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For such a little thing, the eighth hole will certainly be a huge obstacle to overcome for whomever is to lift the Claret Jug at The 152nd Open.

As The Open Championship heads back to Royal Troon this week, fans will enjoy seeing the return of its iconic hole - 'The Postage Stamp'.

The Postage Stamp will provide great drama at the 2024 Open
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The Postage Stamp will provide great drama at the 2024 OpenCredit: Getty

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As one of the shortest holes on the Open rota, it provides an intriguing test. The Postage Stamp could play as short as 99 yards on the scorecard, no more than a flick of a wedge. An easy birdie, no?

Not a chance. The tiny green and treacherous bunkers and drop-offs that surround it, make Troon’s eighth one of the most fabled holes in world golf.

Many players in the field would bite your hand off now for four consecutive pars come Sunday’s end, as an embarrassingly large score awaits for any slight mistake.

Just ask Tiger Woods.

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The 15-time major winner was in contention to claim glory at the 1997 Open.

He stepped up to The Postage Stamp in high spirits but left its green with his tail between his legs, running up a triple-bogey six to end his trophy hopes.

Woods recorded a triple-bogey at the 8th in the 1997 Open
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Woods recorded a triple-bogey at the 8th in the 1997 OpenCredit: AFP

At the same tournament, England’s Steve Bottomley took a seven at the hole in his opening round and a ten during his second before missing the cut. "It's an easy hole, really, but somehow, I let it ruin my tournament,” Bottomley remarked.

But the highest score in Postage Stamp history goes to unlucky German amateur Hermann Tissies.

He took five shots to escape the infamous ‘coffin’ bunker in 1950 before eventually carding a 15!

Others, however, have had greater success.

The legendary Gene Sarazen, Grand Slam winner and Open champion in 1932, sank a hole-in-one at The Postage Stamp during his penultimate Championship appearance, aged 71.

Some fifty years earlier, Sarazen had missed the cut at the first Open to be held at Troon.

'The Squire' said: "For many years, the Postage Stamp hole had haunted me, I feared it, so when I walked onto the tee and faced the wind, I must admit I was somewhat nervous. I selected my 5-iron as I was determined not to be short.

"When the crowd roared and I realised the ball was in the hole, I felt there was no better way to close the books on my tournament play than to make a hole-in-one on the Postage Stamp and call it quits.''

THE POSTAGE STAMP

Celebrated and feared, the eighth hole has wreaked destruction on the very best...

Here, talkSPORT looks at the iconic par 3 hole thanks to the Royal Troon website.

Originally called 'Ailsa' because of the view of the tiny rocky island of that name, from the tee. The smallness of the putting surface saw it aptly named 'Postage Stamp'.

The tee is on high ground and a dropping shot is played over a gully to a long but extremely narrow green set into the side of a large sandhill.

Two bunkers protect the left side of the green while a large crater bunker shields the approach. Any mistake on the right will find one of the two deep bunkers with near vertical faces. There is no safe way to play this hole, the ball must find the green with the tee-shot.

Ernie Els carded a hole-in-one at the Postage stamp
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Ernie Els carded a hole-in-one at the Postage stampCredit: Getty

‘Big Easy’ Ernie Els, a two-time Open winner, also recorded an ace on the legendary hole, spinning one into the bottom of the cup in 2004.

And Henrik Stenson, Open champion the last time Troon was host in 2016, birdied the eighth in his blistering final round 63 to take the title.

The Swede will forever hold that hole in high regard, saying: “You hit a good shot, you make two, you hit a bad one you can walk away with a five. You can have a three-shot swing on a pitching wedge.

“If you're the kind of fan that wants to see carnage I can highly recommend going out to that eighth hole and sitting in that grandstand on a difficult day.”

European golfing icon Colin Montgomerie, a member at Royal Troon, knows The Postage Stamp is a card wrecker and is expecting a tough test this week.

He told talkSPORT: “I played Troon in June and it was very, very firm already. So it's a true links test.

“We've had a wet start to summer up in Scotland. We’ve never sold Scotland on the weather. Great country, never sold on the weather. And the rough is quite severe. So it's going to be a test.

Stenson won The Open at Troon
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Stenson won The Open at Troon
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“It's probably the easiest front nine in championship golf, followed by the toughest back nine in championship golf. The Postage Stamp in the middle, that's a potential card wrecker.

“It's a hell of a test of golf. And the motto of Troon is ‘Tam Arte Quam Marte’, which means ‘not just with strength, but with skill’. And I think that's true to this day.

“The club's over 100 years old, and you need strength. Of course you do. But you need skill as well. And it's avoiding the bunkers. The bunkers in links golf are the problem. It’s half a shot penalty.

“It all depends on the overhead conditions, to be honest. You know, these links courses are designed with the prevailing wind in mind. And if the prevailing wind is 10 miles an hour, it’s enough to make a huge test and it should be interesting."

This year, players from Rory McIlroy to Scottie Scheffler will be longing for calm, still conditions as they step up to the tee box at The Postage Stamp.

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No wind means they can pump a wedge to the middle of the green and hope to putt in for a birdie. Who knows, maybe someone will even jar one.

But should Scotland’s weather not play ball, we could well be treated to the ‘carnage’ Stenson so wickedly recommends.

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