Carnoustie Golf Links is widely regarded as the most difficult course to have ever played on The Open Championship, with many calling it “golf’s greatest test”, proving that it will challenge any player to their knees.
Just ask Jean Van de Velde, who in 1999 was leading by three strokes at the 72nd hole but then committed one of the most unlikely triple bogeys in major championship history to force a playoff. Though he ultimately lost to Paul Lawrie in overtime, Van de Velde’s finish will forever live in golf infamy. His collapse on the 18th, then a 487-yard par-4, perfectly symbolized just how demanding the Scottish course could be.
This is cruel, which is why Karnousti is colloquially known as “Carnasty” among fans and critics.
It’s no wonder that just 18 players finished under par in this year’s Senior Open after the first round on Thursday. The Senior Open returns to Carnoustie for the first time since 2016, when Englishman Paul Broadhurst won his first of two senior majors. Carnoustie also hosted the British Open in 2018 and the Women’s Open in 2021.
“The golf course is tough. There’s a lot of defensive shots on the course,” explained Padraig Harrington, who shot 1-under 71 on Thursday.
“The sixth hole is out of bounds on the left. The eighth hole is out of bounds and has a lot of bunkers. The eighteenth hole is just trouble everywhere you look. It’s an intimidating golf course.”
Harrington, of course, won the 2007 British Open at Carnoustie, beating Sergio Garcia in a playoff. But his march to victory, just as van de Velde’s had eight years earlier, nearly fell apart on the 18th hole. Harrington twice visited perhaps the most famous Barry Burn in golf, which crosses the 18th fairway about 50 yards short of the green. The result was a double bogey on the 72nd hole, and the Claret Jug would have gone back to Spain with Garcia had he not missed a 10-foot putt for par moments later.
But despite his win on this course, Harrington still has nightmares about it.
“There’s a lot of demons out there, but we’re having fun here,” Harrington said.
“So I can enjoy the fact that I won here and I can enjoy the reception I get here.”
Harrington enters the second round at Carnoustie three strokes behind Canada’s Steven Ames, who shot an excellent 4-under 68 and made just one bogey on the course’s toughest hole Thursday, the 248-yard par-3 16th.
“I hit some good shots, I hit some good shots, but unfortunately I missed a couple of birdie putts,” Ames said.
“But overall, this week is a good test for us. So, 68 was a lot of fun.”
A four-under 68 is a good bet for anyone on this golf course, especially the 133 golfers who shot over par on the first day, including Bernhard Langer, who shot a three-over 75 without a golf cart.
Van de Velde, returning to Karnoustie 25 years after that infamous defeat, also shot 75.
There’s no doubt that Carnasty has bared its fangs this week and will continue to do so for as long as this championship lasts.
Jack Mirko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation Playing Through. Follow For more golf articles, follow us on Twitter Jack Mirko In the same way.
