Royal St George's Golf Club
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The Royal St George's Golf Club is a golf club located in Sandwich, Kent, England. It is one of the courses on The Open Championship rota, and the only one in South East England. The club has hosted 15 Open championships, the first in 1894 when it became the first club outside Scotland to host the championship. Past champions include Collin Morikawa, Darren Clarke, Ben Curtis, Greg Norman, Sandy Lyle, Bill Rogers, Bobby Locke, Reg Whitcombe, Henry Cotton, Walter Hagen (on two occasions), Harry Vardon (on two occasions), Jack White and John Henry Taylor. In 2021, Royal St. George's saw Collin Morikawa win The Open Championship. It has also hosted The Amateur Championship 14 times.
History
The club was founded by the surgeon Laidlaw Purves in 1887 in a setting of wild duneland. Laidlaw Purves and his brother, Alexander Pattison Purves WS, stood at the top of the tower of St. Clement's church to survey the surrounding countryside. "By George, what a place for a golf course' was exclaimed by Doctor Purves.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Whilst some believe the club's name was decided beforehand by the doctor's remark at St. Clement's, nevertheless, holding England's patron saint at the forefront of the club implicated 'a promise of national distinction' <ref>Template:Cite book</ref>Doctor Purves was adamant to create and present the ethos and traditions that are held at St. Andrews Golf Club, however in the South of England. Many holes feature blind or partially blind shots, although this element has been reduced somewhat, after several 20th century modifications. The course also possesses the deepest bunker in championship golf, located on its fourth hole.<ref>The World Atlas of Golf, second, revised edition, by Herbert Warren Wind, Charles Price, and Peter Thomson, London 1988, Mitchell Beazley publishers.</ref>
The club's Challenge Cup dates from 1888 and is one of the oldest amateur events in golf. It has been contested annually over 36 holes except during the war years. A 19-year-old Jack Nicklaus won the tournament in 1959 shortly before going on to win the first of his two U.S. Amateur titles.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Author Ian Fleming used the Royal St George's course under the name "Royal St. Marks" in his 1959 novel Goldfinger. In 1964, Fleming was elected Captain by his predecessor Eric Pemberton. The following day, Fleming died of a heart attack at a hospital in Canterbury.
The Open Championship
Royal St George's has hosted The Open Championship on 15 occasions since 1894.
| Year | Winner | Score | Winners share (£) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Total | |||
| 1894 | Template:Flagicon J.H. Taylor 1st | 84 | 80 | 81 | 81 | 326 | 30 |
| 1899 | Template:Flagicon Harry Vardon 3rd | 76 | 76 | 81 | 77 | 310 | 30 |
| 1904 | Template:Flagicon Jack White | 80 | 75 | 72 | 69 | 296 | 50 |
| 1911 | Template:Flagicon Harry Vardon 5th | 74 | 74 | 75 | 80 | 303 PO | 50 |
| 1922 | Template:Flagicon Walter Hagen 1st | 76 | 73 | 79 | 72 | 300 | 75 |
| 1928 | Template:Flagicon Walter Hagen 3rd | 75 | 73 | 72 | 72 | 292 | 100 |
| 1934 | Template:Flagicon Henry Cotton 1st | 67 | 65 | 72 | 79 | 283 | 100 |
| 1938 | Template:Flagicon Reg Whitcombe | 71 | 71 | 75 | 78 | 295 | 100 |
| 1949 | Template:Flagicon Bobby Locke 1st | 69 | 76 | 68 | 70 | 283 (−5) | 300 |
| 1981 | Template:Flagicon Bill Rogers | 72 | 66 | 67 | 71 | 276 (−4) | 25,000 |
| 1985 | Template:Flagicon Sandy Lyle | 68 | 71 | 73 | 70 | 282 (+2) | 65,000 |
| 1993 | Template:Flagicon Greg Norman 2nd | 66 | 68 | 69 | 64 | 267 (−13) | 100,000 |
| 2003 | Template:Flagicon Ben Curtis | 72 | 72 | 70 | 69 | 283 (−1) | 700,000 |
| 2011 | Template:Flagicon Darren Clarke | 68 | 68 | 69 | 70 | 275 (−5) | 900,000 |
| 2021 | Template:Flagicon Collin Morikawa | 67 | 64 | 68 | 66 | 265 (−15) | $2,070,000 |
- Note: For multiple winners of The Open Championship, superscript ordinal identifies which in their respective careers.
Scorecard
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