2022 British Open at St. Andrews

[RFKFREAK]

Not saying it's over but Cam Smith deserves to win it

Edited July 17, 2022 by RFKFREAK

[Shindig]

Cam Smith had no fives on his scorecard today.  I really do need to put together that list.

If Rory sends his caddie to tend the flagstick on this pitch I will throw something.

[Zeph]

Rough day for Rory and Viktor. Cam and Cam shoots -7 and -8. Viktor is over par and Rory -2 before 18.

Well deserved by Smith.

Edited July 17, 2022 by Zeph

[RFKFREAK]

1 minute ago, Shindig said:

Well yeah, the 18th is eagle-able today.

And Rory's done 

4 minutes ago, JetFan1983 said:

Yea. Sigh. Good for Cam Smith though. Not gonna hate too hard on his first major.

Same.  I kind of like him (as long as he is on/stays with the PGA).

[Shindig]

Hovland misses the green with a putter, sort of the story of his day.

[Zippo]

What a great finish! Way to go Smith!

[Zeph]

Maybe Smith can finally afford a haircut and barber. 😁

[JetFan1983]

Grasping at straws here perhaps, but the two Cams maybe fed off each other whereas poor Rory had to drag Viktor Hovland around all day. 

[Shindig]

They say the professionals play a different game than the rest of us.  Can you imagine shooting a 74 and being disappointed, like Viktor?  I can't.  I also can't imagine shooting a 70 and being disappointed, like Rory today.  

Just now, JetFan1983 said:

Grasping at straws here perhaps, but the two Cams maybe fed off each other whereas poor Rory had to drag Viktor Hovland around all day. 

That could be.  I forget who, probably the other Rory, once described (Ben Crane?  Sean O'Hair?) as a playing partner who is effectively a two shot penalty.  I don't know if that applies to Viktor though.

[Zeph]

6 minutes ago, JetFan1983 said:

Grasping at straws here perhaps, but the two Cams maybe fed off each other whereas poor Rory had to drag Viktor Hovland around all day. 

And the other way around yesterday. Cam and Cam shooting 71 and 73. Rory and Viktor shooting 66 and 66.

Nobody knows what would’ve happened if the roles were reversed, but there is some psychology at play when leading versus chasing.

Ifs and buts and all that. Smith played 72 holes best and won.

Edited July 17, 2022 by Zeph

[Shindig]

A thought dawns on me.  If the two Cams both shoot 68 today, with no change in anyone else's performance, what's the narrative instead?

[JetFan1983]

6 minutes ago, Shindig said:

 That could be.  I forget who, probably the other Rory, once described (Ben Crane?  Sean O'Hair?) as a playing partner who is effectively a two shot penalty.  I don't know if that applies to Viktor though.

Yea Sean O'Hair said that to Rory Sabbatini during a round one year after he caught Sabbatini berating a volunteer for no reason. They almost threw hands.

Hovland is far from a Sabbatini level character, but his short game is outlier level bad for how world class his game is overall. 

That's Strokes Gained Around the Green (SGATG). The column on the left is FanDuel prices for the week if anyone was wondering what this is for, but man does Hovland's short game standout here relative to the other top guys. Strokes Gained Total on the far right column.

[Shindig]

4 minutes ago, JetFan1983 said:

Yea Sean O'Hair said that to Rory Sabbatini during a round one year after he caught Sabbatini berating a volunteer for no reason. They almost threw hands.

Hovland is far from a Sabbatini level character, but his short game is outlier level bad for how world class his game is overall. 

That's Strokes Gained Around the Green (SGATG). The column on the left is FanDuel prices for the week if anyone was wondering what this is for, but man does Hovland's short game standout here relative to the other top guys. Strokes Gained Total on the far right column.

Oops, I had the Rory S. story backwards. 

Viktor's short game... wow.  That looks a lot like my putting statistics relative to my other categories. 

[Zeph]

An important reason for why Viktor played this well is probably the course. His short game is poor compared to the rest, but at St. Andrews he could use the putter instead and avoided a lot of short game with wedges.

Nice table @JetFan1983 Very informative.

Edited July 17, 2022 by Zeph

[JetFan1983]

Just now, Zeph said:

An important reason for why Viktor played this well is probably the course. His short game is poor compared to the rest, but at St. Andrews he could use the putter instead and avoided a lot of short game with wedges.

Yea exactly. Was thinking the same thing. Cam Smith en fuego with the putter all year too and it showed up again here.

[RFKFREAK]

Didn't know anything about Cam Smith before this week but he really does seem like a good guy; I find him very likeable.  I'm a fan.

[Shindig]

1 minute ago, RFKFREAK said:

Didn't know anything about Cam Smith before this week but he really does seem like a good guy; I find him very likeable.  I'm a fan.

Same.  I had heard the name, but I couldn't have told you much about him.  The Players was at a very busy time in my year.  I don't think I watched a single shot.  

[Zeph]

1 minute ago, RFKFREAK said:

Didn't know anything about Cam Smith before this week but he really does seem like a good guy; I find him very likeable.  I'm a fan.

And he’s not a LIV player. 😇