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. 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'. It was only in 1902 that St George's became Royal St Georges, becoming the 31st golf club granted royal status in the world. 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.The World Atlas of Golf, second, revised edition, by Herbert Warren Wind, Charles Price, and Peter Thomson, London 1988, Mitchell Beazley publishers.
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.
Competitions
Challenge Cup 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.
Halford Hewitt After being founded in 1924, The Halford Hewitt, a foursomes knockout match, was originally played at Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club. In 1950, the competition, due to increased capacity, expanded its first two out of ten rounds to The Royal St George's Golf Club, and has since then been the case.
The Open Championship Royal St George's has hosted The Open Championship on 15 occasions since 1894. This was the first time the event had been held outside Scotland. Due to Sandwich's medieval styled architecture and roads, traffic became increasingly difficult to manage, and the club would not see another Open Championship for more than 30 years after Bobby Locke's win in 1949. Along with traffic capabilities, Royal St George's was redeemed as inappropriate test for a modern professional.
YearWinnerScoreWinnersshare (£) R1 R2 R3 R4 Total1894 J.H. Taylor 1st 84 80 81 81 326 301899 Harry Vardon 3rd 76 76 81 77 310 301904 Jack White 80 75 72 69 296 501911 Harry Vardon 5th 74 74 75 80 303 PO 501922 Walter Hagen 1st 76 73 79 72 300 751928 Walter Hagen 3rd 75 73 72 72 292 1001934 Henry Cotton 1st 67 65 72 79 283 1001938 Reg Whitcombe 71 71 75 78 295 1001949 Bobby Locke 1st 69 76 68 70 283 (−5) 3001981 Bill Rogers 72 66 67 71 276 (−4) 25,0001985 Sandy Lyle 68 71 73 70 282 (+2) 65,0001993 Greg Norman 2nd 66 68 69 64 267 (−13) 100,0002003 Ben Curtis 72 72 70 69 283 (−1) 700,0002011 Darren Clarke 68 68 69 70 275 (−5) 900,0002021 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
See also List of golf clubs granted Royal status
References
External links
Golf Club Atlas Guide Course Guide at Opengolf Coverage of 2011 Open on PGA.com Eco-hydrological interactions within a sand dune system in South East England, Pure.