Muirfield lengthened and rough added for Open Championship

Open Championship organisers have announced that Muirfield will be 158 yards longer when the tournament returns to the East Lothian links in July.

Men-only

Dawson also re-iterated the R&A's stance on taking the Open to clubs like Muirfield, Sandwich and Royal Troon, which are male-only, after saying last week courses would not be bullied into changing their policies by the threat of losing the Open. "We come for the golf course," he said. "To think we would not come to a course as wonderful as this is something we could not countenance. It's like taking the Boat Race to the Humber if you did not like (mayor of London) Boris (Johnson's) policies." As with 12 months ago, pace of play regulations will be "applied stringently," with McArthur insisting the game's top professionals will be treated the same as 14-year-old amateur Guan Tianlang, who was penalised a shot for slow play during the Masters. Dawson added: "The question then is, is the system working? All you can do is apply the rules. If the group is out of position they go on the clock and the experienced players catch up and they are fine. "The young amateur did not have the experience and despite many warnings was caught out." No player was penalised for slow play during last year's Open at Lytham, with Dawson adding that the pace of play was "the best we have had for a long time".