THE Open Championship 2013

First topic message reminder :

In response to PD's plea, here's my effort at a thread for this week's ET event, which just happens to be the most important event on that particular calendar, if not in the world of golf as a whole. I'll try to keep it factual, other than the 'ones to watch' at the end.

The 142nd Open Championship gets underway this week at Muirfield, just outside Edinburgh. Defending champion, in both respects, is Ernie Els, the big South African having followed up his playoff win at Muirfield in 2002 with last year's surprise victory at Lytham.

Els has quite a record in this event. He missed the cut on debut in 1989, but has played every year since 1992, recording 2 wins, 3 runner-up positions and a further 7 top tens. He's missed the cut just twice in that run, in 2010 when so many were caught out by the weather on the Friday at St. Andrews, and again in poor conditions at RSG the following year. In that context, his win last year is even more remarkable. Other notable stats for the Big Easy at the oldest major include twice recording 4 rounds in the 60s without winning, in 1993 and 2004 (brownie points on offer for naming the only other player to do this and the year), finishing under par most often since 1963 alongside two other huge names in the recent history of the Open (easy to guess who so I'd like the number of times too please), and he edges both of them on overall number of rounds under 70, 39 to their 37 and 33. Interestingly they both have more rounds under par than Ernie, which I suppose means when he's good he's very good. Testament to that would be his 29 on the front 9 in the second round at Muirfield in 2002, and his seven consecutive rounds under 70 in 1993-4.

Muirfield as a venue commands, it seems, a great deal of respect from the players even though the male only status of the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers as a club casts something of a shadow over an otherwise excellent location for this great championship. I have no intention of expressing an opinion on that particular issue, not least because this week has nothing to do with the membership of the club and everything to do with the best players in the world. At 7,192 yards it's no beast, and indeed may even be considered short these days, even though they've added some 158 yards this time around. That won't detract from the substantial test that it's bound to provide, the rough at least providing some defence even if the weather doesn't look like it's going to. It's not an in and out type links, rather the front 9 loops clockwise around the anti-clockwise homeward 9. Par is 71, with 3 par 5s (5,9,17) and 4 par 3 holes (4,7,13,16). The prevailing wind will help on 5 and 17, so look for those holes to be eagle opportunities, while 9 plays back into it and at over 550 yards will be out of reach for most if there's any kind of breeze. 2, 3 and 11 are par 4s under 400 yards and ought to offer birdie opportunities, especially since the wind is likely to be helping on those holes. With the exception of the 4th, the par 3s are all around 180-190 yards, so should be no more than a mid-iron for most of the field.  

Previous champions here have included some of the game's true greats - Els, Faldo of course, twice, as well as Nicklaus, Watson, Trevino, Player and Cotton. Nobody has won the Open here by default. Faldo's 18 pars to edge out Azinger in 1987 will be part of Open Championship folk lore for centuries, even though his finish here in 1992 was arguably more inspired following his mid-round stumble which let John Cook have a sniff of victory.

Perhaps important to note is that although we look back on those last 7 Muirfield winners as greats of the game, for some of them victory here was their first in the Open (2 names?) or indeed in a major championship of any sort (another 2?). As such, could this be the first of many Opens for a new great (Rory, Justin, Adam?)

Victory in Scotland this week for Phil Mickelson has to mean he should be considered as another great player with the potential to win at Muirfield, although the fairways there will surely look like tiny islands in a sea of rough in relation to the giant swathes of short grass that the contenders at Castle Stuart were faced with this past week. So who else could be lifting the claret jug next Sunday?

Rory McIlroy - the world no. 2 hasn't given anybody any reason to suspect he'll be able to turn his form so far this season around, and this isn't his favourite event on the calendar. If the weather remains as calm as forecast that may change, but there will surely be too many genuine contenders for Rory to sneak up on the rails and pinch this one?

Tiger Woods - we've not seen numero uno since his latest injury, to his left elbow, forced him to miss his own tournament at Congressional. He's apparently 'full go' for the Open, albeit recognising that staying out of the rough will be an even better idea than usual! The length, or lack of it, of the course means he can afford to leave the driver in the bag most of the time and still have scoring opportunities but as with Rory, there are too many other serious contenders to think that Woods might win here when he was only able to muster a T28 here last time, which included a very wet, windy and rough-strewn third round 81.  

