THE OPEN RELATED STORIES The Open Home Page The Open Scores Round 4: Tiger Woods seals two shot victory Round 4: Emotional Tiger Woods thanks late father Round 4: Players give Hoylake top marks Round 4: Ernie Els continues impressive Open run Round 4: Marius Thorp wins Silver Medal Round 4: Sergio Garcia takes positives from Open Round 4: Chris DiMarco consoled by second place Round 4: Tiger Woods edges ahead of field Round 3: Sergio Garcia in sight of first major title Round 3: Ernie Els happy to still be in the mix Round 3: Putting problems keep Woods back Round 3: Chris DiMarco counts on experience Round 2: Woods and Els set for showdown Round 2: Singh & Monty amongst cut casualties Round 2: Ernie Els relishes being in contention Round 2: David Duval frustrated again Round 2: Phil Mickelson well off the pace Round 2: Poor showing by Ryder Cup hopefuls Round 1: Woods makes move with eagle on 18th Round 1: Clarke to take break to care for wife Round 1: Seve Ballesteros happy with opening 74 Round 1: Ernie Els finds putting touch again Round 1: Garcia amongst early front runners Leading contenders for the British Open Tiger Woods ready for Open defence Geoff Ogilvy enjoying life as a champion Weather set fair at Hoylake Phil Mickelson in confident mood Tiger Woods & Nick Faldo fued simmers Trevor Immelman pulls out of Open Players expecting to score low at Hoylake Ben Curtis has sights on second Open title Montgomerie still optimistic about breaking duck Rest of the World catching the Americans Hoylake ready for a new chapter Europeans seeking a Major turnaround Trevor Immelman celebrates birth of first child Tiger Woods is bookmakers favourite Hot, dry and fast Hoylake awaits players Nick Faldo & Tiger Woods row diffused Hoylake a mystery to the whole field John Daly plays "The Cavern" Retief Goosen not confident heading into Open John Senden joins record number of Australians Woods starts Open defence with Faldo The Open Preview Course Guide: Hoylake - Royal Liverpool 2006 European Tour Schedule GOLF TODAY TOP STORIES Greg Norman struggles at Troon Ochoa leads with flawless 65 Mike Weir amongst leaders Four share lead in Russia Padraig Harrington hungry for more success Michelle Wie to play on PGA Tour again GREAT GIFTS FOR GOLFERS Golf Breaks to Portugal & Ireland Half Price Golf Vouchers InstructaCard - your portable pro! The Father & Son Golf Ch'ship Golf Insurance

Players give Hoylake top marks

Former U.S. Open champion Michael Campbell led a chorus of approval for Hoylake on Sunday and called on the Royal & Ancient (R&A) organisers to return the course permanently to the British Open rota.

"It has been 39 years since the championship was last here and it has been a marvellous week," the New Zealander told reporters after a closing 70 gave him a two-under-par total of 286.

"Hopefully the R&A will put this course back on the rota sooner rather than later."

Campbell, who won the U.S. Open at Pinehurst in 2005, said all the players had enjoyed the different challenge posed by Hoylake.

"All credit to the R&A and the Royal Liverpool Golf Club as the course has held up well and all the locker room talk this week has been very positive," he said.

"It has been nice for all the pros to play Royal Liverpool and while we each have a favourite British Open golf course, it would be nice to play Royal Liverpool on a more frequent basis."

Thomas Bjorn, a twice former runner-up in the third major of the year, echoed Campbell's views.

"It is a very good golf course and has put up a good test," said the Dane after finishing with a 71 for 287.

"It is the people who have made this week and it has felt very much like a people's Open as the spectators have been magnificent."

Former world number one David Duval said Hoylake represented a true test of links golf, even though he struggled with what he called the course "roundabouts".

"I had a bit of a rough time in a few of the bunkers yesterday, from early in the round to about nine or 10," said the American after a closing 71 gave him a 289 tally.

"Every time I was in them I started calling them roundabouts because of the direction I was hitting the ball.

"I could not keeping playing forwards, if I was in one I had to hit sideways or backwards. They were roundabouts more than anything but they were good bunkers, they served their purpose."

Five-times champion Tom Watson was also impressed with the course.

"It was my first time at Hoylake and I thought it was how a links should be," said the 56-year-old American after a 71 for 288.