HOYLAKE (England) — Adam Scott looked at the hole in a bunker on the right side of the 17 th putting green at Royal Liverpool, during a practice round Tuesday evening, and then turned to British Open defending champion Cameron Smith, and said “That’s Death.”
He then threw three balls in it and jumped inside the bunker. Scott nodded yes when Smith asked him, “Lobbie?” after he had thrown two of the balls out. He said, “Let’s avoid going in there this coming week.”
Royal Liverpool has seen a few changes in the last year since the British Open was held there, where Scott finished at T-5. The most notable change is the new par-3 hole 17 the which replaced the 15 the.
The new hole, known as “Little Eye,” is 136 yards long and has a raised green with a raised horizon line. It features the Dee Estuary in the background, which is guarded on all sides by bunkers that have massive fall-off zones.
Scott commented, “It is a beautiful hole but it is pretty extreme.” “Everything else is fairly straightforward, but this one has lots of drama.” It’s going to be entertaining, I think. “You’ll see some twos and fives but hopefully not more than five.”
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Royal Liverpool’s head professional John Heggarty stated that any shot missed the green would leave a “devilishly hard” up and down in order to save par.
Jon Rahm said, “I can see what they were trying to do.” The old par-3 15, was a completely different hole. You have a downhill short hole, most likely downwind. All the edges slope towards the middle of the green. I thought it was an excellent hole. “You could make a par, but if you missed the green a bogey awaited.”
Royal Liverpool has changed its layout to accommodate the new hole. The 16th hole has been renamed the 15th. What was the 17th hole, is now no. The old par-3 15th has been removed.
On July 16, 2023, the new 17th green was pictured in practice for the British Open 2023 at Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Hoylake. (Photo by Paul Ellis/AFP).
Rahm said, “This time it was a turtle shell par-3 that was really hard.” If you make a good drive and put it on green, then you are in a great position to birdie. If you miss the hole, you are looking at bogey. “It’s difficult to judge anything as fair or unfair, because the course is so short.”
He added, “It is much more difficult now than before.”
Brooks Koepka is a golfer who loves a challenge. It should be no surprise, then, that he likes the new look 17 th.
He said: “I am a great believer in short par-3s. Make it difficult. Just like that.” “I believe all the best par-3s ever designed in the world are 165 yards and shorter — the 12th at Augusta or the 17 that TPC Sawgrass. Postage Stamp, (eighth place at Royal Troon )…I love it.”
Smith said that there was not much room for mistake when he hit his 7-iron into a wind of 30-40 mph on Sunday.
Matthew Jordan, an English qualifier who grew up on the course and played as a regular member, is just as curious to hear what other players think about the new hole. He is concerned that weather may be the key to the success of this hole. He said: “I don’t think that if there’s no wind at 120 yards and the ground is soft, it will create the drama you want.
The world’s No. 2 is also an Englishman. Matt Fitzpatrick, the world’s No. 9, called the hole “interesting.” When asked to elaborate further, he said, “I will leave it at that.”
Billy Foster, Fitzpatrick’s caddie, may have expressed an opinion that he and Fitzpatrick share.
Foster told Golf Monthly, “Unfortunately, I think that this Open Championship will be remembered as a tragedy.” “There was no problem with the par three that they had before, and I think they have created a monstrosity.”
Martin Ebert, the British Open Doctor, conceived the new hole in 2019. He fixes courses on the rota in preparation for their next star role, and makes sure that they can withstand the modern technology. Ebert has a beef with the “monstrosity” label that was given to his work, but he agrees with Foster when he says someone could mess up Little Eye on Sunday.
Ebert said to Links Magazine, “I can imagine that the leader standing on the 71 sttee will not be confident even with a 3- or 4-stroke lead.”
He didn’t spend too much time on Tuesday when he visited the professionals to compare his work with theirs.
He said, “It is even a little wet for me.”
