The Open Championship

[Golfbum]

My favourite golf tournament is being held this week. The Open Championship. I love watching this tournament. You get to see so many different shots being played. If the wind gets howling as it should then the play really becomes exciting.

The 135th Open Championship will be contested at Royal Liverpool, Hoylake, England. A Par 72, 7258 Links course awaits this years contenders.

Tiger Woods will try to defend his title. The last time The Open Championship was played at Royal Liverpool in 1967 the winner was Roberto de Vicenzo with a total of 278.

Here is the Official Open Championship website.
http://www.opengolf.com/home/default.sps

TSN's coverage of The Open Championship begins at 7:00AM Thursday and Friday.

[jvincent]

The Open kicks butt. I hope it's cold and windy.

The really neat thing about the open is that they don't sell a fixed number of tickets. If you show up at the gate and pay the admission, you're in.

I was in London the weekend of the Open in 2003 and took the train out to Royal St. Georges both days on the weeked. Unfortunately that was the year of the heat wave so instead of cold and windy the weather was hot (34C), dry, and windy. I almost got hit by one of Phil Mickelson's tee shot on Sunday.

[Shivas Irons]

Tiger Woods will try to defend his title. The last time The Open Championship was played at Royal Liverpool in 1967 the winner was Roberto de Vicenzo with a total of 278.

and we won't likley see it back at this course...ever. This course is MESSED up.
I'll pick John Daly to win or at least do someting stupid, but I think the story of the week will be the course itself.

[Sakuraba]

I thought the course was enlarged just recently, to allow the glorious return ot the open to a premiere course.

Is there something in particular about it thats messed up? I was watching the highlights on the golf channel from 1967 last night, & despite the greens appearing to be relatively small & slow, I didn't notice anything in particular. What changes were made apart from lengthening?

[Shivas Irons]

Is there something in particular about it thats messed up?

Well, the drving range is in the middle of the course, and apparently the course is virtually flat.

Check this out:

http://www.golfdigest.com/majors/bri...07whitten.html

[Golfbum]

I think most Open Championship courses are virtually flat due to the land they are located on.

The thing with Hoylake, to make it tough it needs the wind. It has been lengthened and some say if the winds blow hard for 4 days it will be a good test of golf.

St Andrews can be a walk in the park for the Pros if the wind doesn't blow. Woods won last year with a score of -14. 2004 saw Todd Hamilton win over Ernie Els in a playoff after both finished at -10 at Royal Troon.

Remember when Tiger just about lapped the field at St Andrews in 2000? He finished at -19, with Els & Bjorn at -11.

Then there was Carnoustie in 1999. The Jean Van De Velde Story +6 was the final scores posted by Van De Velde, Justin Leonard and Paul Lawrie. Lawrie won in a playoff and bascially has not be heard from since.

So Royal Liverpool will be no different than some of the other links courses. No wind = low scoring.

I do agree the driving range in the middle of the course is a bit goofy! However that is the way it is.

Either way, it is The Open Championship and I love watching it. Since I am not working I can get up both days early and watch the coverage and golf in the afternoon

[Shivas Irons]

I think most Open Championship courses are virtually flat due to the land they are located on.

That's what I thought - thus the name 'links'

Then there was Carnoustie in 1999. The Jean Van De Velde Story +6 was the final scores posted by Van De Velde, Justin Leonard and Paul Lawrie. Lawrie won in a playoff and bascially has not be heard from since.

This is what bothers me about the British, you often get some real no-names at the top of the leaderboard. Having said that, I love watching it as well, at least it's not all bomb & gouge golf like we see week in & week out.

[Golfbum]

This is what bothers me about the British, you often get some real no-names at the top of the leaderboard. Having said that, I love watching it as well, at least it's not all bomb & gouge golf like we see week in & week out.

Well Lawrie was an exception. If you look back the the Past Open Champions you will find a pretty good list of solid players.

Someone always gets hot on the first day and pops up on that leaderboard. You see the name and wonder "What's this guy doing leading The Open?" Usually they are not around on Sunday afternoon!

Another bonus of The Open, BBC coverage which the U.S. network covering the tournament picks up. At least we get to see different golfers instead of the same 6-8 guys for two hours!

Here's hoping the wind blows, the rain comes down sideways and the bunkers see plenty of action

[jonf]

This is what bothers me about the British, you often get some real no-names at the top of the leaderboard. Having said that, I love watching it as well, at least it's not all bomb & gouge golf like we see week in & week out.

To me, that's the best part of it - nobody can predict who will be at the top at the end of the day. You don't just look up at the leaderboard and see the same 5 guys every time. Frankly, its pretty boring every weekend wondering which of the so called big five will win. I love the fact that you get to see guys like Curtis and Hamilton battle it out, and prove themselves the superior golfer. It takes such a different skill set than winning in the States - knock downs, bump and runs, backwards shots out of bunkers, lashing out of fesucue. I love seeing a game where you have to hit it straight, and not just long, to win.

