The 2023 Open heads back to Royal Liverpool for the first time in nine years. There, players will compete on one of the best links courses in England as they navigate rolling fairways, dunes, pot bunkers and beautifully contoured greens with subtle run-off areas.
In short, the course not only offers a stunning setting, but a stern test of the ability of any player, making it ideal for the final Major of the year. Factor in the regular gusts of wind that blow across the flatter areas of the course, and it’s little wonder that low scores at Royal Liverpool can be hard to come by.
Over the duration of Royal Liverpool’s 12 Opens, there have been plenty of notable performances, not least in 1967, when Gary Player shot a then course record of 67 in the third round. That wasn’t enough to secure him a second Open title, though, and he eventually had to settle for a tie for third.
Instead, Roberto De Vicenzo became the only Argentinian Open winner to date, helped by equalling Player’s record in the same round just moments after the South African.
That record stood for 39 years until the 2006 Open, where Graeme McDowell shot a 66 in the opening round. However, if he expected to hold the record for a while, he would have been disappointed when, less than a day later, Tiger Woods hit a 65 on the way to winning the title in the midst of a heatwave during a week where he hit just one driver all week.
During the same round, Ernie Els and Chris DiMarco achieved the same score, while the day after, they were joined by Sergio Garcia.
Eight years later, The Open returned to Royal Liverpool, and eventual winner Rory McIlroy opened with two rounds of 66. However, he couldn’t get lower than that, meaning the men’s record set by Woods, Els, DiMarco and Garcia 17 years ago stands today.
Despite that, one player has shot a 64 at Royal Liverpool – Jiyai Shin achieved the feat in the second round of the 2012 Women’s British Open, setting a new women’s course record in the process, before going on to win the title.
