Scottish golf fans to get only one Open in four-year period

WHILE it has been traditional for the Open Championship to be staged in Scotland at least every second year since its inauguration in 1860, the game's oldest major is set to embark on its most barren run for the 'Home of Golf'.

After this year's 150th anniversary event at St Andrews, the Open will be held in Scotland just once in the following four years after it was announced Royal Liverpool will play host to the championship in 2014 ahead of Royal Troon.

With the R&A having already confirmed that English courses would be staging the event back-to-back for the first time – Royal St George's in 2011 being followed on the rota by Royal Lytham – that means the 2013 event at Muirfield will be the sole Scottish venue during that period.

Only once before has the Open been held outside Scotland two years running and, on that occasion, it was the sole time the event was staged in Northern Ireland, the 1951 championship at Royal Portrush being followed on the rota by Royal Lytham.

While it's not set in concrete, it is believed that, St Andrews apart, the courses used for the event by the R&A is on a ten-year cycle, which should have meant it would be returning to Royal Troon in 2014. However, the fact Scotland is due to stage both the Commonwealth Games and the Ryder Cup that year has influenced the R&A, having already made a similar decision due to other major sporting events as Royal St George's was awarded the 2011 Open instead of the following year to avoid a clash with the London Olympics.

"Recognising that the Commonwealth Games and the Ryder Cup add to a busy Scottish sporting calendar in 2014, we took the view that the Open would return to England that year," said David Hill, the R&A's director of championships. "Royal Liverpool is a fantastic Open Championship venue and it has always been the intention of the Championship Committee to return swiftly following the success of 2006."

With St Andrews now staging the event every five years, Troon will have to wait until 2016 at the earliest for the event to return there, meaning a minimum gap of 12 years since Todd Hamilton beat Ernie Els in a play-off to claim the Claret Jug on the Ayrshire links.

"We are not in any way upset or surprised because it was extremely unlikely the 2014 Open would be held here or, indeed, anywhere else in Scotland due to other major sporting events taking place that year," said Royal Troon club captain, Ken Arthur. "There is no fixed cycle as far as I am led to believe and we will hopefully see the Open back here soon after 2014."

While Royal Liverpool had been off the rota for 39 years, its return in 2006 proved immensely successful. Huge crowds flocked to the Merseyside venue – the total of 230,000 for the week was a record for an English venue – to watch Tiger Woods become the first player to win back-to-back Opens since Tom Watson in 1983 and the event generated big profits for the R&A.