[Golfbum]

This just came to me by email, from The Open Championship email updates.

First practice rounds take place at Hoylake

Tiger Woods was the first man out on Royal Liverpool links course with his now custom tee-off time of 6:30. All players enjoyed their first taste of Hoylake complimenting the course for being tough but fair.

But of course the big news was the publication of the draw for Thursday's tee-off time. The defending Champion will play alongside Nick Faldo and Shingo Katayama with the first shot in the 135th Open Championship to be struck by Peter Hedblom of Sweden at 6.30am on Thursday morning.

It appears to me that Golf Digest writer Ron Whitten clearly has a dislike for any of the old courses in The Open rota. When he writes the following statement it sounds like he does not have any liking for Links style courses. To slam The Old Course? Hmmmmmmmmmm

"Best that members of Royal O.B. enjoy this Open as its last hurrah. Sooner or later, every Open course will become obsolete, the Old Course at St. Andrews included. Someday the R&A will quit clinging to that which its name evokes and finally move on."
"Looking backward is no way to move forward."

[LobWedge]

This just came to me by email, from The Open Championship email updates.

First practice rounds take place at Hoylake

Tiger Woods was the first man out on Royal Liverpool links course with his now custom tee-off time of 6:30. All players enjoyed their first taste of Hoylake complimenting the course for being tough but fair.

But of course the big news was the publication of the draw for Thursday's tee-off time. The defending Champion will play alongside Nick Faldo and Shingo Katayama with the first shot in the 135th Open Championship to be struck by Peter Hedblom of Sweden at 6.30am on Thursday morning.

It appears to me that Golf Digest writer Ron Whitten clearly has a dislike for any of the old courses in The Open rota. When he writes the following statement it sounds like he does not have any liking for Links style courses. To slam The Old Course? Hmmmmmmmmmm

"Best that members of Royal O.B. enjoy this Open as its last hurrah. Sooner or later, every Open course will become obsolete, the Old Course at St. Andrews included. Someday the R&A will quit clinging to that which its name evokes and finally move on."
"Looking backward is no way to move forward."

That's because guys like Whitten have no respect for the real game. They prefer the Americanization of golf where the "game" is played on 9000 yard courses with .950 COR 700cc drivers, and balls that spin however you want just by talking to them. The whole idea of the game now is not to beat the course, but to completely pound it into oblivion and then move on to the next poor victim. It's truly sad.

[Golfbum]

That's because guys like Whitten have no respect for the real game. They prefer the Americanization of golf where the "game" is played on 9000 yard courses with .950 COR 700cc drivers, and balls that spin however you want just by talking to them. The whole idea of the game now is not to beat the course, but to completely pound it into oblivion and then move on to the next poor victim. It's truly sad.

How true.

It's funny, my home course is semi links style. Wide open, fescue a plenty, a few trees here and there. WINDY 80% of the time. Only thing missing is the ocean! I know some guys who can not stand to play my home course because they can not play in the wind. They want it dead calm, the rough to be perfect, greens not baked out and hard by mid afternoon so their PRO V's will stick. Well that isn't my course. So go play somewhere else!

It would apprear that Mr Whitten does not have any use for any links courses in the UK. When someone starts writing that The Old Course at St Andrews should be off the rota then you know he has a problem with links courses.

The reason I like The Open Championship is the variety of shots that have to be played on those courses. Bump & runs, shots that land 40 yards short of the greens and run onto the putting surface. Bunkers over there are "HAZARDS" Some require shots to be hit out sideways or backwards. None of this "I aimed for the bunker on the par 5 6th, knowing I could get up and down for birdie" As for the # of OB stakes at Royal Liverpool, well hit em straight boys and you won't have any problems with those little white stakes

I think too many golfers have come to expect perfect manicured fairways, soft greens, bunkers with 8 inches of nice soft sand in them, and rough that they can hit a 3 wood off of. It's a shame because that is not how the game of golf originated.

Sure I like a nice green course too. But I would love to go play those Open courses in the UK. Some people call them COW PASTURES, I call them golf courses!

[fundonny]

Padraig Harrington wins this.

