The Open Championship - 2024

[Splatt]

G’day golfers,

The final major of the year is here!!
I don’t know whether to be excited or sad that major season is nearly over.
Major season seems to fly by quicker and quicker each year.

However, we’re in for a great event at Royal Troon. Let’s get stuck in!

This year is the 152nd Open Championship and this will be the 10th time that Royal Troon has held the prestigious tournament; a quick over view of the previous Open Championships at Royal Troon:

·         1923 – Havers wins with a birdie on the last to beat Hagen

·         1950 – Bobby Locke defends his Open Championship after a win the previous year at Royal St.George’s

·         1962 – Arnold Palmer wins by over 6 shots

·         1973 – Weiskopf wins wire to wire

·         1982 – Tom Watson wins his 4th open on his 4th Scottish course

·         1989 – Mark Calcavecchia win the first ever 3-way play off in an Open Championship

·         1997 – Justin Leonard comes back from 5 behind to win by 3 with a final round 65

·         2004 – Todd Hamilton wins his only career major by defeating Ernie Els by 1 stroke in a 4-hole play-off

·         2016 – Henrick Stenson tops Phil Mickelson who led the first 2 days

Royal Troon is a par-71, 7,385-yard links style course, with a traditional out and back style similar to The Old Course at St.Andrews. Troons opening holes are the birdie opportunities that players can carry into their round as they typically play downwind. The back 9 at Royal Troon have been called some of the hardest finishing holes in golf, this is where the final round REALLY starts on Sunday.
This year the 6th hole par-5 will play as the longest in the Open Championship’s history at 623-yards long; it’s going to need a great drive and a great 2nd for most to even get into a good lay-up position.
On the other end of the spectrum the par-3 8th hole is looking at having the tees played in the forward position this year and “could” play only 99-yards.
 

Last year the Open Championship was at Royal Liverpool and it was a wet and dreary affair…. Perfect conditions for an Open Championship.
Phil Harman was unfazed and dominated the field by a huge 6 shots to win his first major.
Harman held a 5 shot advantage heading into the final round, so it was always going to be a hell of an uphill charge for the players behind. Harman bogied the 13th hole to give the field the slightest of hopes, but back-to-back birdies on 14 & 15 dashed the dreams of the field and made the dreams come true for Brian Harman.
 

Field Highlights

·         Scottie Scheffler – The current world number 1, and with 6 wins (including a major), 2 runner up finishes, and zero missed cuts (including the time he got arrested before his tee time), Scottie is a well deserved number 1.
Scottie’s worst result of the year came at the last major with a T-41 finish at the US Open, which isn’t great, but he’s played an event and won since then, so it obviously didn’t affect him too much. Scottie finished T-23 last year at The Open, T-21 the year prior, and his best finish was his first Open Championship in 2021 with a T-8.
Scottie has had a fantastic year so I have no doubt he’ll be in the mix somewhere.
 

·         Brian Harman – The defending champ. Highlights below, but if you have a few minutes you should watch Brian Harmans final round at Royal Liverpool last year. Considering he was on the cusp of winning his first ever major, the calmness and professionalism he displayed was unreal and fitting of an Open Champion. His season this year has been a bit of a mixed bag with his closest to a win coming at The Players with a runner-up finish. His best result in the Majors this year has been a T-21 at the US open, the others were a T-26 at the PGA Championship and a missed cut at The Masters.
Hopefully the weight of being the defending champ doesn’t weigh too heavily.
 

·         Robert McIntyre – Scotland’s own Robert McIntyre is coming into The Open Championship at Royal Troon in Scotland with a win at The Scottish Open… in Scotland.
That’s about as good prep as you can have coming into the last major of he year that’s being played in your home country. McIntyre started off the year on a rough foot with a T-52 finish at the Sony Open in Hawaii before moving onto missing 3 cuts in a row at The American Express, Farmers Insurance Open, and WM Phoenix Open. He then found a bit of form with a T-6 the week after. He has also had a win at the RBC Canadian open this year.
Robert McIntyre is as tenacious as they come and his resume is living proof you can’t keep the man down. Both wins he’s had this year came off the back of a missed cut.
How’s that for bouncing back
 

·         Bryson DeChambeau – Bryson has been in the mix of every single major this year with a T-6 at The Masters, solo-2nd at the PGA Championship, and winning last months US Open. Looking at the most recent results everyone is expecting big things from Bryson, me included, but his record at The Open is not as pleasant as the rest of the Major Championship.
With his swing speed, Bryson has a tendency to hit it very high so in the past he has struggled at these links style courses. He finished T-60 last year, T-8 (his best Open Championship finish) in 2022, T-33 in 2021, MC in 2019, T-51 in 2018, and a MC in 2017.
He’s having a great season at the Major’s so I’m more hopeful he will have a great finish this year.

