By Chris Ferguson

CARNOUSTIE’S FEARED golf links are to host The Open Championship in 2007.

The Royal and Ancient Golf Club is expected to make a statement on Monday announcing Carnoustie as the venue for the second time since 1975.

In doing so, officials will confirm Carnoustie’s return to the championshop rota, finally erasing the painful memory of 24 years without a major.

After the success of The Open in 1999, the R and A hinted at its eventual return to Carnoustie but the news that the venue can expect a regular rota slot will give great satisfaction to those who have driven the massive strides in course and accommodation improvements.

Carnoustie’s success is expected to come at the expense of Scottish rival, Turnberry. The west coast course had been pencilled in as the most likely venue but factors outwith its control have ruined its chances. It is understood that road infrastructure problems, which will not be properly resolved until after 2007, would have hampered the smooth flow of traffic during the championship.

An announcement on the 2007 venue had been expected last autumn but it is thought that R and A officials delayed it for a clearer picture to emerge of the likely road problems. When the predictions came that these difficulties would be insurmountable, Carnoustie, as Turnberry’s back-up course, was invited to host The Open.

Yesterday, there was no confirmation of the news from Carnoustie Golf Links Management Committee. Chairman Willie Gardner said, “All I can tell you is that the R and A is making an announcement on Monday.”

The smooth-flow of traffic on the A92 and the systems devised by Angus Council and the police won high praise during The Open in 1999.

By the time the champion-ship returns in 2007, the A92 will have been upgraded to dual carriageway and a new link road will speed traffic into Carnoustie.

The news that Carnoustie is once again a venue for The Open will send a wave of apprehension through many American players, more accustomed to manicured parkland courses where the rough is more like a Scottish fairway.

Carnoustie attracted criticism for being “too tough” in 1999. But a late spell of rain had caused the rough to grow rapidly.

However, its reputation as the toughest course in the world did Carnoustie little harm and there has been no shortage of foreign and UK visitors willing to rise to its challenges.

The Open in 2007 will do for Carnoustie and Angus what no marketing campaign could possibly achieve.

A week of television views down the 18th is publicity of incalculable worth.