OT: British Open leaderboard..starts Thursday...EARLY!

[Blakeon18]

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150th Open...at the Old Course in Scotland...home of golf...last major of the year.

With the 5 hour difference the tee times Thursday morning over there start at 1:30 AM [our time].

TV coverage:
Thursday and Friday USA 4:00AM to 3:00PM...our time
Saturday 5-7 AM USA 7-3 NBC
Sunday 4-7 AM USA 7-2 NBC

They have had good weather and apparently that will be the case all 4 days. Significant wind.
The commentators say the course is playing fast...bouncy and hard...fairways and greens.
Due to those conditions it is playing short....but difficult... since the players will have trouble judging the direction and distance after
the ball lands.

Note: Tiger Wood is playing...course is generally flat so walking shouldn't be a big issue.
He seemed reasonably optimistic about his chances in his presser.

Should be entertaining TV with all the history and tradition surrounding the event and the quirkiness of the course...devilish
pot bunkers to start with.

 

[BBallF]

My favorite golf event of the year every year. There will surely be lots of retrospectives and old footage being the 150th which should be very entertaining. Get up early, get that great cup of coffee and watch live before work, during work, or before your own round of golf. If you think about it, there is no place in any other sport that can claim to be "The Home Of ...". St. Andrew's really is. Great that Tiger is playing too. I hope he makes the cut. He usually plays well on this course. In 2000, he shot 19 under par setting the Open record and didn't hit into a bunker on a single hole, 72 that is. If he is in contention, you won't have to rush out to get bagels on Sunday. There will be nobody on the roads.

 

[uconnfan68]

My favorite too. Our own US Open is a close second though. The Open just has more history and stories.

 

[Blakeon18]

The legend says that the steep/smallish pot bunkers were created hundreds of years ago by sheep burrowing their way into the sandy soil...making a deep hollow so they could avoid the elements. BTW: Tiger's tee time on Thursday is near 10:00 our time...so he is in the late Thursday/early Friday wave...leaving not so much time for his between rounds therapy and such. I'm guessing he would have preferred the early Thursday and late Friday.

 

[Blakeon18]

Cameron Young with the early lead....great round ...8 under 64.
He is a rookie...25 years old...and having a great year....several top finishes...almost won the PGA championship...maybe ROY. Of more significance in our little corner of the world: TonyC [excellent golfer] played a round with Young when Cameron was around 12. A fair guess would be that some of TonyC's optimism was in the air and Cameron breathed deeply. Good luck to Tony's guy. It's still Dixville-Notch early but Cameron is off to a great start.

 

[Forego]

The legend says that the steep/smallish pot bunkers were created hundreds of years ago by sheep burrowing their way into the sandy soil...making a deep hollow so they could avoid the elements. BTW: Tiger's tee time on Thursday is near 10:00 our time...so he is in the late Thursday/early Friday wave...leaving not so much time for his between rounds therapy and such. I'm guessing he would have preferred the early Thursday and late Friday.

Interesting fact - but did they really have to do most of their burrowing adjacent to the greens?

 

[MilfordHusky]

Tiger's short game is still lacking. I don't know how he hits long shots with his injured right leg, but his weak spot is chipping and putting. If he solves that, he may be competing in the future.

The pot bunkers are nasty. I recall the ill-fated Tommy Nakajima on the Road Hole about 35 years ago. He hit the green in 2--and again in 7. He putted into the bunker on 3 and took 4 tries to get out. He had been in 2nd place before that disaster.

 

[Blakeon18]

2 shot lead at 13 under thru 36 holes...Cameron Smith on top. Weather has been good....winds not so bad...forecast
for the weekend is more of the same. Interesting first page of the leaderboard....some stars, some future stars, some Cinderella types....several players who have played in the Saudi events are in contention [Dustin Johnson for one]....The R and A might not be too pleased if they have to present the 'Champion Golfer of the year' trophy to one of LIV'ers.

BTW: the fairways are not 'firm'...they are more 'baked'...tremendous rolls on tee shots. There seem to be about 5 or 6 par fours that can be driven. Having one such hole on a course is entertaining [a la #15 in Cromwell]...but 5 or 6 seem out of place. Scores are low...R and A perhaps not thrilled with that either.

Hoping for a Rory win...or Cameron Young [Tony C's guy]...or Scottie Sheffler...all playing great but Smith is the real deal ...a bit 'under the radar' deal as well. 'Tis a great leaderboard.

 

[eebmg]

Cameron Smith (-17 after 12) who appears to be the best putter by far chasing down McIlroy (-18 after 11)

 

[UcMiami]

What a back nine by both Cams, with Smith matching the major record of -20 and Young sinking an eagle putt at 18 to add a little pressure to his final putt.

 

[Alydar]

I was very glad to see Smith win. The announcers talked like they were all Rory's godfathers. On the first hole approach, the players had basically the same shot. The Azinger comments were: RM- "This is a perfect position for Rory to get close" For VH: "He better watch out for Swillkin Burn" They kept on having nothing but positive comments on the Irish Guy while pointing out all the possible disasters that Hovland "might" encounter. Then the kicker was when Smith was standing over the 2 foot putt on 18 to essentially clinch the title Azinger came out with: "Sanders choked on one like this", recollecting a famous miss in the British Open.

Come on Paul. You sounded like me rooting against the Red Sox.

 

[eebmg]

I think the big story now is that there are rumblings that more LIV defections (from competent golfers) is in the works.

