HIGH SPEED LONDON-ROYAL ST GEORGE'S LINK FOR OPEN CHSHP

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED
BY THE R AND A
The R and A and Southeastern Trains today announced that a high-speed, direct train service will transport passengers to and from The Open Championship at Royal St George’s. Departing from St Pancras International, the service will run from 14 – 17 July and will reduce regular journey times by one hour.
With Sandwich station only a 15-minute walk from the venue, spectators can get from central London to the course in just 95 minutes.
There will be two direct, high-speed services per hour going to Sandwich during the morning from St Pancras International and two services an hour back, from lunchtime onwards. This will help transport many of the expected 180,000 spectators to the event throughout the four Championship days.
“Whenever The Open comes to Royal St George’s, we welcome a large number of enthusiastic spectators from London and the surrounding area,” said Peter Dawson, Chief Executive of The R and A.
“This new service brings The Open Championship closer to the capital than ever before, and we hope that it will encourage more people to enjoy a day at golf’s oldest Major.”
Vince Lucas, service delivery director for Southeastern Trains, said: “The Open is the biggest sporting event to take place in Kent, and is a great opportunity to show what the region has to offer. We are determined to help make this important event a success by offering this High Speed service, which is sure to be very popular for spectators travelling from London.”
There will also be a further hourly mainline service to Sandwich during the Championship, meaning that The Open will be served by four trains per hour. The high-speed services will travel via Canterbury or Dover.
Additional early-morning trains from St Pancras International will ensure that spectators can get to the course in time to watch the first groups tee-off. Supplementary trains on the mainline service, early in the morning, will run from Charing Cross and Victoria.
Tickets for these services and the full timetable will be available at southeasternrailway.co.uk from April 21.
A peak day return on high-speed services costs £38.20. An equivalent mainline service ticket will cost £32.90.
For further information please visit Opengolf.com.
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ROYAL ST GEORGE'S LONGER, PAR REDUCED TO 70

CBSSports.com wire reports
The Royal St George's course will be 100 yards longer for this year's Open, with par being reduced from 71 to 70.
The famous fourth hole- - with a huge bunker staring players in the face as they tee off -- is being changed from a 497yd par-5 to a 495yd par-4.
The third hole will be increased by 30yd to 240yd, while the long seventh goes from 532 to 564yd and the ninth from 388 to 412yd.
In the main alteration on the back nine, the 15th will be stretched from 475yd to a 496yd but will remain a par-4.
Eight years ago, American winner Ben Curtis was the only player to break par at the course, and only by one shot. In 1983, Greg Norman set a championship record of 13-under 267 at Royal St George's.
In another change, the fairway on the first hole has been widened by about 12 yards. In 2003, Tiger Woods lost a ball with his first shot at Royal St. George's and took a triple-bogey 7.
Less than 30 percent of all drives finished on the fairway in 2003.
"Tiger's lost ball was not an influence -- it was the overall statistic of 27-28 percent," R and A chief executive Peter Dawson said.

Huge interest in this year's Open - Peter Dawson

FROM THE SKY SPORTS.COM WEBSITERoyal and Ancient chief executive Peter Dawson will be cheering on Rory McIlroy at the Open Championship in July.
"I think the hearts of all golf fans went out to him at Augusta and it was wonderful that he put up such a good show in Malaysia a week later."
The tournament returns to Royal St George's in Kent for the first time since 2003 just three months after McIlroy's meltdown at the Masters.
The 21-year-old led by four shots going into the final round but an 80 on Sunday saw him drop out of contention.
However, Dawson, who revealed key changes to the Sandwich lay-out this year, believes McIlroy would prove one of the more popular winners.
"I think it would be staggeringly popular," said Dawson. "He's already a popular figure. He's young, everyone wants him to do well and I think the roof would come off the stands if he won the Open.
"I think the hearts of all golf fans went out to him at Augusta and it was wonderful that he put up such a good show in Malaysia a week later.
"Let's hope he has learnt from the Masters and the best way he can come back is to win a major.
"It wouldn't surprise me in the least if he does - what a talent - but equally it wouldn't surprise me if quite a number of others won either."
Dawson claimed the interest in this year's event could be unprecedented, bearing in mind the success of European players over the past 12 months.
"In every sport it seems players are getting better younger," he added. "Rory seems to have been around for a long time and yet he's still only 21.
"I think we are going to see huge interest in this championship. There are so many stories - [Martin] Kaymer, [Lee] Westwood, McIlroy, Paul Casey, Luke Donald, (Matteo) Manassero.
"Golf is changing and good on it. It's an exciting time for British and European golf - Tiger Woods is not as dominant as he was and other players who have been at the top are well into their thirties or beyond.
"It's only natural that younger players will come through and it's nice to see how many are emerging from countries all over the world."