Open Championship at Royal St George’s should prove worth the wait

It is the only major which was not held in 2020, but if past tournaments at Royal St George’s are anything to go by, the 149th Open Championship should prove worth the wait.
While the Masters, US PGA, and US Open overcame the sizeable difficulties caused by the coronavirus pandemic by moving from their traditional places in the golfing calendar to November, August and September respectively, the Open was cancelled on April 6 last year.
R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers rightly pointed out that the Open relied on the support of the emergency services and local authorities and that it would be “unreasonable to place any additional demands on them when they have far more urgent priorities to deal with”.
A lack of daylight also effectively ruled out a switch to later in the year, but the fact that the R&A – like the organisers of Wimbledon – were covered by global pandemic insurance no doubt made the decision considerably easier.
#Breaking The 149th Open Championship, due to be played at Royal St George’s in July, has been cancelled, organisers have announced pic.twitter.com/I7rDvRvX4L
— PA Sport (@pasport) April 6, 2020
That decision means Shane Lowry has enjoyed an extended reign as Open champion which will finally come to an end when he reluctantly returns the Claret Jug on Monday morning, yet the shadow of Covid-19 still lingers over the event.
The R&A recently informed players that the championship will “operate under strict government oversight”, with guidelines which prohibit players from going to bars, restaurants and supermarkets during tournament week.
They also have to stay in either approved hotels or private accommodation, which can be shared between up to four members of their team, but not other players.
The restrictions are in place despite the fact that up to 32,000 fans a day will be allowed to attend as the Open has been included in the Government’s Events Research Programme, even though the easing of all remaining Covid-19 measures was delayed until July 19.
Inevitably there have been mutterings of discontent, mostly from those used to far looser restrictions across the Atlantic on the PGA Tour, while Korea’s Sungjae Im and Si Woo Kim have gone so far as to withdraw in order to “focus on preparing” for the Tokyo Olympics.
And as Britain’s Johanna Konta discovered ahead of Wimbledon, coming into contact with someone who tests positive for Covid-19 could also force players out of the championship.

Hopefully that will not come to pass and Royal St George’s will serve up the kind of tension and drama which has been a feature of past championships, most recently with the victories of Ben Curtis in 2003 and Darren Clarke in 2011.
In 2003, Tiger Woods came into the event having won six of the last 14 majors and four times that season, but teed off in strong winds on Thursday, lost a ball on the first hole, ran up a triple-bogey seven and eventually finished two shots behind shock winner Curtis.
Curtis, the world number 396 making his first appearance in a major, had carded a closing 69 to post the clubhouse target and then benefited from a late collapse from Thomas Bjorn, the Dane leading by three with four to play but finishing bogey, double bogey, bogey, par to lose by one.
As Curtis was handed the Claret Jug, Mark Roe was at home ruing his luck as he realised it could easily have been him in that position – the Englishman’s third round of 67 having seemingly put him two off the lead and into a dream final-day pairing with Woods.
Instead, Roe and playing partner Jesper Parnevik had been disqualified after putting their signatures to the wrong scorecards having failed to exchange them on the first tee.

Clarke’s victory in 2011 was less dramatic in the closing stages as challengers Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson faltered, but was remarkable for the way the 42-year-old, ranked 111th in the world, triumphed following 20 years of trying and after arriving at Sandwich in a foul mood.
“I said ‘Morning Darren, you all right?'” his coach Pete Cowen later recalled. “And got the answer ‘No, I’m bleep bleep not. I’m hitting it fat, thin, left, right. I’ve got no control of the ball. I’m wasting my time. I can’t bleep bleep putt either.'”
Sessions with Cowen and psychologist Bob Rotella transformed Clarke’s attitude and days later the Northern Irishman was holding the Claret Jug and about to celebrate long and hard.
Latest
-
News
Golfers warned of further sanctions if they continue to play in LIV breakaway
The DP World Tour has issued fines of £100,000 and tournament bans to its members who played in the inaugural LIV Golf event earlier this month
-
European Tour
DP World Tour hits members who played inaugural LIV series with £100,000 fines
They have also been banned from several forthcoming tournaments including the Scottish Open.
-
News
Rory McIlroy not impressed as Brooks Koepka becomes latest big name to join LIV
The world number two labelled the players who have joined the new series as “duplicitous” for the way they have handled their breakaway.
-
The Open
R&A confirms LIV Golf Series players will be allowed to compete at Open
The 150th Open Championship will get underway at St Andrews in three weeks’ time.
-
US Open
Matt Fitzpatrick turns to other major winners for advice on dealing with fame
Fitzpatrick won the US Open on Sunday.
-
News
Brooks Koepka set to join Saudi-backed LIV Golf Invitational Series
Koepka’s brother Chase played in the opening event at Centurion Club earlier this month.
-
US Open
Gary Player urges Matt Fitzpatrick to avoid ‘poison’ of modern-day coaching
Player tells US Open champion Fitzpatrick to learn from mistakes of recent major winners, saying: “The teaching today is the worst it has ever been.”
-
US Open
Matt Fitzpatrick’s caddie Billy Foster ready for ‘long party’ after US Open win
Foster won his first major after a 40-year career which includes spells working for the likes of Seve Ballesteros, Lee Westwood and Darren Clarke.
-
US Open
Matt Fitzpatrick backed to become a dominant force after winning first major
The Englishman claimed his first major title at Brookline.
-
US Open
Matt Fitzpatrick: A Blade with plenty of support who can really cut it
The Sheffield golfer landed his first major – and first professional win in America – at Brookline on Sunday.