Royal Porthcawl Golf Club

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Royal Porthcawl Golf Club
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Royal Porthcawl in 2008
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Royal Porthcawl Golf Club
Club information
Coordinates 51°29′31″N3°43′34″W / 51.492°N 3.726°W / 51.492; -3.726
Location Porthcawl, Wales, U.K.
Established1895 (1891)
TypePrivate
Total holes18
Events hosted Senior Open (2014, 2017, 2023)
The Amateur (7 times)
Walker Cup (1995)
Curtis Cup (1964)
British Masters (1961)
Welsh Golf Classic
University Golf Match
Website royalporthcawl.com
Par 72 (71 on 3 Senior Opens)
Length7,137 yards (6,526 m)
Course rating 76.4

Royal Porthcawl Golf Club is a golf club in Wales in the United Kingdom, located north of Porthcawl and bordering the Bristol Channel.

Contents

The club has hosted many prestigious tournaments including The Amateur Championship on six occasions, the Walker Cup in 1995, the Curtis Cup in 1964, the British Masters in 1961, and European Tour event, the Welsh Golf Classic in the early 1980s. In March 2010, it hosted the University Golf Match between Oxford and Cambridge universities, with Oxford winning 9–6. The Senior Open Championship has been played here three times, in 2014, 2017, and 2023.

History

Royal Porthcawl Clubhouse Royal Porthcawl Golf Club geograph-5660185-by-Alan-Hughes (cropped).jpg
Royal Porthcawl Clubhouse

The club was founded in 1891 by a group of businessmen from Cardiff, with the first nine-hole golf course being laid out on Lock's Common by Charles Gibson the following year. In 1895, the club moved to its present location with the addition of a further nine-hole course. Shortly after that, the new course was extended to eighteen holes, with the original course later being abandoned. Royal status was conferred on the club by Edward VII in 1909. [1]

The Senior Open Championship was played at Royal Porthcawl in 2014 and Bernhard Langer won by thirteen strokes over runner-up Colin Montgomerie; [2] [3] it returned again in 2017, where Langer defeated Corey Pavin to win again. [4] [5]

In 2015, The R&A championship committee chairman Peter Unsworth said that The R&A had "no intention" of hosting The Open Championship at Royal Porthcawl. He added that "We're happy with the number of courses on the rota, and we don't have any intention to go to Porthcawl". It is thought that the infrastructure around Royal Porthcawl does not meet requirements, with roads leading to the course being narrow and that public transport would not cope with the huge crowds in the Open Championships. [6]

Major tournaments hosted at Royal Porthcawl

Scott Gregory was the winner of The Amateur Championship in 2016 at Royal Porthcawl. Amateur champion.jpg
Scott Gregory was the winner of The Amateur Championship in 2016 at Royal Porthcawl.
YearTournamentWinner
1951 The Amateur Championship Flag of the United States.svg Dick Chapman
1961 British Masters Flag of Australia (converted).svg Peter Thomson
1964 Curtis Cup Flag of the United States.svg United States
1965The Amateur Championship Flag of England.svg Michael Bonallack
1973The Amateur Championship Flag of the United States.svg Dick Siderowf
1980The Amateur Championship Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Duncan Evans
1988The Amateur Championship Flag of Sweden.svg Cristian Härdin
1995 Walker Cup Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Great Britain & Flag of Ireland.svg Ireland
2002The Amateur Championship Flag of Spain.svg Alejandro Larrazábal
2014 Senior Open Championship Flag of Germany.svg Bernhard Langer
2016The Amateur Championship Flag of England.svg Scott Gregory
2017 Senior Open Championship Flag of Germany.svg Bernhard Langer
2023 Senior Open Championship Flag of Germany.svg Alex Čejka
2025 AIG Women's Open Flag of Japan.svg Miyū Yamashita

See also

References

  1. "Club History". Royal Porthcawl Golf Club. Archived from the original on 20 January 2011. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
  2. "Bernhard Langer wins by 13 shots". ESPN. Associated Press. 27 July 2014. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  3. "The Senior Open Championship pres. by Rolex". ESPN. 27 July 2014. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  4. "2014 Senior Open Championship set for Royal Porthcawl". The R&A. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
  5. "Senior Open Championship to return to Royal Porthcawl in 2017". PGA European Tour. Retrieved 26 November 2014.
  6. "Open 2015: R&A have 'no intention' of using Royal Porthcawl". BBC . 15 July 2015. Retrieved 4 September 2021.