You have to be a good player to win the Open Championship, you have to be a great player to win the Claret Jug at Royal Birkdale.
The famed Southport links is playing host to the 154th Open Championship, staging the race for the Claret Jug for the 11th time - only St Andrews has more since Birkdale joined the rota.
And ever since that first Open in 1954 the list of champions to win at Birkdale has been filled with the game's greats.
We've seen two five-time Major champions triumph at Birkdale during the previous 10 Opens to be played at the course, with two other winners successfully defending the Claret Jug.
So only the best of the best seem to succeed at Birkdale, with the course obviously one that sees the cream rise to the top.
As with every links course on the Open rota of courses, the weather has a huge say on matters, but whether the wind blows, the rain falls or the sun shines, Birkdale only deals in quality champions.
From the likes of legends Arnold Palmer, Peter Thomson, Tom Watson and Johnny Miller, to thrilling wins by Padraig Harrginton and Jordan Spieth - Birkdale will only yield possession of the Claret Jug to the very best in the sport.
Previous Open champions at Royal Birkdale
Year |
Winner |
Par |
Score |
|---|---|---|---|
1954 |
Peter Thomson |
73 |
283 (-9) |
1961 |
Arnold Palmer |
72 |
284 (-4) |
1965 |
Peter Thomson |
73 |
285 (-7) |
1971 |
Lee Trevino |
73 |
278 (-14) |
1976 |
Johnny Miller |
72 |
279 (-9) |
1983 |
Tom Watson |
71 |
275 (-9) |
1991 |
Ian Baker-Finch |
70 |
272 (-8) |
1998 |
Mark O'Meara |
70 |
280 (E) - Playoff |
2008 |
Padraig Harrington |
70 |
283 (+3) |
2017 |
Jordan Spieth |
70 |
268 (-12) |
Peter Thomson - 1954 & 1965
Birkdale's first Open saw the great Peter Thomson win his first Claret Jug - and he got a real taste for it by winning five overall, with the last of those also coming in Southport in a wonderful full circle moment.
With five Opens only Harry Vardon won more than Thomson, who won three on the spin starting in Birkdale, and four in five years before waiting seven years to lift his fifth and final title.
Arnold Palmer - 1961
Arnold Palmer had to use every ounce of skill to beat a top-class field but also some horrendous conditions as delays hit the 1961 tournament with storms even blowing away a marquee.
Palmer produced one of the best shots in Open history during his victory when smacking a 6-iron from the bottom of a bush on the 15th hole, which is now played as the 16th, and a plaque now sits there to mark the occasion.
Lee Trevino - 1971
The 100th Open Championship delivered a brilliant battle as Lee Trevino edged out Lu Liang-huan by just a shot to convert a quick-fire double just weeks after winning the US Open for a second time.
Trevino also went back-to-back at The Open as he retained the Claret Jug in 1972 at Muirfield and went on to claim six Majors in all.
Johnny Miller - 1976
It was a hot summer in the UK but Johnny Miller was too hot to handle as he lapped the field to win by six shots at Birkdale with a clinic of playing links golf on a fast and fiery golf course.
It was Miller's second Major triumph and just to show how Birkdale promotes a quality field - a young Seve Ballesteros produced his famous chip shot between the bunkers to help him finish second alongside Jack Nicklaus.
Tom Watson - 1983
Not many players have arrived with as much form as Tom Watson did at Birkdale in 1983, coming in as the defending Champion Golfer of the Year and also a four-time Open winner.
So it was hardly a surprise when the great man made it five Claret Jugs as he kicked into the lead Saturday and made some crucial back-nine birdies to win by a shot and confirm his legendary status as one of the best players in Open history.
Ian Baker-Finch - 1991
He's maybe not quite at the legendary status of other winners, but scrappy Australian Ian Baker-Finch was a class operator at his best - as he showed on moving day at Birkdale as he matched the then course record with a 64 on Saturday.
He followed up with a 66 on Sunday to win his only Major title - and bury the demons of playing in the final group twice at St Andrews (1984 & 1990) but not getting it over the line.
Mark O'Meara - 1998
1998 was a career year for Mark O'Meara as he won The Masters in April before then coming out on top in a four-hole playoff at the Open Championship. He also finished T4 at the PGA Championship.
O'Meara had finished T3 at Birkdale back in 1991 behind Baker-Finch so obviously his game suited the Southport links, and aged 41 he became the oldest first-time Open champion of the modern era with his success in what was the year of his life.
Padraig Harrington - 2008
Another back-to-back winner popped up at Birkdale in 2008, when Padraig Harrington produced a stunner of a 5-wood on the 71st hole to help him retain the Claret Jug.
It's one of the best shots we've seen in The Open and a fitting way for the first European to win consecutive Opens in over a century. And just for good measure he followed up by winning the PGA Championship a month later.
Jordan Spieth - 2017
Talking about great shots to win the Open Championship - Jordan Spieth's recovery from the driving range wide of the 13th hole is etched into golfing folklore.
Then there was the "go get that" moment after draining a 48-foot putt for eagle on the 15th as he produced a mind-boggling stretch of going birdie-eagle-birdie-birdie to power to a three-shot win for the ages.