Ernie Els - the defending champion has to be a very serious contender this week, his excellent Open record combining with some pretty good recent form including of course victory in Germany 3 weeks ago. With no wind to blow him off course as he wedges his belly putter into place, you have to think Els will be in the mix next Sunday.

Graeme McDowell - another recent winner, and the all or nothing man of 2013. To mix missed cuts and wins the way GMac has done of late suggests huge mental strength, something that Muirfield Open champions have in common.

Lee Westwood - as some of you may know I'm a big fan of Lee's, but I don't really know why. Ordinarily my pessimistic, cynical nature would predict a good start to the tournament for Lee only to whimper out of contention on Friday and Saturday to the point where he hasn't got a realistic chance of winning on Sunday. However, he took the decision to miss the French Open in order to be better rested for the Open, and I'm hoping that will pay off. He's straight enough to win, especially if his recently improved short game holds out, but whether he has the mental strength I mentioned above remains to be seen!

Justin Rose - mental strength can't be questioned following that tremendous finish at Merion, and he certainly has the game to win at Muirfield. He doesn't have a great record in the Open though, his famous 4th place as an amateur in 1998 at Birkdale comfortably his best finish. 12th in 2007 and 13th in 2009 are his best pro finishes. Given his exertions at Merion, I think victory here would be asking too much.

Adam Scott - Justin's big pal and the other major champion of 2013 so far should arguably be defending champion this week. I was at Lytham to witness his demise on the Sunday, and it was pretty clear as he played the 18th that he wasn't in a good place mentally. Much like Rory he bounced back from throwing away a major by winning one very soon after, but I just have a feeling that also like Rory the one that got away will take a bit longer to finally reel in. Rory will most likely win the Masters one day, just as Adam will probably win an Open, but I fear the memories will still be too fresh for the Aussie this week.

All in all then, GMac, Ernie or Lee. All are around 25/1. If you want an outside bet; Brooks Koepke will return you 5 times as much as those big names - he's had a phenomenal year on the Challenge tour, graduating to the main ET via 3 wins before July and he played pretty well at Castle Stuart this week.

With the weather promising to be very pleasant, the course is likely to be hard and running, with the rough therefore coming more into play. Muirfield will doubtless produce a fantastic tournament and another excellent golfer will be announced by Peter Dawson around 7pm next Sunday as 'winner of the gold medal and champion golfer for the year'.

What's the Ryder cup got to do with anything? Glorified exhibition. Poulter can win every Ryder cup match he plays. He still comes across as a bit of a Muppet.

haha. not really a golf fan are you benhio!!

Just hate him for hatings sake i suppose. To much character for you?

I suppose I should have realised the above after reading your "6 iron 200 yards being in a different world" comment.

Look mate its sunny hard and windy.. many pros can carry 6 irons that far in normal conditions..

Even average length half decent ams can hit 6 irons that far in these conditions!

Brilliant test of golf, hoping it is just as tough as it was this afternoon, tomorrow afternoon.

Big golf fan. Couldn't carry a 6 iron 207 yards though. So different world to me. People trying to make themselves look interesting or make themselves look like a character usually are not. Don't like to see the pros complaining when it's their own fault they struggle usually.

Poulter is the most motivated individual out there. Some one to respect and admire. he is one of many to make comments about pin placements and guess what the only one to be shredded on here.

It gets a bit boring tbh..

As with almost every golf tournament, it's certainly never won on Day 1, but plenty of people are behind the 8 ball. Lukey, Rory, Fowler and Furyk will need some lightening strikes to make it to the weekend. Hey, it can happen.

But one of the stories of the day has to be the aged Yanks. What's with Hamilton, O'Meara and Lehman? Are they thinking they can be the next Tom Watson and play late into Sunday in contention?

No one denies he is motivated. Whether he is the most motivated is a nonsense statement because no one knows an answer. But I have seen a few people on tv being interviewed saying they had an issue I have seen more say no problems. Only seen Poulter tweet about clowns. He is sooo wacky.

FIGJAM thinks the officials should swallow their egos and make the course a little fairer. Has he forgotten the setups at the US Open?

