The Open Championship 2022: Returning to the Mecca of Golf
Meeting the challenge of extreme weather
The Open Championship (also known as The Open and British Open) is the oldest of the four traditional majors, and the only major held outside of the United States. The Open Championship first organized in 1860, at Prestwick Golf Club (England) with 8 professional golfers competing 3 rounds around the 12-hole golf course in a single day.
The Open is held at link-style golf courses and often brings a lot of difficulties and challenges to golfers participating in the tournament due to severe weather conditions. At The Open Championship, in addition to having to compete with the world's top players, golfers also have to pass an equally harsh test as a natural factor. Heavy rains, strong winds, and cold weather are the indispensable elements of the world's oldest major.
The Old Course: The world's golf village mecca
The Old Course at St Andrews, also known as The Old Lady or The Grand Old Lady, is the oldest golf course in the world and has been considered a golf mecca for hundreds of years.
The Old Course first hosted The Open Championship in 1873, the last time in 2015. Including this year's tournament, The Old Course has hosted this major 30 times. This is also the golf course with the most tournaments in history. Cyclically, every 5 years, the oldest major will be held at the oldest golf course in the world.
The Old Course has a number of iconic features such as the Swilcan Bridge, connecting the 1st and 18th holes, where the best golfers often capture their crowning moments. 17 par 4 “Road Hole” is the hole that ends right in front of the Royal & Ancient Clubhouse and the large greens up to 100 yards long.
The 150th Open Championship took place at the world's oldest golf course, the Old Course, becoming a historic milestone and setting a new record for attendance. An estimated 290,000 fans will watch the competitions at The Open Championship 2022, surpassing the record 239,000 spectators present at the 2000 season - the tournament Tiger Woods was the champion.
Who will hoist the Claret Jug Cup?
The Open 2022 gathers 156 excellent golfers selected according to the specified criteria, wildcard slots and qualifying rounds. Of course, to participate in the world's oldest major, golfers must also meet strict criteria such as former champions of The Open Championship, champions of majors or pro-tournament, high-ranking on OWGR…
The race to win The Open Championship 2022 is expected to be very fierce with the competition of the world's top golfers. After winning the runner-up at The Masters 2022, the first major of the year, Rory McIlroy is always among the top candidates for the championship in the next majors. At The Open Championship, the Northern Ireland star has the highest odds to win the Claret Jug trophy (9-1). In the past, Rory McIlroy was the champion of The Open Championship 2014. Following McIlroy was Jon Rahm (10-1). The highest position of the Spaniard at The Open Championship is 3rd place in 2021.
World No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler continues the path to conquering the second major in his career when he has a winning odds (12-1). The defending champion Collin Morikawa and PGA Championship champion Justin Thomas are also bright candidates for the championship with the same odds (14-1). Matt Fitzpatrick is also among the golfers who can win the Claret Jug Cup with a highly predicted win rate (20-1).
Tournament Information
Time: June 14 to 17, 2022
Location: St Andrews, Scotland
Course: Old Course Par: 72
Length: 7,305 yards (6,680 meters)
Opening: 1552
Organized by: The R&A Tour/ PGA Tour/ European Tour/ Japan Golf Tour
Number of athletes: 156 golfers
Total prize money: 11.5 million USD
Prize money for the champion: 2.07 million USD
Defending Champion: Collin Morikawa
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