St Andrews’s Old Course – Page 2

A huge payday awaits at the 150th playing of the Open Championship next week

The Champion Golfer of the Year is going to get richer.

Much, much richer.

The R&A announced Friday the winner of next week’s 150^th playing of the Open Championship, to be conducted on the Old Course in St. Andrews, will take home the largest first-place check in tournament history along with the Claret Jug.

The payday? $2.5 million.

The total purse will be $14 million, a 22 percent increase on 2021 and a 60 percent increase on 2016.

“There have been significant changes in prize money over the last year. We have made this substantial investment while balancing our wider commitments to developing golf at all levels around the world and to continuing to elevate the AIG Women’s Open,” said Martin Slumbers, chief executive of the R&A.

The bump in the purse – whether influenced by LIV Golf, the Saudi Arabia-backed league doling out huge purses – continues a trend in some of the game’s biggest tournaments.

Matthew Fitzpatrick won a record $3.15 million for winning the U.S. Open at The Country Club. The purse was $17.5 million, up $5 million from the year before.

Justin Thomas earned a record $2.7 million with his playoff victory against Will Zalatoris in the PGA Championship at Southern Hills. The total purse was $15 million, up $3 million from 2021.

The Masters bumped its purse by $3.5 million to $15 million. And Cameron Smith won a record $3.6 million of the record $20 million purse in The Players Championship at the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass.

Prize money

Place	USD	Place	USD
1	$2,500,000	36	$73,500
2	$1,455,000	37	$70,000
3	$933,000	38	$66,500
4	$725,000	39	$64,000
5	$583,000	40	$62,000
6	$505,000	41	$59,500
7	$434,000	42	$56,500
8	$366,000	43	$54,000
9	$321,000	44	$51,000
10	$290,000	45	$48,000
11	$264,000	46	$45,500
12	$234,000	47	$43,700
13	$220,000	48	$42,000
14	$206,000	49	$40,000
15	$191,500	50	$39,100
16	$176,000	51	$38,200
17	$167,500	52	$37,600
18	$159,750	53	$37,000
19	$153,000	54	$36,500
20	$145,750	55	$35,900
21	$139,000	56	$35,400
22	$132,000	57	$35,000
23	$125,000	58	$34,750
24	$118,000	59	$34,500
25	$114,000	60	$34,250
26	$109,000	61	$34,000
27	$105,000	62	$33,900
28	$101,500	63	$33,750
29	$97,000	64	$33,600
30	$92,000	65	$33,400
31	$89,000	66	$33,100
32	$84,500	67	$32,900
33	$81,500	68	$32,600
34	$79,250	69	$32,400
35	$76,500	70	$32,200

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Dreaming of the British Open? Check out five incredible U.K. golf vacations

Want to play St. Andrews, Carnoustie, and Royal Troon all on the same trip? Yeah…we thought so.

The 2022 British Open is just weeks away and the entire golf world is gearing up to go back home to The Old Course at St. Andrews.

We will all be glued to the coverage of the 150th Open Championship later this month, and most golf fans will daydream about playing St. Andrews and that fantasy golf vacation they’ve been putting off for years.

It’s time to turn those daydreams into reality. Along with our friends from Golfbreaks, Golfweek has compiled five spectacular U.K. golf vacations including trips to England, Northern Ireland and Scotland to play some of the oldest and most famous courses in the world.

We occasionally recommend interesting products, services, and gaming opportunities. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. Golfweek operates independently, though, and this doesn’t influence our coverage

While many are focused on Maui, this major champ already has his sights set on St Andrews and the 150th Open

This champ can’t pass up the opportunity to play in the 150th Open Championship at St Andrews.

Paul Lawrie is always doing something. In fact, the native of Aberdeen, Scotland has his fingers in so many pies, those digits are probably covered in a permanent coating of suet crust.

“I’d rather have that than sitting about doing nothing,” said the 53-year-old of the abundant activities that engage, energize and excite him.

Management, mentoring, event hosting, tournament organizing? You name it, Lawrie does it. He still finds time to play himself too.

