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.
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 UK 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 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.”
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.
AP/PTI
