GOLF
Who won the last British Open at the Royal Troon?
Royal Troon Golf Club is set to host the British Open. Here’s the last winner at the famous course.
The golf calendar is coming to a close with the fourth and final tournament of the year: the British Open.
On the Scottish west coast, Troon is hosting the upcoming competition, sensibly known as the Royal Troon. It will be the 10th time that the venue has hosted the event, which is the oldest golf tournament in the world.
Since 1860, the Open Championship, also known as the British Open, has formed a part of the elite golf fixture list.
What is the most difficult shot at the Royal Troon?
The course has both the shortest hole on any course in the calendar (the par-3 eighth is only 123 yards long) and one of the most difficult: known as ‘The Railway’, the 11th hole is a 490-yard par 4 that “plays even longer because of the prevailing wind” and “and thick gorse and out-of-bounds wait on each side”. The hole played to a 4.6 scoring average in 2016, making it the hardest hole on the PGA TOUR that year.
English golfer Arthur Havers won the first ever tournament held at Royal Troon, back in 1923. We’ve seen 8 tournaments held at the prestigious 45-hole private club since then (1923, 1950, 1962, 1973, 1982, 1989, 1997, 2004 and 2016).
However, as for the most recent time that the club held the championship, it came back in 2016, when Sweden’s Henrik Stenson defeated Phil Mickelson by three to win his first and only major title to date.
Royal Troon course info:
| Hole | Par | Yardage | Name |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 366 | Seal |
| 2 | 4 | 380 | Black Rock |
| 3 | 4 | 376 | Gyaws |
| 4 | 5 | 599 | Dunure |
| 5 | 3 | 220 | Greenan |
| 6 | 5 | 623 | Turnberry |
| 7 | 4 | 403 | Tel-el-Kebir |
| 8 | 3 | 123 | Postage Stamp |
| 9 | 4 | 440 | The Monk |
| 36 | 3,530 | ||
| 10 | 4 | 450 | Sandhills |
| 11 | 4 | 498 | Railway |
| 12 | 4 | 451 | The Fox |
| 13 | 4 | 473 | Burmah |
| 14 | 3 | 200 | Alton |
| 15 | 4 | 502 | Crosbie |
| 16 | 5 | 572 | Well |
| 17 | 3 | 242 | Rabbit |
| 18 | 4 | 458 | Craigend |
| 35 | 3,845 | ||
| 71 | 7,276 |
“It’s best to get ahead early at Royal Troon, then simply hang on for dear life” says the official PGA Tour website. “The first six holes play downwind over crumpled terrain, and the opening trio consists of three short par 4s all under 400 yards”.
The 152nd Open Championship will take place July 18-21 at Royal Troon in Scotland. It will be broadcast in the US on NBC and USA Network, as well as NBC’s Peacock streaming service.