Open Golf Championship
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The biggest names in the world of golf head to the North West of England this July, as Royal Lytham & St Annes hosts the 2012 Open Championship.
The biggest golfing stars, as well as thousands upon thousands of fans, will converge on Lytham & St Annes between 19-22 July for the world's oldest major golf championship, and the only championship of the four majors to be held outside the US.
Darren Clarke, who defied odds of 125-1 to win the coveted Claret Jug in 2011, will head to the Lancashire course looking to perform another shock to retain his crown; but he will face tough competition, with no fewer than 17 previous Open champions in the field - as well as some of the world's most talented players.
Tiger Woods will be the man that many fans will be eager to see, with the three-time Open champion the favourite with the bookmakers to claim his fifteenth major success.
The strongest challenge to Tiger is likely to come from the Brits, including Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy - tipped for big things after his victory at the 2011 US Open, Lee Westwood and current world number one, Luke Donald.
However, eyes will also be on former champions Padraig Harrington, Louis Oosthuizen and David Duval - who won the Open the last time it was held at the Royal Lytham & St Annes course back in 2001.
Last year's Open Championship took place on the Royal St. George course in Sandwich on the Kent coast.
Check the five day weather forecast for Royal Lytham and St. Annes Golf Club Weather before heading to the course to see the Open Championships.
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Open Golf Championship
Open Golf Championship
15-22 July - Check the weather forecast before heading to Royal Lytham and St. Annes for the Open Golf Championship.
Whilst Scotland has dominated The British Open since it was first held in 1860 at Prestwick, with Scots winning the first 28 Open Championships, it has been the Americans who have been celebrating Open success in recent years. Darren Clarke ended a 12 year drought for a British winner last year - can another Brit pick up the Claret Jug in 2012?
Grant Moir from the R&A and Alistair Beggs, a consultant from STRI, explains how the Met Office forecasts help with the preparation for the Open tournament.
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Weather and the Open Championship
(PDF, 86 kB)
Golf and the weather
The Open Championship is always played on traditional links courses. Being on the coast they are renowned for hard, fast fairways which come from sunny days and drying winds. This makes for challenging competition, which can be accentuated by the typical British weather elements of wind, rain, fog or thunderstorms.
The wet weather has played its part in preparations for this year's Championship at Royal Lytham & St Annes on the Lancashire coast. However, through the hard work and good maintenance of the greenkeeping staff, the course has maintained reasonable firmness throughout the wet weather, and has drained well even after the very heavy downpours. Perhaps not surprisingly, the rough is healthy as a result of the wet weather and warm days over the last month.
Rain makes conditions unpleasant for players and spectators alike, and can stop a competition if the greens and fairways flood. But it is thunderstorms that spell danger; lightning poses a significant risk to everyone on the course and play has to be suspended until the storm passes.
For further information about the Open visit the Open golf official website.
You can check the weather forecast for other events through the Events Calendar.
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