Golf

The Open Championship Location – Where Is the Tournament Played?

The Scottish Open is often known as the calm before the storm, the storm being the one and only major to be played outside of the USA. It is of course the Open Championship, which is due to begin this week. The best in the business will be on British shores as they bid to be successful in the fourth and final major the 2023 season.

Venue for 2023 Open Championship
Photo by Icon Sport.

Where is the Open Championship being played?

In 2023, the Open Championship will be held at Royal Liverpool Golf Club, which is located in North West England, in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral. More specifically, the course is in the small town of Hoylake.

The 2023 renewal of this prestigious golf tournament will not be the first to be played at Royal Liverpool, oh no. The Open Championship has in fact been hosted at the course on the Wirral several times, most recently in 2014, when Rory McIlroy won this competition for the first time, beating both Rickie Fowler and Sergio Garcia by two shots.

Royal Liverpool Golf Club History

This famous golf club has been around for a long time, dating back to 1869. In 1871, the course was given “Royal” designation, when Robert Chambers and George Morris were commissioned to extend the course to a full 18 holes. Since 1871, Royal Liverpool Golf Club has hosted several high-class golfing events such as the Amateur Championship, the Women’s British Open and of course the Open Championship.

Royal Liverpool Golf Club has a long and rich Open Championship history. The world renowned tournament was first hosted at the Hoylake course back in 1897. Since then, the competition has been played in Wirral a further 11 times.

During the first half of the 20th century, the Open was regularly hosted at Royal Liverpool, though the venue then went on to be starved of hosting this fantastic competition for some time. When Tiger Woods famously won his third Open Championship title, winning the competition for the second time in as many years, back in 2006, the tournament was played at Royal Liverpool for the first time since 1967, when Argentinian Roberto De Vincenzo beat the legendary Jick Nicklaus to the Claret Jug by two shots.

There hasn’t be an English winner of the Open Championship at Royal Liverpool Golf Club since 1936, when Alf Padgham secured the title with a single-shot win over Scotsman Jimmy Adams. There has however been two British winner at this venue since, with Fred Daly winning in 1947 and Rory McIlroy doing the business just nine years ago in 2014.

What will be required at Royal Liverpool Golf Club

The Open Championship is always played on links courses, which are known for being very tricky to navigate. To thrive on any links course a player must be mentally strong, as there will always be lots to overcome.

An ability to tailor the approach to suit conditions that can often include severe winds and rain is a must too. Royal Liverpool Golf Club also demands accuracy off the tee, as it’s famously a tough driving course, so players known to a high percentage of their drives hit the fairway should do well.

Scrambling is always hugely important at the Open and will once again play a big part at Hoylake this week, that’s for sure. If you can drive accurately and scramble well, then you’ll be in with a shout this week, but if you’re wayward from the tee and aren’t the best scrambler, then it’s going to be a tough few days.


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