Saturday 20 July 2019 18:00, UK
The Open has returned to Royal Portrush this week after a 68-year absence and many people have nominated the Dunluce Links course as the star of the show.
The challenging and spectacular links on the north coast of Northern Ireland underwent major changes ahead of The 148th Open and the new layout, which has attracted sell-out crowds, has earned plenty of plaudits from the players.
Here's a selection of the comments about the course following the opening two rounds.....
Tiger Woods: "It's amazing that it hasn't been here in such a long period of time. This is just a wonderful golf course. Everyone who's played it, whether it's guys who grew up here or people who have come up here and just have played, they've always enjoyed it.
"I can understand why. It's straightforward. It is tricky a little bit here and there, but overall it's just a wonderful links golf course."
Lee Westwood: "It's a brilliant atmosphere out there and the course couldn't be better. It's every bit as good as I remember when I played the Amateur Championship here in 1993. The two new holes blend in nicely and the rest of the golf course is just spectacular."
Shane Lowry: "I think this is one of the best golf courses in Ireland, if not the world. It deserves an Open Championship and I think it's shown itself very well this week to the world."
Tom Lehman: "I think it's one of the most beautiful courses I've ever seen. Picturesque. I think it's a tremendous golf course, I really do. But it's definitely different. Very unique golf course. You don't play many links courses with this much fall around the greens, and not falling into the fairway, falling into junk."
Jordan Spieth: "I think it's awesome. No matter where the wind comes from, the easy holes play some of the hardest but they're still fair. The greens are fair, the pin placements. It's got a lot of character to it that maybe won't be recognised by just seeing it on TV, which makes it I think really special."
Tommy Fleetwood: "I think it's great. The golf course I think is such a good major venue. I can't see anybody saying a bad word about it. And obviously, you've seen how it is this week. Logistically for us as players it's been the best ever. Hats off to The R&A. But the crowds here are just fantastic."
Kevin Kisner: "I think it's fantastic. It's just awesome, really. It's longer than most of the links we play, probably. But the perfect placement of bunkers and hard holes into the wind was hard, and the easier holes downwind. I think it's a great mix of holes."
Get the best prices and book a round at one of 1,700 courses across the UK & Ireland
Paul Casey: "It is the architecture but not the architecture from a purely architectural point of view. This has everything. This is an unbelievable golf course. The bunkering is just right. The bunkering is fair. The fairways are generous and flat where they need to be. The best green complexes I've ever seen on a links golf course."
Webb Simpson: "I love it, yeah. I do. It's one of the few courses that every player who's played it that I've talked to this year, they all loved it. Usually, you'll have both sides. But everybody loved it. My expectations were pretty high. I've been impressed."
Alex Noren: "It's beautiful, one of the most beautiful courses I've ever seen. Tricky, fun, fun to watch for them. Fun to play for us. And the Irish crowd and Northern Irish crowd has always been good to me and they know what they're doing."
