Founded in 1889, the Royal Birkdale Golf Club’s history plays like a roll call of great golf events: eight British Opens, two Ryder Cups, Walker and Curtis Cups, and multiple Woman’s British Opens.

This week, the club in the northwest England town of Southport adds to its prodigious past when it plays host to British Open No. 9. TSN airs all four rounds Thursday through Sunday, July 17-20.

The par-70 Royal Birkdale is considered England’s top course and offers a number of challenges along its 7,180-yard length, not the least of which is the nearly constant wind off the Irish Sea. Other obstacles golfers will have to cope with include towering sand dunes and treacherous rough.

The last time the Open was played here in 1998, Mark O’Meara overcame rain and wind to win in a four-hole playoff. Padraig Harrington took last year’s tournament at Carnoustie in Scotland, also in a playoff.

Without Tiger Woods in the field, Harrington and the other top pros, including Phil Mickelson, Vijay Singh, Justin Leonard, Adam Scott, Geoff Ogilvy, Trevor Immelman and Sergio Garcia, will have an easier time of it in their pursuit of the Claret Jug.

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