The 147th Open Championship will be held at Carnoustie. It’s not just the strong winds which blow along this exposed stretch of the Angus coast; nor the bunkering, which is perfectly positioned to capture anything less than a top-quality shot; but it is also a very long, narrow golf course that, at over 7,400 yards, is the longest course to host The Open. The course last held The Open in 1999, where Paul Lawrie took the title after a dramatic 72nd hold for Frenchman; Jean Van de Velde.

Trip back in history to 1999:

Meet the defending Open Champion

Jordan Spieth was the 2017 Champion after his victory at Royal Birkdale. Spieth is renowned as one of the best Putters on tour and his confidence in his ability to hole putts from almost anywhere on the green has won him Majors already. He heads to Carnoustie, looking to defend his title and win the 4th Major title of his career. He missed the cut in the U.S. Open so will be looking to bounce back from the disappointment at going home on the Friday.

Who are the other Major Contenders?

Henrik Stenson – Open Champion back in 2016, the ‘Iceman,’ Stenson holds the record (-20) for the lowest ever score in relation to par. He has 20 Professional Wins on tour but perhaps hasn’t gone on to fulfill his potential but he did finish tied 5th at this years Masters. In fact, Stenson  has managed to finish in the top-5 at all four major championships in his career. Stenson unquestionably has the desire and talent to add a second Major but whether it’ll be at Carnoustie, we will have to see.

Dustin Johnson – Dustin Johnson has been in good form in 2018 winning the Tournament of Champions and the St Jude Classic on the PGA Tour. He’s back to being the world #1 Golfer and will be looking to add to his sole Major Win at the U.S. Open in 2016. Renowned for his long game, Johnson has honed his short game skills over the last few years and his wedge play is one of the best on tour.

The Open is perhaps the toughest of all 4 Golf Majors to win but 2018 will see one of the toughest fields in history take to the course. Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose will all be looking to add another Major to their profile, whilst The Open always seems to save a place for an elder statesmen to roll back the years and stake a claim as we saw for Tom Watson in 2009. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be for Watson but it will give others hope that they can compete.

As usual, we will be running our Major Competition where the winner will receive a FREE 30 Minute Golf Lesson with one of our resident PGA Professionals. All you have to do is pick your player and predict his winning score, and email that to info@duncanlambertgolf.com. The competition entries will close after the first tee off time on the opening day of The Open Championship. Good Luck!