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2023 Open Championship Tips

 

2023 Open Championship Info

Starts: 14th July 2023
Course: Royal Liverpool, Liverpool
Par: 71
Length: 7,313 yards

2023 Open Championship Course Info

Course Last Used: 2014
Type of Course: Links
Fairways: Undulating
Rough: Thick Fescue
Par 5's: 5^th  ,15^th and 18^th
Premium on: Links experience

2023 Open Championship Course Info

Founded in 1869, the Royal Liverpool Golf Club, also known as Hoylake, is steeped in history and prestige.

Hoylake, built on the racecourse of what was the Liverpool Hunt Club, has traditionally played as a par 72 layout measuring over 7,300 yards.  However, this year the 10th hole has been reduced to a par 4 and the overall par has been changed to 71. The course is classic British links; exposed to strong winds, the firm fairways, undulating greens, and deep pot bunkers are just some of the challenges that players encounter.

Among the hardest holes at Hoylake is the 436 yard 7th hole, known as "Telegraph." Typically played into the prevailing wind, golfers face a challenging tee shot over out-of-bounds and must avoid the cluster of bunkers on the left to have a clear shot at the green. The green itself is well-guarded, making it an intimidating prospect even for the world's best.

The 14th hole, named "Hilbre," is another stern test. At 454 yards, this dogleg par 4 demands both length and precision. With bunkers scattered strategically across the fairway and near the green, golfers must choose their approach carefully. The green is deceptive with subtle breaks that can turn a seemingly good putt into a three-putt quickly.

Conversely, there are opportunities to gain strokes at Hoylake. The 373 yard 4th hole, "Road," offers a birdie chance to those who can avoid the bunkers along the right side of the fairway. A well-placed drive leaves a short iron into a relatively unguarded green.

In the last few years the 10th hole played as the easiest hole. However, this hole has now been changed to a long par 4 and will ply as one of the harder holes.

2023 Open Championship Course Changes

The Royal Liverpool Golf Club underwent a series of changes ahead of the 2023 Open Championship. Working with the R&A and esteemed golf course architect, Martin Ebert, five key transformations were implemented:

1. The front area of the Championship 4th green has been elevated, resulting in a flatter landing zone. This modification aims to generate more pin positions and minimize the hard bounce propelling balls through the green's back. Moreover, the total size of the green has been scaled down by transforming a portion of its back right area into a run off area.

2. The 7th green has been relocated to the left of its previous location. This move also allowed for a new tee complex for the Championship 8th hole. 

3. The Championship 18th hole, a par 5, has been updated with the addition of two new tees, lengthening the hole to an impressive 607 yards. This adjustment is made possible by a change in the layout of the new Championship 17th hole.

4. The Championship 13th green has a new run-off area, along with the refurbishment of the existing right-side run-off.

5. Last, but perhaps the most substantial, is the formation of a new short par 3 hole, stretching just 139 yards. Its green is where the old Championship 15th tee was. Players will tee off towards an elevated green with a panoramic view of the Dee Estuary. This captivating hole will be the new Championship 17th.

How Many Opens has Royal Liverpool hosted?

This will be the 13th Open Championship staged at Royal Liverpool.  The course slipped off the Open rota for a number of years and there was a 39 year gap between hosting in 1967 and 2006.

When did Royal Liverpool last host The Open?

The most recent Open Championship played at Royal Liverpool was 2014. Rory McIlroy emerged as the winner that week.  You can view the official Open film for 2104 on Youtube.

2023 Open Championship Weather

We're in for a wet and windy week at Hoylake.

Thursday
The wind will blow around 11mph in the morning and reach 15mph in the afternoon.  Light rain expected in the morning.

Friday
The wind will blow around 10mph in the morning and reach 15mph in the afternoon.  Light rain throughout the day.

Saturday
The wind will blow around 10mph in the morning and reach 14mph in the afternoon.  Light rain throughout the day.

Sunday
The wind will blow around 10mph in the morning and reach 13mph in the afternoon.  Light rain throughout the day.

Open Championship Betting Trends

Winning Score
The last two Open Championships at Royal Liverpool have had winning scores of -17 and -18.  The weather is often the biggest factor in determining the winning score at open Championships.

Correlating Courses
Links form is essential so consider form at other links events such as the Alfred Dunhill Links, Scottish Open and Irish Open (when a links course has been used).

Event Form
Of the last 17 Open Champions, 14 had recorded at least a top-9 finish at a previous Open before winning.  Furthermore, nine of the last eleven champions had made at least 4 appearances at The Open prior to winning.  Look for a player with proven Open experience.

Recent Form
Ten of the previous fourteen winners had recorded a top 20 in their previous two events.

Nationality
An eclectic range of nationalities have won the Open in recent times. with no particular nationality dominating.

Age
Only five of the last 14 Open winners were below 30.  Experience counts for a lot and patience is a key requirement.

Major Virgins
Six of the last twelve Open winners were winning their first Major.

Debutants
Only three players have won The Open on their debut in the last 47 years.  None of those winners came at Royal Liverpool.  Ben Curtis and Collin Morikawa won at Royal St George's in 2003 and 2021.  Tom Watson triumphed at Carnoustie in 1975 on his debut. 

Prior Year Performance
Despite the strong trend for winners to have posted a top 10 at previous Opens, of the last thirteen winners, seven missed the cut the previous year.  In fact, no winner in the past 13 years has posted a top 25 at The Open the year before they won.

Current Year Momentum
Nine of the last 12 Open champions had won an event in their previous eight starts.  Do not underestimate the importance of momentum.