The rest of the field can be found here.

 

There’s lots of coverage to consume already in the build up to The Open Championship including interviews, live coverage from the range, and footage of practise rounds.
Get stuck in and get yourself excited for this final Major.

 

Who takes the cake?
Which favourite misses the cut?

Sound out in the comments

SPLATT

[GolfSpy_APH]

The best weekend in golf... For me.

[jerrodmk]

We went to the Open last year for the first time and loved every second. Already saving up pennies for a return trip. I love seeing links style golf, especially at these old classic courses. 

[KurtActual]

Hoping that Rory can get the monkey off his back. Seeing the pain he was going through in "Full Swing" made me pull for him.

[stokkehk]

Big Sahith guy, here. Followed him around the Old in '22. It's always an adventure, but his putting looked dialed at Renaissance. 

[MichaelC_81]

Fingers crossed Adam Scott can get over the line this week, would be great to see an Aussie take the win. Also, keen to see big Bryson put on a show.

[funkyjudge]

On 7/16/2024 at 7:54 AM, Splatt said:

G’day golfers,

The final major of the year is here!!
I don’t know whether to be excited or sad that major season is nearly over.
Major season seems to fly by quicker and quicker each year.

However, we’re in for a great event at Royal Troon. Let’s get stuck in!

This year is the 152nd Open Championship and this will be the 10th time that Royal Troon has held the prestigious tournament; a quick over view of the previous Open Championships at Royal Troon:

·         1923 – Havers wins with a birdie on the last to beat Hagen

·         1950 – Bobby Locke defends his Open Championship after a win the previous year at Royal St.George’s

·         1962 – Arnold Palmer wins by over 6 shots

·         1973 – Weiskopf wins wire to wire

·         1982 – Tom Watson wins his 4th open on his 4th Scottish course

·         1989 – Mark Calcavecchia win the first ever 3-way play off in an Open Championship

·         1997 – Justin Leonard comes back from 5 behind to win by 3 with a final round 65

·         2004 – Todd Hamilton wins his only career major by defeating Ernie Els by 1 stroke in a 4-hole play-off

·         2016 – Henrick Stenson tops Phil Mickelson who led the first 2 days

Royal Troon is a par-71, 7,385-yard links style course, with a traditional out and back style similar to The Old Course at St.Andrews. Troons opening holes are the birdie opportunities that players can carry into their round as they typically play downwind. The back 9 at Royal Troon have been called some of the hardest finishing holes in golf, this is where the final round REALLY starts on Sunday.
This year the 6th hole par-5 will play as the longest in the Open Championship’s history at 623-yards long; it’s going to need a great drive and a great 2nd for most to even get into a good lay-up position.
On the other end of the spectrum the par-3 8th hole is looking at having the tees played in the forward position this year and “could” play only 99-yards.
 

Last year the Open Championship was at Royal Liverpool and it was a wet and dreary affair…. Perfect conditions for an Open Championship.
Phil Harman was unfazed and dominated the field by a huge 6 shots to win his first major.
Harman held a 5 shot advantage heading into the final round, so it was always going to be a hell of an uphill charge for the players behind. Harman bogied the 13th hole to give the field the slightest of hopes, but back-to-back birdies on 14 & 15 dashed the dreams of the field and made the dreams come true for Brian Harman.
 

Field Highlights

·         Scottie Scheffler – The current world number 1, and with 6 wins (including a major), 2 runner up finishes, and zero missed cuts (including the time he got arrested before his tee time), Scottie is a well deserved number 1.
Scottie’s worst result of the year came at the last major with a T-41 finish at the US Open, which isn’t great, but he’s played an event and won since then, so it obviously didn’t affect him too much. Scottie finished T-23 last year at The Open, T-21 the year prior, and his best finish was his first Open Championship in 2021 with a T-8.
Scottie has had a fantastic year so I have no doubt he’ll be in the mix somewhere.
 