Leader at -5 and some old names who, with respect, are a bit past their best, shooting in the 60s.

Remind me of Merion again please?

Ok mate- not to worry. poults is marmite. You are not alone in your assesment!!

mystiroakey wrote:Poulter is the most motivated individual out there. Some one to respect and admire. he is one of many to make comments about pin placements and guess what the only one to be shredded on here.

It gets a bit boring tbh..

Poulter is more motivated than Woods?

maybe maybe not. what does it matter- I shall rephrase it to one of the most motivated

They are all motivated. You can't be a pro golfer or sportsman without motivation. But I don't think thats a matter to debate. Winning score predictions? -9.

Why are the BBC so crap? The Open golf is a protected event and so must be shown on terrestrial TV. Play started at 6:30 this morning and will probably go on until after 9pm tonight - yet BBC don't start coverage until 9am and finish at 8pm

And for those of us who work during the day, there is 45 minutes of highlights at quarter past midnight.

Pretty pathetic I'd say. Scrap the sporting crown jewels and give it to Sky

Motivation isnt balck and white. there is infinite degrees inbetween.

Many golfers are just ubber skillfull. others have to work twice if not 10 times as hard. That is just pretty obvious really.

prediction at the open- how long is a piece of string. To many factors change- one bit of wind can make the SSS 10 shots different. But weighing it up 8 under

The open organisers and sponsors are pretty happy with the Beeb as 11hrs terrestrial coverage and a much bigger audience then sky. Works well for them. The open on sky only would be bad for golf.

beninho wrote:11hrs terrestrial coverage

Wake up - this is the 21st Century. "terrestrial" in that sense means nothing with digital TV

I could maybe agree with you when there were only 2 terrestrial channels, but not any longer

Sky even have created a whole channel dedicated to the Ashes FFS.

Means nothing with digital tv. But sky is satellite tv. You have to pay to watch. Still a small % of UK has sky tv. If you really like golf you will watch it. But the viewing figures would drop drastically if only on sky. The Beebs coverage is pretty good in my view. The open being on sky would not necessarlily attract more people to the game.

So go back to my original complaint then. With digital TV, we should still be watching either the last live golf of the day, or proper highlights. But the BBC can't or won't do it.

Pay to watch? I pay my license fee and the only time I watch BBC is when they have a sport that Sky can't have. At least I would if I could

With Murdoch's great empire do they usually show the first group out until the last group finishes? They don't and doubt they ever have. You are making a fuss over missing a few journeyman golfers. I think 11 hrs coverage is pretty good.

a small percentage has sky?

benhio 10 mill Households have sky and 4 million have Virgin.

There are only 25m households. I let you do the maths- More have sky!

Davie wrote:So go back to my original complaint then. With digital TV, we should still be watching either the last live golf of the day, or proper highlights. But the BBC can't or won't do it.

Pay to watch? I pay my license fee and the only time I watch BBC is when they have a sport that Sky can't have. At least I would if I could

 what are you talking about- all tv is digital..

bbc is not analouge any more pal!

Do you mean free view(not digital)

I don't know what Murdoch's great empire as you call it, would do - because they don't have the chance to show us. With the other Majors they are restricted to US coverage.

I would wager though that if they had even shared coverage of the Open they would still be broadcasting now

Don't they show first to last shot (plus leadups and highlights) of the Ryder Cup since they were awarded it?

"Sky even have created a whole channel dedicated to the Ashes FFS."


no they have just dedicated skysports 2 to it! its not a new channel

I meant a smaller percentage of the population have sky then not having sky...I don't think 50% of UK households have sky tv. Something like that anyway!!

beninho wrote:I meant a smaller percentage of the population have sky then not having sky...I don't think 50% of UK households have sky tv. Something like that anyway!!

 

You cannot compare Ryder cup coverage to the open coverage. My assumption is sky would not show as much as the golf taking into account the many advert breaks and listening to Monty mention he won the Ryder cup don't you know...

bbc is far superior to sky in regards to golf coverage. i do understand we only have US cameras to gauge them by- but comne on we would have ad breaks every 10 mins for 2 mins..

