It is worth sparing a thought for Royal Troon as the 151st Open Championship approaches. When the R&A announced tournament venues for years including 2023, the plan was for a centenary celebration marking 100 years since the Open was first held at the glorious Ayrshire links. Instead, Royal Liverpool sits in the spotlight.
The shuffling of the Open calendar – a consequence of coronavirus – means the major will return to Troon on the 101st rather than 100th anniversary of its tournament debut. This feels unfortunate, as does the naming of Royal Birkdale as the Open site for 2026; the connoisseur’s choice would have been Royal Lytham & St Annes, where Bobby Jones won the first of his three Claret Jugs in 1926. Lytham has sat obsolete on the Open rota for far too long.
