The history
The home of golf, the venerable links course where players soak up the history like sunbathers on the nearby beaches. St Andrews oozes history and has hosted the Open 28 times, dating back to 1873, the year the first sleeper was introduced in Britain on the Glasgow to London express.
The last time
2010 saw the 27-year-old unheralded South African Louis Oosthuizen clinched the Claret Jug by seven strokes, mastering the course and braving the elements. The high winds famously did for Rory McIlroy: he shot a blistering opening round of 63 but was blown away and his Friday round of 80 abruptly halted his challenge.
More the merrier
St Andrews now boasts a gargantuan new grandstand capable of seating 10,000 and the 144th is billed as being the biggest arena in Open history. Those perched in its seats are promised glorious vistas of the famous 1st, 17th and 18th holes of the Old Course. For the first time, a two-tiered grandstand will be erected behind the 18th green “to further enhance the extraordinary atmosphere created by the grandstands located alongside the adjoining 1st fairway”, coos the R&A. More than 21,000 grandstand seats will be available across the course.
Course change controversy
There are changes to the Old Course for the first time in 70 years - and they have met with dismay in some quarters. Ian Poulter, never known for restraint, called them “insane” when they were announced in 2012 and Geoff Ogilvy labelled them “disgusting” . The most significant alteration is at the 17th – the infamous Road Hole – which has had its greenside bunker widened by 20 inches and the front contour of the green has been reshaped to ensure more approach shots are gathered into the sand. After the uproar caused by staging the US Open at Chambers Bay near Seattle expect yet more bleatings about the impossibility of the famed Scottish links.
McIlroy’s stand-in
Scotland’s Russell Knox takes Rory McIlroy’s place at St Andrews after the world No1 pulled out after injuring his ankle in a kickaround. The world-ranked 77 learned of his inclusion while playing a pro-am event before the Scottish Open at Gullane. “My wife sent me a text out on the course saying Rory had withdrawn but I was waiting for official confirmation from the R&A, but then my manager received an email from the R&A to say 100% I am into the Open,” Knox said. “I was down on the 12th hole and had a big smile on my face when I got the text and bizarrely it was close to where I got a hole-in-one some years back.”
