Royal Troon Golf Club is set to host the British Open. Here’s the last winner at the famous course.
Joe Brennanj4brennanUpdate: Jul 16th, 2024 10:51 EDT0
OLIVIER CHASSIGNOLEAFP
The golf calendar is coming to a close with the fourth and final tournament of the year: the British Open.
On the Scottish west coast, Troon is hosting the upcoming competition, sensibly known as the Royal Troon. It will be the 10th time that the venue has hosted the event, which is the oldest golf tournament in the world.
Since 1860, the Open Championship, also known as the British Open, has formed a part of the elite golf fixture list.
What do Arnold Palmer, Tom Watson and Henrik Stenson have in common? They’ve all won golf’s original championship at Royal Troon.Take a look at the previous winners here, in this thread 🧵(1/12) pic.twitter.com/fE0cODdIKT
— The Open (@TheOpen) July 16, 2024
What is the most difficult shot at the Royal Troon?
The course has both the shortest hole on any course in the calendar (the par-3 eighth is only 123 yards long) and one of the most difficult: known as ‘The Railway’, the 11th hole is a 490-yard par 4 that “plays even longer because of the prevailing wind” and “and thick gorse and out-of-bounds wait on each side”. The hole played to a 4.6 scoring average in 2016, making it the hardest hole on the PGA TOUR that year.
English golfer Arthur Havers won the first ever tournament held at Royal Troon, back in 1923. We’ve seen 8 tournaments held at the prestigious 45-hole private club since then (1923, 1950, 1962, 1973, 1982, 1989, 1997, 2004 and 2016).
However, as for the most recent time that the club held the championship, it came back in 2016, when Sweden’s Henrik Stenson defeated Phil Mickelson by three to win his first and only major title to date.
Royal Troon course info:
| Hole | Par | Yardage | Name |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 366 | Seal |
| 2 | 4 | 380 | Black Rock |
| 3 | 4 | 376 | Gyaws |
| 4 | 5 | 599 | Dunure |
| 5 | 3 | 220 | Greenan |
| 6 | 5 | 623 | Turnberry |
| 7 | 4 | 403 | Tel-el-Kebir |
| 8 | 3 | 123 | Postage Stamp |
| 9 | 4 | 440 | The Monk |
| 36 | 3,530 | ||
| 10 | 4 | 450 | Sandhills |
| 11 | 4 | 498 | Railway |
| 12 | 4 | 451 | The Fox |
| 13 | 4 | 473 | Burmah |
| 14 | 3 | 200 | Alton |
| 15 | 4 | 502 | Crosbie |
| 16 | 5 | 572 | Well |
| 17 | 3 | 242 | Rabbit |
| 18 | 4 | 458 | Craigend |
| 35 | 3,845 | ||
| 71 | 7,276 |
A front nine featuring the longest hole in Open history and the iconic Postage Stamp. A back nine considered one of the toughest in golf.Royal Troon is a stunning championship venue, and often tells a tale of two nines.Explore that tale with this year’s Open course guide in… pic.twitter.com/CpoSUWPFFa
— The Open (@TheOpen) July 15, 2024
