It was the Open that never wanted to end. Last year’s bamboozling bonanza at St Andrews ran into the Monday and just for good measure it concluded with a four-hole play-off. When Ivor Robson, that well-kent official starter who called it a day in the Auld Grey Toun, ushered the final group down the first, some finger-counting statistician reckoned the silky-voiced, silver-haired Scot had sent 18,995 gowfers on their merry way during 40 years of uttering ‘on the tee’ at the world’s oldest major.

Of course, that number would become 18,998 when Robson had to return to his lectern and get those extra holes involving Louis Oosthuizen, Marc Leishman and Zach Johnson underway. Given that Robson would never leave his sentry-like position for the entire day, and wouldn’t even nibble on a cheese and pickle sandwich or pay a visit to the gents, you almost envisaged a delightful scene where a relieved Ivor was just about to lock the cubicle door and unravel the newspaper with a satisfied flourish only for an R&A official to burst in and say ‘you’ll have to haud it in, it’s gone to a bloody play-off’.

Robson, who would embark on the kind of exercise in utter concentration that would make the focus of a Zen Buddhist look slightly slap-dash, was a hardy perennial of the Open but times move on. This July at Royal Troon there will be a new face meeting and greeting the players. In fact, there will be two new faces. David Lancaster and Matt Corker will be the protectors of golfing punctuality at the Open from now on. It’s almost a Little & Large style double act. Lancaster, a former Lieutenant Commander in the Royal Navy, will be the main man. Corker, who served his time in the Royal Hong Kong Police, will provide relief whenever his partner fancies a bite or needs to answer the call of nature. What would Ivor think?

“We won’t be clocking on and off and doing a split shift,” said Lancaster with a chuckle. “Health and safety probably wouldn’t allow what Ivor did these days.”

Lancaster and Corker are both former military men and are well used to dishing out orders. The world’s golfing superstars could be in for a shock. “Don’t worry, I won’t be frog marching them on to the tee,” added Lancaster, who is based just outside Bath. “It’s a nice idea though. I could form them up in groups, have a dressing and an inspection of the shoes before they tee off. I’ll maybe put that one to the R&A. Ivor had his style so this could be mine.”

Joking aside, Lancaster is well aware of the responsibility and the “honour and privilege” that comes with the role. As the managing director of the Presentation Techniques Company, he has spent over a quarter of a century helping major global companies and a variety of sportsmen and sportswomen deliver presentations and high impact speeches but the first tee of golf’s most cherished championship is a different kettle of fish. Getting the tongue wrapped round some of the game’s more polysyllabic palavers is not as easy as folk think. The name ‘Kiradech Aphibarnrat’ for instance could look more like a mind-mangling Countdown conundrum when you're plonked in front of thousands on the first tee.

“I think the dream three ball would be one with the names ‘Smith, Jones and Brown’,” said Lancaster, as he mulled over some of the easier pronunciations. “I’ll do an awful lot of homework and if we have to seek the players out and ask them directly how they pronounce their name we’ll do that. I think there will be nerves. If you didn’t feel nervous then you wouldn’t be the right person for the job because that would mean you didn’t care.

“Being the starter is far from just reading off names. Like everything, if it looks easy it probably isn’t. It’s like watching people reading the news on the TV. I’ve delivered speeches in front of thousands before but I was never always comfortable doing that. A lot of people who are performers are quiet people and introverts and we have an ability to put it on when needed.”

At around 6.30 am on July 14, Lancaster will welcome all and sundry to the 145th Open. It remains a classic scene. Ivor Robson may be missing but that eagerly anticipated announcement, ‘on the tee’, will keep things ticking over as usual.