Royal St George's Golf Club

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. 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. 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 Official website 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.