The last time we saw Royal Troon Golf Links for an Open Championship the blessed old links gave us what golf history now refers to as the Second Duel in the Sun. Hearkening back to 1977 when Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus separated themselves by 1o shots from the field at Turnberry, Sweden’s Henrik Stenson and the USA’s Phil Mickelson played Troon like a Stradivarius violin. Stenson outlasted Mickelson 20-under to 17-under while J.B. Holmes finished a distant third, a mere 6-under.
Will 20-under be attainable this year, with eight years of technological advances and golfers as athletic as football linebackers? Hopefully not. And if the wind blows, we’ll get a proper tournament with the course as the star…as it should be at a major.
Here are some interesting news and notes as you enjoy your straw berries and cream..or is it haggis and whipsies? It is Scotland after all…
In 151 editions of The Open, there have been 89 different Champion Golfers of the Year. 27 players have won The Open more than once.
The longest timespan of first-time winners is from 1994 to 2004 in which there were 11 first-time Champions in this period, ranging from Nick Price to Todd Hamilton. The current streak is ten first-time Champions, starting with Phil Mickelson in 2013 through to Brian Harman last year.
[Author’s Note:Â This seems likely this year – Scheffeler, Koepka, Schauffele, Thomas, Bryson, and Morikawa are the likely candidates. The only contender to possibly scrap that plan is Rory.There are 19 former Champions playing at Royal Troon this year, tying the record for the most in the field set at St Andrews in 2015.
There are 12 amateur golfers in the field. This is the highest number of amateurs to be playing since 1987 when 13 featured.
In the nine previous stagings of The Open at Royal Troon there have been nine different
Champion Golfers of the Year.
Year   Champion         Country       Score             Number of wins
1923  Arthur Havers  England      295                 1 of 1
1950 Bobby Locke     South Africa 279                 2 of 4
1962 Arnold Palmer USA             276                 2 of 2
1973 Tom Weiskopf USA               276                 1 of 1
1982 Tom Watson   USA               284                 4 of 5
1989 Mark Calcavecchia USAÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â 275Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 1 of 1
1997 Justin Leonard USA             272                   1 of 1
2004 Todd Hamilton USAÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 274Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 1 of 1
2016 Henrik Stenson Sweden     264                   1 of 1
Of the nine, six players won their only major at Troon (Havers, Weiskopf, Calcavecchia,
Leonard, Hamilton and Stenson). The other three players all won at Troon as part of
back-to-back triumphs in The Open (Locke 1949 and 1950, Palmer 1961 and 1962, Watson 1982 and 1983.)1923 Arthur Havers England 295 1 of 1
Every Open at Troon has featured a runner-up who either previously or eventually won
The Open.
Year       Runner-Up                     Year(s) won
1923      Walter Hagen                 1922, 1924, 1928, 1929
1950      Roberto de Vicenzo       1967
1962      Kel Nagle                         1960
1973Â Â Â Â Â Â Johnny Miller*Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 1976
1982Â Â Â Â Â Nick Price *Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 1994
1989Â Â Â Â Â Greg Norman *Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 1986, 1993
1997Â Â Â Â Â Darren Clarke *Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 2011
2004    Ernie Els                            2002, 2012
2016     Phil Mickelson                 2013
