Muirfield to bare its teeth for Open

Muirfield’s popularity amongst players as a British Open venue will be tested by an extra 158 yards and “plenty” of rough for this year’s Championship from July 18-21.

New tees have been added on seven of the holes, taking the overall distance of the course from 7,034 yards when Ernie Els won in 2002 to 7,192 yards, par 71 this summer.

The biggest difference is on the ninth, where a land swap with neighbours the Renaissance Club has enabled the tee to be moved back almost 50 yards — extending the par-five to 554 yards – with a new bunker added on the right of the fairway and bunkers moved closer to the green.