year’s Championship from July 26-29.
The visit to Royal Troon will also represent the seventh time that the championship has taken place on Ayrshire’s spectacular golfing coastline.
David Hill, Director of Championships for the R&A, said: “The R&A are delighted to announce that the Senior Open Championship will be played at Royal Troon Golf Club for the first time in 2008 and we thank the members and officials at Royal Troon for their support.
“Royal Troon is no stranger to holding major championships, having staged the Open championship on eight occasions, and we can be assured of another high quality golf tournament to remember.”
OPEN VENUE SINCE 1923
Arthur Havers was the first man to lift the Claret Jug at Royal Troon in 1923 and was followed by Bobby Locke (1950), Arnold Palmer (1962), Tom Weiskopf (1973), Tom Watson (1982), Mark Calcavecchia (1989), Justin Leonard (1997) and Todd Hamilton (2004).
Tickets for this year’s Senior Open Championship presented by Aberdeen Asset Management, which carries a prize fund of US$2 million, can be purchased in advance by visiting The European Tour Ticketing Operation at http://www.europeantourtickets.com/ or by calling the Ticket Hotline on 0800 023 2557.
An adult season ticket (which allows entry to the course on all four tournament days plus the practice day on Wednesday July 25) costs £50 if purchased before July 1. Any one-day ticket costs £15 and entry to the practice day is £10. After July 1 the charges are £60 for a season pass and £20 for any one-day ticket.
There is no entry charge for Under-16s, providing an adult accompanies them, and car parking is also free.
For further information about the 2007 Senior Open Championship, presented by Aberdeen Asset Management, and the latest news please visit: http://www.senioropengolf.com/