Running British Open thread

[MileHigh]

Back at awesome Muirfield for the first time in 11 years, when Tiger was in position for the calendar-year Grand Slam before being swept out in a third-round 81 in a brutal storm.

Wet spring, dry summer means it's going to be fast and firm, sort of like 2006 at Hoylake when Tiger went 18 under to win by five.

Always a fun tournament because the R&A doesn't give a rip about par. Here's the course. Here's the weather. Go play.

 

[Matt1735]

Mickelson wins the warmup tourney over there today, but only one left-handed player has ever won The Open Championship... Sir Bob Charles in 1963.

 

[Evil ... Thy name is Orville Redenbacher!!]

My favorite tourney .. bar none.

One of my first, favorite golf clubs was a Bob Charles 7 Wood.

Tiger ... Top 5 10 or the Field?

I think he'll be a non-factor and might finish top 15. I suspect his elbow will still be an issue and that will only compound his driving woes

 

[Double J]

My money's on Andy Murray.

 

[qtlaw]

I love watching the Open because its no longer about pristine conditions where everyone is whining about a spike mark; also think about how there are so few "rulings" and "free drops" at the Open compared to a PGA event.

In '02, Tiger was definitely at his peak and it was a damn shame to see it come to an end due entirely to Mother Nature.

Who's the next Ben Curtis? Sneds?

 

[Mark2010]

What I love about the Open is the R&A doesn't try to trick up the course the way the USGA does. They don't grow the rough extra long or put in an extra tree or bunker just for the hell of it.

If the weather is wet, dry, windy, whatever, that's the way the course plays. Winning score could be 10-under or 5-over, depending on the weather.

My early prediction is the winner will be a Euro who has never before won a major.

 

[Michael_ Gee]

The R&A paired Woods with Graeme McDowell and Oosthuizen, and Mickelson with McElroy. And just as the USGA did at our Open, it has created a big hitters-only threesome of Bubba Watson, Dustin Johnson and Nicolas Colsaerts. Give the people what they want, I guess.
The last tee time on Thursday and Friday is 4:13 p.m. local time. Man, they are way north up there.

 

[trifectarich]

Played Muirfield about 15 years ago on a day when the wind was 35 mph all day; hardest golf course I've ever seen and, as I remember it, might have been the least fun I've ever had playing 18 holes. Go get 'em, boys.

 

[Key]

The most recent Open at Muirfield was pretty fun. Terrible weather on Saturday, giving the morning guys a chance to shoot up the leaderboard simply by shooting par. Great pic - I can't find it - of Shigeki Maruyama crouching behind a sign or structure, seeking relief from the rain.

Then Sunday brought a huge charge by Gary Evans, including a crazy bit in which he lost his ball on a par 5 only to sink a long putt to save either par or bogey. Crowd went nuts. Evans, though, finished one shot out of the three-man playoff that Els won.

 

[UPChip]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but Muirfield still does not allow women as members, right?

Also, I look forward to hearing the high-pitched tones of Admiral Ironbladder, Ivor Robson.

 

[trifectarich]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but Muirfield still does not allow women as members, right?

You are correct.

 

[hondo]

Here's all you need to know when picking a winner for Muirfield: 13 men have won Opens there. All but two are in the Hall of Fame, including the last seven. Dating back from 2002, the winners at Muirfield are Els, Faldo, Faldo, T. Watson, Trevino, Nicklaus, Player, Henry Cotton, Alfred Perry, Walter Hagen, Ted Ray, James Braid, Braid again, Harry Vardon and Harold Hilton. Only Perry and Ray are not in the Hall of Fame and Ray probably should be.
Guys like Ben Curtis, Todd Hamilton, Ian Baker-Finch and Justin Leonard can wait for another course in the rotation. Nobody wins at Muirfield except the best of the best.

 

[Evil ... Thy name is Orville Redenbacher!!]

Tiger may revise the No Driver strategy this week. Given his trouble off the tee this could be a key move to ending his major-less streak.

"I only hit one driver that week," Woods told reporters on Tuesday, referring to his Hoylake experience. "This course is similar to that, it's quick.
"I've played here three days now and I've only hit a couple of drivers. On some of the holes, the four-iron is going 280 yards and the three-iron is going a little over 300.
"On the (575-yard) 17th yesterday, I hit two three-irons and ended up over the green. The neat thing about links golf is that it's predictable but also unpredictable at the same time."

http://news.yahoo.com/no-driver-strategy-may-cards-again-tiger-105810920.html

 

[Cosmo]

I love watching the Open because its no longer about pristine conditions where everyone is whining about a spike mark; also think about how there are so few "rulings" and "free drops" at the Open compared to a PGA event.

In '02, Tiger was definitely at his peak and it was a damn shame to see it come to an end due entirely to Mother Nature.

Who's the next Ben Curtis? Sneds?

Sneds has five PGA victories, including one in the Tour Championship. Not an apt comparison to Curtis, who won nothing before the Open.

 

[Michael_ Gee]

The trend of first-time major winners we have seen since Woods stopped winning 'em still seems powerful to me. Snedeker'd be a candidate, but his edge in putting isn't as big on slower European greens. Donald? Home town pressure argues no. Colsaerts?

 

[H.L. Mencken]

Jason Day.

Easily the best player to not win a major now that Rose and Scott got it done.

 

[Chef2]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but Muirfield still does not allow women as members, right?

You are correct.

Same with Royal Troon and Royal St. George's.

Both still in Open rota.

As far as tournament itself.....coolest pairing has to be the Metamucil Grouping; Sir Nick Faldo, Tom Watson, Fred Couples.

 

[Cosmo]

Speaking of Ben Curtis, Todd Hamilton posted a 2-under 69 in the first round. Speaking of people who did nothing else in their careers ...

 

[Evil ... Thy name is Orville Redenbacher!!]

Rory posts opening-round 79.
Yikes.

 

[Cosmo]

Mark O'Meara at -4? Blast from the past right there ...