Thursday 23 February 2017 13:49, UK
Darren Clarke is thrilled to see The Open return to Royal St George’s in 2020 and believes the course offers a different challenge to other Open venues.
The R&A announced on Monday that the 149th Open will be played at the Kent venue, the scene of Clarke's memorable victory in 2011.
Clarke held off the challenge of Phil Mickelson and new world No 1 Dustin Johnson six years' ago to lift the Claret Jug, with the 48-year-old relishing the chance to return to Sandwich in 2020.
"Playing a lot of my golf at Royal Portrush helped me immensely at Royal St George's," Clarke said. "It's challenging and the fairways are very undulating - possibly the most of any of the Open venues.
"It is an extremely difficult golf course and I think we've seen that in the past there. If the wind blows, which invariably it does then it will be another fantastic challenge again."
Clarke is in action at this week's Joburg Open - the third event of the 2017 Open Qualifying series - where three players who finish in the top 10 and are not already exempt will earn places in the field for Royal Birkdale.
The Northern Irishman is one of only three players involved in South Africa who is already qualified for the third major of the year, live on Sky Sports, joining Haotong Li and Jbe Kruger.
"I think you've got to give the R&A a huge amount of credit for moving the Claret Jug around the world and for giving the guys an opportunity to qualify for the biggest and best tournament in the world," Clarke added.
"I think a lot of guys won't take the chance to go to the UK to try and qualify, but when they see an opportunity by playing well this week then it's only an added bonus for the tournament."
The deadline is fast approaching for fans to take advantage of early season pricing on tickets for The 146th Open at Royal Birkdale. Simply buy before midnight on the 28th February at TheOpen.com/tickets.
