This was his day, a famous day, and as the raucous celebrations continued, imploring him to administer wave after wave – to which he blearily obliged – it is one that will drift long into the night. Legend Gary Player hoisted the silverware in 1997 while Ryder Cup stars Brian Barnes (1995, 1996), Brian Huggett (1998) and Christy O’Connor Jr (1999) took the other four. Take a look at our predictions, picks, and the latest odds for the Houston Open, Starting November 5 and ending November 8. Designer: Harry Colt (note that Martin Ebert made extensive changes in 2015), Royal Portrush course record: Original course – 61 Rory McIlroy (2005 Amateur Open Championship); new course – 63 Shane Lowry (2019 Open Championship). It achieved its ‘Royal’ status under the patronage of the Prince of Wales in 1895. Lowry breaks course record to take four-shot lead into final round, breaking the course record with an eight-under-par 63, Sunday’s tee-times may have been brought forward, Final round of The Open brought forward due to threat of bad weather, You may not agree with our views, or other users’, but please respond to them respectfully, Swearing, personal abuse, racism, sexism, homophobia and other discriminatory or inciteful language is not acceptable, Do not impersonate other users or reveal private information about third parties, We reserve the right to delete inappropriate posts and ban offending users without notification. It is only when time goes on that I realise these things are special and you should savour them. You can also choose to be emailed when someone replies to your comment. There is something about this place which is very special. Check out all of the most interesting facts, here! Want an ad-free experience?Subscribe to Independent Premium. It’s just a great test of golf. The bouncy turf is again a classic links trait while the mixed-sized and undulating greens look impeccable but provide hidden mysteries to golfers of every experience. Par 4, 447 yards (Himalayas): A narrow tee shot has to be threaded through mounds either side of the fairway and the green sits among sand dunes, repelling anything short. To see all content on The Sun, please use the Site Map. News Corp is a network of leading companies in the worlds of diversified media, news, education, and information services. After the tide of emotion that followed Rory McIlory’s exit on Friday evening, the pressure was immense by the time the bearded son of Offaly took to the first tee in the last of the afternoon sunshine. The approach is played to an elevated two-tier green with plenty of undulations. He’s joined there by Justin Rose, whose eagle on the profitable twelfth pulled him back into contention, but was left scything at the air in frustration as his shot trickled off the green at 18. But it was defining because the wider golf world took notice. The latter was the first venue outside of the island of Great Britain to stage the Open Championship in 1951 while it was a regular host for the Senior Open Championship in the 1990s. Ahead of the 2019 event, the 17th and 18th holes of the original course were replaced by two new holes (7th and 8th) of land that was part of the Valley Links. WSN.com is registered with the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) under affiliate vendor ID 0091068, with the Indiana Gaming Commission (IGC) under certificate of registration number SWR-000148, approved by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board as a gaming service provider, possesses a Vendor Minor sports betting license from the Colorado Limited Gaming Control Commission (account number 94414163), and an interim Sports Wagering Supplier license from the West Virginia Lottery Commission under the license number SWS 066. The town of Portrush is about an hour’s drive north from Belfast International Airport. When you grow up so close to great courses like this you take them for granted. Now the watching world would get to see the venue where, famously, Rory McIlroy had shot an astonishing 61 as a 16-year-old to mark him down as a future superstar. With Dunluce Castle and the white cliffs as a backdrop, the tee shot is played to an elevated green with a false front to punish anything underhit. Dave Tindall is former golf editor at SkySports.com and Golf365.com and has been writing betting previews for the PGA Tour and European Tour since 1997. The Northern Irishman, now going grey at the sides, even had blond highlights and a pink baseball cap for that round in July 2005. Please continue to respect all commenters and create constructive debates. His other area of speciality is football while he's also covered cricket and tennis.