·         Brian Harman – The defending champ. Highlights below, but if you have a few minutes you should watch Brian Harmans final round at Royal Liverpool last year. Considering he was on the cusp of winning his first ever major, the calmness and professionalism he displayed was unreal and fitting of an Open Champion. His season this year has been a bit of a mixed bag with his closest to a win coming at The Players with a runner-up finish. His best result in the Majors this year has been a T-21 at the US open, the others were a T-26 at the PGA Championship and a missed cut at The Masters.
Hopefully the weight of being the defending champ doesn’t weigh too heavily.
 

·         Robert McIntyre – Scotland’s own Robert McIntyre is coming into The Open Championship at Royal Troon in Scotland with a win at The Scottish Open… in Scotland.
That’s about as good prep as you can have coming into the last major of he year that’s being played in your home country. McIntyre started off the year on a rough foot with a T-52 finish at the Sony Open in Hawaii before moving onto missing 3 cuts in a row at The American Express, Farmers Insurance Open, and WM Phoenix Open. He then found a bit of form with a T-6 the week after. He has also had a win at the RBC Canadian open this year.
Robert McIntyre is as tenacious as they come and his resume is living proof you can’t keep the man down. Both wins he’s had this year came off the back of a missed cut.
How’s that for bouncing back
 

·         Bryson DeChambeau – Bryson has been in the mix of every single major this year with a T-6 at The Masters, solo-2nd at the PGA Championship, and winning last months US Open. Looking at the most recent results everyone is expecting big things from Bryson, me included, but his record at The Open is not as pleasant as the rest of the Major Championship.
With his swing speed, Bryson has a tendency to hit it very high so in the past he has struggled at these links style courses. He finished T-60 last year, T-8 (his best Open Championship finish) in 2022, T-33 in 2021, MC in 2019, T-51 in 2018, and a MC in 2017.
He’s having a great season at the Major’s so I’m more hopeful he will have a great finish this year.

The rest of the field can be found here.

 

There’s lots of coverage to consume already in the build up to The Open Championship including interviews, live coverage from the range, and footage of practise rounds.
Get stuck in and get yourself excited for this final Major.

 

Who takes the cake?
Which favourite misses the cut?

Sound out in the comments

SPLATT

“Phil” Harman? - Freudian slip there???

I have played many courses in Scotland and NW England, including six that are on the Open Championship rota (and three others that were formerly on that rota). Of the Open Championship courses that I have played, Royal Troon remains my favorite, and I will be watching this year’s championship with great interest (this is easily my favorite golf tournament of the year always, and the fact that it is being played at Troon makes it even more interesting).

I would absolutely love to see Robbie McIntyre win again this week, but that would be a huge ask. It would also be nice to see Ludvig Aberg in contention and actually win this week. Anyone but Rory McIlroy or Patrick Cantlay!

In addition to Tiger and Phil Mickelson missing the cut, I am thinking that we probably won’t be seeing Rickie Fowler and probably not Justin Thomas on the weekend at this year’s Open.

I absolutely hope that it’s a great championship and that some rain and wind play a significant role this weekend!

 

[irishmonk]

Going to keep my eye on Nicolai Højgaard. [100/1]. 

 

[Indy_Oz]

Fleetwood for me. Really hoping he can come good and win his first major this time out. I have some $$ on him to win, so that would be an added bonus

[TJ Hall]

Always excited for the Open Championship…it’s a different type of golf and just enjoy watching it!

[sp0rtsfan86]

This is probably my favorite for several reasons, but mostly because I can watch it early at work.

[Splatt]

Oh man, Rory and DeChambeau are having horror starts. 

Same with Homa.

This course has serious teeth!!

[sp0rtsfan86]

Rory couldn't putt early and now can't hit the ball. He and Bryson will be close to the cut line after today. 

[Josh Ross]

What a day out there! Lots of big names that people expected to contend are near the bottom of the leaderboard. I know most of my teams I put together are flat out awful, haha.