Ok maybe not a new channel for the ashes but a dedicated one

Yes but the point being we are losing out on live sport to just have reruns of old cricket matches , "the verdict" which is repeated 10 times a day, highlights- again repeated all night long!!

Sky ashes is a gimic. They would have shown no less of the ashes if it was still sky sports 2. It's marketing which sky are good at. I pay and I hate Murdoch!
Though de la Riva has just finished I think. Must have been gutting to miss that...

double post. Doh

Davie - you can record it, and it is on the iplayer. No adverts, though there are some mind numbing fillers. Also have some doubts about editing as BBC lose touch with live sport, eg too many occasions quick transfer to player striking ball, or no information about who it is, what hole etc, but nonetheless best coverage you can get - bar none!

Shotrock wrote:As with almost every golf tournament, it's certainly never won on Day 1, but plenty of people are behind the 8 ball. Lukey, Rory, Fowler and Furyk will need some lightening strikes to make it to the weekend. Hey, it can happen.

But one of the stories of the day has to be the aged Yanks. What's with Hamilton, O'Meara and Lehman? Are they thinking they can be the next Tom Watson and play late into Sunday in contention?

It's just about experience. They knew how to play the course and (in spite of the fact they've had days to practice) most of the others didn't.

Ricky Fowler four putted the 6th from 20 feet. Luke Donald was trying to force a score all day, and so was Rory.

Caddies, and sports psychologists? Pah. They just need a month of playing links courses in hot dry weather.

Davie I suspect you are a right winger and therefore drawn to the lure of Murdoch's wonderful commercial enterprise but surely you would rather hear the delights of peter aliss and ken brown over the morons at sky.

Even the secondary commentators at the BBC like Andrew cotter are joy to listen to. I don't think people realise just how knowledgeable and interesting cotter is. They would if they bothered to listen.

Tigers first tee problems

30 yards right - Open 2003
3/4 days wild drives cause double bogeys at the first - 2008 open
missed the first fairway on all four days - 2001 masters, 2001 US open, 2004 PGA
50 yards left - 2009 US open

There are too many to list but this article has them all.

http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-instruction/2011-07/tiger-woods-first-tee-jitters

McLaren wrote:Tigers first tee problems

30 yards right - Open 2003
3/4 days wild drives cause double bogeys at the first - 2008 open
missed the first fairway on all four days - 2001 masters, 2001 US open, 2004 PGA
50 yards left - 2009 US open

There are too many to list but this article has them all.

http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-instruction/2011-07/tiger-woods-first-tee-jitters

It just shows perhaps the greatest of all time still gets as nervous as anyone before a first round of a major or first hole of round of a major!

I wonder did some of the morning players complain about the course as they no they are going to be playing in the much more difficult conditions this afternoon and that they may set easier pins for them?

A cool photo tour of all tigers major finishes

http://www.golfchannel.com/media/tiger-woods-career-major-championship-finishes/?cid=twitter_gc_p_tiger_woods_major_finishes_071813#68

Got them on your bedroom wall Mac?

mystiroakey wrote:Got them on your bedroom wall Mac?

They are in my wankBank.

I you hoping to add to your collection this time around?

Poulter whining about the course being unplayable. Can't remember the last time he found a course playable to be honest.

The out of contention after day one (notables)

Paul Lawrie +10
Luke Donald +9
R-prat +8
Ricky Fowler +7
Furyk +7

Are you going to make a bold prediction about Poults again Diggs?

Mac- The wind she blows.. Ricky will get back in this..

mysti

even if the winning score is between par to +2 those guys would have to play better than a huge number of players.

Its easy to forget how immaterial round 1 can be tbh mate.

Especially in opens..

"Also out on course this morning is Tom Leham who ended a 70-year wait for an American winner with his victory in the 1996 Open".

The above is a direct quote from BBC Sports Online LIVE coverage.........so, who is Tom Leham and There were no US winners of the Open between 1926 and 1996??

Pathetic stuff.....................

mystiroakey wrote:Its easy to forget how immaterial round 1 can be tbh mate.

Especially in opens..

It's pretty damn "material" for Donald & McIlroy (and for everyone at + 5 or worse)!!

mac and luke are out of this for sure. heads not there. i have a sneaky feeling fowler will make the cut.