Unlike the United States Golf Association (USGA), which announced the U.S. Open venue for the next 25 years through 2051, the R&A prefers to wait until the last minute to announce the course that will host the British Open Championship.
Stay tuned for Thursday's announcement. R&A chooses St Andrews Old Course The 155th British Open also marks the 100th anniversary of the legendary Bobby Jones becoming the first amateur to conquer the Old Course, winning by six strokes over Jersey's Aubrey Boomer and Englishman Fred Robson.
Three years later, Jones won the amateur championship at the Old Course, cementing his status as a legend in the home of golf. Almost 30 years later, in 1958, the City of St. Andrews bestowed a special honor on Jones, appointing him a Freeman of the City. Before Jones, the only American to win this award was Benjamin Franklin in 1759. Jack Nicklaus recently became the third American to earn this honor in 2022.
The 155th British Open Champion concludes a monumental major championship run in 2027, with two other historic courses in the spotlight. Like every year, Augusta National welcomes the world's best players to the Masters Tournament in April. And in June, the U.S. Open returns to Pebble Beach for its seventh time. Nicklaus, of course, won his first U.S. Open in 1972, and Gary Woodland won his only major title in 2019, beating Brooks Koepka by three points.
But the 2027 major calendar includes the PGA Championship, which will unfortunately remain a sore spot. The first major championship will be held at PGA Field Ranch East in Frisco, Texas, currently the home of the PGA of America. The course was designed by renowned architects Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner and opened in May 2023, hosting the Senior PGA Championship shortly thereafter. Steve Stricker defeated Padraig Harrington in the play-off that week, but the golf course itself was unremarkable. Instead, the seniors appear to be playing in a cow pasture, an escape from the wilderness that makes you think they're in rural West Texas rather than a short drive north of Dallas. did. The course also doesn't have the history or scenery of Augusta National, Pebble Beach or St. Andrews, making it even more difficult to compete with these venerable institutions in the golf world. Some would argue that these other courses are the three most famous courses in the world, the holy trinity of golf. Meanwhile, at PGA Frisco, pros will compete on a brand new layout that fans won't be familiar with. Yes, I received the course Rave review from Golf Digest magazine Thanks to its small, contoured greens, 7,800-yard long layout, and abundant bunkering, you'll be able to challenge the best players in the world. But throwing it into the PGA Championship rotation seems a little too short, especially this year.
Imagine if iconic American venues such as Oakland Hills, Winged Foot, and Kiawah Island, well-known to golf fans around the world, hosted the 2027 PGA Championship instead. If so, golfers and fans will point out that 2027 will likely be the best year ever for major host sites. Instead, we have an outstanding PGA Championship that may make some fans nervous simply because it's an unknown. But given what we've seen of the 2023 Senior PGA Championship unfold, we're not at all impressed, and it probably won't even come close to the other three courses that will be held that year.
Jack Mirko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation's Playing Through. Follow him on X @jack_milko.
