O/T The 151st Open Championship

Macseasider

Macseasider

Well-known member
Sooooo looking forward to this.

So what are we thinking?

Obviously Rory, Cam Smith, Scheffler, DJ, Koepke, Rahm etc etc.

Who have we got outside the proverbial box?

Rickie Fowler must be a good e/w bet?
Corey Conners is always there or there abouts.
Matt Fitz. Major winner now and putts for fun.

My outside bet is Min Woo Lee. Always in the mix and has a great record on links.

Thoughts??
 
Based on that Scottish Open last few holes, Rory must have incredible momentum. Similar weather conditions aswell probably. So Rory to do a Mickelson and win both in the same season.

Each way would be Rickie Fowler who seems to be running more hot than cold these days and is a bit of a dab hand at links golf.

Will be great hopefully, although I don’t like Hoylake all that much as a course.
 
I'll be there Friday and Sunday. The remodelled short 17th is attracting flak already. Quite right too, it's a ridiculous Mickey Mouse novelty job replacing what used to be a really good tricky par three. If the conditions get tough expect a few blow ups there. I particularly dislike it because in their wisdom they trashed part of the adjacent SSSI to build it.
Will still hopefully be another great weekend though with no clear favourite.
 
Mark_GT said:
I'll be there Friday and Sunday. The remodelled short 17th is attracting flak already. Quite right too, it's a ridiculous Mickey Mouse novelty job replacing what used to be a really good tricky par three. If the conditions get tough expect a few blow ups there. I particularly dislike it because in their wisdom they trashed part of the adjacent SSSI to build it.
Will still hopefully be another great weekend though with no clear favourite.
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Is it really that bad Mark? They seem to be quite proud of it watching a lot of TV and online coverage. It does seem a bit shit or bust with that green dropping off in every direction. But it does seem that they are looking for that Americanised feature hole. Let's see what happens I guess. They keep asking the pros what they think about it and they've all kind of down played it. Just don't be short I guess.
 
Macseasider said:
Is it really that bad Mark? They seem to be quite proud of it watching a lot of TV and online coverage. It does seem a bit shit or bust with that green dropping off in every direction. But it does seem that they are looking for that Americanised feature hole. Let's see what happens I guess. They keep asking the pros what they think about it and they've all kind of down played it. Just don't be short I guess.
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If you're long it's even worse Mac. Scratty sand and weeds chipping back up and that's if you don't go out of bounds off the back. Had the winds we had lately held on it would have been carnage! I think the issue is, a lot of it is down to luck rather than judgement. Anyway, we'll have fun finding out.
 
Macseasider said:
Sooooo looking forward to this.

So what are we thinking?

Obviously Rory, Cam Smith, Scheffler, DJ, Koepke, Rahm etc etc.

Who have we got outside the proverbial box?

Rickie Fowler must be a good e/w bet?
Corey Conners is always there or there abouts.
Matt Fitz. Major winner now and putts for fun.

My outside bet is Min Woo Lee. Always in the mix and has a great record on links.

Thoughts??
Click to expand...
Victor Hovland
 
Macseasider said:
Sooooo looking forward to this.

So what are we thinking?

Obviously Rory, Cam Smith, Scheffler, DJ, Koepke, Rahm etc etc.

Who have we got outside the proverbial box?

Rickie Fowler must be a good e/w bet?
Corey Conners is always there or there abouts.
Matt Fitz. Major winner now and putts for fun.

My outside bet is Min Woo Lee. Always in the mix and has a great record on links.

Thoughts??
Click to expand...
It's been rebranded as The Open. Fleetwood and Hatton our nearly men will feature, poss matt fitz. Too many to choose from.
 
Hatton was playing well in Scotland until he distracted himself with hissy fits. I wonder if Bob Mac can build on his second place finish. Just needs to believe.
 
My bets
£2 win
J. Rose @ 45/1
M.Homa @ 45/1
Wyndham Clark @ 45/1
J.Thomas @ 50/1
S.Burns @ 50/1

£2 e.w.
T.Pieters @ 200/1
T.Olesen @ 200/1
D.Hillier @ 250/1
T.Lawrence @ 400/1
M.Siem @ 500/1.
John Rahm is my tip of the favs.
 
Had a great day out at the opening practice today.
Well organised Merseyrail to and from Hoylake.
Great facilities and close up view of the top players.
A nice tan too as I sat on the grandstand of 18th hole to watch players interact like Spieth,Rory and Tommy Fleetwood.

£7.50 a pint and felt comfortable again after reading the teetotal thread on O/T forum.
The booze was flowing!
 
No pun intended but it's the most open of all the majors.

As easy as it could be for Rory to run away with it you could have someone like Daniel Hillier or Denny McArthy win it.
There's always someone at the top of the leaderboard after a couple of rounds where you think 'who the fecks that?'

No one had heard of Todd Hamilton or Ben Curtis before they won the open and with the skills the journeymen have nowadays it wouldn't surprise me.

