2018 Open: 9 Things you didn’t know about Carnoustie

Why Tommy Fleetwood might be the man to pick, plus eight other facts about Carnoustie

1. Carnoustie is the longest Open venue on record, having played at 7,421 yards in 2007. This year it will be reduced to 7,402 yards, but only to accommodate grandstands around the first tee.

2. Golfing greats Allan Robertson, Old Tom Morris and James Braid all fiddled with the design of the Championship course, but it was James Wright, an accountant by trade and chairmen of the links committee, who left the biggest mark. He took it upon himself to redesign the last three holes in 1937, and so created the “toughest stretch in golf.”

3. At the start of the 20th century, around 300 “Sons of Carnoustie” travelled across the Atlantic to teach golf and helped found the US PGA. Today, more than 250 American clubs have links to Carnoustie, including Medinah, Pebble Beach and Oakmont.

4. Ben Hogan played in his first and only Open at Carnoustie in 1953, prevailing by four shots to claim the triple crown. He ended the season unbeaten on the PGA Tour, winning five from five.

5. Tom Watson won the first of five Opens in 1975 at Carnoustie. He is also one of just four players since World War II to have won the Claret Jug on their debut. The most recent was Ben Curtis in 2003.

6. The biggest final round comeback in the history of any Major is 10 shots. Paul Lawrie completed the feat 19 years ago at Carnoustie, when Jean van de Velde’s final hole collapse left him in a four-hole playoff with Lawrie and Justin Leonard. Lawrie birdied both 17 and 18 to win.

7. Rory McIlroy took the low amateur honours in 2007, and is one of only two silver medal winners in history to have won The Open as well. The other? Tiger Woods.

8. Since the start of The Open, there have been 18 play-offs, which includes all three of the last Open Championships staged at Carnoustie. Harrington beat Sergio Garcia; Lawrie defeated Leonard and van de Velde; and Tom Watson got the better of Jack Newton.

9. Last year Tommy Fleetwood set a new course record of 63, at the Dunhill Links. He also holds the best aggregate score of any player at Carnoustie between 2015-2017 (-16 from three rounds).

Key Facts About 2018 Open at Carnoustie

Field: 156 players
Cut: 70 players and ties
Prize fund: $10.25 million
Winner’s cheque: $1.845 million
Ticket prices: £25 (Mon practice) to £90 (Sunday’s final round).