The British Open

July 17 - 20, 2008
Royal Birkdale Golf Club
Birkdale, Lancashire, England
Par: 70 / Yardage: 7,173 yards
Purse: $8.3 million with $1.5 million going to the winner
Defending Champions: Padraig Harrington

List of Champions & Scores

Results & Scores 2007 British Open

Box Score of 2007 British Open

Tournament facts:

Tournament information:

Photo: © David Cannon/Getty Images Royal Birkdale, home of the 2008 British Open.

By 1892, The Open Championship had moved to a 72-hole format, 36-holes over two days. With the changes to Open Championship format, play began to increase. As play increased, a cut was instituted, beginning in 1898, to limit the number of competitors over the final 36 holes. The increase in competition led to a decrease in scoring. Jack White's 296 in the 1904 Open Championship marked the first time a competitor shot an aggregate score under 300. His final round 68 also set the record for lowest round by a golfer. The Open Championship went on a six year hiatus beginning in 1914 due to the outbreak of World War I. When the tournament resurfaced in 1920, it did so under new ownership. The R&A was entrusted with the task of managing the event. To this day, the R&A still manages the event.

The R&A quickly installed changes to The Open Championship. The event spanned three days, 18 holes on each of the first two days and 36 on the final day. Also, The R&A began charging admission to see the event. A year later, The R&A began to produce a replica Claret Jug that is awarded to each year's champion. The original jug resides in the clubhouse of the Royal & Ancient Golf Club. The suspension of the Open from 1939 to 1946 due to World War II represents the longest gap between Open Championships. Sam Snead won the 1946 U.S. Open at St. Andrews, defeating Bobby Locke.

The 1955 Open marked a new era for the event. BBC broadcasted the tournament on television for the first time. By 1966, the Open Championship was being played over four days, 18 holes each day. ABC, for the first time, broadcasted a live feed of the event in America. In 1977, Regional Qualifying around England and Scotland was introduced on a permanent basis, to help organize qualifying in which there was two levels, first local qualifying and then moving on the week of the championship. It had been an experiment at the 1926 Open, but abandoned after just one year. In 1980 the Open Championship was moved to its current format, 18 holes over four days, with the tournament concluding on Sunday. A decade later, in 1990, the event set an attendance record with over 208,000 spectators showing up to watch the tournament at St. Andrews. One more major change in 2005 saw international qualifying, with different sites set up in Australia, South Africa, Asia, America and for the European players to try and qualify in there country instead of having to fly off to England.

The 2008 Open Championship will be the 138th installment of the tournament. It will be held at the Carnoustie Golf Club.

Course information:

Photo: © Richard Heathcote/Getty Images All eyes will be on Sergio Garcia this week as he is going to be the favorite at Royal Birkdale.

Birkdale is a striking visual course with some of the largest dunes on the Open rota. But the dunes are just a backdrop, with the holes winding between them on relatively flat terrain, meaning that there aren’t many crazy bounces. Through the years, Birkdale has produced an impressive list of champions: Peter Thomson, Arnold Palmer, Thomson again, Lee Trevino, Johnny Miller, Tom Watson, Ian Baker-Finch, and Mark O’Meara. All but Baker-Finch were multiple major winners. When the Open last visited Birkdale in 1998, O’Meara defeated Brian Watts in a playoff with 22-year-old Tiger Woods one back and 17-year-old Justin Rose in a tie for fourth two behind.

In preparation for the 2008 championship, the R&A oversaw changes that added 155 yards, bringing the total to 7,123 yards, with six new tees and a new 17th green. There were also 20 new hazards added, mostly fairway bunkers. Many green surrounds were recontoured with the idea of making players execute more imaginative recovery shots.

16 of the 18 holes has undergone some changes. The holes that have been lengthened are Nos. 3, 6, 9, 10, 11, 16, and 17. The uphill 6th was already the toughest hole on the course now plays 19 yards longer at, with a new fairway bunker on the right and a new bunker on the left-hand approach to the green. On the finishing stretch, the par-five 15th has two new fairway bunkers at the 300-yard mark and the fairway has been narrowed on the approach to the green with extensive recontouring forming to hillocks on the left just short of the green. The par-four 16th has been stretched by 22 yards to 438 by adding a new tee. On the par-five 17th, 20 yards were added by moving the green back as the top tier of the old green has become the bottom tier of the new green. Several new bunkers were added to the hole, which now plays 567 yards. On 18, a new fairway bunker and mounding were added at 300 yards on the left side.

