Sports
A Preview of the 2017 British Open Golf Championship
As one of four majors and the season’s third major in professional golf, the British Open is the oldest championship, first played in 1860. It’s golf in its purest form, held at some of the most iconic links courses in the UK.
The 2017 British Open Golf Championship, also the 146th one, will be held on July 20-23. As one of the golf’s most famous and challenging venues, Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England will host This Year’s Open for the tenth time.
Conducted by the R&A, the Open Championship is a four-round, 72-hole stroke competition, with a cut after 36 holes. There are 156 players in the field. The top 70 players and ties make the cut at the British Open. This year, it will play as a par 70 at 7,156 yards.
The ways for golfers to qualify for the Open Championship include the Open Qualifying Series, Final Qualifying, and other 28 exemption categories.
If the players are still tied at the end of four rounds, they will play sudden death until a winner is determined. It’s the only major to use a four-hole aggregate playoff.
The total purse of the 2017 British Open is $10,250,000, and the winner will take home $1,845,000. As a recognition of the dollar being “the most widely adopted currency for prize money in golf,” this year it will pay its prize money in American dollars instead of British pounds for the first time.
Besides the prize money, the winner of the Open Championship will receive the Claret Jug, widely recognized as the greatest trophy in golf. He will also carry the label of "The Champion Golfer of the Year." Moreover, the winner will receive 100 world ranking points and 600 FedEx Cup points.
According to the industry analysis, the top 5 earners for the 2017 British Open include: Dustin Johnson, Hideki Matsuyama, Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth, and John Rahm.
TV broadcasting (EDT) time for this Open Championship is as follows:
Thursday-Friday, 1:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Golf Channel);
Saturday, 4:30-7 a.m. (Golf Channel), 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. (NBC);
Sunday, 4-7 a.m. (Golf Channel), 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. (NBC).
