The 144th Open Championship at St Andrews gets underway in less than a weeks time and it is set to be a cracker despite the sad news that Rory McIlroy will be unable to defend his Claret Jug.
The Old Course will be a gruelling test of links golf for the debutants and experienced heads such as Nick Faldo and Tom Watson as they take on the 112 bunkers that surround the stunning course.
If you’re thinking of attending the Open Championship this year, it is not too late and here are four reasons why you should stop what you’re doing and purchase a ticket ahead of next week (or for any major!).
It is the only way to fully appreciate the difficulty of a championship course
You may capture the ball landing three feet away from the hole and rolling 40 yards down the fairway on the television, but until you see it with your own eyes, it really is impossible to do it justice. The slopes and nuances of the fairways, the speed of the greens and difficultly of the rough, it is all part and parcel of a major tournament. You don’t realise how difficult it is until you’re witnessing one of the world’s best struggling.