Hoping for an exciting 4 days of golf ⛳️ 👍🏻
 
Mark_GT said:
I'll be there Friday and Sunday. The remodelled short 17th is attracting flak already. Quite right too, it's a ridiculous Mickey Mouse novelty job replacing what used to be a really good tricky par three. If the conditions get tough expect a few blow ups there. I particularly dislike it because in their wisdom they trashed part of the adjacent SSSI to build it.
Will still hopefully be another great weekend though with no clear favourite.
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Tbh the game has got so easy for these guys nowadays I'm up for anything that makes Their life harder!

I'm going Friday, can't wait 🤗
 
Here we go!!
It's bad enough teeing off in your local medal final but to tee off first in the open at your course 😵‍💫🤯

And hooks it in the rough, and relax😉😁
 
I think this will be won by the player most capable of playing in the rank soggy conditions at the weekend. Even tamed as it is from its best days as a links this is different to the manicured courses most are used to playing week to week. Shame the Westerly wind has dropped because that would make it scary.
 
4 hr 45 minute round for Mathew Jordan.
I know he was first out but I bet by the time Rory plays it'll be 5 hr 30 min!!
 
Wizzerboy said:
4 hr 45 minute round for Mathew Jordan.
I know he was first out but I bet by the time Rory plays it'll be 5 hr 30 min!!
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I wonder what the R &A timing sheets reveal. They have an average time for each group to complete a hole. Wouldn’t be surprised if the limit for completing the Hoylake course is around 4 hours 30 minutes minimum. Seems a lot as we can get around our own courses much quicker if not held up, but a bit different when playing in an Open on a course with many tricky shots around the green.
I think you’re right, it’ll be well over 5 hours by this evening.
 
My ex father in law was a member at Hoylake for years until his death. His wake was held there. He would be fuming if a round took him anything much over three hours.
 
Mark_GT said:
My ex father in law was a member at Hoylake for years until his death. His wake was held there. He would be fuming if a round took him anything much over three hours.
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Wonder how long it'd have taken him if he was trying to win the claret jug😉
 
Fleetwood going along nicely. Couple of good long putts. 3 birdies on the bounce.

Hopefully he can keep this up.
 
Lytham_fy8 said:
This 17th is a joke of a hole, it'll decide the tournament.
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Take a look at posts 3 and 5 Lytham. You are spit on, particularly with wind and rain about. It's a cooked up americanised novelty hole and if it shows up the R&A and the hierarchy at RLGC they thoroughly deserve it.
 
The Open is always a good watch but can’t help feeling that this course has been manufactured (maybe not the correct word) a bit too much.

Making the 17th a very Americanised par 3, and moving the order of the course is played (the 18th in this open is normally the 16th hole) so they finish on a par 5 feels a bit more like its set up to make an ‘entertainment’ finish for television.
 
Mark_GT said:
Take a look at posts 3 and 5 Lytham. You are spit on, particularly with wind and rain about. It's a cooked up americanised novelty hole and if it shows up the R&A and the hierarchy at RLGC they thoroughly deserve it.
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It’s a bit like arriving at the 17th at Sawgrass with a one shot lead!
There one or two comparable holes on British Links like the postage stamp at Troon or the 13th at Saunton.
One thing in its favour is that a par 3 doesn’t have to be 250yds to be formidable.
Same architect who designed the hole is responsible for making the changes at Royal Lytham and he’s renowned for creating waste areas.
 
I like Rahm, but as a golf fan it's great to see a top player having to go backwards out of a bunker. That's what proper links golf is all about, not those crappy American sandpits that they actually seem to aim at sometimes as it's easier than the alternative approach.

By the way, I was just out in the back garden listening to the cheers from the course. The weather has begun the change in the last hour, clouds billowing up and the breeze getting more stiff. There tomorrow - can't wait.
 
The bunkers are unfair and I don’t think Padraig likes them
“Interesting bunkers this week. They’ve flattened out the bottom of then so the ball will not roll back from the face. So a double whammy of being stuck close to the face without the benefit of a slight upslope which you would normally expect. Definitely to be avoided as you won’t get lucky all week and draw nice lies. “
I agree with him, same at Lytham
 
John Daly must have a better offer for the weekend. He arrived at the 18th well ahead of the cut then hit three drives out of bounds, one of which ended up in the ladies bogs 😵‍💫🤣
 
CAGU said:
The bunkers are unfair and I don’t think Padraig likes them
“Interesting bunkers this week. They’ve flattened out the bottom of then so the ball will not roll back from the face. So a double whammy of being stuck close to the face without the benefit of a slight upslope which you would normally expect. Definitely to be avoided as you won’t get lucky all week and draw nice lies. “
I agree with him, same at Lytham
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Bunkers aren't unfair, they are a hazard to be avoided.
Links bunkers are bastards and along with the weather are the only defence the course has got.

The pros hit the ball that long there's no need to hit driver but a strategically placed iron doesn't boost the ego as much as a 330 yard bomb off the tee🤷
 
Wizzerboy said:
Bunkers aren't unfair, they are a hazard to be avoided.
Links bunkers are bastards and along with the weather are the only defence the course has got.

The pros hit the ball that long there's no need to hit driver but a strategically placed iron doesn't boost the ego as much as a 330 yard bomb off the tee🤷
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Clearly all the crying and whinging has worked and they have graded the bunkers up a bit. Got a feeling it won't help much though🤔
 
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