Live Blogging the 2006 British Open

We’re live blogging the final round of the British Open. Almost all eight hours of it!

Tiger Woods13:21 – Tiger Woods taps in for par and is the Champion Golfer of the Year for 2006. His margin of victory? A holed 4-iron from the fairway on the 14th hole Friday: two shots. One month after missing the cut at Winged Foot, Tiger claims a win on a course he’d never even seen a picture of before early July. He cries, hugs Stevie, and and gives Elin a big hug. Earl is not here to see Tiger win a major for the first time in his life.

13:18 – Tirico gives us a lesson on Nicklaus’ 20 vs. 18 majors (counting U.S. Amateurs) and Tiger’s soon-to-be 14 and compares them to the records of Hogan and Jones. Tiger putts to about eight feet. It seems I may have exactly predicted the winner and the score, unless he rolls this one in.

13:16 – They show the engraver, and Tirico says “I swear he started to carve Jean van de Velde’s name in there. There’s a little smudge where Paul Lawrie’s name is. I look at it every time.”

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Tiger’s Driving Accuracy

Distance may matter, but when Tiger keeps it in the fairway, he’s impossible to beat.

Swing ThoughtsWhile everyone is ranting and raving about equipment, flogging, and other factors in the distance debate, I saw one of Tiger’s stats tonight on The Golf Channel that I thought was interesting. Here are Tiger’s best tournaments since 1999 with regards to driving accuracy:

Year    Tournament        Accuracy     Result
----    ----------        --------     ------
2000    British Open       91.0%        Won
2006    British Open       83.3%*        ?
1999    Funai Classic      85.7%        Won
2000    Bay Hill           83.9%        Won
2005    British Open       83.9%        Won
2001    Memorial           82.1%        Won
2002    Buick Open         82.1%        Won
*Through three rounds

When Tiger keeps it in the short grass, he’s doing quite well. I’m willing to bet that a good portion of the above tournaments he wasn’t hitting driver much either. Tiger is feasting on Hoylake with his stinger 2-iron off the tee with a plan to stay out of trouble. I’d say that it is working so far.

Thoughts on Hoylake

Hoylake is a bit of an unknown. That doesn’t keep us from trying to figure out what might happen.

The Numbers GameWe get to see a new ‘old’ course on the rotation this year. We’re used to seeing the names St. Andrews, Muirfield, and something with a Royal on the front of it. The 2006 British Open will be contended on another Royal course, but it is known as something else.

Royal Liverpool Golf Club is the official name of the course commonly called “Hoylake.” The British Open was last played there in 1967 and is back after a 39-year absence. There aren’t many numbers out there to research, but there were a few things about Hoylake and the British Open to consider in this week’s The Numbers Game.

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2006 Open Championship Preview

It has been a long time since good ol’ Royal Liverpool has played host to a major, will she be up to the test?

The Open Championship LogoWell it happens to be that time again: Open Championship time, that is. Golf’s oldest major championship is back at a course that hasn’t hosted a major since Roberto de Vicenzo won in 1967. I’m very excited for this tournament for a couple reasons: the course is running ridiculously fast and hard, interesting shots we rarely see played will be commonplace, and Tiger will surely be on the prowl.

For these reasons and many more, this week is sure to be exciting.

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2006 British Open Predictions

It’s time for the Sand Trap staff members to make their picks for this week’s British Open.

Thrash TalkIt’s time for the 2006 British Open at Royal Liverpool. Tiger Woods missed his first cut in a major championship as a professional at last month’s U.S. Open. You can bet Tiger will be on a mission this week across the pond. The World Number Two, Phil Mickelson, played great at Winged Foot until double bogeying the final hole to lose by one.

It’s no surprise Tiger and Phil are odds-on-favorites this week at Hoylake. However, there are many more golfers capable of winning the British Open. Geoff Ogilvy won the U.S. Open last month and hasn’t played competitively since. How will his time off affect his golf game, and is he capable of winning two majors in a row?

All the burning questions will be answered within the next week, and The Sand Trap staff is here to get all of you in the British Open spirit. We have made our picks, and now it’s showtime. Feel free to comment below or discuss your picks in the forum.

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Ping Readying Rapture Irons and Woods

Ping appears to be readying a new line of irons and woods with their recent introduction on the PGA and Champions Tours.

Ping G5 Driver Crown GraphicIt looks like Ping has a new line of irons and woods coming out soon. Dubbed “Rapture,” the clubs were captured in pictures in the bags of Champions Tour players at the Ford Senior Players Championship and popped up last week on Sand Trap partner Golfwrx.com here and here.

The irons were also recently spotted on the PGA Tour, where they first turned up at the Cialis Western Open.

Word is the driver features a first for Ping – a composite head. There will also be a matching line of fairway woods, although it’s not known yet if they too have a composite head. Unfortunately for Ping, they ran into a snag introducing the driver at the Western. Here’s the story…

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Sick of Wie Whiners

The Michelle Wie boo-birds come out of the woodwork every time she tees it up, and I’m sick of hearing it.

Michelle WieJoe Ogilvie may have said it best: “She’s better than Tiger was at 16. I played with Tiger, and Tiger wasn’t this good. Everybody is like, ‘Win, win, win.’ She’s 16. Chill out. Once she gets to winning, you’ll get sick of her winning.”

I’m not a raving, ranting Michelle Wie fan. I’d like to see her win a tournament. I’d like to see her learn to crush opponents. I’d like to see her spend some more time competing against her peers.

But don’t put me in the camp of Wie detractors, either, and I’m sick of hearing from those who are.

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Hybrid Clubs Continue to Proliferate

Don’t look now, but 1 and 2 irons have gone the way of persimmon heads. And 3 and 4 irons don’t look too safe either. Here’s a quick run down on four of the newest hybrids vying for a spot in your bag.

Bag DropClub manufacturers aren’t shy about jumping on a bandwagon. Witness the recent explosion of 460cc drivers, moveable weights, and high MOI (moment of inertia) putters. But no other recent development in equipment has had such an impact on the makeup of clubs in a bag as have hybrids.

Over the last few years, hybrid woods and irons have gone from crutches for senior hackers like me to standard issue in the bags of many PGA Tour pros. Todd Hamilton wielding his Sonartec hybrid to win the British Open at Royal Troon in 2004 underscored their versatility and acceptance.

What’s interesting is that club manufacturers large and small have had considerable success in pursuing this niche. And more models keep coming. Here’s a look at some of the latest offerings that have caught my eye…

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Volume Sixty-Seven

The first link is all you’ll have time for today. You’ll spend hours looking at it.

Another Monday, another Hittin’ the Links. From Tiger’s flawless swing, to a man who “took the 90s off” from golf and returned in high form, to Wie’s heat woes, to the latest MySpace wannabe, this week’s pile of links has it all. Enjoy!

Oh, and if you’ve got links you’d like to see next week, look up my email on our staff page and send me your links.

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