On July 17-20^th, the best golfers in the world, less Tiger Woods, will compete in the third, and the oldest, Major Tournament on the PGA Tour, “The British Open” or “The Open”. This year the historical event will be held at The Royal Birkdale Golf Club, located in the north, west of England.

Steeped in rich golf tradition, “The Open”, is the only PGA Tour Major held outside of the U.S., and takes the tour back in history to the very beginnings of golf. Traditional “links style” courses provide a special challenge for PGA Tour players.

Wednesday, October 17^th, 1860 marked the beginning of “The Open”. The event was held at Prestwick Golf Club in South Ayrshire, Scotland. The favorite to win was “Old” Tom Morris, who was the greens keeper and golf club maker at Prestwick. But even the first “Open Championship”, provided an upset victory. Willie Park took home the first prize and immortalized his name in the rich history books of professional golf.

The first “Open” was played on 12 holes as were subsequent “Open Championships”, until later in the 19^th century, when 18 holes became the standard. For his efforts, Willie Park took home prize money in the amount of £6 British Pounds, and a red Morocco belt with a silver buckle.

The Royal Birkdale Golf Club was formed in 1889, and currently holds the distinction as on of Britain’s finest golf venues. It has been voted as number 1 in Britain, and one of the best golf courses in the world.

This year will mark the 9^th “Open Championship” to be hosted at Royal Birkdale. The first was held in 1954. Only St.Andrews has hosted “The Open” more often.

Royal Birkdale has undergone significant course alterations in preparation for the 2008 event. All but two holes have been altered to make the course tighter and thereby demanding accuracy from the players. Twenty new bunkers have been added in addition to significant mounding on the greens. The length of the course is 7,173 yards.

The first “Open Championship” to be hosted at Royal Birkdale was in 1954. The field included such golf greats as, Jimmy Demaret, Jim Turnesa, and Gene Sarazan. Peter Thompson won the event which was is first of three consecutive Open Titles.

The last time the event was played at Royal Birkdale was in 1998. The weather brought a demanding mixture of rain downpours and windy conditions, to bright sunlight. Mark O’Meara won the title in a dramatic playoff against Brian Watts as a follow up to his first PGA Major win in April at the Masters.

The other “Open Championship” winners at Royal Birkdale;

Peter Thompson, Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino, Johnny Miller, Tom Watson and Ian Baker-Finch. Two of Peter Thompson’s titles were earned at Royal Birkdale; in 1954 and 1965.

In addition to “The Open”, Royal Birkdale has been host to several other professional golf tournaments including; “The Weetabix Women’s British Open Championship” in 2005, and the “Ryder Cup” in 1965 and 1969.

Royal Birkdale is one of 9 golf courses in hosting rotation for “The Open”.

The others are;

Old Course at St. Andrews - Scotland

Carnoustie Golf Links - Scotland

Muirfield - Scotland

The Westin Turnberry Resort - Scotland

Royal Troon Golf Club - Scotland

Royal St.George’s Golf Club - England

Royal Lytham & St. Annes Golf Club - England

Royal Liverpool Golf Club - England

The original prize for winning “The Open” was the “Challenge Belt. The belt originally came from the Earl of Eglinton, who had an interest in preserving medieval pageantry. The members of Prestwick purchased the belt to be presented as the winning prize for “The Open”.

The “Challenge Belt”:would be presented to the winner of “The Open” but it had to remain under the care of the treasurer of the Prestwick Club until the winner could provide an acceptable guarantee that it would be safely taken care of and returned for the next “Open Championship”. Tom Morris Jr. won the belt for the third consecutive time in 1870 at which time he was presented with final ownership of the belt and it was retired as the first prize of “The Open Championship”.

"The Golf Champion Trophy": In 1872 the first “Golf Champion Trophy”, also known as “The Claret Jug”, was first won by Tom Morris Jr. He wasn’t presented with the actual trophy however since it wasn’t yet finished in manufacturing. Tom Morris was presented with a medal instead in 1872 and later his name was inscribed on “The Claret Jug” as its first winner. The trophy was first presented in 1873 to Tom Kidd.

In the 18^th century, the term “claret” was in reference to a light red wine that had been consumed, with meals, by Englishmen since the middle ages. A claret jug was a decorative wine decanter which would also keep the sediment in the bottom of the jug while pouring the wine.

“The Claret Jug” was made by Mackay Cunningham & Company of Edinburgh, Scotland. It is inscribed; “The Golf Champion Trophy”. Until 1928 the trophy was presented to the winner who was allowed to take the trophy home until the next Open event. The Royal and Ancient Golf Club decided in 1927 that Bobby Jones, title champion, would be the last winner to be presented with the original trophy. Since that time the winners of “The Open” have been presented with a replica of the original.

Multiple Winners

The record for the most wins of “The Open” is held by Harry Vardon with 6 wins. There are 24 other players who have won the event more than once;

5 victories; Tom Watson, J.H. Taylor, James Braid, Peter Thompson.

4 victories; Old Tom Morris, Young Tom Morris, Willie Park, Walter Hagen,Bobby Locke.

3 victories; Tiger Woods, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Bobby Jones,Bob Ferguson, Nick Faldo, Henry Cotton, Seve Ballesteros,Jamie Anderson.

2 victories; Lee Trevino, Willie Park Jr., Arnold Palmer, Greg Norman, Bob Martin, Harold Hilton.

Oldest Winner; Old Tom Morris in 1867 – 46 years, 99 days

Youngest Winner; Young Tom Morris in 1868 – 17 years, 5 months, 3 days.

Victories by Amateurs;

Bobby Jones in 1926, 1927, and 1930.

Harold Hilton in 1892 and 1897

John Ball in 1890

Largest Margin of Victory;

Old Tom Morris with a 13 stroke lead in 1862

Lowest 54 hole Score;

Nick Price in 1994 at Turnberry with a score of 199

Most Appearances;

Gary Player with 46 appearances.

Most Appearances on Final Day;

Jack Nicklaus with 32

Longest Course in Rotation;

Carnoustie in 2007 at 7,421 yards

Golf Course hosted most Opens;

Old Course at St. Andrews with 27 “Open Championships”