Royal Birkdale

The 146th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale will be the 10th time that the course has played host to the oldest Golf Championship. If it had not been for the second World War, Royal Birkdale would be celebrating its 11th hosting of the event.

By Nick Kevern

It was scheduled to host the event in 1940 but the war changed everything. It would have to wait another 14 years until the honour of hosting the Open would finally arrive. When that time had finally come, Birkdale Golf Club would become Royal Birkdale following the Royal Command issued in November 1951. Now Royal Birkdale was firmly placed as one of the finest clubs in Great Britain. The war might have prevented them from hosting their first Open but now it was firmly prepared to host the 1954 Championship complete with its new name. Prior to the 1954 Open Championship, the name of Peter Thomson was beginning to become well known. He had finished in second place at the previous two championships and was aching to hold the claret jug. So close, just so far. However, 1954 would become his year as he beat Dai Rees, Bobby Locke and Syd Scott by one shot at Royal Birkdale.

Thompson would later go on to dominate the tournament over the next two years. In fact, if a decade of the Open Championship belonged to any player, then it was Thomson. He would win the Open four times in the 1950’s. Legends are often made at Royal Birkdale. For Thomson, it was created on the dunes of Southport. He would win the Open for the fifth time when the Championship returned to Royal Birkdale for a third time in 1965. It would be his final Open victory. Perhaps it’s fitting that his first and also his final triumph came at the same venue. A venue entwined with his greatness. However, there was also another legend of the game who tasted Open victory for the first time at Royal Birkdale.

The 1961 Open Championship saw an influx of American interest take to the course. The journey across the Atlantic was now seen as a must. Arnold Palmer may have already won the Masters and the U.S Open by the time he arrived in Southport but he came to England with victory on the mind. Battling the gales, rains and dunes of Royal Birkdale he would win by one shot over Dai Rees who once again finished in the runner-up position in Southport. “I wanted this championship more than anything in my life,” Palmer said when it was all over, “but anything you want real bad is awfully hard to get.” By the Seventies, the Open Championship was becoming a truly international affair. Lee Trevino was fresh from his U.S Open victory as approached the dunes of Southport in his bid to hold two major titles in a matter of months. “It will be a miracle, but I believe in miracles,” Trevino said. The miracle happened as he won The Open by one shot over Lu Liang-Huan from Taiwan. The 1976 Open Championship introduced us all to a young 19-year-old Severiano Ballesteros. He entered the final day of The Open with a two-shot lead but experience beat youth on the day as Johnny Miller won by six shots.

For Ballesteros, it proved to be a valuable lesson that he was able to learn from as he lifted the Claret Jug three years later at Royal Lytham & St Annes. Royal Birkdale was quickly becoming the home of legends and even, legends in the making. The stern test of the links may have proved too much for some but for others, it was the place to test their game and mental strength. Close finishes are usually guaranteed and in the case of the 1983 Open Championship it came down to the final shot. Tom Watson split the fairway with his drive on the 18th. His second hit the green giving him two putts from 18 feet to win. He made no mistakes. Cool, calm and collected, Watson retained the Claret Jug that he won the previous year at Royal Troon. Sometimes the big names don’t have it all their own way. Royal Birkdale can often throw up a few surprises. It certainly did in 1991 as Ian Baker-Finch produced a flawless third round 64, He would win by two shots as the big names fell victim to the unpredictable weather that the Lancashire coast can bring. Experience can come in handy as was proved by 41-year-old Mark O’Meara.

Winning the 1998 Masters in Augusta, O’Meara added The Open Championship to his brilliant season. A playoff against Brain Watts showed that age is no factor when it comes to the Open. Royal Birkdale also introduced the world to a new British hope for the future. His name was Justin Rose, you may have heard of him. It would be a ten-year wait until The Open would once again come back to Royal Birkdale. Padraig Harrington entered the 137th Open Championship with the Claret Jug in his hands. He made sure it returned to Ireland as he became the first European since James Braid to successfully defend his title.