The Buzz:

Woods and Perry aren't the only top-50 not in the field, Shingo Katayama decided weeks ago to pass and on Monday Luke Donald pulled out because of his bad wrist. If all of this wasn't enough bad news for Donald, Ryder Cup captain Nick Faldo told the media on Tuesday that he was doubtful on Donald being ready and qualified for the Ryder Cup in two months time. Talking about the media here at Royal Birkdale, the numbers are way down, I believe there is under 50 American's in attendance. In the peak years of 2000 through 2005 I could swear that every media person in America came over (about 200), but with newspapers under a dark cloud the only papers that sent over golf writers are the USA Today, New York Times, Washington Post, Oakland Tribune, New York Daily News, New York Post, San Francisco Chronicle, Boston Globe and the Los Angeles Times (their London writer, not there regular golfbeat writer). The future of newspapers is not very bright, for the folks in cities like Philadelphia, Palm Beach, Detroit and Chicago that are use to a lot of their own writers will have to do with wire copy that is on every source.

Back to news of players, Padraig Harrington came into the press tent and said that hurt his right wrist while on a training aid in his home in Ireland. Normally he would of pulled out but since this was the British Open he will try to gut it out. In playing nine holes on Tuesday he said that he was pain-free. So I can't advise anyone picking him this week.

For Vijay Singh it seems he is healthy again after a rib injury. One person who still has some issues is Adam Scott, who's broken hand was still a issue last week in the Scottish Open, don't look for any miracle cure for this week.

Here are some things to look for this week:

Photo: © Stephen Munday/Getty Images This will be the ninth time the British Open has been played at at Royal Birkdale.

I have to wonder if the Royal & Ancient has anything against brown these days. Last year at Carnoustie, the course was so green that oldtimers were wondering what was up, it seemed more like a prize garden than a golf course. I think that this year's green color is greener topping last year, this will probably be the only British Open that you won't find one brown color anywhere but in the dunes and bunkers. The fairways are as green as any exclusive club in America and the old-timers are saying this will go down as the greenest British Open ever.

• Key stat for the winner:
  The ability to adjust to the elements, especially wind, is often crucial at the Open Championship. The last time it was played at Royal Birkdale, in 1998, Mark O’Meara won at even par as winds played havoc. In calm conditions, however, players will have to attack as low scoring will prevail. Right now the forecast is calling for showers on Thursday through Saturday, with winds between 10 to 15 MPH. On Sunday it's suppose to be sunny with winds between 15 and 20MPH.
• There are only two par fives, the 15th and 17th, and a player can make up a lot of ground there as both are reachable in two. But straight hitting is important on these holes, as both give trouble for those missing the fairway or green. Both holes have been strengthened for this Open, with 15 gaining some mounds and hazards and 17 getting longer.
• Avoiding bunkers is always a key at the British Open, and Royal Birkdale is no different. Many of the new bunkers have been installed around the 300-yard mark, which will make players think about whether they want to hit drivers off the tee.
• British Opens have produced an assortment of winners in the last 10 years, making predictions difficult. Tiger Woods has won three of the last eight and David Duval and Ernie Els were near the top of the rankings when they won. But Ben Curtis and Todd Hamilton were two of the most surprising winners in major championship history and Paul Lawrie wasn’t far behind. Somewhere in the middle were last year’s winner, Padraig Harrington, and the last Birkdale winner, Mark O’Meara.
• Looking at Royal Birkdale’s history makes one more likely to go with the favorites. Peter Thomson won five British Opens, Arnold Palmer and Tom Watson ruled the game when they won at Birkdale, Lee Trevino and Johnny Miller were top challengers for No. 1 status when they won there, and Mark O’Meara had won the Masters earlier in the year. Only Ian Baker-Finch breaks the mold.
• So what will it take to win? Past major champions have won seven of the eight Opens at Birkdale. In fact, two (Lee Trevino in 1971 and Mark O’Meara in 1998) had won either the Masters or U.S. Open earlier in the same year. Also look for players who have a strong record in past British Opens as it demonstrates an affinity for the unique challenges of links golf. Long hitting does not seem to be a big factor at Birkdale, most of the past winners have been medium-length hitters.
  
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