Running British Open thread

From the time he won his first major until he retired, Jones won 13 out of 21 of the majors in which he competed. That's pretty staggering, too.

 

And there is always this...

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/news/story?id=6743448

 

Guess Woods was going to In-N-Out for the healthy salad; not likely.

 

Ignore Nelson's 11 straight tournament wins if you want, but Jones still won 11 of the 16 majors he contested between 1925 and 1930.

 

IMHO 7 of 11 majors > 11 straight (war year); Bobby Jones, he was definitely great and this highlights why comparing eras is not clearcut.

 

Well, you're the one who said "most amazing golf stat ever." If you meant 7/11 is the most amazing stat of your lifetime, I could agree with that. Assuming, of course, that you're not actually in your mid 80s.

 

Okay, in my 50 years. Hard for me to judge Bobby Jones' era.

 

Me too. All I know is that he won, repeatedly, against the best pros and amateurs on both sides of the Atlantic. Thirteen majors in 21 attempts between 1923 and 1930, and then he retired at age 28.

 

It's interesting to look back at some of these Top 10s he's compiling and see how really close -- or not close -- he's actually been.

T6 -- 2009 Masters. Started the third round seven shots behind Angel Cabrera. Was never legitimately in it. An empty Top 10, frankly.

T6 -- 2009 US Open. Was never really in contention after opening with a 74. Snuck onto the leaderboard in the final day with a 68, but began the day NINE shots behind.

2nd -- 2009 PGA Championship. This should have been Major No. 15. If he comes up short of Jack, this one should haunt him. He led the entire tournament, including by two going into Sunday, and then shot 75 on the final day and got beat by Y.E. Yang by three strokes.

T4 -- 2010 Masters. A pretty remarkable finish here, all things considered. His first post-scandal tournament. Actually shot his best opening round every at the Masters, setting the table with a 68. Trailed Mickelson by three going into Sunday, but if you look back at how it actually played out, he never threatened. At one point mid-way through the final round, he trailed by six strokes

T4 -- 2010 US Open. This one is he legitimately could have won, although more because Dustin Johnson is a dumbaas than because he was amazing. Shot a brilliant 66 in the third round and started Sunday five shots back of Johnson, but by the fourth hole, Johnson had thrown away all six of those shots and Woods only trailed Graham McDowell by three. Had Woods shot an even par 72 on Sunday, he would have been in a playoff. Instead he shot 75, and made six bogeys, more than any of the leaders.

T4 -- 2011 Masters. This was both a tournament he could have won, and an empty Top 10. He was only three shots off the lead after the first two rounds, but he shot a miserable 74 on Saturday and began Sunday seven shots behind McIlroy. Obviously no one imagined Rory was going to shoot 80 on that final day, but I'm not sure you can call a major where you begin Sunday seven shots behind a "close call." Shot 67 on the final day to finish four shots behind Charl Schwartzel. He also hurt his knee in this tournament, and basically derailed the rest of his year.

T3 -- 2012 Open Championship. Even though he began the final round five shots back, this is one he legitimately could have won, albeit with some help from Adam Scott. Ernie Els did it, so why couldn't Tiger do the same? Shot 73 (three over par) on a day when a 68 would have won the tournament. (That's what Els shot.) If you recall, this is the tournament where he made triple bogey early from a bunker. Even when Scott began to throw up on himself, Tiger was eight shots behind.

T11 -- 2012 PGA Championship. Was actually tied for the lead after two days, but then McIlroy left tire tracks on his back and finished 11 shots ahead of him. Was never really in contention on Sunday.

T4 -- 2013 Masters. The infamous flagstick/illegal drop. This probably could have been No. 15. I'm convinced he would have been in the lead going into Sunday, at least, if his ball is six inches right or left and doesn't hit that flag and spin back into the water in the second round. (On the other hand, I also think he should have WD'd after he signed for a wrong score, but that's another story.) Finished four shots behind the Scott and Cabrera playoff.

T6 -- 2013 Open Championship. This whole thread is dedicated to it, so no need to rehash it really. Worth noting that if he shoots 69 on Sunday, Mickelson has to birdie the last hole just to get into a playoff with him. Instead, he was mostly just a spectator.


So as you can see, some of those Top 10s are legit near misses, and some of them are majors where he didn't really have any shot going into Sunday. All Top 10s are not created equal. I think he's likely to grind his way to victory two, maybe three more majors, but there are also some tournaments where people are saying "Well, he's finishing in the Top 10" and he's really not close. (He's one of those people.)

It's like saying Mickelson is "close" to winning a U.S. Open. That may be technically true, but I don't see it ever happening, even with what happened at Murfield. And in those Opens, he's finishing second and starting the day with the lead, not beginning the day five and six shots off the pace.

What I think is hard to predict is how good the younger generation of players will be, and how much harder that will make it for him. If McIlroy figures his shit out -- and you have to imagine he will eventually -- how many majors in the next 40 does he win? Seven? Ten? How many times does he shoot lights out and block Tiger from what might have been a victory? Will Adam Scott win a couple more? Does Dustin Johnson win a couple? Louis Ooustheisen? Martin Kaymer? Rickie Fowler? What about guys like Isikawa and Matsuyama? (Asian golf is exploding.) And that's before we even get into the Jordan Speiths of the world. I think, even though Mickelson is closest thing Tiger has to a Tom Watson or Gary Player, the field is way, way deeper now than it was in Jack's day. That's what's going to make it tough. These legit near misses hurt because the degree of difficulty keeps going up.

 

So that's how he got his nickname, "3 Stroke" Yang.