British Open to return to St. Andrews in 2027. One last chance for Tiger Woods?

The British Open is returning to St. Andrews in 2027, perhaps giving Tiger Woods one last chance to play his favorite course and maybe even pause when he crosses the Swilcan Bridge.

The R&A announced Thursday the sport's oldest championship would return to the home of golf for the 31st time, the most of any links in the rotation. It was last held on the Old Course in 2022 when Cameron Smith won with a closing 64 in one of the great closing rounds of a major.

Mark Darbon, who began his role as the new chief executive of the R&A last month, noted his excitement about his first announcement being a return to the Old Course.

“I'm looking forward to the Open’s return to St. Andrews every bit as much as the fans and the players,” Darbon said. “There is something incredibly special about the Open being played on the Old Course and so many of the great champions have walked these fairways since the first staging here in 1873.”

The choice of St. Andrews for 2027 means Muirfield to the east of Edinburgh, which last held the Open in 2013, would not host another until at least 2028, possibly longer to avoid holding consecutive Opens in the same region.

Muirfield, except for interruptions from two World Wars, had never gone longer than 11 years without hosting the Open.

Woods won at St. Andrews in 2000 during his sweep of the majors, an eight-shot victory that made him at age 24 the youngest player to complete the career Grand Slam. He won at St. Andrews again in 2005.

Woods feared his appearance in 2022, when he missed the cut, would be his last, not knowing when the Open would return to the Old Course. But so many of the greatest — Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson — have stopped atop the stone Swilcan Bridge across the 18th fairway to soak it in and allow for commemorative photos.

“Stop! Stop!” photographers yelled to Woods in 2022. Woods removed his cap a few steps before reaching the bridge, but he kept right on walking.

“That was my favorite golf course in the whole world, and if that was it, that was it," Woods said that day. "That’s one of the reasons why I was kind of emotional because I don’t know if I’ll ever play St. Andrews again. I’ll play Open Championships in the future but I don’t know if I’ll be around when it comes back there again.”

Woods played at Royal Troon last year and plans to be at Royal Portrush this July. He would be 51 when the Open returns to St. Andrews in 2027.

The R&A noted that 290,000 spectators attended the Open in 2022 at St. Andrews, the largest crowd of any of the Opens held in Scotland. That might be one reason the R&A opted for a return to St. Andrews over Muirfield, which does not the same capacity for spectators.

That was a theme during Martin Slumbers' tenure as R&A chief, to raise the profile of great events with big crowds.

“St. Andrews is the home of golf and it generates a unique atmosphere for the fans and the players as well as providing an amazing spectacle on television and digitally for millions of viewers around the world," Darbon said. "It promises to be another milestone occasion at one of sport’s greatest and most historic venues and we will be doing everything we can to make it a memorable experience for everyone involved.”

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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

Doug Ferguson, The Associated Press