Why The Open is Golf's Best Major Championship

It was the 17th of October in 1860 when eight esteemed professionals gathered at the 12 holes of Prestwick Golf Club to determine who would succeed the late St Andrews luminary Allan Robertson as the Champion Golfer. Those gentlemen involved wouldn't have realised it at the time, but this modest event began the story of championship golf as we know it today.

164 years later, the Open returns to the Ayrshire coastline and nearby Royal Troon for the 152nd playing of the oldest major in the sport. Perspectives will understandably differ, but it can be convincingly argued that the original remains the best.

These days, it's hard not to be enthralled by the iconography that surrounds the Masters, but I've always felt that the two Opens are the true major championships. The US Open holds a national prestige in America that sets it apart, but THE Open (as the R&A likes to remind us) feels more international and universal.

Naturally, being from Scotland, the Open has been at the forefront of my golfing consciousness from the beginning. Whether it be attending the championship at St Andrews, Carnoustie, Troon, Turnberry and Muirfield to catch a glimpse of the world's best players, or when literally setting days aside to follow the TV coverage on the BBC (or more recently Sky Sports), the Open is both an integral part of summertime and reignites my passion for the game.

Here are the reason why I believe the Open is golf's finest - and most essential - major championship.

The History

Just a few weeks after the first Open was played at Prestwick, Abraham Lincoln was elected president of the United States. The FA Cup - the oldest national football competition in the world - didn't come to life until 1872. There had already been 11 Open Championships contested by that point. Royal North Devon, the oldest golf course in England, was established in 1864, four years after that first Open.

The Open has a lineage that takes us back to the very origins of the modern game before it expanded from Scotland and was transported around the globe. You can't replicate or manufacture that history. 

Winning the Open - becoming Champion Golfer of the Year - is to connect yourself to the story of golf.

Either attending or watching the championship unfold is the opportunity to witness a fresh chapter of history being written.

Links Golf

The Links Association has stated that there are only 247 true links courses on the planet, and the Open is a celebration of the unique test that they offer. 

I simply love links golf. I relish the challenge it provides, the imagination it demands, and the mental questions that it asks. Seeing the best players in the world having to find those answers is always captivating.

Golf at the highest level is too often predictable and one-dimensional. The courses and setups are typically imitations of each other meaning that you could tune in week-to-week and more or less see the same product.

Where's the fun in that?

Links golf - and by extension the Open - is about creativity, strategy, and shot making. That is why this championship should always be savoured because it's an opportunity to watch and appreciate something different.

The Weather

If you live in the UK & Ireland, you don't need me to point out that the weather is changeable, to say the least. The weather is so often part of the tale of the Open, and that can only accentuate the examination and thrill of links golf on the seaside. It's Mother Nature that defines how the course will play.

We all hope - especially if we're there in person - that it will be a feast of sunshine with a cooling breeze and firm fairways, but if that isn't possible, then a bit of driving rain and howling wind makes for good viewing too.

The Champion Golfer will be the man who embraces this element of luck and the difficulties that the conditions may present during the week. Open Championships are about character and resilience as much as they are about technical execution. Just the way it should be.

The Venues

14 courses have staged the Open during its history, and they all have a place in that story. It's fun to revisit Augusta National each April, but each of the venues that are part of this rotation boast an identity. We recall the previous championships there and look forward to the spotlight being placed on another small coastal town that comes alive every decade or so.

The courses themselves are all distinctive. When it comes to Royal Troon, keen golf fans will know about the Postage Stamp (the 8th) or the Railway (the 11th) - two of the truly great holes in the sport. 

Every venue has something that sets it apart. That not only enhances the legend of the place - but also the enduring appeal of this championship.

The Uniqueness

The Open is just different. It's the only one of the four men's majors to be played outside the United States. That gives it a contrasting vibe, atmosphere and sense of personality. That doesn't mean better, necessarily, but just different.

When you throw into the mix the intrigue of links golf and the place in history that is at stake, it all combines for a true feast to consume as a viewer, spectator or player.

If you're from these islands, the Open is "our" major, but it also belongs to the rest of the world. It belongs to the game and in so many ways has forever been at the heart of it.

That's why there is nothing else quite like the Open Championship.

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