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Open Championship: A history of the world's oldest major at Hoylake

Tiger Woods with the Claret Jug after winning the Open at Hoylake
Image: Tiger Woods with the Claret Jug after winning the Open at Hoylake

Royal Liverpool hosts the Open Championship for the 12th time this year. Here, we take a look at the tournament's previous 11 visits to Hoylake.

1897: Braid hands it to Hilton

British golfer Harold Horsfall Hilton (1869 - 1942)
Image: British golfer Harold Horsfall Hilton (1869 - 1942)

Harold Hilton claimed his second Open title after James Braid faltered down the stretch in the first Open Championship to be played at Royal Liverpool.

Braid led by one at the halfway stage after an excellent 74, the lowest round of the tournament, but he struggled to an 82 in the third round as only five players managed to break 80.

Hilton returned a disappointing 84 in round three, but he atoned over the final 18 holes and fared nine shots better to claim the clubhouse lead on 314.

Braid was tied for the lead with three holes to play, but he took six at the 16th after airmailing the green, and a five at the next left him needing to birdie the last to force a play-off.

He struck an excellent approach to inside 20 feet, but the birdie putt missed the target and Hilton celebrated striking another blow for the amateur ranks.

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1902: Herd wins despite poor finish

Sandy (Alex) Herd with his two sons Robert and Alec, and grandson.
Image: Sandy (Alex) Herd with his two sons Robert and Alec, and grandson.

Sandy Herd used advances in golf equipment to his advantage as he snatched a one-shot victory over James Braid and Harry Vardon.

Using a newly-innovated ball featuring a rubber core, Herd followed steady opening rounds of 77 and 76 with a superb 73 to open up a three-shot lead.

But Herd had a renowned habit of following a good round with a bad one, and he closed with a disappointing 81 after a dreadful performance on the greens.

Vardon, who led by four after he fired a stunning, opening 72 despite carving his opening two tee shots out of bounds, then faced a six-foot putt at the 18th to join Herd in the clubhouse on 307.

But his ball stopped on the lip of the hole and refused to drop, while Braid also missed from mid-range moments later, echoing his misfortune at Hoylake five years earlier.

1907: Historic triumph for Massy

French golfer Arnaud Massy
Image: French golfer Arnaud Massy

Arnaud Massy became the first overseas winner of the Open Championship after holding off experienced campaigner JH Taylor to clinch a two-shot win.

Massy and Walter Toogood defied atrocious conditions to share the first-round lead after opening 76s, and the Frenchman’s 81 in the second round was enough to lead outright as only seven players broke 80.

Taylor took a one-shot lead into the final round after a cultured 76, but an early triple-bogey seven at the third was a major setback for the three-time champion.

Massy reclaimed the lead after an outward 38, and he held firm down the stretch to create Open history and consign Taylor to a fourth consecutive runner-up finish.

1913: Five-star Taylor routs Ray

John Henry Taylor practicing his putting
Image: John Henry Taylor practicing his putting

JH Taylor collected his fifth Open crown as he stormed to en emphatic eight-shot victory over defending champion Ted Ray.

Taylor and Ray both fired 73 in the first round before Ray hit form on the back-nine in round two, coming home in just 34 blows to snatch a one-shot lead.

But Ray’s game was hampered by gusty conditions the following day and he failed to break 80, while Taylor seized the advantage with a commendable 77 – the best of the third round.

Taylor opened the door for the field with an erratic outward 41 in the final round, but he effectively sealed the title when he pitched in from 50 yards at the 14th moments after Ray had run-up an eight at the third.

Ray never recovered and laboured to a closing 84, and Taylor signed for a 79 to become the only man in the field to break 80 in each round.

1924: Hagen shows his class

Walter Hagen being congratulated by his wife at Hoylake
Image: Walter Hagen being congratulated by his wife at Hoylake

Walter Hagen produced an outstanding finish to snatch the Claret Jug from the grasp of Ernest Whitcombe and ensure the long trip across the Atlantic was worth the effort.

The charismatic American trailed by three shots at the halfway stage after Whitcombe added a stunning second-round 70 to his opening 77.

But Hagen put together a composed 74 to earn a share of the lead with Whitcombe heading into the final 18 holes.

Whitcombe teed off around an hour before his co-leader and struggled to the turn in 43, but he came back in 35 to set the clubhouse target at 302.

Hagen was informed of the target while standing on the 12th tee, and he became aware that he needed level fours at each of the last seven holes to win.

He did well to get up and down from tricky positions at 12 and 13, and the American held his nerve over a six-foot putt for victory on the final green to win his second Open title.

1930: Jones secures memorable double

American golfer Bobby Jones (1902 - 1971) holding the Claret Jug
Image: American golfer Bobby Jones (1902 - 1971) holding the Claret Jug

Bobby Jones became the first player in 50 years to win the Amateur and Open Championships in the same year as Americans dominated the 1930 open at Hoylake.

Jones shared the first-round lead after an opening 70 and led by one at the halfway stage after adding a 72 before Archie Compston roared to the top of the leaderboard with a remarkable third-round 68.

But Compston could not keep him momentum for the afternoon and stumbled to an 82, while Jones returned a 75 – despite a seven at the eighth - to claim the clubhouse lead on 291.

Leo Diegel pulled level with Jones with five holes to play, but his challenge petered out after he bogeyed the 14th and 16th, leaving fellow American Macdonald Smith as the only realistic threat to Jones.

Smith needed to close with a 69 to tie the lead, but his gallant effort fell two strokes short and Jones celebrated being the first amateur to win the Open three times.