[TSauer]

2 minutes ago, Josh Ross said:

What a day out there! Lots of big names that people expected to contend are near the bottom of the leaderboard. I know most of my teams I put together are flat out awful, haha.

Yeah... I was feeling pretty good about my fantasy picks, too. That should have been my first sign things weren't going to go well 

[Syks7]

Whenever I see Shane Lowry on top of a leaderboard at a windy/wet links course....

[fixyurdivot]

On 7/16/2024 at 4:54 AM, Splatt said:

G’day golfers,

The final major of the year is here!!
I don’t know whether to be excited or sad that major season is nearly over.
Major season seems to fly by quicker and quicker each year.

However, we’re in for a great event at Royal Troon. Let’s get stuck in!

This year is the 152nd Open Championship and this will be the 10th time that Royal Troon has held the prestigious tournament; a quick over view of the previous Open Championships at Royal Troon:

·         1923 – Havers wins with a birdie on the last to beat Hagen

·         1950 – Bobby Locke defends his Open Championship after a win the previous year at Royal St.George’s

·         1962 – Arnold Palmer wins by over 6 shots

·         1973 – Weiskopf wins wire to wire

·         1982 – Tom Watson wins his 4th open on his 4th Scottish course

·         1989 – Mark Calcavecchia win the first ever 3-way play off in an Open Championship

·         1997 – Justin Leonard comes back from 5 behind to win by 3 with a final round 65

·         2004 – Todd Hamilton wins his only career major by defeating Ernie Els by 1 stroke in a 4-hole play-off

·         2016 – Henrick Stenson tops Phil Mickelson who led the first 2 days

Royal Troon is a par-71, 7,385-yard links style course, with a traditional out and back style similar to The Old Course at St.Andrews. Troons opening holes are the birdie opportunities that players can carry into their round as they typically play downwind. The back 9 at Royal Troon have been called some of the hardest finishing holes in golf, this is where the final round REALLY starts on Sunday.
This year the 6th hole par-5 will play as the longest in the Open Championship’s history at 623-yards long; it’s going to need a great drive and a great 2nd for most to even get into a good lay-up position.
On the other end of the spectrum the par-3 8th hole is looking at having the tees played in the forward position this year and “could” play only 99-yards.
 

Last year the Open Championship was at Royal Liverpool and it was a wet and dreary affair…. Perfect conditions for an Open Championship.
Phil Harman was unfazed and dominated the field by a huge 6 shots to win his first major.
Harman held a 5 shot advantage heading into the final round, so it was always going to be a hell of an uphill charge for the players behind. Harman bogied the 13th hole to give the field the slightest of hopes, but back-to-back birdies on 14 & 15 dashed the dreams of the field and made the dreams come true for Brian Harman.
 

Field Highlights

·         Scottie Scheffler – The current world number 1, and with 6 wins (including a major), 2 runner up finishes, and zero missed cuts (including the time he got arrested before his tee time), Scottie is a well deserved number 1.
Scottie’s worst result of the year came at the last major with a T-41 finish at the US Open, which isn’t great, but he’s played an event and won since then, so it obviously didn’t affect him too much. Scottie finished T-23 last year at The Open, T-21 the year prior, and his best finish was his first Open Championship in 2021 with a T-8.
Scottie has had a fantastic year so I have no doubt he’ll be in the mix somewhere.
 

·         Brian Harman – The defending champ. Highlights below, but if you have a few minutes you should watch Brian Harmans final round at Royal Liverpool last year. Considering he was on the cusp of winning his first ever major, the calmness and professionalism he displayed was unreal and fitting of an Open Champion. His season this year has been a bit of a mixed bag with his closest to a win coming at The Players with a runner-up finish. His best result in the Majors this year has been a T-21 at the US open, the others were a T-26 at the PGA Championship and a missed cut at The Masters.
Hopefully the weight of being the defending champ doesn’t weigh too heavily.
 