[jonf]

two words....Michelle Wie (ya, I know, I'm a jackass)

["Richard"]

Rick, I remember we disagreed on this subject two years ago when I called the most famous course in the world a cow patch and how I found the golf very boring but I retract that statement now. After getting another year of golf in and being in situations where I've had to use a 6 iron from 60 feet away instead of a wedge because of the wind, or to keep it under a tree or whatever.. I have much more respect for courses like that and the players who are able to alter their game to play well on those courses. I still think St. Andrews is an OK looking course but when its windy I'm sure it will mess with anyones game and make it 10 times harder than it is on a calm day. I think I'm just spoiled when I play the lush green courses that I play and then look at a burnt brown fairway like st. andrews. But either way, you right, me wrong

[Golfbum]

Rick, I remember we disagreed on this subject two years ago when I called the most famous course in the world a cow patch and how I found the golf very boring but I retract that statement now. After getting another year of golf in and being in situations where I've had to use a 6 iron from 60 feet away instead of a wedge because of the wind, or to keep it under a tree or whatever.. I have much more respect for courses like that and the players who are able to alter their game to play well on those courses. I still think St. Andrews is an OK looking course but when its windy I'm sure it will mess with anyones game and make it 10 times harder than it is on a calm day. I think I'm just spoiled when I play the lush green courses that I play and then look at a burnt brown fairway like st. andrews. But either way, you right, me wrong

Well thotho it is just a different style of golf course over in the UK. Some are well irrigated, others are not.

It makes the game interesting. You really have to watch an Open Championship when the winds are howling. That is when you see shotmaking at it's best. North American golf tends to be point and shoot, hit it high and stick it on the soft greens.

I do agree,those UK courses might not look the best. But they can be a true test of golf.

Glad to see you have come over to my side Hitting full 5 irons from 120 yards is fun, I know because that is sometimes a required shot at my course!

BTW, this is what makes The Open Championship special in my mind. Read this article and see if you agree.
http://www.lfpress.com/cgi-bin/publi...89829-sun.html

[Shivas Irons]

when I called the most famous course in the world a cow patch and how I found the golf very boring... After getting another year of golf in and being in situations where I've had to use a 6 iron from 60 feet away instead of a wedge because of the wind, or to keep it under a tree or whatever.. I have much more respect for courses like that

Same here - when I first started golfing all I wanted to play were beautifully manicured and well defined fairways with minimal rough and clean looking bunkers. After having playing the game for years I did a complete about-face.
I still think that of the 4 majors, luck plays a bigger part in the British. There's usually some pretty bad bounces from good shots and vice versa, but that's golf.

BTW, this is what makes The Open Championship special in my mind. Read this article and see if you agree.

http://www.lfpress.com/cgi-bin/publi...89829-sun.html

Are you kiddng me? The guys girlfriend puts up the $200 entry on the condition he practice more!!! MARRY HER NOW!!
Good story, nice to see a regular schmuck get to have a crack at greatness.

[Wilster]

I would love to see my man Darren Clarke do something than a complete breakdown on the last day , but i do see a couple of Europeans being "up there " on Sunday eve, but it really is a coin toss on this one.

[sharkhark]

I am thinking someone like ernie els with his experience will win it. Know he has been the same since his knee stuff but a great place to get back on track.

Probably a good bet on him/tiger in 1st/2nd.

[Shivas Irons]

Another interesting side-bar story is that Faldo & Woods are going to be paired together. Faldo has been pretty critical of Tiger's revamped 'Hank Haney' swing, so it will be interesting to see how badly Tiger beats up Faldo & this course.
With the weather forecast looks like the winning score could be 20 under or more.

[Sakuraba]

Go Monty!!

[Shivas Irons]

BTW, this is what makes The Open Championship special in my mind. Read this article and see if you agree.
http://www.lfpress.com/cgi-bin/publi...89829-sun.html

I just found out this is the same guy who got to play a practice round at Augusta with Jack and decided to quit after 9 holes 'because he was tired'...

[spackler]

BTW, this is what makes The Open Championship special in my mind. Read this article and see if you agree.
http://www.lfpress.com/cgi-bin/publi...89829-sun.html

Former British Am champ, played in the Masters and British Open, was on Big Break...not exactly an 'everyman' making it into the Open...

[Shivas Irons]

My bold prediciton : Monty has a great Open, then on his last hole, a streaker runs out on the fairway, jumps thru the air and tea-bags Monty right in the forehead. Monty then loses it, steam shoots out his ears, and he goes postal on the streaker clubing him until his scrotum flies right off. Monty then putts out using one of the guys nuts, but is later DQ'd for finishing the hole with a different ball.
You can put that one in the bank.

[Andy4Par]

My bold prediciton : Monty has a great Open, then on his last hole, a streaker runs out on the fairway, jumps thru the air and tea-bags Monty right in the forehead. Monty then loses it, steam shoots out his ears, and he goes postal on the streaker clubing him until his scrotum flies right off. Monty then putts out using one of the guys nuts, but is later DQ'd for finishing the hole with a different ball.
You can put that one in the bank.

Ha Ha!! Here I was thinking Monty has a great Open, then on the last hole he second guesses his club selection goes with 8 iron, hits what can only be described as the most dreadful iron shot of the tourney.....wait this sounds too familiar.