World Ranking
In the last 22 years there have only been five winners of the Open Championship outside the world's top-50. 

2023 Open Championship Stats Analysis 

We look at the stats for the last two winners of The Open at Royal Liverpool.  

Driving Distance 
Winner in 2006, Tiger Woods, took a conservative approach off the tee and ranked 53rd for Driving Distance.  Firm conditions meant that he was able to hit 2 iron off most tees with the ball running out over 300 yards.  In 2014, Rory McIlroy ranked 1st for Driving Distance.  

Driving Accuracy 
Tiger Woods ranked 1st for Driving Accuracy in 2006 whilst Rory McIlroy ranked 27th in 2014.  Avoiding the punishing fairway bunkers is the key to success this week.

Greens in Regulation
Woods was 2nd in 2006 whilst McIlroy was 23rd in 2014.  

Putts Per GIR
Woods was 31st and McIlroy was 10th.

2023 Open Championship In Play Advice

Tough Holes
The 7th hole played as the hardest hole at the Open Championship in 2014.  

Birdie Holes
Only six holes played under par in 2014.  These were the four par 5 holes and the 4th and 11th holes.  The 4th plays as the shortest par 4 on the course and represents a chance to pick up a couple of shots with the par 5 5th hole following.

Closing Stretch
The closing holes at Royal Liverpool have been changed considerably since The Open in 2014.  The 17th hole is a new hole entirely and is a 140 yard par 3.  Missing the green will lead to a difficult up and down for par.

the tee shot on the 18th hole has been made harder with the tee box moved back 50 yards and the out of bounds moved 20 yards inwards.  Expect to see plenty of drama over the closing holes.

Fast or Slow Start
Every Open champion in the past 22 years has been within 5 shots after the first round.  When the Open was last played here in 2006 and 2014, eventual winners Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, were both within one shot of the lead after the first round lead (Woods was one shot behind and McIlroy was joint leader).

Just as it is important to be within touching distance after round 1, it is essential to keep pace at the Open as 80% of Open Champions in the past 50 years have been inside the top-10 at the halfway stage.  When the Open was played here in 2014, Rory McIlroy led by four strokes after round 2.  In 2006, Tiger Woods led by one stroke through 36 holes.

Over 75% of Open Championship winners in the past 20 years have been within 3 shots with one round to go.

2014 Open Championship Course Quotes

"I think that last time in '06 we were almost forced to hit the ball longer off the tee and take on more risk because the course was so firm, you couldn't stop the ball with a mid iron. And we needed to come into some of these greens with an 8, 9-wedge downwind, because it was so firm. I think it's going to allow us to be a little bit more conservative off the tee and a little bit more aggressive into the greens. That's my take. And the winning score, I think, will ultimately be fairly low, provided conditions, of course. If we get a strong wind, that all changes. If we get a strong wind and rain, that changes even more. But under light wind or soft wind conditions and the golf course being as green as it is, I think the scores will be fairly low." Phil Mickelson

"The reason I really like Royal Liverpool is the same reason that I really like Muirfield, and that is when you have to land a ball 20, 30 yards short of the green, if you hit it at the green, the ball will kick on. There is not these repellant hillsides in the landing area that kick balls off into the trouble. If you hit it off line, it will continue to go off line. It's not going to hit a mound and kick back to the green. What I'm ultimately saying is well-struck shots are rewarded and poorly struck shots are penalized. And that's not always the case in links golf. It could be the exact opposite many times. In fact, that happened quite a few times last week at Royal Aberdeen. So the thing I really like about Royal Liverpool is the same thing I liked about Muirfield, those last 20, 30 yards short of the green were oftentimes you have to land a golf ball, it will continue to bounce on to the green if you strike it properly." Phil Mickelson

"I think they change a lot. I think everyone changes over eight years. We've got a completely different golf course that we're looking at this week. It will play completely different. I had a good finish here and eight years means nothing to having a good finish this week. It's a completely different animal. I think even though we've got a different golf course you have to come back and relearn the course, anyway. We played so much golf since then and so much different courses. There are things that stand out certainly. But the little subtle bits of a golf course is what you need to refresh yourself on. You can know which way a hole goes or where a bunker is. But there are little bits of feel in there that you really have to get used to." Adam Scott

"I think it's a very, very fair test. I think that if you think about it as not necessarily how many under par, but how many strokes you're going to need to win this week. Some par-5s are going to play relatively easy. If you don't make four, you're actually dropping a shot. So they must take par out of the equation. But whatever the winning total is, I think it's a very fair golf course, and it's going to be the guy who plays best this week. It offers everybody the opportunity to play well. The fairways are relatively flat. The greens are relatively flat, yet the trouble is there, the rough is relatively thick, but nothing is extreme. So I think it offers shot-making. It offers something for everybody." Justin Rose

"I think the par-5s are a big key this week. If you look back at '06, I think Tiger played the par-5s in 14-under par. So the majority of his scoring was done on the par-5s. There are four really good opportunities to make birdies out here. Par-5s are going to be crucial. And then there's a couple of tough holes on the back nine, if you can just sort of make par there you're going to do well. Yeah, par-5s, I think, there's a few birdie opportunities on this course, and you want to try to make as many birdies as you can on those holes." Rory McIlroy

"The weather is the defence of this golf course as the greens are pretty flat out there and the wind will play a huge part. Maybe we can get a week like we did when Tiger won here back in '06 but then the R & A is hoping for a tough week this week. So I'm excited and it is one of those weeks where you have come here and just accept what it is and not get frustrated and not really lose your mind if the weather is poor."  Jason Day

2023 Open Championship Tips