NEWS RELEASE FROM THE R AND A - OPEN COMING TO CARNOUSTIE IN 2018
ROYAL BIRKDALE AND CARNOUSTIE TO HOST THE OPEN IN 2017 AND 2018
The R and A announced today that Royal Birkdale will host The Open
Championship in 2017 and Carnoustie will host the Championship in 2018.
Five-time Open Champion Tom
Watson, who won The Open at Royal Birkdale in 1983 and at Carnoustie in
1975, joined The R and A to make the announcement at the Greenbrier.
“I am delighted to see The Open
returning to two great venues in Royal Birkdale and Carnoustie,” he
said. “I know both courses are held in high regard by the players and I
certainly consider them to be wonderful tests of golf.
“When I first played in The Open
at Carnoustie I still had a lot to learn about links golf but I quickly
adapted to the challenge of playing in the wind and keeping the ball
low. I played well that week and was thrilled to win the play-off.
“Royal Birkdale is also a fine
links course and I have always thoroughly enjoyed playing there. I think
the players and the fans will be excited to see the top players playing
these courses once again.”
Royal Birkdale will host The Open
for the tenth time in 2017. Ireland’s Padraig Harrington won by four
shots from Ian Poulter the last time the Championship was played there
in 2008. Mark O’ Meara emerged victorious from a play-off with Brian
Watts in 1998 and Ian Baker-Finch enjoyed a two-shot victory over his
fellow Australian Mike Harwood in 1991. Another Australian, Peter
Thomson, won The Open when it was first staged at Royal Birkdale in
1954, and again in 1965, and he was joined by Arnold Palmer (1961), Lee
Trevino (1971) and Johnny Miller (1976) as winners in the North West.
Richard Hunt, the Captain of Royal Birkdale, said, "We will be
delighted to welcome The Open Championship back to Royal Birkdale in
2017. The club has a long and proud history of hosting The Open and
some of the game's greatest players have won here. We regard it as a
privilege to host the Championship and look forward to seeing the
world's top players facing the challenges of Royal Birkdale once again."
2018 will be the eighth occasion
on which Carnoustie has hosted The Open Championship and the first since
Harrington lifted the Claret Jug there in 2007 after defeating Sergio
Garcia in a play-off. In 1999, Scotland’s Paul Lawrie triumphed after a
play-off with Justin Leonard and Jean Van de Velde. Ben Hogan famously
won The Open at Carnoustie in 1953 on the only occasion he played in the
Championship and the other winners at the Angus links are Tommy Armour
(1931), Henry Cotton (1937) and Gary Player (1968).
Pat Sawers, Chairman Carnoustie Golf Links, said, “We are very much
looking forward to welcoming The Open Championship back for an eighth
time to the historic links at Carnoustie in 2018 and feel sure the
Championship will generate just as much interest and excitement as in
previous years. We believe the fact The R&A has invited us to stage
the 2018 Championship will provide a big boost to golf in the local area
and will have a beneficial effect on our on-going efforts to attract
more local youngsters into the game.”The Open Championship will be played at Royal Birkdale from 20-23 July 2017 and at Carnoustie from 19-22 July 2018.
For more information visit TheOpen.com.
Labels: OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP
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