In preparation for the 2023 Open, Martin Ebert has made some changes. Most notably, there’s a new par 3 which will play as the 17th hole in the championship, replacing the old hole that played as the 15th in the 2006 and 2014 Opens. The new hole is in fact shorter, at 136 yards, but plays uphill and features steep drop-offs from all sides of the green. The 18th hole for the Open (which is No. 16 as members play the course) is a par 5 that has been lengthened by 58 yards to play at 609. With Royal Liverpool’s firm fairways, players might still be able go for the green in two. But the out-of-bounds lining on the right side of the hole has been moved in 20 yards, narrowing the fairway and coming more into play on both the tee shot and second shot.
How Cameron Smith won in 2022
Cameron Smith shot a final-round 64 to come from four strokes behind and win the 150th Open at the St. Andrews Old Course. Smith birdied five holes in a row starting at the 10th to take the lead, saved par with a difficult up and down at the 17th, and birdied 18. Rory McIlroy and Viktor Hovland shared the 54-hole lead, but Hovland slipped to a closing 74 and McIlroy had a 70 that included no bogeys but only two birdies. Cameron Young claimed second place, one stroke back, with a 65 and an eagle on the last hole, while McIlroy was third.
- Smith was the fifth Australian to win The Open, joining Peter Thomson, Kel Nagle, Ian Baker-Finch, and Greg Norman, and the first since Norman in 1993.
- Smith’s 20-under-par 72-hole total matched the best-ever in a major championship, tied with Jason Day (2015 PGA), Henrik Stenson (2016 Open), and Dustin Johnson (2020 Masters).
- At Royal Liverpool, the 10th hole will play as a par 4 instead of a par 5, as it played in past Opens at Royal Liverpool, so par has been reduced from 72 to 71.
- In the last two Opens at Royal Liverpool, Tiger Woods won at 18-under in 2006 and McIlroy 17-under in 2014.
This was first published in Essential Golf – you can read the complete magazine here.