Royal Birkdale Golf Club

Royal Birkdale Golf Club

Clubhouse in 2005
Club information
Location Southport, England
Established 1889 (1894)
Type Private
Total holes 18
Tournaments hosted The Open Championship,
The Amateur,
Senior British Open
Women's British Open
Website royalbirkdale.com
Designed by Frederick G. Hawtree
J.H. Taylor
Par 72
Length 6,817 yards (6,233 m)
Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, north of Liverpool city centre.

Royal Birkdale Golf Club is a golf course in the town of Southport, England, and is one of the clubs in the Open Championship rotation for both men and women. It has hosted the men's championship nine times, first in 1954 and most recently in July 2008. It is scheduled to host the 2017 Open Championship. Previous winners of the Open at Royal Birkdale are Pádraig Harrington, Mark O'Meara, Ian Baker-Finch, Tom Watson, Johnny Miller, Lee Trevino, Arnold Palmer and Peter Thomson (twice). It hosted the women's tournament for a sixth time in 2014, and was the site of the Senior Open Championship in 2013.

Royal Birkdale has also hosted the Ryder Cup (1965, 1969), the Walker Cup (1951), and the Curtis Cup (1948).

History

Founded as Birkdale Golf Club in 1889, the club was awarded "Royal" status in 1951.[1] Birkdale Golf Club moved to a new site in Birkdale Hills in 1894[1] and built a new distinctive art deco clubhouse in 1935.[1] In early 1939 Birkdale was nominated as the venue for the 1940 Open Championship[2] but World War II started in September 1939 and the Championship was cancelled. In 1946, the club finally hosted its first big championship in The Amateur Championship, won by Irishman James Bruen. During the immediate post-war era, the club also hosted the 1948 Curtis Cup and the 1951 Walker Cup, both won by the United States. With these successful stagings of important events, Royal Birkdale was felt to be ready for its first Open Championship in 1954 and the club has been on the Open rota ever since.

Three generations of the Hawtree family of golf course architects have worked on the course.[3] Frederick G. Hawtree and champion golfer J.H. Taylor are the two people most responsible for the current routing,[3] following the valleys between the very large dunes which dominate the property. The arrangement makes for excellent spectator conditions during major events. Frederick W. Hawtree, the son of Frederick G, performed some modifications in the 1960s and in 1993 Martin Hawtree, son of Frederick W., improved and modernised the layout further, with all 18 of the club's greens being completely rebuilt, to improve turf and drainage following the 1991 Open Championship.[4] Only relatively minor tweaking, such as the addition of a few new bunkers and back tees, has been deemed necessary in advance of the last two Open Championships.[5] The course was ranked as the 18th best in the world outside the United States, in the 2007 rankings by Golf Digest magazine.[6]

During the 1960s, the club played host to two Ryder Cups, in 1965 and in 1969. The United States took the Cup in 1965 by the score of 19½–12½, but in 1969 the competition ended in a 16–16 tie when Jack Nicklaus generously conceded a short putt to Tony Jacklin to halve their match. As defending champions, the U.S. retained the trophy, not relinquished until 1985.

The Open Championship

The Open Championship was first held at Royal Birkdale in 1954 and has hosted nine times. It is scheduled to return in 2017.

YearWinnerParScoreWinner's
share (£)
R1 R2 R3 R4 Total
1954 Australia Peter Thomson 1st73 72716971283 (−9)750
1961 United States Arnold Palmer 1st72 70736972284 (−4)1,400
1965 Australia Peter Thomson 5th7374687271285 (−7)1,750
1971 United States Lee Trevino 1st7369706970278 (−14)5,500
1976 United States Johnny Miller 7272687366279 (−9)7,500
1983 United States Tom Watson 5th7167687070275 (−9)40,000
1991 Australia Ian Baker-Finch 7071716466272 (−8)90,000
1998 United States Mark O'Meara 7072687268280 (E)PO300,000
2008 Republic of Ireland Pádraig Harrington 2nd7074687269283 (+3)750,000
201720–23 July

The Women’s British Open

Winners of the Women's British Open at Royal Birkdale.

YearWinner
1982 Spain Marta Figueras-Dotti (a)
1986 England Laura Davies
2000 Sweden Sophie Gustafson
2005 South Korea Jeong Jang
2010 Taiwan Yani Tseng1st
2014 United States Mo Martin
Notes

Scorecard

Royal Birkdale Golf Club [7]
Tee Rating/Slope 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Out 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 In Total
2008 Open Championship 4504214512013464991784574143417 40843618449920154443957247337567173
Par Championship 444344344 34 443435454 36 70
Par Men's 444345344 35 443435455 37 72
White 4504184062003434881774134103305 40837818143319954437052747235126817
Yellow 4303973731793164751403984003105 35535215942215749935850946532766355
Women's 4183913271643044401143563582872 35831714542213739229345244129575829
Par Women's 544345344 36 443535455 38 74


Lengths of the course for previous Opens:[8]

  • 2008: 7,173 yards (6,559 m), par 70
  • 1998: 7,018 yards (6,417 m), par 70
  • 1991: 6,940 yards (6,350 m), par 70
  • 1983: 6,968 yards (6,372 m), par 71
  • 1976: 7,001 yards (6,402 m), par 72
  • 1971: 7,080 yards (6,470 m), par 73
  • 1965: 7,037 yards (6,435 m), par 73
  • 1961: 6,844 yards (6,258 m), par 72 [9]
  • 1954: 6,867 yards (6,279 m), par 73 [10]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Royal Birkdale Golf Club - Club History". Retrieved 9 July 2012.
  2. "Golf Championships for 1940". The Times. 21 January 1939. p. 4.
  3. 1 2 "Hawtree Limited - Projects: Royal Birkdale Golf Course". Retrieved 9 July 2012.
  4. "Hawtree Limited - Royal Birkdale Golf Course". Retrieved 9 July 2012.
  5. British Open Preview 2008, by Ronald Whitten, Golf Digest magazine, July 2008.
  6. Golf Digest magazine, May 2007.
  7. "Scorecard". Royal Birkdale Golf Club. Retrieved July 17, 2012.
  8. "Media guide". The Open Championship. 2011. p. 203. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
  9. "Palmer takes British crown". Eugene Register-Guard. Associated Press. 16 July 1961. p. 1B.
  10. "Peter Thomson wins British Open with 283". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. 10 July 1954. p. 11.

External links

Coordinates: 53°37′19″N 3°01′59″W / 53.622°N 3.033°W / 53.622; -3.033

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