The 151st Open will be played at Royal Liverpool in 2022, the R&A has announced.
It will be the 13th time that the famous championship has been played over the Hoylake links course and the first since Rory McIlroy’s wire-to-wire victory in 2014.
More than 230,000 fans saw Tiger Woods lift the Claret Jug at Hoylake in 2006, which was a record attendance for an Open outside of St Andrews until the total was surpassed at Royal Birkdale in 2017.
Martin Slumbers, chief executive of the R&A, said: “We know that there will be tremendous excitement among golf fans at the prospect of its return to Royal Liverpool.
“Its famous links has a cherished history and has produced a revered group of champion golfers, including Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy most recently.”
With St Andrews already confirmed as host for the 150th Open in 2021, Slumbers had previously said the 2022 Open would be staged “south of the border.”
Since the 2020 Open is at Royal St George’s, that left Royal Liverpool and Royal Lytham as possible venues, with Royal Birkdale having staged the 2017 Open won by Jordan Spieth.
⛳️ ANNOUNCEMENT ⛳️ The 151st Open will be played at Royal Liverpool in 2022 🏌️ Click the link for more 🏆 pic.twitter.com/j2vTNAh4MG — The Open (@TheOpen) February 26, 2019
“Royal Lytham is a fantastic course and in terms of infrastructure is right up there,” Slumbers added. “We get around 200,000 spectators in the week but it’s a squeeze and the TV compound is five acres of land.
“That’s where Lytham gets a bit tight, but it can be done. Hoylake is a bit easier in that regard. We are lucky to have three great courses in that part of the world and choosing between them is never easy, but Hoylake will be a great venue.
“Lytham has also done a lot of heavy lifting for us in recent years with the Walker Cup later this year, the Women’s British Open last year and the Senior Open this year.”
