The Open For The Ages

What if the greatest Champions in golf could compete at St Andrews once again?

From Thursday 16 to Sunday 19 July, this concept will be brought to life through ‘The Open For The Ages’ – an innovative project culminating in a three-hour broadcast production that will show many of the best players of the last 50 years battling it out for the Claret Jug at the home of golf.

Real footage from past Championships at the Old Course has been expertly edited and woven together with modern graphics and new commentary to produce a compelling narrative, designed to recreate the drama of an Open final round. What is more, this unique event will give fans the opportunity to experience the likes of Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Seve Ballesteros, Sir Nick Faldo, Tom Watson, Rory McIlroy and more all contending together at St Andrews for the first time.

The broadcast – supported by HSBC and NTT DATA, both Official Patrons of The Open - will be made available via TV, digital and social media channels from 11am to 2pm BST on Sunday 19 July, the day The 149th Open was originally scheduled to conclude at Royal St George’s. With that Championship having been pushed back to next year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, The R&A is eager to offer fans the opportunity to engage with a special celebration of The Open in 2020.

Martin Slumbers, Chief Executive of The R&A, said: “We are all keenly feeling the absence of The Open from the global sporting calendar this year and so we hope that this broadcast will generate real interest and enjoyment for the millions of golf and sports fans who closely follow the Championship every year.

“Golf is one of the very few sports where this concept can be created and brought to life. The way in which the sport is filmed allows us a truly unique opportunity to reimagine history and bring together the greatest players from many different eras on a scale which has not been done before, either in golf or in other sports.”

The winner of ‘The Open For The Ages’ will be determined by a data model developed by NTT DATA, which combines the votes of over 10,000 fans with player career statistics to calculate the victorious golfer.

TheOpen.com and The Open’s YouTube and Facebook channels will provide comprehensive coverage of ‘The Open For The Ages’, including in-play clips, leaderboards and highlights of the first three rounds from Thursday 16 July to Saturday 18 July.

In addition, the final-round production will be shared by the R&A’s international broadcast partners, including Sky Sports in the UK, NBC Golf Channel in the United States of America, and TV Asahi in Japan. Commentators for the programme include Ewen Murray, Butch Harmon, Nick Dougherty and Iona Stephen.

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