While he is very much committed to competition on the golden oldies scene these days, the opportunity to join the world’s best in the 150th Open Championship at St Andrews this July couldn’t be missed.

Lawrie, who gave last year’s Open at Sandwich a wide berth, is certainly not one to settle for being some kind of ceremonial golfer. His decision, for instance, to step back from the European Tour (now known as the DP World Tour) was based on the cold, hard reality that he wasn’t competitive enough.

The Old Course, and the craft and nous required for the links game, can be a great leveler, though.

“I’ll be at The Open,” said the 1999 Claret Jug winner with relish.

Paul Lawrie of Scotland in action during the pro-am event prior to the NBO Oman Golf Classic on February 14, 2018, in Muscat, Oman. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)

“Some of the venues, with the length they are, there’s just no way I can get it round anymore. I’m not decrepit or totally gone, but on the Old Course I can scuttle it a bit more. I’m looking forward to it,” he said.

The last time The Open was played in the cradle of the game, in 2015, Lawrie and his fellow Scot Marc Warren were right in the thick of it at the halfway stage.

“But the third round was the killer,” he recalled. “I played with Marc in that round and although we both played well, we putted terribly. Neither of us fed off each other and we got left behind.”

A week after this season’s big bash in St Andrews, Lawrie will contest the Senior Open over the King’s course at Gleneagles. He’ll be seeking some sort of redemption this year after a disappointing showing in the 2021 edition of the over-50s major at Sunningdale.

“It was my only really poor performance of the year and I was absolutely gutted with the way I played, it was awful,” he reflected of 36-holes that left him 11-over and on an early journey back up the road. Lawrie played alongside celebrated compatriot Colin Montgomerie during those two rounds but instead of feeding off the full Monty, he toiled.

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“I still struggle to play with Monty a little bit,” confessed Lawrie of a man who has the kind of commanding presence that used to be the reserve of the Colossus of Rhodes. “In my era, he was probably the best Scottish player and whenever you play with him you do feel a wee bit under the cosh.”

Now he knows how the golf writers feel when they have to ask Monty for a quick word after he’s just three-putted the last.

Away from his own golf outings, Lawrie’s tireless efforts to develop talent and provide playing opportunities for others in his homeland continue to sustain him. His own Tartan Pro Tour, which started in 2020 to fill the vast void created by the ravages of the pandemic, is going from strength to strength while the management side of things, aided by his own experiences at the highest level, has led to plenty of pearls of wisdom being dished out. There’s also been the odd kick up the you-know-what too.

“I’ve been a player, I know how difficult it is when you’re not playing well and I enjoy putting my arm around them,” he added. “But sometimes I enjoy giving them a bit of a ticking off because I had that with Adam Hunter (his late coach).

“Adam was able to speak to me and say what he wanted. You need that as a player. You don’t need a ‘yes’ man.”

Paul Lawrie kisses the Claret Jug after winning the 1999 British Open at Carnoustie.

As for the growing stature of that aforementioned Tartan Pro Tour, which boasted a schedule of 15 events in 2021? Well, Lawrie is allowed to blow his trumpet.

“It’s doing a great job,” he said of this fledgling development circuit which offers valuable invitations into a series of European Challenge Tour events. “You can see some of the prize money we’re putting up. I mean, Kieran Cantlay won 17-and-a-half grand for topping our order of merit. It’s phenomenal what we’ve done for these players in such a short space of time.”

Long may it continue.

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European Tour’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship offers the best one-week rota of courses of any tour

The Old Course at St. Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns make this a special week for the European Tour and for links lovers.

The European Tour takes a few knocks from golf course aficionados about the layouts the tour frequently plays as it takes events to new coordinates – and sponsors – around the world. Some criticism is fair, some less so.

But it’s all moot this week. Just kick back, turn on the tube and enjoy some of the best golf courses in the world for the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.

St. Andrews Old Course. Carnoustie. Kingsbarns. They make up an incredible Scottish links triumvirate around St. Andrews, the best one-week professional rota in golf.

