Palmer's narrow win at Birkdale had broken an American drought of eight years, and his iconic shot on the par-four 15th hole (now the 16th) has been immortalised with a plaque from the spot where he played a memorable 6-iron approach shot.

A wayward drive had found the rough to the right of the fairway and, unfortunately, ended up in a thick, sandy ditch, buried under a thorny blackberry bush. Holding a two-stroke lead at the time, Palmer's caddie urged him to play safely and advance a sand wedge down the fairway.

'The King' seemingly agreed it was the sensible play, but pulled his 6-iron out of the bag, before hitting a towering shot on to the right side of the green, about 15 feet from the hole to secure his par. It was a shot that converted British fans into a local legion of Arnie's Army.

Since Palmer's victory, Americans have dominated the history books at Royal Birkdale, but the likes of Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy, the 2014 champion, and a quartet of Englishmen in Matt Fitzpatrick, Justin Rose, PGA champion Aaron Rai and Southport's own Tommy Fleetwood, will be looking to stem the tide.

While Fleetwood will know the course – including recent modifications – like the back of his hand, McIlroy has been spotted scouting the layout in an attempt to become the first player since Tiger Woods in 2005 to win the Masters and The Open in the same year.

'It's good,' he said of the recent upgrades. 'A little bit different from 2017, the last time we played an Open here. Some different green complexes, different holes. The fifth hole I just played is completely different – 300 to the front, good drivable par four. Bit of a penalty if you go for it and you miss, and a lot of big, deep bunkers guarding the green.'

The six-time Major winner is looking forward to teeing it up at a course he favours.

'What a fantastic golf course,' he said. 'I would definitely rate it among the top three in The Open rotation, if not the best course that we play out of the rotation.

'It tests all aspects of your game. You have to drive it well. You have to be smart. Everything sort of challenges every aspect of your game.'

Royal Birkdale's latest changes have been significant. The fourth, fifth, 14th, 15th and 18th holes have all been modified. The fifth hole aside, most attention will be on the changes on the back nine, where the old 14th hole, a 180-metre par three, has been removed – replaced by the old 15th hole, which will become a 500-metre par five.

This opened the door to the creation of a brand new hole, the new par-three 15th – that will play slightly shorter than the other one-shotters. According to a club press release, 'this is designed to offer more variation to our current par threes and have our iconic clubhouse as the backdrop.'

For the rest of the layout, players should know what to expect, dependant of course on the weather and the luck of the draw. One of the most beautiful courses in the Open rota, dunes frame each hole, making them feel like they are played in isolation from the rest of the course. These same dunes offer spectators marvellous views of the course, where players can expect reasonably flat lies on the tight fairways and some nasty, unforgiving rough when they miss their targets.

The list of past champions at Royal Birkdale includes some of the best ball strikers in history, which provides a teaser of what to expect when the engraver adds a new name to the Claret Jug later. Don't be at all surprised if it's an American.