Track evacuated, World War II bomb found

The historic Royal Liverpool golf course, where Bobby Jones, Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy won the British Open, was evacuated on Friday after a World War II bomb was found on the course. A suspected unexploded ordnance was discovered during routine drainage work, prompting Merseyside Police and an Army bomb disposal team to respond to the venue for the 2023 Open.

The course was evacuated, although the clubhouse, located a safe distance from where the device was found, remained open while a controlled explosion was carried out.

Police confirmed the find, but provided no further details. According to the Secretary of Royal Liverpool, speaking to the website ‘liverpoolecho.co.uk’, the projectile is believed to have been dropped during the Second World War: “It is quite deep, about 4 to 5 feet below the playing surface, and it is believed to be from the war period. So we evacuated the golf course and called in the police and bomb squad to look at it.”

Golf, news

Royal Liverpool is an iconic course, and one of the most famous editions was Tiger Woods’ two-stroke victory over Chris DiMarco in 2006, while eight years later Rory McIlroy lifted the Claret Jug after beating Rickie Fowler and Sergio Garcia by two strokes. The Open Championship returned there in 2023, with Brian Harman emerging victorious.

The Rules of Golf are a set of standards and procedures by which the sport of golf must be played. They are jointly written and administered by the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, the governing body of golf worldwide, except in the United States and Mexico, which are governed by the United States Golf Association. An expert committee composed of members of the R&A and the USGA oversees the rules and refines them every four years. The latest revision came into effect on January 1, 2016. Changes to the rules of golf are generally divided into two main categories: changes that improve understanding and changes that reduce penalties in certain cases to provide balance. The rulebook, entitled “Rules of Golf”, is published regularly and also contains rules for amateur status. In Italy, the Italian Golf Federation is responsible for overseeing competitions by enforcing the rules of the R&A, ensuring that these rules are adhered to by clubs, associations and their members, and for administering the resulting sporting justice, protecting their interests abroad.