5 things that make the Open Championship unique
The 146th Open Championship is set to begin on Thursday at Royal Birkdale Golf Club, with the game's best looking to take home the historic Claret Jug.
Here are five things that make the Open Championship truly special:
The putter can be used anywhere
The firm, fast turf on Open-style courses, along with the gusty weather conditions, means the ground becomes the player's friend. It's not uncommon to see a golfer elect to hit putt from the fairway or even a path - like Costantino Rocca did at The Road Hole in 1995.
Players don't need to hit driver
In the 2006 Open at Royal Liverpool Golf Club, a summer heatwave turned a lush course into a dried out down venue. Tiger Woods feared his ball would run into the deep bunkers off the tee, and therefore hit his driver only once all week.
"You literally could not stop the ball in the fairway," Woods told SkySports. "The ball would just roll, and roll, and roll, and roll - especially downwind. So, I implored a different strategy that week, I'm just going to layup short of all the bunkers."
The strategy worked for Woods, cruising to a two-stroke victory over Chris DiMarco for his 11th career major title.
The weather
Aside from a solid week of play, a player needs a good break with the draw to claim the Claret Jug. In 2002, Woods headed into the weekend in prime position to win the third leg of the Grand Slam, but got caught in the worst weather of the round.
"We're on the range warming up, and this wall of blackness started coming at us, and no one had prepared for it," said the three-time Open winner.
Woods would shoot a third-round 81, ending his chances of winning all four majors that year.
The walk up the 72nd hole
Once the soon-to-be winner finds the putting surface with his approach shot, he gets to make one of the great walks in all of golf. The player strolls up in between two gigantic grandstands, and an enormous gallery behind him, while others watch from the clubhouse behind the green.
Champion golfer of the year
After signing his scorecard, the Open winner heads to the 18th green for the trophy ceremony. The introduction is brief, but the words said by secretary of the R&A Martin Slumbers are chilling: "The winner of the gold medal, and the champion golfer of the year."
(Photos courtesy: Action Images)