[Golfbum]

Hot off THE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP NEWS PRESS

Harrington predicts a mental challenge

18-Jul-2006 10:53 (BST)

"Probably the most complicated golf course you'll play off the tee," was Padraig Harrington's candid assessment of Royal Liverpool today.

The challenges presented by a fast, bouncing course allied to variable wind conditions and strategically placed bunkers means that players will be approaching the same hole in very different ways.

"It certainly requires a lot of thinking, and that will be good for the tournament... It will lead to a lot of variety, a lot of decision making, which obviously adds to the interest in golf."

And luck as always will play its part, although Harrington contends that it's less the good and the bad bounces, but more how a player deals with the rough and the smooth that will determine how he'll fare.

"I think that's where I would hope to gain on the other players, would be on (my) ability to handle some bad breaks and adjust... I've been brought up with links golf and I've seen it happen before, so I can certainly have some experience of dealing with some bad breaks and some good breaks out there."

The Irish have not had much luck at The Open Championship but if the Dubliner is looking for good omens, then the only Irishman to win The Open, Fred Daly in 1947, did so here at Hoylake.

And the 34-year-old, who missed last year's Open Championship due to the death of his father, knows that the pressure is on for him to capture that elusive first major, and what better one to win than the one he grew up watching.

"It's the one I'm familiar with. It's the one as a kid I would have dreamed of winning. The three majors in the States are far away; when you're a kid they're not as tangible as The Open. You sit and watch it for four days...so when you do come and play as a player, it does add something special to it, without a doubt."

Padraig has played himself into some good form recently, finishing in a tie for fifth at the US Open and following that up with a second place at the Booz Allen Classic. And the player ranked 18th in the world also has an edge over the majority of the field in that he's actually played this course in competition, albeit as an amateur.

Whether all of that is enough remains conjecture. What's fact is that there would be few more popular winners among the public and players alike.

[Golfbum]

Tiger may wish he had claws
Wed, July 19, 2006
By KEN FIDLIN, SUN MEDIA

HOYLAKE, ENGLAND -- If there's one thing the rest of the field at the 135th British Open doesn't need, it's extra motivation for Tiger Woods.
As if missing the cut at the U.S. Open isn't incentive enough for Woods at Royal Liverpool, there's the matter of his playing partner in the first two rounds.
That would be Nick Faldo, once Britain's best player and now an ABC colour commentator who just happened to rip Woods' swing on the air last year during the Buick Invitational.
Since that critical analysis by Faldo, the two have not spoken and Tiger doesn't expect that to change tomorrow when they tee it up at 2:07 p.m.
"I don't know (if we will speak to each other)," Woods said. "It's up to him and I'll be in my own world trying to compete and trying to win the championship."
Faldo had similar feelings.
"I guess I'll see if we are speaking or not," said Faldo, a three-time Open champion. "What happened is all under the bridge, but with a few trout lying on the side. What I said is what I'm paid to do. I'm entitled to my opinion. Sometimes I might be wrong, sometimes I'm right. As long as it's entertaining and the cheques keep coming is what counts."
And if Faldo wants to talk, what will Tiger's reaction be?
"Surprise," said Woods, who has played only three tournaments (10 competitive rounds) in four months.
Faldo, at 48 and lacking the skills that have made him a six-time major winner, is worried.
"I've been thrown in the deep end, the spotlight will be on us and I'm totally unprepared," Faldo said. "I haven't played a competitive round since April."
British bookmakers were up to their tricks yesterday by offering unusual side bets, and none was more tantalizing than Woods-Faldo.
William Hill is offering 6-to-4 odds that they will not shake hands on the first tee and 25-to-1 odds that Woods and Faldo will come to blows at some point during the first round. Those odds started at 100-to-1.
Royal Liverpool's baked fairways and greens continue to be the main story, though most players support the kind of creative shots this classic links golf will demand.
"It's what you want and expect for an Open Championship: a very fast, bouncing golf course," Padraig Harrington said

[SGH]

Did you hear that the fairways and greens were so dry that there was a fire warning yesterday? They had the warning on one of the scoreboards and everything.

If it doesn't rain and stays hot and windy, it should be an interesting first round. 400 yard drives and 4-putts.

[Golfbum]

Did you hear that the fairways and greens were so dry that there was a fire warning yesterday? They had the warning on one of the scoreboards and everything.

If it doesn't rain and stays hot and windy, it should be an interesting first round. 400 yard drives and 4-putts.

John Daly will set the course on fire.
If he tosses those butts on the dry grass

[EDSGOLF]

John Daly will set the course on fire.
If he tosses those butts on the dry grass

LMAO! The press always blows everything out of proportion (Faldo/Woods), but ironically enough, makes it more interesting.