The 1999 Championship was on a plate for Jean Van de Velde at Carnoustie.

He was within touching distance of becoming the first Frenchman for 92 years to lift the Claret Jug.

All he needed was to avoid a triple bogey on the 72nd hole.

But he failed to do so and also waded in water trying to play a near-impossible shot.

The ensuing three-way play-off saw Paul Lawrie become the first Scotsman to win the title on native soil in 68 years.

St Andrews wins the contest for most popular Open venue.

The Royal and Ancient has hosted the tournament no fewer than 26 times out of the 130 times it has been played.

St Andrews first held the Open in 1873 when Tom Kidd claimed the title.

Tiger Woods set a low-scoring record at St Andrews in 2000 when he cruised to victory on 19-under-par and in so doing became the youngest player to win all four Majors.

Other winners have included three-time champion Nick Faldo, Seve Ballesteros, Jack Nicklaus, Bobby Locke and five-time champion James Braid.

Nine years after the club was founded, Prestwick held the first Open championship for eight professionals in 1860.

Willie Park was the first to win a rather fetching red leather belt but a year later, the course responded to pleas from outsiders and unanimously resolved that the "the belt... on all future occasions, shall be open to all the world".

Hoylake and the Royal Liverpool club last staged the championship in 1967 but dropped off the rota of Open courses because of insufficient space for the tented village, an inadequate practice ground and traffic problems.

However, the club has recently bought 10 acres of land adjacent to the course, and will return to the rota, possibly for 2006.

Do you remember that classic Open at Prince's?

Probably not, because the course has held the Open only once.

Located at Sandwich on the Kent coast, it was the scene of a Gene Sarazen win which helped the American on his way to becoming the first player to win all four Majors.

These days the course hosts qualifying events for The Open - that is if its neighbour Royal St George's hosts the Major.

Arguably the highest quality finish of recent times came at Royal St George's when Greg Norman shot 64 to edge out Nick Faldo and Bernhard Langer in 1993 - the Australian achieved a championship record low total of 267.

Presenting Norman with the Claret Jug, Gene Sarazen declared: "That was the most awesome display and the greatest championship I have seen in my 70 years of golf."