 

[Blakeon18]

Cameron Smith did a great job with his putter. He made a bunch of clutch putts from 5-10 feet and some great clutch lag putts for tap-ins from afar.

POY: now a race
Scottie Sheffler with 4 wins including the Masters.
Cameron Smith with 3 wins including The Open and The Player's Championships. I think those 3 slightly trump Scottie's 4. Playoff events coming up in August...still time for Justin Thomas [PGA winner plus one more [I think] to steal it with several wins in those tournamnents including the final one.

BTW: Tony's guy [Cameron Young] almost stole this one with an eagle two on 18 for a 7 under 65..finished solo second...one back of the other Cameron. Think he has 9 fingers on the ROY crown.

Great TV...and yes...fans and announcers were pretty much all in on Rory.

 

[The deacon]

Cam Smith put on an awesome display, especially getting it up and down on the 17th, and Cam Young (a fellow Demon Deacon of mine) was nearly as terrific... Tony C, he can be your guy, but you've got to share.

As for Rory, as much as I like both Cams, I was 100 percent in Rory's camp. Before, during and after the Open, he was in the spotlight and performed remarkably well, never really yielding, more so just outplayed down the stretch.

Professional golf needs more players like Rory, who IMO is the most gracious in both victory and defeat since Jack Nicklaus. His interview maybe 10 minutes after falling short was textbook how an athlete, of any age, pro or amateur, should behave. I hurt for him as his quest goes on for his fifth major yet he proved once again why he is the best liked and most respected player in the game.

Alydar. your points about the TV media are spot on, but don't hold that against 'the Irish guy.' Azinger has never shied away from partisanship... now that Tiger Woods isn't a contender anymore, Zinger apparently has hitched his wagon to Rory.

All in all, watching the Open was a wonderful experience for me, including the early-week event with the old-timers and then Jack being accorded St. Andrew's citizenship, an honor previously given only to Ben Franklin and Bob Jones!

Thanks, Blake, for posting your original message.

 

[eebmg]

Cam Smith put on an awesome display, especially getting it up and down on the 17th, and Cam Young (a fellow Demon Deacon of mine) was nearly as terrific... Tony C, he can be your guy, but you've got to share.

As for Rory, as much as I like both Cams, I was 100 percent in Rory's camp. Before, during and after the Open, he was in the spotlight and performed remarkably well, never really yielding, more so just outplayed down the stretch.

Professional golf needs more players like Rory, who IMO is the most gracious in both victory and defeat since Jack Nicklaus. His interview maybe 10 minutes after falling short was textbook how an athlete, of any age, pro or amateur, should behave. I hurt for him as his quest goes on for his fifth major yet he proved once again why he is the best liked and most respected player in the game.

Alydar. your points about the TV media are spot on, but don't hold that against 'the Irish guy.' Azinger has never shied away from partisanship... now that Tiger Woods isn't a contender anymore, Zinger apparently has hitched his wagon to Rory.

All in all, watching the Open was a wonderful experience for me, including the early-week event with the old-timers and then Jack being accorded St. Andrew's citizenship, an honor previously given only to Ben Franklin and Bob Jones!

Thanks, Blake, for posting your original message.

6 Top level golfers including Cameron have jumped to LIV. Just waiting for Charles Barkley to anchor coverage

 

[eebmg]

6 Top level golfers including Cameron have jumped to LIV. Just waiting for Charles Barkley to anchor coverage

Maybe I jumped the gun since I do not see it verified anywhere. We will see.

 

[The deacon]

Maybe I jumped the gun since I do not see it verified anywhere. We will see.

I've seen that David Feherty will move to LIV media coverage, but no additional players in recent days. As you said, eebmg, we'll see... it's inevitable more will make the move for whatever reasons.

 

[Alydar]

If any Open bars players simply because they play another tour then they can no longer be called an Open.

The PGA Tour is a business largely controlled by the media and their advertisers and they are leading the holy war against LIV based on the sponsor but that is a straw dog. This is all about $$$. The only worse one-sided propaganda barrage has been the coverage of the trouble in the Ukraine.

 

[LoboDays]

If any Open bars players simply because they play another tour then they can no longer be called an Open.

The PGA Tour is a business largely controlled by the media and their advertisers and they are leading the holy war against LIV based on the sponsor but that is a straw dog. This is all about $$$. The only worse one-sided propaganda barrage has been the coverage of the trouble in the Ukraine.

It’s always about the $$$. There are no deeper pockets than the Saudis’. This will get uglier. What is the flip side of the Ukraine issue that you feel is missing?

 

[Alydar]

It’s always about the $$$. There are no deeper pockets than the Saudis’. This will get uglier. What is the flip side of the Ukraine issue that you feel is missing?

Not on this board. Verbotten.

 

[The deacon]

Not on this board. Verbotten.

I would be curious to learn of the flip side, too.

 

[LoboDays]

Not on this board. Verbotten.

You brought it up on this board.

 

[UcMiami]

It is an interesting issue - all of the majors entries are based on world rankings and as yet no LIV agreement with the governing body exists to use LIV tournaments for world ranking points. No ranking points have ever been issued for 54 hole tournaments which is what LIV means to play. All the tournaments are invitational no cut format - seems like a very small and exclusive company of golfers is the aim.

I also am a little confused about their complaints - the play maybe 20-25 weekends a year, they make a ton of money on sponsorships, and if they are good they make serious cash on prize money.

The no names on the PGA tour are the ones that are scrambling week to week