(Daily Mail) Two-time Open winner Padraig Harrington calls it one of the most beautiful par threes he has ever seen, something to place alongside the famed Postage Stamp at Royal Troon.
Meanwhile, BBC stalwart Ken Brown — veteran of 14 Opens and five Ryder Cups — has his own view of Hoylake’s brand new 17th hole. ‘It could be a card wrecker,’ Brown tells Mail Sport as he stands by the side of the green, the Dee Estuary shimmering over his left shoulder.
‘It’s going to be a very exciting hole. Players have been coming through here for the first time looking at the best place to miss the green. That tells you everything given that it’s such a short hole. It will be absolutely fascinating to watch.’
The 17th green sits at the western tip of the Hoylake links. Until a few years ago, it was land occupied by the 15th tee. Now the shortest hole on the course, it represents 136 yards of sheer terror.
With a huge expanse of sand at the front, deep bunkers left and right and scrubland to the rear, the elevated green is only half the size of most on the course and appears like an upturned saucer when viewed from the tee.
Players have been working together in practice to try and figure out strategy
