A glance at facts and figures ahead of The Open
Tomorrow (Thursday) sees perhaps our favourite day on the sporting calendar along with the first day of the Premier League season, the Emirates FA Cup Final and the final round of The Masters.
This week’s ‘Fairway Views’ looks at The Open week at Royal St George’s Golf Club, Sandwich, Kent, England, some facts and figures, the draw and predictions for the week, the weather forecast and the tips on who will be the Champion Golfer of the Year to be crowned on Sunday early evening.
PREDICTIONS FROM ‘FAIRWAYS VIEWS’ FOR THE WEEK:
» Brooks Koepka to win. » Branden Grace to finish in the top 5. » Thomas Detry to finish in the top 10. » Garrick Higgo / ‘Surprise package’ of the week.
STATISTICS OF THE OPEN WEEK
1– Number of Scotsmen in the field / Robert Macintyre. Others with only one representative in the field include; Denmark, Netherlands, South Korea, Norway, Belgium and Chinese Taipei. 1– Royal St George’s was the first golf club, outside of Scotland to host The Open in 1894. 3– Number of holes (aggregate score to count) in the Playoff loop (if there is a tie after 72 holes). 3– Number of venues for future Opens that have been announced: St Andrews (2022), Royal Liverpool, Hoylake (2023) and Royal Troon (2024). 4.16 – Final three ball of the day off the first Tee on Day 1 – Final Tee shot off the Tee in the first round will be struck by Nick Poppleton (Eng). 6.35 – First Tee Time (local UK time) on Tee 1. First ball to be struck by Richard Bland (Eng). 8– Number of amateurs in the field. 8– Number of support sponsors of 2021 Open: DOOSAN, HSBC, Hugo Boss, Mastercard, Mercedes, Nikon, NTTDATA and Rolex. 9.35 am – Time (UAE local) that the first ball will be struck. See 6.35.
10 – There is No 10-shot rule for qualification after 36 holes at the 2021 Open. See 70.
10 – The number of players that Peter Cowen is officially coaching this week (in no particular order); Brooks Koepka, Rory Mcilroy, Gary Woodland, DP World Ambassador Ian Poulter, Danny Willett, Branden Grace, Padraig Harrington, Henrik Stenson, Victor Perez, Jazz Janewattananond, and along with co-coach Mike Walker, last week’s Scottish Open play-off loser, Matt Fitzpatrick it makes 11.
11 – Number of days after The Open before Golf in The Olympics takes place in Japan.
15 – The number of times Royal St George’s has played host to The Open including this week. Most recent winners of The Open at Royal St Georges include: Darren Clarke, Ben Curtis, Greg Norman, Sandy Lyle and Bill Rogers.
20 – Record score under par for The Open. 2016 at Royal Troon – Henrik Stenson.
52 – Number of players from the US playing this year, the largest country representations. England is next with 26 players. 52 – Number of matches, all in three balls.
70 – Par for the golf course this week / see 7,189.
70 – The cut will fall after 36 holes, the leading 70 players and ties after two rounds will play the final two rounds. See 10. 149 - This is the 149th Open Championship that was first held in 1860.
156 – Number of players in this week’s player field. 264 – Record score for 72-hole aggregate total. 2016 at Royal Troon – Henrik Stenson.
1887 – The year Royal St George’s Golf Club was founded by surgeon Laidlaw Purves.
7,189 – Yardage for the week of the Royal St Georges golf course. See 70.
32,000 – Maximum number of spectators allowed per day by the R&A, as per Covid-19 Government regulations. This is 80% of the full capacity.
2,070,000 - First prize in US$ for the 2021 champion. 11.500,000 – Prizemoney in US$ for the 2021 Open.
For full Draw, Tee Times, visit: www.theopen.com