Royal Birkdale in Lancashire, England, has been named by The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews as the venue for the 137th Open Golf Championship from 17-20 July, 2008. Mark O’’Meara of the United States won on the last occasion that Royal Birkdale hosted the event in 1998.
The Open Championship has been staged at Royal Birkdale on eight previous occasions, the first being in 1954, when Australian Peter Thomson captured the first of his five Open Championship titles. Eleven years later, in 1965 at Birkdale, he rounded off his collection of victories with a further triumph that he described as ‘my greatest win’’.
In between those two successes for Thomson, Arnold Palmer provided British crowds with a view of his swashbuckling style when he won the title in 1961. Another American, Lee Trevino, won the Open Championship on his first visit in 1971 while his compatriot, Johnny Miller won in 1976 as the world was introduced to a promising young Spanish newcomer named Severiano Ballesteros.
Tom Watson of the United States claimed the fifth and last of his quintet of Open titles in 1983 with Ian Baker-Finch emulating Thomson by becoming another Australian winner in 1991.
"Royal Birkdale has endeared itself to all of the world’’s top golfers," said Peter Dawson, Chief Executive of the R&A. "And we must remember that with his win there in 1961, Arnold Palmer is rightly credited with starting the renaissance of the Open. We are delighted to be returning in 2008."
In releasing details of the 2008 Open Championship, David Hill, Director of Championships of the R&A said: "Royal Birkdale is a venue which, in addition to setting a rigorous examination of the abilities of all golfers, also has a first-class infrastructure which is capable of coping with large numbers of spectators.
"Almost 200,000 people watched Mark O’’Meara winning in 1998 and we are delighted that the golfing public in Lancashire and the surrounding areas will again be given the opportunity of viewing 156 of the world’’s leading players in 2008."
Graham Haywood, Chief Executive of Sefton Council, said: "I am delighted that The Open Championship will be returning to Royal Birkdale, Southport, in 2008. The event is very special and of enormous benefit to the area, particularly our marketing of the area as England's Golf Coast. It was a tremendous success in 1998 when it was last at Royal Birkdale and I am sure 2008 will be even better".
Royal Birkdale was founded in 1889 and eight years later, in 1897, moved to its present home at ‘Birkdale Hills’’. Much of the present layout was modelled on a design by Hawtree & J H Taylor Ltd in the 1920s and to complement the course which threads its way through mighty sand dunes, the present-day clubhouse was constructed in 1935 on elevated ground behind the 18th green.
Previous Winners at Royal Birkdale:
1954 - Peter Thomson 72, 71, 69, 71, 283
1961 - Arnold Palmer 70, 73, 69, 72, 284
1965 - Peter Thomson 74, 68, 72, 71, 285
1971 - Lee Trevino 69, 70, 69, 70, 278
1976 - Johnny Miller 72, 68, 73, 66, 279
1983 - Tom Watson 67, 68, 70, 70, 275
1991 - Ian Baker-Finch 71, 71, 64, 66, 272
1998 - Mark O’’Meara 72, 68, 72, 68, 280
