Devilish ‘postage stamp’ hole sparks fear at British Open

“It’s an easy hole, but you don’t have to make a lot of mistakes to pay a big price,” Woods said. “You don’t need a 210-yard par 3 to make it difficult.”

Bryson DeChambeau called hole 8 “definitely devilish” even though he hadn’t even played it. He was just talking about the hole’s reputation.

The hole got its name when a 1922 article in Golf Illustrated magazine described the green as “a pitching area reduced to the size of a postage stamp.”

Woods played his first Open as a professional in 1997 and landed in a bunker on Sunday, conceding a triple-bogey 6 and being eliminated from the competition after shooting a score of 64 in his third round.

In the same year, an Englishman named Steve Bottomley conceded a quadruple bogey of 7 in the first round and 10 in the second round.

Not everything on the 8th hole ended in bloodshed. At the 1973 Open, 71-year-old Gene Sarazen hit one of the four hole-in-ones in Open history on that hole. And when asked later if he could describe what he saw, Sarazen said, “No, I can’t see that far anymore.”

Jim “Bones” Mackay, who caddied for Phil Mickelson when he finished second in 2016 and is a course reporter for NBC Sports this week, called the Postage Stamp one of the top five most popular spectator holes in golf.

“And maybe I’ll beat it,” Mackay said. “Maybe one or two. If I was a regular there this week and the gates opened, I’d run out there in a heartbeat to spend the day. As the week goes on, we’ll see quite a few 2s and some 5s or 6s as well. I can’t wait to see how it goes this year, especially if we get a bit of wind.”

Brad Faxon, a former PGA Tour player who is also working for NBC this week, said: “If you were to put together your top 10 list of the best par-3 holes in the world, I don’t think anyone could leave out the Postage Stamp as one of the best holes in the world. It might be No. 1.”

Reigning PGA champion Xander Schauffele called the hole “refreshing.”

“It’s kind of cool to have a hole that’s so short and scary,” Schauffele said. “I think it’s going to be a lot of fun when the wind picks up from the left.”

Colin Montgomerie, who grew up in Troon, described No. 8 as a “potential card killer” and added: “It’s amazing how you can design a course in the 1870s that still stands the test of time today. Almost 150 years old, it can still create excitement and drama.”

Scottie Scheffler, the world’s leading player, said: “Sometimes I get frustrated when the solution to distance is to hit bigger and bigger holes.”

“No. 8 is a good way to almost go back in time and control the ball a little better. You don’t have to make a par 3 230 yards long to make it a great hole. Great short holes like this are fun.”

Until they aren’t anymore.