Tournament: The 152nd Open Championship, July 17-20, 2024
Course: Royal Troon Golf Club (Old Course), 7,385 yards, par 71. Troon, Scotland. On the Firth of Clyde, a wee bit from Fullerton Fairy, just off the B749. Also about half an hour southwest of Glasgow.
Purse: $17 million total, and $3.1 million to the winner of the Gold Medal, and Champion Golfer of the Year (the fancy official title for the Open champ).
Defending Champ: The Skoal-spitting, turkey-hunting, tractor-driving, dinner-plate-putter-head rolling, Georgia born, Georgia bred, University of Georgia educated Brian Harman. After opening up 67-65, Harman had built a 5 stroke lead at the cut. He held onto that big lead in the 3rd round, muting the crowd’s support for Tommy Fleetwood, a local favorite who he was paired with that day. And though he wasn’t quite as sharp in the final round, the little lefty always bounced back with key birdies and really wrapped up the result with 4 holes to play. He became the second former Bulldog to win a major, and both are left-handed.
Fun Fact: The weather forecast. And this is my favorite part about the British Open broadcast (aside from watching live major golf at my breakfast): Scottish summer weather with squalls off the North Atlantic. As of this writing, the official forecast calls for “unsettled conditions”. In south Georgia, that equates to an extra humid summer day with what Lewis Grizzard calls “a bad cloud comin’ up”. In Scotland, that’s every other day. And in this case, its bursts of rain with strengthening winds, probably with gusts in the 25-30 mph range, and temps not getting out of the 60’s. But like you never bet against a Kirby Smart signee with no other major college offers, don’t bet on this being accurate. I’m just hoping it is. I like to see these guys suffer.
TV Times: Remember the US is a few hours behind Scotland, so live TV will start early for many of us. USA Network has the coverage Thursday and Friday from 4:00 am ET until 3 pm ET (they also have long days in that part of the world this time of year). Saturday starts a little later on USA at 5 am ET, and NBC picks it up at 7:00 am ET until 3:00 pm. Sunday is much of the same. There is a streaming schedule as well on the dreaded Peacock app, with early round, late round, and featured groups each day starting around 1:30 am. If I remember correctly, The Open app was pretty decent last year. Not Masters app good, but very serviceable.
‘Dawgs in the Field: 7. Chris Kirk, Russell Henley, Brian Harman, Sepp Straka, Brendon Todd, Harris English, Davis Thompson.
Links golf is always fun, and definitely quirky. And Troon checks both those boxes, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde (essentially a bay of the Irish Sea). What is “links golf” you may ask? There are a few explanations, but the most accurate is golf played on United Kingdom land that “linked” fertile farmland with the sea. So the infertile land along the coast was utilized for other purposes, and roughly 500 years ago the game of golf found a home.
You can say it is golf played along the ground, instead of in the air, and you’re also right. That is by necessity, as the windy conditions off the salt water play havoc with a golf ball hit high. And the winds are the reason the greens are significantly slower than parkland or resort courses – shave the greens and the wind would literally blow balls off the surface.
You can say it is golf on flat land, with mounds, pot bunkers, sandy soil, long and wispy rough, and tight lies on the fairway. You’re right here too, but that is by design. You can’t grow lush grass in the coastal North Atlantic that is pummeled by both wind and rain and cool climates. Bunkers are numerous but not expansive. They are smaller “traps” for off-target shots.
You’ll probably hear a lot of the famous Eighth Hole – a par 3 referred to as the “Postage Stamp” due to its small putting surface. Playing at a mere 123 yards, you could almost throw a golf ball onto the green. But the dreaded Coffin Bunker off the left side awaits, as well as others, and this is a hole the pros will gladly take 4 pars for the week.
The course isn’t long, but it has funky holes and again, the main defense is the “typical” windy and wet weather. A ball rolling in the fairway can easily find the small and deep bunkers, a ball off center can find the knee-high fescue, and a really wayward shot can find the impossible gorse. I can’t wait.
Of our former Bulldogs, Davis Thompson is probably showing the best form. He has some high finishes this summer including his first Tour win in Iowa. Henley has shown some flashes, and Harman is riding 8 straight rounds in the 60’s. Tee times below are listed as local (Scotland), then for the US East Coast.
8:47 am/3:47 am Chris Kirk. In what you’ll see is a recurring theme, Kirk has had mixed results when skipping across the Atlantic. He has only played the Open 5 other times but missed the cut in 3 of them and a T19 in 2014 was his best finish.
9:25 am/4:25 am Russell Henley. In 9 previous entries at the Open, Henley has made the cut 4 times. And only one finish in the top 20 (T20, 2015).
9:58 am/4:58 am Brian Harman. Brian’s performances at the Open were trending, after an inauspicious start. His first time resulted in T26. Then, missed cut (MC), MC, MC, MC, T19, T6, and of course winning last year.
10:31 am/5:31 am Harris English. Has had 8 previous appearances, and missed the cut in 3 of them. Other than a T15 in 2013, he hasn’t had a finish better than T46. Where Harris has good finishes in the US Open, the British doesn’t seem to fit his eye.
1:04 pm/8:04 am Sepp Straka and Brendon Todd. Todd has made the cut 3 times in 4 previous appearances, none at Troon. Straka missed the cut in his first Open (2022), but came back strong and actually tied for 2nd last year behind Brian Harman.
2:15 pm/9:15 am Davis Thompson. Thompson is making his maiden voyage to the British Open, and qualified thanks to his win at the John Deere Classic just 2 weeks ago.
So that’s who to watch, how to watch, and when to watch. Enjoy major golf as the sun rises. And as always…
GO ‘DAWGS!!!