The Open is upon us, and Hoylake takes centre stage for the first time since Rory McIlroy won here back in 2014, something he has not added to in his Major Wins column since...!! It is one of, if not, best golf tournaments that the pro's play on the circuit in my mind which always seems to produce drama much more than all of the other Major tournaments do in the year. A few changes to the course from the last Major title visit with all of them talking about the 17th as if it could be either a bloomin nightmare for some, meaning someone is going to benefit big time because of it...!! We shall see, but all we know is that Links Golf is dramatically affected by the wind and the coastal time changes that the coast gets coming across the Mersey and Irish sea. Looks like the Saturday is going to be the worst day for playing, things clearing up enough for a good run at it on Sunday. So, who's got a chance...?? I have a few fancies, so here goes... Tommy Fleetwood @ 18/1 - Local lad to the area, and made a good impression up in the Scottish Open to prove he's in good form. Always goes close before sometimes fading away, fingers crossed he can last the pace come Sunday afternoon... Jordan Spieth @ 25/1 - When the Majors come around, so dos the 3x time Major winner, almost saving his best for the big uns. Thing is, he's not hit the heights of his last Major win, the 2017 Open at Birkdale, which is just down the road, well about 25 miles away, but at 25/1 i couldn't resist... Brain Harman @ 90/1 - A great ball striker, positions himself around a golf course very well, and what he lacks in distance, he's a lot smaller than these monster gym golfers we see on Tour, he can still complete with them at the top table. A creative player around the greens, the Links style courses will play to his strengths i hope... Tom Hoge @ 275/1 - I am only picking him on the basis that he shot back-2-back rounds of 66 in the Scottish Open last week following on from an opening round of 69 on Thursday. Yes he faded on Sunday shooting a poor 73, but he's in good form, so why not at his price... So there you go... Good luck to all who are having a play this week...
Thanks Red. Nice write up as usual. I actually fancied McIlroy prior to his Scottish open win but not so much now. Could he go back to back like Phil did when he last won it? He's in great form and he would be a popular winner but as usual I have eliminated most at 20/1 or under, some of these guys prices are just ridiculous with their form and more importantly, Major form. I won't go into that rant again, broken record and all that. This week I have gone for: Min Woo Lee 50/1 - Has won on links before and is in decent enough form for me to take notice, I think he is spot on the price he should be for this. If he can keep concentration and the putter is working well then he can have a good 4 days. Corey Conners 70/1 - had a good final day I'm Scotland, one of the eye-catching performances of the final day and I think he could find something here to maybe take him into contention. He certainly has been on the periphery of becoming a challenger in these recently and no better place than to announce your entry Into Major stardom than in a British Open. Keegan Bradely 90/1 - Had been out of form for a while but ever so slowly has crept back to the form that saw him among the world's best In the early and mid 10's. A win recently will have done his confidence the World of good and he won't have any fear around here. Very optimistic he can go close this week at a higher price than he should be. Gary Woodland 150/1 - Big hitting American another one in the "nearly man" bracket of should be capable of winning a major but not quite piecing it together over the 4 days. I think we are looking at a low enough score here and if Woodland is on form with his irons then he could make enough birdies to contend. Question is can he keep the damage to a minimal if it goes wrong. Good place claims. Enjoy the golf folks and hopefully one of us can bag the winner come Sunday evening.
McIlroy’s driver may be his undoing here. Tiger’s win where he only hit one driver all week was superb. Rory should resist his big stick and emulate Tiger’s irons off the tee. I like Shane Lowry. His short game, especially his chipping, will serve him in good stead. Maverick Tyrell Hatton could be due a big one. He’s gutsy and his form is pretty good.
I still say to this day Tam that his performance and commitment to play from the tee with driving irons throughout the tournament shows why he had everything you need to be a great golfer and multiple winner. Play the course first, not just blast it away because you can...
