Instant expert


In 2000 and 2005, the last two occas- ions the Open was held at St Andrews, the winner was one Tiger Woods.


Things have changed


» This year marks the 150th anniversary of the


for Woods since then, but not for St Andrews, which remains the international home of golf. It hosts the Open on July 15–18.


Open, the oldest of the four major golf championships. The others—the Masters, the US Open and the PGA Championship—are all held in the US. But it is the Open that remains the most famous. Its pre-eminence is such that no golf aficionado calls it the British Open; say “the Open” and people know what you mean.


» St Andrews, on the east coast of Fife, has a golfing


history that goes back way


further than a mere century and a half. The first golfers— shepherds


knocking stones


into rabbit holes—walked the links in the 12th


century. Golf had grown so popular by 1457 that James II banned the sport because it kept men from archery practice. By the 1700s the Old Course was up and running, with golfers playing 11 holes out and 11 holes in, starting and finishing on the mound by today’s first tee.


THE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP


witnesses its 28th Open this month. The winner will receive a copy of the silver claret jug, first presented in 1873, along with a cheque for £750,000.


» In 1754, the Royal and Ancient Golf Club was set up; it’s still responsible for determining the rules of the game worldwide (except in America and Mexico). Today, there’s a grand total of seven golf courses at St Andrews. The Old Course


» One man who won’t be teeing off is Maurice Flitcroft, golf’s most famous duffer, who died in 2007. A crane driver from Barrow-in-Furness, he became a folk hero to all desperate golfers in 1976, when he conned his way into the pre-qualifiying rounds for the Open. Flitcroft managed a 49 over par 121 before he was banned by the Royal and Ancient Golf Club for life. He still managed to slip into further qualifying rounds for the Open under other pseudonyms, including James Beau Jolley and Gene Paceky (it’s pronounced “paycheck”).


“Open” for business—the Old Course at St Andrews


BY HARRY MOUNT; PHOTOS; J VALKONEN/REX; JEFF J MITCHELL /REUTERS /ACTION IMAGES


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