The Open Championship
Bobby Mac! What a finish, what a lead-up to The Open Championship, what a win for Robert MacIntyre. MacIntyre now becomes the first Scot to win the event since Colin Montgomery in 1999. MacIntyre is putting together a very solid season thus, this notches his second win of the season and it couldn’t have come at a better time. This is huge momentum going into The Open this week. If you thought the country was hungover after his Scottish Open win, if he manages to win The Open the country might shut down for a week just to party.
We are down to the last major of the year, and we are in for a good one. This year The Open heads to a fan favorite, Royal Troon. This year could however be a little different. The weather has been less than appealing leading up to the event, and many of the courses along the water have been crushed with rain. The firm and fast conditions we are accustomed to might not happen this year like it has in years past. Coupled with the rain they’ve gotten in the past the first round will bring that notorious Scottish weather, high winds and you guessed it more rain. This weather will carry on till Saturday and hopefully by Sunday the rain will leave the forecast, the wind this week will be a whole different animal. The forecast is predicting wind gusts up to 25 mph. Now golf in bad weather is tough, but golf in this kind of weather is just down right difficult.
The weather is no surprise, the biggest news surrounding The Open Championship this year is whether or not this is Tiger’s last Open Championship. It’s no secret that every time Tiger tees it up he's almost always in pain. Between the most recent injuries coupled with all of his long term injuries, Tiger’s days are definitely numbered. The Open however is probably the most likely scenario where Tiger could actually win. Royal Troon is a much easier walk, the length isn’t a problem and the slower green speeds will eliminate three putts. Now do I personally think Tiger can win no, but he does and he's the greatest golfer to ever do it. There is another player who is on his last Open Championship start, Dustin Johnson. DJ is in his last year of exemptions from his Master’s win in 2020. It's hard to imagine a major championship without a DJ playing. Although his exemptions are running out DJ will always have a shot at the Masters and depending on how he finishes there he could qualify for the other majors that way. At this point, since leaving for LIV DJ has been less competitive in majors. This week I think it's finally Ludvig’s time. Between his stellar performance at The Masters, The US Open, and now the Scottish Open. He’s been knocking at the door for quite some time and this might be the week. Ludvig’s biggest hurdle, closing on Sunday. If he can manage to close on Sunday he will win The Open. (Mike)
Picks of the Week:
Tyler: My picks had a pretty solid showing last week. Xander did not perform as well as I would have expected, but Morikawa was right there on Sunday. These are two guys who I expect to play well again this week as the conditions get tougher and the stakes get higher. However, my pick to win this week is Rory. His game has been there all year and after a disastrous slip up at The US Open there would be no better way than to rebound with bringing home the claret jug. This is a pick made more with my heart because I want to see him succeed in this event so badly. My sleeper for this week is Tony Finau. Not many people seem to like his chances this week at Royal Troon, but he has been playing his consistent golf all year. It always seems like he finds a way to show up in contention in the majors. I think if conditions are as tough as some are predicting then we might see the local countrymen have an advantage over some of the best players. Knowing how to play in these conditions is only something that comes with repetition so I would not be shocked to see a lesser known player from the UK be up near the top on Sunday.
It is sad that this is the final major of the year, but I am thankful they now end with the best major of the year. There is nothing quite like the prestige and class that come with being The Champion Golfer of the Year. I am looking forward to a great weekend of links golf challenging the best players in the world and I will be rooting for a few weekend Tiger roars that roll across the course like nothing else in golf. (Tyler)