Hoylake hero John Ball was the first Englishman and first amateur to claim the Open when he won in 1890

Bobby Jones at the 1921 Amateur Championship - he would return to win the Open in 1930, the last amateur to do so

Walter Hagen, the flamboyant American, is congratulated by his wife after winning the 1924 Open at Royal Liverpool

Fans on the march during the 1927 Amateur Championship, Hoylake's distinctive clubhouse is in the background

Having finished third and second in the preceding years, England's Alf Padgham was a popular Open champion in 1936

Fred Daly became Ireland's only Open winner in 1947 - he said he hoped the Claret Jug would enjoy the "change of air"

Jack Nicklaus drew big galleries at Hoylake in 1967 but he was to be pipped at the post in an Open once again

Beating Nicklaus that year was Roberto de Vicenzo - the popular Argentine claimed the title at the age of 44

A refurbished Hoylake hosted a match in 2002 to celebrate the centenary of the first ever England v Scotland match

And now the revitalised Hoylake is ready to retake its place on the Open rotation, 39 years after de Vicenzo's win