The 151st Open Championship tees off this week from Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Hoylake, England. The tournament, which marks the final major of the year, will run from Thursday, July 20 through Sunday, July 23. The field includes some of the biggest names in golf, including Scottie Scheffler, Jon Rahm, and Rory McIlroy. But before play gets underway this week, we take a look back at the history of the course.
History of Royal Liverpool
The course was initially designed in 1869 and received its royal patronage from Prince Arthur in 1871. Originally built by Robert Chambers and George Morris, the course was redesigned by Harry Colt in the early 1900s, and has continued undergoing renovations to this day — the 17th hole was redone as recently as 2021.
What does the course look like?
The course is sandy and dune-filled, with rolling hills on certain holes creating blind tee and approach shots. However, the hills are something of an anomaly at Hoylake — the seaside links is largely very flat, which requires golfers to address any and all winds coming across the plain off the coast. Almost all of the bunkers at this course go up vertically on the sides.
History of the Open Championship in Hoylake
The Open Championship has been hosted 12 times at the Royal Liverpool Golf Club, beginning in 1897, and no golfer has ever won the tournament twice there. The most recent winners were Tiger Woods in 2006 and Rory McIlroy in 2014. Between 1967 and 2006, the British Open did not visit Hoylake.