The Championship Committee of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club has this morning announced that the 133rd Open Golf Championship will be played at Royal Troon Golf Club from 15th to 18th July 2004.
This will be the eighth time that Royal Troon has hosted the Open and will come just over 80 years since Coombe Hill professional Arthur Havers won the first Championship to be played over the Ayrshire Links in 1923. He still remains the only European winner there.
Havers interrupted a run of 12 wins by American players from 1921 to 1933 and following a decline in the number entering, it was not until the 1960’s that they came back in substantial numbers, encouraged by Arnold Palmer’s second Open title at Troon in 1962, the same year that Jack Nicklaus made the first of his many appearances in the Championship. Palmer was given Honorary Life Membership of Royal Troon in 1982.
Justin Leonard won the 1997 Open at Troon by three shots from Darren Clarke and Jesper Parnevik and with a score of 272 lowered the previous low total at Troon by three shots.
Over the years Royal Troon has hosted many R&A Championships and just over twelve months prior to the Open will be the venue for the Amateur Championship, to be played from 2nd to 7th June 2003.
Winners at Royal Troon:
- 1923 Arthur Havers 295
- 1950 Bobby Locke 279
- 1962 Arnold Palmer 276
- 1973 Tom Weiskopf 276
- 1982 Tom Watson 284
- 1989 Mark Calcavecchia 275
- 1997 Justin Leonard 272
:
The Open Championship www.opengolf.com
Royal & Ancient Golf Club www.RandA.org