1936: Padgham’s flying finish

Alfred Padgham upstaged all the big names
Image: Alfred Padgham upstaged all the big names

Alf Padgham upstaged the likes of Gene Sarazen and Henry Cotton to clinch his first Open title after a run of near-misses.

Pagham had been in the top seven in each of the previous four years, but he finally got his hands on the Claret Jug thanks to a superb finish to his final round.

Cotton and Jimmy Adams led Padgham by one heading into the final 18 holes, but Padgham piled the pressure on the leaders with a closing 71.

He made a good four at the 17th and then slammed his second to within 20 feet at the last before draining the putt to set the target at 287.

Adams then missed crucial putts at both 17 and 18 to end up a shot adrift and Cotton slipped to third as he stumbled to a closing 75, while seven-time major winner Sarazen finished four behind the champion.

1947: Daly delivers in Hoylake thriller

Fred Daly from Ulster becomes the first Irishman to win the Open
Image: Fred Daly from Ulster becomes the first Irishman to win the Open

Fred Daly overcame a poor third round to win his lone Open crown in only his second appearance in the tournament.

The Northern Irishman looked like running away with the title after rounds of 73 and 70 earned him a commanding four-shot lead at the halfway stage.

But an erratic third-round 78 eradicated his advantage and allowed Arthur Lees, Norman Von Nida and Henry Cotton to claim a share of the lead on 221, with American amateur Frank Stranahan just a shot behind.

Conditions became increasingly blustery for the final 18 holes, although Reg Horne defied the elements as he raced to the turn in 35.

However, Horne took five at both the 16th and 17th, and a birdie putt at the last lipped out and he took over the clubhouse lead on 294.

Daly struggled to the turn in 38, but he rallied over the inward half and managed to get his 20-foot birdie putt at the 72nd hole to drop to leave him one shot ahead of Horne.

But there was more drama to come as Stranahan three-putted the 17th and needed a miraculous two at the last. And he almost pulled it off – his approach finishing within inches of the hole as a relieved Daly looked on.

1956: Thomson completes Open hat-trick

Peter Thomson sealed his hat-trick of Opens at Hoylake
Image: Peter Thomson sealed his hat-trick of Opens at Hoylake

Peter Thomson’s dominance of the Open continued at Royal Liverpool as he earned his third straight victory over a star-studded field at Hoylake.

Only two players broke 70 in awful conditions over the first two days, but Thomson managed to return a solid pair of 70s to earn a one-shot lead over Argentinian pair Roberto de Vicenzo and Enrico Bertolino.

De Vincenzo made six at both the first and third as he crashed to a 79 early on day three, and Thomson’s 72 was enough to give him a three-shot lead over Flory van Donck after 54 holes.

Van Donck recovered from a poor start to his final round to salvage a 74, and he maintained the lead in the clubhouse despite late charges from Di Vicenzo (70) and emerging South African Gary Player (71).

Thomson required only a 76 to retain the Claret Jug, but he struggled on the front nine before recovering to return a battling 74 and become the first player since Robert Ferguson in 1882 to win three consecutive Opens.

1967: Di Vicenzo fends off Nicklaus

Argentinian golfer Roberto DeVicenzo got his major breakthrough
Image: Argentinian golfer Roberto DeVicenzo got his major breakthrough

Roberto de Vicenzo finally made his major breakthrough as he held off the likes of Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player in a thrilling Open Championship at Hoylake.

The Argentine had posted no fewer than eight top-six finishes in the tournament, including five third places, but he was not expected to break the trend against such a high-quality field.

Nicklaus arrived as defending champion having also won the US Open the previous month, and he shared the halfway lead with Australian Bruce Devlin after adding a 69 to his opening 71 while De Vicenzo was just a shot behind.

But De Vicenzo then matched the course record of 67 set moments earlier by Player and earned a two-shot lead over the South African, with Nicklaus labouring to a 71 to slip three strokes adrift.

De Vicenzo, Player and Nicklaus all dropped shots early in the final round, but the Golden Bear soon recovered with birdies at the sixth and eighth to get himself within two of the Argentine.

Player’s challenge effectively ended with another bogey at the 10th, while De Vicenzo maintained a healthy lead with a crucial birdie at the 14th.

Nicklaus poured on the pressure with a closing birdie to cap a 69, but De Vicenzo was not to be denied. A towering three-wood at 16 set up another birdie, and he safely parred the final two holes for a 70 and a two-shot victory.

2006: Emotional Tiger defends title

Tiger Woods in tears with his caddy Steve Williams after emotional Hoylake win.
Image: Tiger Woods in tears with his caddy Steve Williams after emotional Hoylake win.

Tiger Woods produced a links golf masterclass to successfully defended his Open crown just two months after the death of his father, Earl.

The American revelled in the hard and fast conditions produced by a spell of relentless hot weather as the Open made a glorious return to Royal Liverpool for the first time in 39 years.

Graeme McDowell set a new course record with his opening 66, but that benchmark lasted less than 24 hours as Woods followed a 67 with a sublime 65 to roar three clear at the halfway stage.

But Woods struggled on the treacherous greens on Saturday, three-putting three times in a scrappy 71, while Sergio Garcia equalled his course-record 65 to join Ernie Els and Chris DiMarco in a share of second – one behind the leader.

Woods continued his policy of leaving his driver in the bag – he used it only once all week – although he soon had company at the top when Els birdied the fifth.

But Woods responded with an eagle at the same hole, and challenges from Garcia and Els petered out around the turn to leave DiMarco as the biggest threat.

DiMarco saved par with a 40-foot putt at the 14th to stay in touch, but Woods turned on the style and birdied 14, 15 and 16 before rounding off a 67 for a two-shot win and his 11th major title.

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