by Andrew Gidley

The world’s top golfers’ failure to hit certain fairways in The Open Championship at Sandwich eight years ago has seen the event organisers, the R&A make several “significant” changes to the course when it returns to Kent in July.

Royal St George’s will play 105 yards longer this year than 2003 with new championship tees at holes three, seven, nine and 15, while the three which created most problems, one, 17 and 18 have been changed. Several other adjustments to bunkers have been made elsewhere and the par score reduced by one shot to 70.

Explaining the changes at the official launch of this year’s event on Tuesday, R&A chief executive Peter Dawson, pictured with the famous Claret Jug, said: “At the last Open we were concerned that on those three holes, less than 30 per cent of the world's best players managed to hit those fairways.

“We have widened the fairway by about 12 yards on the first to make it a fairer tee shot, and have eased out the 17 fairway by about six yards, which should improve people’s ability to hit it, and make it challenging as always,

"The 18 has been remodelled more than any other. “We have moved the fairway to the right, and there are new bunkers in the drive zone. We have removed one of the cross bunkers and raised them and the bunker on the left has been brought in closer to the green, and as a result made it a challenging and much fairer finishing hole."

Three final qualifying events have already been held in Australasia, Africa and Asia, with two more to be held - in America next month - and Europe – at Sunningdale on June 6.

Four local qualifying events will also be held at Princes, Deal, Littlestone and Rye in East Sussex.

Prize money has yet to be announced for the event, and more than 180,000 spectators are expected over the four days from July 14-17

Meanwhile South Eastern Trains have confirmed two High Speed services will run direct from St Pancras to Sandwich in both directions –taking just 80 minutes - meaning say the R&A “the new service will bring The Open Championship closer to the capital than ever before.”

Picture: Barry Goodwin