Royal Liverpool, history is written with par 3

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This will be the thirteenth time that the oldest golf tournament, the British Open, or The Open, as you prefer, is held at the Royal Liverpool, in Hoylake (England), a links that has been absent from the rota since the Argentine Roberto de Vicenzo won in 1967 until Tiger Woods did it in 2006. He was brown and dry when Tiger won in 2006 – incidentally, he was also the last British to play in his career and with his caddy son, Seve Ballesteros – and the American He only used the driver once. And Hoylake was soft enough for the victory of Rory McIlroy in 2014 -2nd place shared with Sergio García- when in the third round he went off two tees for the first time in history to avoid collapsing and be able to finish on Sunday. A Rory who will arrive here with the band of the exciting victory at the Scottish Open on Sunday in North Berwick, the second this 2023.

Royal Liverpool, results

World number 1 Scottie Scheffler started playing links in 2021 at Royal St. George's, in Sandwich (England). He rescued videos of the last two British at Hoylake and attested to the changes. “I was able to see both faces,” he said. "One was very firm, the other was soft." Even as the players began to arrive on the field, Hoylake displayed the seasons of summer. The sun made it look like an oven in the morning. Rain made visibility difficult in the early afternoon. Then a mix of sun and rain and clouds and cool, all before dinner.

Royal Liverpool has also changed. The last two times the Open was played, players faced a 145m par 3 heading back towards the clubhouse, then a par 5 towards the village, a long par 4 towards the Irish Sea and the Closing par 5 where McIlroy in 2014 played a massive 5-iron in the third round for the eagle that secured him a five-shot lead. Now the 15th hole is a 560 meter par 5 back towards Hoylake, the 16th is still a par 4 and the 17th is a 120 meter par 3 towards the Dee estuary, for some, a sacrilege because a links cannot be play just like that. The 18th hole is still a par 5, but about 60 meters longer. The pair is now 71.

And it is that the hole that did not exist in the last edition of the British in 2014, actually did exist, but they have turned it around and it is a new hole. Not only does it look practically nothing like the previous one, but it has even changed its location in the 'routing' of the field. It's like we say the 17th hole, par 3, which used to be the 15th hole (it's still the 15th for members and guests) and they have almost nothing to do with it.

The Royal Liverpool opened its doors in 1869 and on almost sacred ground it was designed by Robert Chambers and George Morris, Old Tom's little brother... The courses are in continuous evolution and it goes without saying that the design that was played in 2014 little or not at all It has to do with the one played by the youngsters of the British Amateur in 1885, the first edition of the tournament that was held on this beautiful course in Hoylake. In fact, Harry Colt himself redesigned the course in the 20th century, and modifications have been made steadily over the years.

And the rectors decided to turn the 15th hole around, which used to be played downhill from tee to green and is now played uphill. That is, where the green was before is now the tee and vice versa. They began to remodel it in 2019 and finished in mid-2020. The view from the tee is spectacular. As the green is elevated, it conveys the sensation of having an infinite green, since its end joins the sky and the ocean. It is a flan-shaped green, so it is not easy to reach it and it is very well protected. It has a very deep bunker on the right, another very complicated short bunker, on the left there is another sand trap, perhaps less complicated than the other two, and the long fault meets some important bushes and an area of sand. Recovery is really hard. The 17th hole is called 'Little Eye' and is played in the direction of Wales. It will undoubtedly be one of the great attractions of this British Open. Before, Royal Liverpool ended with a par 5, par 4 and par 5 and now it will end with a par 5, par 3 and par 5. More drama and more tension, although some will still find it sacrilege.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/Zj2YMuR

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