·         Robert McIntyre – Scotland’s own Robert McIntyre is coming into The Open Championship at Royal Troon in Scotland with a win at The Scottish Open… in Scotland.
That’s about as good prep as you can have coming into the last major of he year that’s being played in your home country. McIntyre started off the year on a rough foot with a T-52 finish at the Sony Open in Hawaii before moving onto missing 3 cuts in a row at The American Express, Farmers Insurance Open, and WM Phoenix Open. He then found a bit of form with a T-6 the week after. He has also had a win at the RBC Canadian open this year.
Robert McIntyre is as tenacious as they come and his resume is living proof you can’t keep the man down. Both wins he’s had this year came off the back of a missed cut.
How’s that for bouncing back
 

·         Bryson DeChambeau – Bryson has been in the mix of every single major this year with a T-6 at The Masters, solo-2nd at the PGA Championship, and winning last months US Open. Looking at the most recent results everyone is expecting big things from Bryson, me included, but his record at The Open is not as pleasant as the rest of the Major Championship.
With his swing speed, Bryson has a tendency to hit it very high so in the past he has struggled at these links style courses. He finished T-60 last year, T-8 (his best Open Championship finish) in 2022, T-33 in 2021, MC in 2019, T-51 in 2018, and a MC in 2017.
He’s having a great season at the Major’s so I’m more hopeful he will have a great finish this year.

The rest of the field can be found here.

 

There’s lots of coverage to consume already in the build up to The Open Championship including interviews, live coverage from the range, and footage of practise rounds.
Get stuck in and get yourself excited for this final Major.

 

Who takes the cake?
Which favourite misses the cut?

Sound out in the comments

SPLATT

Great write-up Shawn!  As the years roll along, I have a tough time choosing which is my second favorite major; the US Open or The Open.  Absolutely love the tough conditions, as this always adds another wrinkle.  There is something about links golf, in the region of its birth, that is very unique.  

Edited July 18 by fixyurdivot

[GG194]

Trying to watch some of it this morning, some yesterday. Not used to watching tv with commercials and not sure I can suffer through it, hitting the mute button a lot. Since I’ve about quit watching golf on tv I am enjoying it. 

[GolfSpy_APH]

Sky Sports is down all morning so can't watch ... until now!

 

[Shapotomous]

I think the Open is the most interesting major to watch from a creativity standpoint.  I notice a lot of players gripping down on the club for tee shots and approaches trying to control the flight in the wind.  

Lowery is trying to figure his best option from the shrubs now....  I am surprised he is looking to drop along the line for his unplayable rather than playing his shot he hit from the previous spot....never mind, i turned the sound up and found out it was a provisional ball and not an unplayable drop.

Edited July 19 by Shapotomous

[fixyurdivot]

Ariel view of hole #8... a diabolical, scorecard wrecking horror show. Isn't it fascinating how some of the shortest holes on so many courses around the globe can be so challenging.

I'll bet Joaquin would have never anticipated this trainwreck stepping up to the tee .

Edited July 19 by fixyurdivot

[RPBRENNAN]

Where do you find leaderboard standings for Titelist contest?

[TJ Hall]

11 minutes ago, RPBRENNAN said:

Where do you find leaderboard standings for Titelist contest?

There was a link in the email you got after signing up, should be at the bottom.

[Kenny B]

1 hour ago, TJ Hall said:

There was a link in the email you got after signing up, should be at the bottom.

… along with my picks.  

[KC Golf]

Rory missing the cut is a shocker.  Aberg and Bryson, not so much.  The biggest surprise is that Fowler made the cut.  His game is so unpredictable… 

Needless to say, I am a bottom dweller in the pool unless Crowdstrike alters my picks and randomly assigns better players!

[Shapotomous]

Some low scores happening this morning, JT going out with a 31, Lawrence at -7 on his first 8 holes.  

[Syks7]

Let's go Billy Ho!   That would be a pleasant surprise to this season.

[GolfSpy_APH]

The Open is the best..need I say more?

[TJ Hall]

6 minutes ago, GolfSpy_APH said:

The Open is the best..need I say more?

Nope…it is awesome!  Some crazy conditions out there!

Scheffler’s 3 wood on 17…thing of beauty!

[Middler]

What a rough day for the late starters. Seems a little unfair that half the field gets great scoring conditions while others are using driver on a 238 yd par 3 - BUT they/we all know that's part of the British Open. I was sorry to see Dan Brown double the 18th, we'll see how he and all the others clustered near the lead fare tomorrow. Should be great. Looks like Sunday weather will be a little more benign.