There is a Tiger in the field this week also - Tiger Christennsen from Germany. I wonder were his parents golf fans and did they have a plan a la Richard Williams and the Williams sisters to help get him to the top. I will be rooting for Alex Maguire from Ireland for the Silver Medal, he plays a lot of links and grew up on it so must be hopeful of a strong run at that. Best of luck to all of them.
Never been to any golf tournament before to spectate but popping along to Hoylake on Friday. Watching golf live seems to divide opinion amongst my golf buddies. 50% reckon it’s brilliant and the other half say it’s a waste of time, find a decent bar with Sky and watch it in comfort over a few ales. I’ll find out what camp I’m in Friday
I find it all depends on what you want to make of it Chan, I've brought lads before who only wanted to go drink and mope about the golfing village etc but if you go and pick a few of the players you like and follow them for a few holes I think you will really appreciate the level of skill these guys produce when they hit the ball. My Father used to be never on for going to any events and I coaxed him into coming to an Irish Open a while back and he absolutely loved it. You're at your own leisure and it's a good experience to have. Make sure bring you're own Umbrella if any rain is forecast or you could wind up paying £100 for a nice souvenir from the Open shop Have a nice day let us know how you get on and if it was something you would do again.
Always enjoy going to a Pro tournament, like to pick a group to follow all 18 holes with and if you avoid the big name players is a comfortable experience crowd and atmosphere wise
Two ways of watching it Chan, both just as good in my experience... You either find a group that you want to follow round, see how they take on the challenge of aa tough course, which can be quite revealing. Or find a place where you can sit down and watch about 3 or 4 holes at once and just watch the field go by at your own pace. I have done both at Royal Birkdale, both as good as each other in my opinion... Enjoy the day...
We had Paul Lawrie and a few of the lads from the Tartan Tour down for a pro-am, here is one of the many funny stories he told. He was paired up with Monty in the foursomes as first team out, Monty said my fade would be better for even holes, you would be better taking the odd holes. No problem said Paul. Monty said do you realise what this means. Yes i tee off at 1, 3 etc etc. No thats not what i mean, what it means is you will be playing the opening shot in the Ryder Cup, millions of people worldwide will be watching the pressure will be enormous. Thats ok Paul said, when you are a major champion you can deal with the pressure. Yer an arse Monty said.
Did i say that Brian Harman would be suited to this links golf course... 4- under through the first 5 holes this morning...!! Gwaaaannn son...!!!!
Take a bow son, take a bow... -6 for the round,. -10 under for the tournament, and an eagle 3 on the 18th... Now then Brian, don't mess this up now you hear...
The maverick steer is on the rampage! Tyrell doing a double OOB and then pulling into the rough to end up with a nine on the eighteenth. Interesting to note that Harman followed his 26 putts yesterday with only 23 today. Phenomenal on this course!
A good day at a Hoylake yesterday. Got there very early and went to the practice ground where a pocket size lefty was studiously drilling ball after ball. I remarked to my mate that at the rate he was going he’d run out of gas halfway round. The chap was a certain Brian Harman . Anyway onto the course and decided to pick a few spots and watch groups come through. Great spot on the first green for a couple of hours, seeing all the early stellar groups through. Noted early that Keegan Bradley would be a nightmare to play with - takes forever. Then spent a few hours alternating around 14th green, 15th tee, 17th green and 16th green. Well what can I say; saw Travis Smith’s ace, Min Woo Lee play the best recovery shot I’ve ever seen from the beach/dunes back to within a foot of the 17th pin (looked impossible) and then just for good measure the Just Stop Oil dudes. Finally made our way to the 18th green grandstand and saw all the early groups finish off, including Harman’s eagle and Hatton’s ninemare. So all in all thoroughly enjoyed it. The transport organisation (took the train from just north of Chester) was excellent as were the hundreds of volunteers on the course to direct and help. Food stations dotted around the course were decent and not ridiculously expensive. Same can’t be said about the merch shop though. Eye watering prices for stuff like ball markers, pitch mark repairers, towels that probably cost a quid to produce. The thing is though I came home empty handed plenty seemed happy enough to shell out.
