150th Open Championship tees off in St Andrews

At 6.35am on Thursday morning, Paul Lawrie’s tee shot at the Old Course got the historic 150th Open Championship underway.
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The Scotsman, the 1999 winner, was an appropriate choice to begin the major at the home of golf.

St Andrews, and wider north east Fife, has been preparing for The Open for over a year, now welcoming fans and players from across the globe to our part of the world.

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The town will no doubt revel under the gaze of the watching millions as the likes of Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth and Tiger Woods aim to etch their name onto the claret jug in 2022.

Tiger Woods of The United States looks on during a practice round prior to The 150th Open at St Andrews Old Course. (Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images)Tiger Woods of The United States looks on during a practice round prior to The 150th Open at St Andrews Old Course. (Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images)
Tiger Woods of The United States looks on during a practice round prior to The 150th Open at St Andrews Old Course. (Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images)

Woods and McIlroy are amongst those who have been in the town for some days, preparing their game for the historic 150th running of the major.

Plenty of eyes will be on both with Woods, who is now playing on a reduced schedule, saying there was no way in the world that he was missing out.

“I don't know how many Open Championships I have left here at St Andrews, but I wanted this one,” he said.

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“It started here for me in '95, and if it ends here in '22, it does.

"If it doesn't, it doesn't.

"If I get the chance to play one more, it would be great, but there's no guarantee.”

At April’s Masters, he scored a one-under 71 on day one but he withdrew from the PGA Championship five weeks on and didn’t play the US Open.

“For the most part of my rehab I was just hoping that I could walk again, you know, walk normal and have a normal life and maybe play a little hit-and-giggle golf with my son or my friends at home,” Woods added.

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“But lo and behold, I've played championship golf this year.

"And once I realised that I could possibly play at a high level, my focus was to get back here at St Andrews to play in this championship.

“It's the most historic one we've ever had. I just didn't want to miss this Open here at the home of golf.”

The winner of The 150th Open at St Andrews will receive 2.5 million dollars in prize money.

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The champion golfer of the year will receive the highest amount in The Open’s history as it celebrates the milestone of its 150th playing.

Play continues until Sunday afternoon visit fifetoday.co.uk for updates.