THE OPEN @ ROYAL LIVERPOOL BY NUMBERS

1869

The year that Royal Liverpool Golf Club, also widely known as Hoylake, was founded. For the first seven years of its existence the land on which the course was laid out was also used a horse racing track, which is honoured today with the hole names ‘Course’ and ‘Stand’. The layout of the racecourse is still visible, bordering the 3rd and 18th holes – while the saddling bell can be found in the clubhouse.

12

The number of times that Royal Liverpool has hosted The Open. The first, in 1897, was won by the host club’s Harold Hilton, who was an amateur, who also won the title in 1892. Frenchman Arnaud Massey became the first non-Briton to win the championship when he won at Royal Liverpool in 1907.

39

The longest gap in years between staging of The Open at Royal Liverpool. After renewals in 1913, ‘24, ‘30, ‘36, ‘47 and ‘56, it dropped off the rota following Roberto do Vicenzo’s victory in 1967, when the R&A considered that the club didn’t have the necessary infrastructure to host the championship. It was reinstated in 2006 when Tiger Woods won, and returned in 2014, when Rory McIlroy won the most recent of his four majors.

7,341

The length of the course in yards. It measured 6,995 yards for the Open in 1967, 7,258 yards in 2006, and 7,312 yards in 2014.

1

The number of times Tiger Woods used his driver during his victory at Royal Liverpool in 2006. He used it on the par- 5 16th hole during his first round and then never used it again. He finished the championship on 12 under par.

2

The number of shots over par that Peter Thomson was when he won the Open Championship at Royal Liverpool in 1956. The Australian shot rounds of 70, 70, 72 and a three-over-par final round 74 to finish three shots clear of Belgian Flory Van Donck. It was Thomson’s third consecutive Open victory, following wins at Birkdale in ‘56 and St Andrews in’ 57.

17

The penultimate hole on the course will be a new challenge for Open players, with the par-3 Little Eye having only been completed in 2021. Named after one of the three small islands in the Dee Estuary beyond its elevated green, it only measures 139 yards, but swirling winds will make club selection very tricky.

607

The longest number of yards that the par-five 18th hole will play following the introduction of a new back tee. In 2014, the final hole measured 551 yards.

230,000

The number of people who attended The Open in 2014. This year’s renewal is expected to be attended by a record-breaking 260,000, only this time all season and day tickets have been pre-sold through a ballot.