The Old Course is, of course, the Old Course. This is golf. Old Tom. Young Tom. All the way to Tiger Woods. This is the home of golf, the marketing says – and it’s right. And always exciting to watch.

Carnoustie is no slouch, itself. Home to eight past British Opens – ahem, Open Championships – Carnoustie’s Championship Course presents one of the most challenging and thrilling conclusions in golf. Just ask Jean van de Velde about the dreaded Barry Burn, where his chance at the 1999 British Open title was ingloriously drowned.

And to people who don’t follow modern golf architecture closely, Kingsbarns might seem like a third wheel in this rota. Trust us, it’s not. The Kyle Phillips design that opened in 2000 has climbed all the various course rankings – including Golfweek’s Best – to become one of the most desirable tee times in Europe.

The only thing that comes close to this rota on the PGA Tour is the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, with Pebble Beach Golf Links, Spyglass Hill and Monterey Peninsula Country Club’s Shore Course hosting celebrities and pros alike each year. Pebble Beach ranks No. 9 on Golfweek’s Best Classic Courses list for the U.S., and Spyglass is No. 31 among all Modern U.S. courses. Not bad at all. It’s hard to beat the vibe on this section of California coastline.

But when it comes to elite course rankings, no rota compares to the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. And like the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, the Dunhill Links also serves up a celebrity field in a pro-am format to make things a bit more interesting. Each team will play the three courses over the first three days, with teams and individuals that make the cut playing the Old Course on Sunday.

Keep scrolling for more on each of the courses in this week’s rota.

Looking to see the 150th Open at St Andrews live? It’ll cost you as much as $11.5K

Some tickets have just gone on sale, but they’re part of “hospitality experiences” released Saturday by the R&A — and they won’t come cheap.

The Swilcan Bridge. The Claret Jug. A star-studded field.

The 2022 Open Championship will certainly be one for the ages — in fact, it will mark the 150th such event, with the celebration delayed a year due to this year’s cancellation.

Want to be part of the fun? Some tickets have just gone on sale, but they’re part of “hospitality experiences” released Saturday by the R&A — and they aren’t cheap.

In fact, the top-tiered weeklong tickets run about $11,500, after taxes are added. So what does that kind of coin get you in return?

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• Official Admission ticket to the 150th Open with Fast Track entrance
• Located on the fourth floor of the Old Course Hotel with stunning views of the Road Hole and across the famous Links course
• Reserved seating in the 18th green grandstand
• “Behind the scenes” experiences with unprecedented access to restricted areas at the Open such as the NBC Studio, Media Center and other VIP experiences
• Personal shopping experience
• Q&A with a past or present player
• Access to the West Deck Terrace at The Old Course Hole l
• Reserved parking pass (1 per 2 guests)
• Private tables to suit your group size
• Full TV coverage of play throughout the facility
• Private restroom facilities
• Welcome desk with experienced hosting staff

And don’t forget the food and drink package, which includes:

• A full Scottish breakfast with a selection of fruits, pastries, juices and specialty coffee
• Á la carte lunch menu featuring local and seasonal produce
• Traditional afternoon tea upon return from the golf course
• Complimentary premium drinks package including Champagne, fine wines, beers, spirits and soft drinks
• Access to the Whisky Tasting Room

So you’re not exactly roughing it.

“We recognize it has been a very challenging year for our fans around the world and we are delighted to give them something to look forward to. The 150th Open promises to be an unmissable event in the global sporting calendar and we have seen a real sense of urgency among fans to make sure they are part of this special occasion at the Home of Golf,” said Brett Tonkyn, Head of Hospitality at The R&A.

“Our official hospitality packages will provide fans with a magnificent setting to enjoy and celebrate this historic Championship and we are encouraging those fans wanting to experience the 150th Open in this unique way to act fast to secure their place at St Andrews.”

Other packages including fewer amenities have also gone on sale and get as low as $525 for a single day and can be found here. General tickets for the 149th Open at Royal St George’s Golf Club are also available, but those same tickets have not yet been made available for the 150th event.

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