Thoughts on British Open weather, Steve Marino, Geoff Ogilvy and more
More random musings from Turnberry ...
• Hooray, the weather finally got nasty. This is what a British Open is supposed to feel like. On Thursday guys were sweating in short sleeves, and that's just not kosher. Aside from the aesthetic reasons, Turnberry simply needed more bite, and the testy conditions have already begun to separate the men (Goosen, Cabrera, Kaymer, Calc) from the boys (Curtis, Senden, Mahan, Gay). I hope the weekend brings more wind and rain and punishment. At least outside the press room.
• Steve Marino is not going to win the first British Open he ever shows up for but he's a very legit player. A couple of veterans have told me they think Marino is the best player on Tour who has not yet won a tournament. He has a lot of firepower off the tee and very soft hands and more imagination than most, which has been evident during his two stellar opening rounds. The best shot I've seen so far at this Open was his 5-iron at 17, from 227 yards out. Marino hit a big, high, slinging cut that rode a stiff left-to-right breeze, falling out of the sky 20 feet from the hole for the eagle that keyed his 68. Pretty macho.
• Turnberry is sometimes called the Pebble Beach of Scotland because of the beautiful holes that hug the craggy coast but the similarities don't end there. Both courses are in a remote spot accessible only by a two-lane road. The drive into Turnberry is such a lovely way to start the day. It winds through green hills dotted with sheep and meadows exploding in wildflowers. The majestic ruins of two old castles are an evocative reminder of all of Scotland's ancient history. Just when you're getting antsy to arrive at the Open the road reaches the crest of a steep slope and then plunges downhill, revealing the course and coastline below. It's breath-taking, and sure beats the Long Island Expressway.
• I'm officially off the Geoff Ogilvy bandwagon. Dude made exactly zero birdies Friday en route to a sporty 78. For the week he had more double bogeys (5) than birds (3). Good thing he stole that U.S. Open a few years ago because he's looking increasingly star-crossed in the majors. The only positive for Ogilvy is that he finished one stroke ahead of Ian Poulter, a popular pick to win coming in. (That means you, D. Hack.) After his strong runner-up finish at last year's Open I think Poulter got Andymurrayized, which is too say, overwhelmed by the crushing expectations of being Great Britain's best hope on the home soil.
• One of the pleasures of being at the Open is getting to read the prose of the Euro golf writers. Ian Chadband in the The Telgraph had this to say about Woods's uneven first round: "He drove like a sizzled learner…He has that John McEnroe knack losing his rag -- the cry of 'Godamit!' after a shocking drive at the third had been replaced by something rather shorter and more Anglo-Saxon by the 13th." Can't wait to read what Chadband's brethren have to say on Saturday morning. As jingoistic as the press is over here, the loudest spontaneous eruption of the day was when T. Watson made his ocean-goer on the 16th hole. Just goes to show that more than country, all reporters love a good story.
• After watching a couple hundred fans fail to find Tiger's ball in the weeds on the 10th hole I suddenly don't feel so bad at failing to locate a couple balls in the Royal Troon rough during a glorious twilight round last night. Every fairway over here should be framed in red stakes because once a ball buries in the long grass it's a lottery as to whether it ever gets found.
• Fearless weekend prediction: Retief Goosen plays the best golf but, as has become a habit, lets it get away late on Sunday, handing the Claret Jug to... drumroll ... Stewey Cink. Tweet, tweet.
Posted by: Sammy | Jul 18, 2009 1:40:13 PM
seriously DUDE are you a golf writer or a sensationalist? Did you not see Geoff Ogilvy hold his nerve when everyone else couldnt to win that USOpen he STOLE? Have you not seen him win EVERY match of his thats gone extra holes at the WGC Matchplay event. Did you not see him stop Tigers streak at Doral? Not everyone plays well every week, but he is a big time performer!! After all how many golfers, other than tiger have won more than 1 WGC? Geoff Ogilvy and Darren Clarke. And Darren has never won a major! If you know golf, and you apparently think you do you know that people have bad holes, days weeks, even months and years!!!!
Posted by: dan | Jul 18, 2009 11:29:42 AM
To Johnson Tom Watson is I would say the most liked American golfer over here. He plays beautiful golf, he loves golf and knows and respects its history and traditions, and of course played in "The Duel In the Sun" which has been everywhere in the media this week. Payne Stewart was cut from the same cloth as is Furyk, but I am afraid that the same can't be said of many other American golfers. Tiger in particular with his cursing and slamming the club is disrespectful.
How he can think he can just turn up on the Tuesday to a course like the Ailsa and do well I cannot imagine. I have been fortunate enough to play it twice, and it beat me up both times off forward tees so I can only imagine how hard it must be off the tips in a howling gale.
Would love to see Tom Watson win.
Posted by: Pete | Jul 18, 2009 6:06:19 AM
John, the 'Limey' press and Limeys in general would love to see Watson win a 6th Open. Why the hell not?
Posted by: Jon | Jul 17, 2009 5:58:19 PM
As well as Ian Poulter being Andymurrayized is there not a danger of Tiger having something similar going on? The amount of picking of him going into the tournament despite this course being a tee shot course (the only real partial weakness in his game) where the other opens he won were on courses where the rough was more forgiving? I think it's fairer to him to lower expectations until 2010.
Perhaps this will also enable him to tone down the petulant bratty reactions when he hits an imperfect shot. This is starting to be annoying and am sure can't help him to stay on an even keel during the rounds. In Friday's round in particular it seemed his loss of composure poured oil on his mid round troubles and made it worse. What do people think?
Posted by: Johnson | Jul 17, 2009 5:27:42 PM
Other than Troon , what other courses have you played over there while covering the Open?
Posted by: John | Jul 17, 2009 4:09:46 PM
If you think the Limey press likes "a good story," and wants a Yank to win, even Tom Watson, you're a fool.