In 1967 I was 10 years old. Too young to remember much about Roberto De Vicenzo winning the Open at Hoylake.

I got interested in golf a couple of years later, and in 1971 I went to my first Open Golf Championship at Birkdale. I was 14 and I was totally bowled over by the whole atmosphere of the place. That year, Lee Trevino won.

In 1974 I went to Royal Lytham and sat in a stand on the 18th green to watch Gary Player win the title, and in 1979 I saw Seve do the same, again at Lytham. In 1983 it was Tom Watson at Birkdale, 1988 Seve at Lytham, 1991 Ian Baker Finch at Birkdale, 1996 Tom Lehman at Lytham, 1999 Mark O'Meara at Birkdale, 2001 David Duval at Lytham.

I was there for all of them. Throughout that time, I was always told that Hoylake was a write off as an Open venue. It will never ever come back there, they said.

This week the Open has come back to Hoylake, and from what I have seen it has been a spectacular success and has proved that it will host many an Open in years to come.

So from someone who for 39 years has laboured under the apprehension that Hoylake has had its day and is a thing of the past, my nomination for "Comeback of the Century" is:-

Royal Liverpool Golf Club, Hoylake.

I live virtually 2 minutes from the course and I've been on it. I have to say it has been far more challenging this week than I have ever seen it before.