There was a time when major championship venues were selected largely on the merits of the golf course, but that was back around the time that Jimmy Carter had to place his peanut farm in a blind trust to avoid the appearance of enriching himself off the presidency, both concepts now quaint relics of a bygone era. The criteria for deciding where majors are held now places greater priority on commercial returns and logistics, even among the threadbare seaside towns of the British Isles.
Carnoustie is indisputably among the U.K.’s finest links courses, but it went a quarter-century between hosting Opens for lack of a decent hotel (it still doesn’t have one, despite the monstrosity erected by the 18th green).