TROON – An estimated 250,000 golf fans will pour into Royal Troon to watch the likes of Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods at the British Open.
The Kelly family might have the best vantage point, though, when the 152nd edition begins Thursday. “Blackrock House” sits in the middle of the championship course and has views of five holes.
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Their private home, one-half of the two-dwelling structure, has drawn particular attention this week because of the “for sale” signs posted around it.
The Kellys have watched three editions of the British Open from their front lawn including an epic duel in 2016 when Henrik Stenson beat Phil Mickelson.
“I was standing on that wall," Andrew Kelly said, pointing to the concrete wall that separates one side of the property from the par-5 16th green, where Mickelson's putt for eagle stopped tantalizingly short and the crowd sighed.
“And seeing them teeing on the 18th as well,” he said of the last tee, directly in front of the house. “It’s fantastic, you’re right here and you’ve got everything going on around you. You’re spoiled for choice, to be honest.”
The other views whether from the lawn or the upstairs bedroom include the green for No. 2, as well as the tees at No. 3 and No. 17.
“There’s no other house like this in the U.K. or potentially internationally that sits on a championship golf course right in the middle rather than backing on to it,” said John Kelly, Andrew's brother.
The timing of the sale is an unfortunate coincidence. David and Isabel Kelly had bought it around 1990. David died less than two years ago at age 91. Isabel died unexpectedly recently.
“This is a different Open for us because our mother has just passed away in the last month,” Andrew Kelly said.
“That’s why we’re selling the house. So this will be a bittersweet Open for us," he added. "We were going to sell it anyway, so we decided to put it on during the Open, as you can imagine it’s probably the best time to do it. So we’ll just be keeping our heads down and remembering both out parents during the Open."
Dad played at Hilton Head and Pebble Beach, in addition to Troon — Mom also played and was a big fan. They're all Troon members.
“We were still getting things prepared for my mom to enjoy the Open, because she liked being here,” Andrew said. “She loved it. She used to play golf in her younger days and go on golf holidays and things.”
Isabel's credential for this week's Open hangs in a front window.
So, the million dollar question: how much will it cost to buy the property? The Kellys declined to specify an asking price, saying the real estate company would come out with it this week.
The company, Strutt and Parker, did not return a call, and Royal Troon itself did not respond to an email inquiring if the club has had any interest in it. The owner of the other house has said the club had never approached him about buying.
Scheffler, the world's top-ranked golfer, has noticed the property but said it blends in a bit with the big corporate tents in place behind the home for the Open.
“If I came here six months from now when all the tents and all the build-out is gone, I think it would be a lot more unusual,” he said.
In 2007, the other side was purchased for 705,000 pounds ($915,000), though that was below the asking price of 850,000 pounds ($1.1 million) advertised in the Telegraph newspaper, which described a four-bedroom home with “a sunroom for ogling the world’s best players as they slosh past in the rain.”
Off the course but overlooking the 17th fairway, a house sold in 2013 for 950,000 pounds ($1.2 million).
“Blackrock cottage" appears on maps in 1878, when Troon was established as a six-hole course.
Permission was granted in 1912 for the construction of a single-dwelling unit, though it came with some stipulations because Scotland was under a feudal system at the time.
Property information available from Registers of Scotland — a government office that maintains land records — shows that William John Arthur Charles James Cavendish-Bentinck, the 6th Duke of Portland, granted the private ownership but “reserving to the said Duke of Portland and his heirs and successors the whole metals and coal limestone freestone and minerals and fossils of every description within the piece of ground...”
Alas, no minerals were uncovered as far as we know, but the valuable views remained.
Besides golf, the property also offers views of the Isle of Arran across the Firth of Clyde. Look closely and you can make out the “Sleeping Warrior” in the profile of the hills.
It's not for everyone, though.
“It's not private enough for me,” said Evelyn Russell.
Evelyn and her husband, Gordon Russell, saw the for-sale sign at the property Monday when they walked the course.
“It’ll be manic by the end of the week,” Gordon said.
Besides the Open crowds — and the wind and rain, of course — there's also the odd golf ball that lands in the yard when the regulars play.
The club's Old Course scorecard specifies that out of bounds includes “the gardens of Blackrock House off Crosbie Road. (A ball played into the gardens is not recoverable.)”
Isabel Kelly's old Honda in the driveway shows proof of wayward shots.
“It’s just got a wee dent in it,” Andrew Kelly said.
They don't mind the crowds.
“It comes along once every so many years, so you enjoy it while it’s here,” he said.
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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf