Opens: 1873, 1876, 1879, 1882, 1885, 1888, 1891, 1895, 1900, 1905, 1910, 1921, 1927, 1933, 1939, 1946, 1955, 1957, 1960, 1964, 1970, 1978, 1984, 1990, 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010
Location: St Andrews, Fife, Scotland
Golf has been played over the linksland at St Andrews for well over half a millennium, and, while new tees have been built, the Old Course remains essentially unchanged from the days of Old Tom Morris in the mid-to-late 19th century. The double fairways, double greens and natural bunkering combine to produce a set of strategic demands on the golfer which are unmatched and completely unique.
In the course of its 28 Opens, St Andrews has had a habit of throwing up winners who are the best of their generation. Tiger Woods, for example, produced performances in 2000 and 2005 that left him comfortably clear of the field, with victories by eight and five shots respectively. During the 2000 Open, Woods’ 19 under-par total surpassed the mark set by Nick Faldo ten years previously, when at the height of his powers the Englishman shot 18 under par to win by five.
| St Andrews at a glance |
Course length (2010 Open)
7,305 yards, par 72
Great Moment
Jack Nicklaus waving farewell to golf from the Swilken Bridge in 2005, bringing down the curtain on the greatest career in golf history at the venue where he won two of his three Opens.
Course website
www.standrews.org.uk |
The list of big name winners goes on: Seve Ballesteros won at the Home of Golf in 1984; Jack Nicklaus lifted the Claret Jug here in 1970 and 1978; Peter Thomson and Bobby Locke won St Andrews Opens in the 1950s; and Bobby Jones created such an impression on St Andrews during his 1927 win — and it on him — that it proved to be the beginning of a lifelong connection with the ‘Auld Grey Toon’.