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17 - 20 July 2008

2008 BRITISH OPEN

The 137th Open Championship

ROYAL BIRKDALE GOLF CLUB
SOUTHPORT, ENGLAND
JULY 17th – 22ND, 2008

The Open Championship is to return to Royal Birkdale from July 17-20, 2008. It will be the ninth Championship to be played over the Lancashire course where Peter Thomson won the first and last of his five Open titles and where Arnold Palmer's victory in 1961 marked the virtual re-birth of golf's oldest championship.

In 1954 Thomson won the first Open to be played at Birkdale, finishing just one shot ahead of a three-way tie for second place between Bobby Locke, Syd Scott and Dai Rees. Thomson returned in 1965 to round off his collection of Open wins, this time by two shots from Brian Huggett and Christy O'Connor, in what he believed was his greatest win.

No less than 13 players were in a position to win over the closing holes when Thomson settled the issue beyond doubt with a second shot that hit the pin at the 510-yard 17th. He described Birkdale as man-sized but not a monster".

"Royal Birkdale has endeared itself to all of the world's top golfers," said Peter Dawson, Chief Executive of The R&A. "And we must remember that with his win there in 1961, Arnold Palmer is rightly credited with starting the renaissance of The Open. We are delighted to be returning in 2008."

David Hill, the R&A's Director of Championships, said: "Royal Birkdale is a venue which, in addition to setting a rigorous examination of the abilities of all golfers, also has a first-class infrastructure which is capable of coping with large numbers of spectators.

Royal Birkdale was founded in 1889 and eight years later, in 1897 moved to its present home at Birkdale Hills. Much of the present layout was modelled on a design by Hawtree & J H Taylor Ltd in the 1920s and the present-day clubhouse was constructed in 1935 on elevated ground behind the 18th green. In preparation for the 1965 Open the clubhouse was extended, a new par-three12th hole was built into the massive dunes and the closing holes considerably changed.

2008 British Open Schedule

Future British Open Golf Championships

2009 July 16-19 Ailsa Course, Turnberry, Ayrshire

2011 Royal St George’s

2012 Royal Lytham & St Annes

British Open Golf Odds and History

The British Open is the oldest of the four major championships in men's golf. Each year the event is hosted by one of several prestigious golf clubs in Britain; however, the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews (R&A) administers The Open regardless of its site.

It is always played on a links course.The British Open Championship is played in July and is the third major to take place each year, after The Masters Tournament and the U.S. Open, but before the PGA Championship. It has been an official event on the PGA TOUR since 1995, which means that the prize money won in the Open by PGA Tour members is included on the official money list. In addition, all Open Championships before that date have been retrospectively classified as PGA Tour wins and the list of leading winners on the PGA Tour has been adjusted to reflect this.

British Open trophy called the "Claret Jug

When the Championship began, the winner was presented with the Challenge Belt, now the Claret Jug or the proper name, The Golf Champion Trophy, is presented to each year's winner of The Open Championship.

The trophy awarded to the winner of The Open Championship is officially known as the Championship Cup, but it is much more commonly called the "Claret Jug" because, well, it's a claret jug.

Claret is a dry red wine produced in the famous French winemaking region of Bordeaux. The British Open trophy was made in the style of silver jugs used to serve claret at 19th Century gatherings.

But the winner of The Open Championship hasn't always received the Claret Jug as the trophy. The first handful of winners were awarded a belt. That's right, a belt. Or "Challenge Belt," as it was designated at the time.

The first Open Championship was played in 1860 at Prestwick (now called Royal Prestwick, it's in Troon, Scotland, just down the road from Royal Troon), and that year also marked the first awarding of the belt.

The belt was made of a wide, red Morocco leather and was adorned with silver buckles and emblems.

1873 winner - Tom Kidd - was the first to be awarded the Claret Jug.

That original Claret Jug from 1873 has permanently resided at the R&A since 1927. The trophy that is presented to the British Open winner each year is a copy of the original, which the winner gets to keep for a year before returning it to the R&A to be passed on to the next champion.

Winner of British Open 2007

CARNOUSTIE, Scotland., July 22 - No two ways about it, just about every British Open played at Carnoustie has seen an unbelievable finish. Maybe it's because 16, 17 and 18 could be the toughest finish in golf, the next time the British Open rolls around they should think about giving out barf bags on the 16th tee. The tradition started in 1931 when Agentinian Jose Jurado was cruising along with over 10,000 people and the Prince of Wales watching. As he was standing on the 17th tee, he needed a par-par finish to win. Unfortunely he sent his teeshot into the burn and took six on the hole, followed by a par 5 on the finishing hole to finish one back. In 1975 we had the other end of the spectrum when Tom Watson made a birdie three on the hole just to get himself into a playoff which he beat poor old Jack Newton the next day.

British Open Year Results Click Here!

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