Wirral emerges as favourite for The Open golf championship in 2014

May 6 2009 by Liam Murphy, Liverpool Daily Post

Courses for The Open so far announced are Turnberry this year, on July 16 to 19, and then St Andrews in 2010, Royal St George's, in Kent, in 2011, back to the North West at Royal Lytham in 2012 and Muirfield in 2013.

The R&A usually announce the venues some four years ahead of the event, and traditionally they have been held at St Andrews every five years – meaning it is likely to return there in 2015.

However, a spokesman said there was “no rota” and that the location of the event was “at the discretion of the Championship Committee”, which would not make an announcement until this time next year.

Last night, David Cromie, secretary of the Royal Liverpool Golf Club, said they had not heard anything about when The Open would return to Hoylake.

He said: “The R&A would not make an announcement, or offer it to the club, at this point.

“If we were going to be offered it, then it would not be until next year, or after that.

“There were 39 years between Hoylake last hosting it, which shows nothing is guaranteed.”

Following the 2006 Open, it was widely expected that the event could return to Hoylake within a decade and the chief executive of the R&A Peter Dawson confirmed after that competition that the course was back on the championship calendar.

Asked in July, 2006, if the Open would be returning to Hoylake, Mr Dawson said: “If they will have us back – absolutely.”

The four-day event, preceded by four practice days, had seen record crowds for an Open in England and the second highest ever at the time.