Hole sixteen
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PAR 4, 336 YARDS
Having been shortened by 23 yards, the 16th is now Royal Lytham’s shortest par 4. It is far from straightforward though, as the tee shot plays blind over sand dunes placed to the right of the fairway, and any long attempt o�0;1D; the tee will inevitably fall into a bunker scattered on the left of the fairway. So short is the 16th, at 336 yards, that the well placed fairway bunkers – one of which is new on the left – merge seamlessly into the arrangement of greenside traps. It was on this hole in 1979 that Seve hit the shot that saw him dubbed the ‘car park champion’. Seve described his feat as “destino”, and by the time he returned to Lytham to win the Open again in 1988, he had long lost the ‘car park’ tag. Emphasising the point, on 16 in the final round this time, Seve played a one-iron o�0;1D; the tee and a 9-iron to within inches of the hole, to set-up another birdie in a spectacular final-round 65.
LAWRIE: This is a short par 4 so it offers a little respite but the blind tee shot makes it tricky and you really have to commit to your line. Nowadays, some guys will fancy their chances of knocking it on there, but there’s a bunker that’s right in line with the green from the tee that could catch them out. Again, most of the field will knock it in short of the fairway bunkers and leave a short iron to a green guarded heavily to the right. This is a hole you should be taking advantage of, but it can also leave you with a nasty bogey.
WATSON: You can never forget the finish at Lytham – the 16th, 17th and 18th holes – that provide a great final act. The 16th is a ‘shortish’ hole, and it will always be remembered for how Seve Ballesteros won The Open in 1979, having driven his ball into the car park off 16. Even though he got a break from his tee shot, thanks to it fi nishing so far right, it still was not an easy second. Seve played a quality wedge shot that stopped nicely and he made the putt. The birdie effectively sealed that particular episode of Open history at Royal Lytham. It was that Open Championship in 1979 that set the pattern for Seve’s golf. From that moment, people came to realise that Seve was a golfer who could make the unexpected happen, even when his ball did not seem to be in play.
