ST. ANDREWS, Scotland (AP) — A collection of quotes on the Old Course at St. Andrews:
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“St. Andrews has got a character and features that you find nowhere else. You can play a damned good shot and find the ball in a damned bad place. That is the real game of golf.” — George Duncan, 1920 British Open champion.
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“My first impression of St. Andrews was one of strange ambiguousness. I didn’t like it, nor, for that matter, did I hate it. I’ve never been so puzzled after a practice round in my life.” — Tom Watson, who won the Open on five links courses but never St. Andrews.
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“Winning the Open Championship can turn a good player into a star, but winning the Open at St. Andrews can turn a great player into a legend.” — Sir Henry Cotton.
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“I feel like I’m back visiting an old grandmother. She’s crotchety and eccentric, but also elegant, and anyone who doesn’t fall in love with her has no imagination.” — “Champagne” Tony Lema, who won the Open at St. Andrews in 1964.
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“If you’re going to be a player people will remember, you have to win the Open at St. Andrews.” — Jack Nicklaus, who won at St. Andrews in 1970 and 1978.
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“When it blows here, even the seagulls walk.” — Nick Faldo, who won at St. Andrews in 1990.
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“Say! That looks like an old abandoned golf course. What did they call it?” — Sam Snead upon his first sight of St. Andrews. He went on to win in 1946.
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“It’s a great golf hole. It gives you a million options, not one of them worth a damn.” — Tom Kite on the 13th hole.
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“I have no hesitation in allowing that if one built such a hole today you would be sued for incompetence” — Peter Thomson, a five-time Open champion who won at St. Andrews in 1955, on the Road Hole.
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“There is always a way at St. Andrews, although it is not always the obvious way, and in trying to find it, there is more to be learned on this British course than in playing a hundred ordinary American golf courses.” — Bobby Jones, who won the Open at St. Andrews in 1927 and the British Amateur in 1930.
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“I think The Open at St Andrews is arguably the best golf tournament we play.” — Jordan Spieth.
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