1869
The year the Royal Liverpool Golf Club, also known as Hoylake, was founded. For the first seven years of its existence, the land on which the track was laid was also used as a racetrack, which today is honored by the names of the “Course” and “Stand” slots. The racecourse layout is still visible, on the borders of the 3rd and 18th holes – while the saddle bell can be found at the clubhouse.
12
The number of times Royal Liverpool has hosted The Open. The first, in 1897, was won by Harold Hilton, the host club, who was an amateur, and also won the title in 1892. France’s Arnaud Massy became the first non-British player to win the tournament when he won at Royal Liverpool in 1907.
39
The longest gap in years between the start of The Open Championship at Royal Liverpool. After renovations in 1913, 24, 30, 36, 47 and 56, the tour declined after Roberto do Vicenzo’s victory in 1967, when the R&A considered that the club did not have the necessary infrastructure to host a tournament. It was brought back in 2006 when Tiger Woods won, and back in 2014, when Rory McIlroy won the last of his four majors.
7341
Course length in yards. It measured 6,995 yards at the Open in 1967, 7,258 yards in 2006, and 7,312 yards in 2014.
1
It is the number of times Tiger Woods used his driver during his victory at Royal Liverpool in 2006. He used it on the 5th 16th hole during his first round and then never used it again. He finished the tournament on 12-under-par.
2
His shot count was well above the level Peter Thompson had when he won the Open Championship at Royal Liverpool in 1956. The Australian had shooting rounds of 70, 70 and 72 and a final three rounds of 74 to finish with three shots over Belgium’s Flory van Donk. It was Thompson’s third straight victory, after wins at Birkdale in ’56 and St Andrews in ’57.
17
The course’s penultimate hole will be a new challenge for players at the Open, as the Par-3 Little Eye has only been completed in 2021. Named after one of the Dee Estuary’s three small islands beyond the high green, it is a just 139. yards, but swirling winds will make club selection very difficult.
607
The longest yardage the 18th hole will be played after the new back tee is introduced. In 2014, the final hole par was 551 yards.
230,000
The number of people who attended The Open in 2014. This year’s renewal is expected to have a record-breaking 260,000 people in attendance, only this time tickets for all seasons and the day have been pre-sold by ballot.