Golf News:History has been made with the announcement that Royal St George's in Kent and Royal Lytham and St Annes in Lancashire were named as the venues for the 2011 and 2012 British Open Championships.
Even though the event dates back to 1860, this will be the first time it has been staged in England two years in a row.
Sandwich has hosted the championship 13 times, the last occasion being in 2003 when little-known American Ben Curtis, playing in the first major of his life, pulled off a shock, one-stroke victory after Dane Thomas Bjorn, three ahead with four holes to play, bogeyed the 15th, double-bogeyed the 16th and bogeyed the 17th.
It was the first course outside Scotland to stage the event, in 1894 when John H Taylor won the first of his five titles, and Harry Vardon won two of his record six championships on the course in 1899 and 1911.
American Walter Hagen was also a double winner there and other early champions include Henry Cotton and Bobby Locke, but the club fell off the rota from 1949 until 1981.
Lytham, now able to look forward to staging the British Open for the 11th time a week before the Olympics start in London, last did so in 2001 when American David Duval finished three ahead of Sweden's Niclas Fasth.
That day is also remembered for Ian Woosnam being penalised two strokes when joint leader after his caddie discovered on the second tee that there was an extra club in the bag.
Bobby Jones was the inaugural winner at the course in 1926.
Padraig Harrington will defend the Claret Jug at Royal Birkdale in Southport next July and the British Open then visits Turnberry and St Andrews in Scotland.
