Matt Fitzpatrick’s caddie, Billy Foster, is far from impressed with the new 17th hole at Royal Liverpool, which has been likened to the 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass.
Nicknamed “Little Eye,” the 136-yard, par-3 17th hole replaces the par-3 15th hole from The 2014 Open, and it plays out toward the Irish Sea and Wales, looking onto the Dee Estuary. It features a small, raised green that is surrounded by bunkers, some as deep as 12 feet below the hole, and fall-off areas.
“Unfortunately I think this Open Championship could be remembered for a calamity that happened,” Foster, told Golf Monthly.
“There was nothing wrong with the little par three they had before and they’ve created a monstrosity in my opinion.
“The green is very small. If you land it a foot short it rolls back into a coffin that’s underground, so deep. This is challenging the best golfers in the world that will be making 6s, 7s and 8s.
The Open configuration means that, like the treacherous 17th at Sawgrass, ‘Little Eye’ will be the penultimate hole, a place where the Claret Jug could easily be won or lost. pic.twitter.com/WmO6Az6yYr
— Royal Liverpool Golf Club (@RLGCHoylake) June 29, 2023
“God help the 15 or 20 handicapper that plays it on a weekly basis because it’s near enough impossible for them.
“I just hope someone doesn’t have a three-shot lead playing that hole and make a 9 – it could happen.
“This week already it has varied between an 8-iron and a 5-iron, you land it on there it’s just going to bounce off into trouble everywhere.”
The creation of the new 17th hole allowed for the construction of a new back championship tee on the 18th hole, which significantly extends the hole to as long as 609 yards. The new back tee is also further right and the out-of-bounds line down the right side has been moved 20 yards left, significantly altering the width of the fairway.
