“Every golf course in the world that has been awarded the dubious honour of the Royal Charter has two things in common: They have some of the best courses with some of the worst members.” — David Feherty

The home of golf’s Portugal Masters has been sold for just under €70m by its owners, the Oceanico Group, to a business consortium headed up by footballer John Terry’s agent.

It was suggested to Ernie Els that the US Golf Association should make Oakmont Country Club its marquee US Open venue and provide the sort of reverence that the R&A extends to the Old Course in St Andrews.

It’s not just the members of the European Tour but the thousands of fans who follow the exploits of Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry, Justin Rose and all the other stars who will miss official starter Ivor Robson, who hung up the microphone for the last time in Dubai on Sunday.

World number one Rory McIlroy will not defend his WGC-Bridgestone Invitational title next week as he continues his recovery from an ankle injury.

Golfing traditionalists would consider the suggestion to be downright heresy but more and more people are wondering whether the Old Course at St Andrews has outlived its usefulness as an Open Championship venue.

If Arnold Palmer romanticised the American pilgrimage to the Open Championship and Jack Nicklaus cemented its competitive importance, Tom Watson humanised it.

Pádraig Harrington was not getting carried away by his best round at The Open in seven years but is hoping the weather does cause “havoc” as the two-time champion bids to close the gap on the leaders at St Andrews this afternoon.

Dustin Johnson did not manage 18 holes but he showed enough in a second round cut short by fading light to stay just out in front in The 144th Open Championship last night at St Andrews.

Barely had the tears dried and the emotions been choked back from Wednesday’s farewell to St Andrews by Arnold Palmer when it felt like you needed to start them all over again in Thursday’s opening round of the 144th Open Championship.

Ask five golfers for the keys to success around St Andrews’ Old Course, host to this week’s 144th Open Championship, and you’re likely to get five different answers.

When in a cool, gray dusk in the shadows of the Old Course Hotel Tiger Woods turned from his practice-putting at the 16th fairway to see that Jordan Spieth was the next player approaching, the philosophical question could have been asked.

After a season in the doldrums, Graeme McDowell will embark on his 12th Open Championship having turned something of a corner with his game and slowly rebuilding the belief he can once again contend at the highest level.

In the surrounds of the richest golf ambiance anywhere and on the threshold of the oldest championship the sport knows, it probably isn’t the proper time to ask if you’ve ever heard of the Greater Milwaukee Open or the Quad City Classic or something called the BC Open, or even the LaCantera Texas Open.

Seven years ago Pádraig Harrington suffered a wrist injury that seemed almost certain to derail his defence of the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale.

So what does a Ryder Cup captain do, once he’s delivered the trophy to his bosses at the European Tour?

There was a time when it was fair to question whether American golfers even owned passports. So spoiled, so comfortable, so insular in their PGA Tour world were they that their travels outside the home fence were few and far between.

When Jack Nicklaus said that Merion “acre for acre may be the best test of golf in the world”, he certainly wasn’t considering the course from the point of view of tournament logistics.

Cheltenham clerk of the course Simon Claisse is satisfied the Festival can go ahead without a hitch, despite a freezing cold Monday in the Cotswolds.

All that is needed is sunshine and the people come, Ballybunion residents tell Donal Hickey, but the consensus in the Kerry resort is that the bad weather has made it the worst season in memory

So keen is Rory McIlroy to move his already glittering career onto the next level, he would regard victory in this week’s Open Championship as “my biggest achievement in golf”.

The 2015 Open Championship will be staged at St Andrews, the R&A have announced.

Ryder Cup hero Graeme McDowell believes he faces a tough task to book his place on Europe’s team to defend the trophy in Chicago next year.

On more than one occasion here I’ve said that racing can bring you through the full range of emotions and yesterday was another illustration of that for us.

LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN never let the silver Claret Jug out of his sight as he celebrated into the morning hours at the Jigger Inn across from the 17th fairway at St Andrews.

EASY as it is to get lost in wonderment as to how this guy from South Africa, Louis Ooosthuizen, snuck up on us, the intrigue with which we depart the Auld Gray Toon is plentiful enough to spread out over a number of topics.

WHEN he drove into a bush at the second and took a penalty drop on the way to a double bogey six, Shane Lowry began to wonder if he could even break 80 in yesterday’s second round of the Open Championship at St Andrews, let alone finish among the top 30 by the end of proceedings.

Rory McIlroy’s dream of becoming the youngest Open champion for 117 years turned into a nightmare with an 80 at windswept St Andrews today.

WHEREAS young guns Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry delighted themselves and the many Irish fans at St Andrews yesterday and others like Darren Clarke, 70, Graeme McDowell, 71 and Colm Moriarty and Gareth Maybin, both 72, were reasonably happy with their scores, it all became something of a trial for two times former winner Pádraig Harrington.

WHEN he arrived at St Andrews on Sunday and took a tour of the Old Course, 45-mile-per-hour winds were out of the west, meaning you could just about reach the par four 18th green with a hybrid or even a long iron.

Ian Poulter hit his first shot at St Andrews out of bounds yesterday, but still backed himself to win the Open Championship.

Two-time Open champion Padraig Harrington has defended the changes made to the famous 17th hole at St Andrews for this week’s 150th championship.

“ON the tee, from Spain, Severiano Ballesteros.”

Nick Faldo believes Graeme McDowell's US Open triumph can open the floodgates for more Europeans, as happened 30 years ago when Seve Ballesteros broke through in America.

Graeme McDowell was adapting to life as a major champion tonight and already harbouring thoughts of adding to his newly won US Open crown.

ANY attempts to put Tiger Woods off at The Open in July will result in people being ejected.

PÁDRAIG HARRINGTON believes he can make 2010 a landmark year by becoming the first man to win all four majors in the same calendar year.

The United States lead by three points going into the historic third-day eight singles finale to the 35th Curtis Cup match over the Old Course, St Andrews.

This afternoon’s meeting at the Cheltenham Festival has been abandoned due to high winds. Officials made the startling announcement after another morning of intense gusts at Prestbury Park.

ONE of the temporary structures at Cheltenham racecourse could be out of commission for the four-day Festival meeting after being damaged by strong winds.

Cheltenham clerk of the course Simon Claisse reports further ease in the ground ahead of the first day of the Festival meeting.

Officials at Cheltenham are currently experiencing the calm before the storm - literally.

Mhairi McKay and Janice Moodie believe it is important for Scotland to continue hosting the Ladies European Tour in order to help the growth of the women’s game in their homeland.