The organizers of the 149th Open had to realize that they will not be able to hold the event on the planned date (12-19 July 2020).
The 149th Open will be held at Royal St George’s Golf Club between 11-18 July 2021.
It will be the 15th time when Royal St George’s Golf Club is the host venue of The Open. The club is also the first golf club to host The Open outside Scotland.
The Partnership, which is comprised of some of the finest golf clubs in the county and Visit Kent, has spent the last year gearing up to stage the prestigious major but despite the disappointment of the cancellation, it is keen to look to the future and focus on the positive aspects of hosting The Open next year from 11 to 18 July instead of this July.
Tim Checketts, Secretary at Royal St George’s Golf Club, a member of the Golf in Kent Partnership says
“However, we now have an opportunity to build on the huge amount of work already in place, to ensure that The 149th Open at Royal St George’s Golf Club will be the biggest and best yet and a true celebration of the return of major golf to this country.”
In addition to following in the footsteps of golfing legends at Royal St George’s, golfers can also take on the championship links at Royal Cinque Ports, home of The Open in 1909 and 1920, and Prince’s where Gene Sarazen first tried out his famous sand wedge when the major was held there in 1932.
Other must-play layouts include the atmospheric links at Littlestone, the Jack Nicklaus Design International Course at the London Golf Club, the picturesque parkland courses at Hever and Leeds Castles and the classic Harry Colt design at Canterbury.
Meanwhile, Kent’s extensive coastline has given the county two spectacular clifftop courses at North Foreland and Walmer & Kingsdown, known as the ‘Club on the Cliffs’, both with year-round golf with unrivaled views over the English Channel.
The county has more recently developed a reputation as a gastronomic destination thanks to the array of local produce such as Dover Sole and Whitstable oysters and its plethora of Michelin-starred restaurants and gastropubs.
Kent is also home to Britain’s oldest brewer, Shepherd Neame, and the Wine Garden of England which produces some of the country’s finest wines.
Images by Jason Livy