Open Championship Returns to Ayrshire
Troon will be welcoming the Open Championship back to the town a little earlier than some perhaps expected! The 152nd Open will be staged at Royal Troon in 2023 when the game’s oldest major championship returns to the Ayrshire coastline for the tenth time.
It will mark Royal Troon’s 100th anniversary of staging its first Open Championship and will be the first time since 2016 when Henrik Stenson held off the challenge of Phil Mickelson in a thrilling final day and will undoubtedly be of a major boon to the local economy although the figures that are always hawked around never seem to stand up to evaluation! According to the press release,
"The Championship had a huge impact on the region in 2016 with benefits of around £110 million thanks to an influx of international spectators and a worldwide TV audience."
There is no doubt it's a great thing for Troon and the reason for it returning so soon is 2023 is the anniversary of the first playing of the event at Troon 100 years earlier. The hotels will probably be already sold out and plans will be underway for a range of events.
Royal Troon is undoubtedly one of the world’s greatest championships links. It has produced many memorable moments throughout the history of The Open including the dramatic duel between Henrik Stenson and Phil Mickelson that captivated millions of fans around the world in 2016. Henrik Stenson’s victory in 2016 saw him join a celebrated list of golfers who have lifted the famous Claret Jug and been crowned Champion Golfer of the Year at Royal Troon, including Havers, Bobby Locke, Arnold Palmer, Tom Weiskopf, Tom Watson, Mark Calcavecchia, Justin Leonard and Todd Hamilton.
The 152nd Open will be held from 16-23 July 2023.