The Sand Trap

A year later than scheduled, Shane Lowry will be heading off to Sandwich, Kent, in the hope of retaining the Claret Jug he won in 2019. The 149th Open takes place from the 15th-18th July at Royal St George’s. The course last held the event in 2011 – when Darren Clarke was a surprise winner. It’s not the easiest course on The Open rotation, but it’s no Carnoustie either. It’s what players like to call a “fair” course.

As for the contenders this year, it’s, well – it looks very open. It’s always worth taking the odds with a pinch of salt when betting on golf, particularly the majors. This year, we have already seen a shock winner with Phil Mickelson taking the PGA Championship – “Lefty” was 150/1 with some sportsbooks before rolling back the years at Kiawah Island. The last two winners of The Open at Royal St George’s, Darren Clarke (2011) and Ben Curtis (2003), were also huge betting outsiders.

Continue reading “The 149th Open: Discussing the Odds of the Top Contenders”

Every week the world golf rankings receive an update via a supercomputer. The results are often eagerly anticipated, especially by those who feel they will have made progress by moving up a few places. It applies to Scottish player Robert MacIntyre, a man with a big future in the sport if things continue to go to plan.

MacIntyre, 24, who hails from Oban in Scotland, picked up his maiden European Tour title a couple of months ago back in November 2020 by winning the Aphrodite Hills Cyprus Showdown. The final round saw nineteen players remain, with MacIntyre carding 64 that edged him past Masahiro Kawamura by a shot to seal the victory. Following the success, MacIntyre was sitting in fifty-sixth in the world rankings. But even though he hasn’t played since, he’s climbed five places to fifty-first. And he’s now on the verge of the top fifty and everything that brings.

Continue reading “MacIntyre Aiming for More Than a Top 50 Spot”

Let’s face it: Not everyone is a fan of Bryson DeChambeau. Or, at the very least, the 27-year old’s ‘revolutionary’ tactics and focus on his physique divide opinion. Regardless, whatever it is that DeChambea is trying to say about the game of golf is worth hearing; the results he has achieved in a short space of time make that the case. But is the big-hitting player truly changing the game? Or is he just an outlier who will continue to play his own game while the rest of golf moves at its own pace? Looking back at 2020, the year that DeChambeau broke out (at least in the eyes of the media), those questions are still not easy to answer.

The first thing that we should clearly stress is that the story of Bryson DeChambeau is a bit more complex than is sometimes portrayed in the media. Sure, the Californian did emerge in the late spring bulked up (he gained about 40lbs) and with enough power to hit the ball further than anyone has managed before. But it is not as if he came from obscurity. DeChambeau was pinpointed for stardom as a young amateur and throughout his college years. In 2015 became only the third player in history to win the NCAA Division 1 Championship and US Amateur Open in the same year. The other two men to complete that feat? Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus.

Continue reading “Reflecting On Bryson DeChambeau’s 2020: Has He Really Changed Golf?”

Dustin Johnson is one of those “obvious after the fact” type of players. By that, we mean the world number one is capable of breezing through a tournament with supreme confidence, never looking in any danger of losing. As you watch, it becomes so clear that he was always going to win, and you kick yourself for doubting him. Of course, Johnson is capable of losing – his Masters 2020 triumph is, after all, only his second Major. But when he is in the zone like he was at Augusta last weekend, there is no better frontrunner in golf.

Being “in the zone” is important for Johnson, perhaps more than any other player in the game, although we might make an exception for Rory McIlory. Johnson isn’t exactly a streaky player, though. In fact, he is highly consistent, as you must be if you are to have over 100 weeks ranked as the world’s best golfer. But there is something imperious about the South Carolina man when he gets locked in for a tournament, and we saw that in all its glory with his 20 under par haul at Augusta National.

Continue reading “Masters 2020: Why Dustin Won and Bryson Lost”