2023 British Open

[billchao]

6 hours ago, boogielicious said:

His round on Friday gained an astounding amount against the field.

It was the best round of the tournament. 8.45 SG, a full stroke better than Rahm's third round 63 at 7.43.

4 hours ago, PatrickMurtha said:

Where’s the angle? He doesn’t even offer the Keegan Bradley anxiety angle, or the Kevin Kisner / Joel Dahmen / Max Homa entertaining talker angle. You sensed the reporters straining to come up with SOMETHING over the past few days.

That's the problem, right? Journalists are always looking for some kind of angle to work in emotional attachment. Somehow, a guy dominating the entire tournament isn't enough of a story.

4 hours ago, PatrickMurtha said:

I did read several stories about how he would probably fold on Sunday, i.e., the problem would go away. Well it didn’t, and I’m delighted. 

If he was going to fold, it would have been on Saturday when he started the first four holes +2. But hey, there's your media angle: scrappy underdog who nobody wanted to win 

3 hours ago, PatrickMurtha said:

No one is arguing against personalities or drama, that I am aware of. No, it wasn’t a close tournament - some won’t be. But here we have a player who played incredibly well for four days, barely wavering an inch, and I don’t like it that the media were pretty pissy and ungracious about it. Plus he actually has a charming personality - watch the winner’s presser! - and he is not an unknown quantity, this is not totally out of the blue. #26 in the world coming in; T12 last week. T6 in the Open last year; also has a T2 in a US Open and three Top 10s at the Players. Had eight Top 10s in 2022 and three earlier this year. This is not exactly Joe Schmo we are talking about here. And anyone who is into great performances - on a tough course, in the rain no less, when the bunkers were eating some of the world’s best alive - should have found something to savor. 

I joked that the tournament was boring - not because the golf itself was boring, but because the outcome was pretty much determined by the middle of round 3. Harman was unflappable, stuck to his game, and executed. It was very reminiscent of Oosthuizen's win in 2010.

The narrative of this tournament changes completely if Rory, Rahm, or Koepka win the tournament in this fashion instead of some journeyman with two career top 10 finishes in majors.

[Vinsk]

Well Harman’s win certainly solidifies the dire need for rolling the ball back. 😏

[Beastie]

I thought I’d put up a quick travel log of our trip to the open. 

Well we woke up  this morning to clear blue skies and warm sunshine. Murphy’s law I suppose after the massively wet day we spent at Royal Liverpool on Sunday. 
We jumped on the train from Liverpool out to Hoylake( 1/2 hour journey, leaving every 10 mins). From Hoylake station it was a five minute stroll to the practice ground

 

After a quick and very tasty Bacon Roll for breakfast(£5) we left and headed across the road to the course. Despite there being many people arriving the queue to get in moved very quickly and we were through in about 3 mins. The good setup was repeated in the shop(huge), the bars(plentiful) and the food outlets(varied) Everything was very well organised. 
We stood on the corner of #3 amd watched a few groups come through then headed over to the main spectator village. 

It was still dry and our hopes were high, so we grabbed a morning beer and headed back out onto the course. It was very green, but the rough was not that bad ( we had played Silloth earlier in the week and the rough there was phenomenally heavy)

We spent the rest of the morning at the 6th, 7th, 13th and 14th. By this time it was raining steadily. We headed to the giant screen next to the 5th fairway and had some lunch, and a few beers whilst under our umbrellas. This was a good spot as we could walk the 20yards to the rope on the 5th and watch the second shots and return to our table. 
Then it was back to the course and we walked 15 and 16 , then parked ourselves at 17 for an hour

By this time it was raining very heavily. We headed back to the giant screen by the 5th to watch the finale and had some more beers. We left once Harmon was on the 17th and headed for the train. Despite the crowds we had only a 2 min queue and were back in the apartment well under an hour after leaving the course. 

Overall the event was very well organised. The atmosphere was a bit bit boisterous around the bars by the late afternoon, but not on the course. Harmon was so solid in his lead that the tournament felt a foregone conclusion after he recovered from his dropped shots. 
If anyone is thinking of going to Birkdale in 2 years time I highly recommend staying in Liverpool and taking the train to the course. We had a great steak dinner and a few more beers before calling it a (very long ) day. 

[GolfLug]

Congratulations to Harman and like him a lot more after watching his post win presser for sure. But that waggle though... Not as bad as Keegan's pre address dance but a bit hard to watch.

[Carl3]

9 hours ago, GolfLug said:

Congratulations to Harman and like him a lot more after watching his post win presser for sure. But that waggle though... Not as bad as Keegan's pre address dance but a bit hard to watch.

I am now a big fan of Harmon. I don't have a problem watching Keegan, but it was very irritating to watch poor Brian at the end of the Open. 13 waggles per shot 😵‍💫

[GolfLug]

12 minutes ago, Carl3 said:

I am now a big fan of Harmon. I don't have a problem watching Keegan, but it was very irritating to watch poor Brian at the end of the Open. 13 waggles per shot 😵‍💫

13?? Wow, I'm glad I wasn't watching that one. Having said that I don't blame him honestly. Never pull the trigger till you're fully settled. But still. Bit rough on everyone else's nerves... lol.

[boogielicious]

9 hours ago, GolfLug said:

Congratulations to Harman and like him a lot more after watching his post win presser for sure. But that waggle though... Not as bad as Keegan's pre address dance but a bit hard to watch.

 

32 minutes ago, Carl3 said:

I am now a big fan of Harmon. I don't have a problem watching Keegan, but it was very irritating to watch poor Brian at the end of the Open. 13 waggles per shot 😵‍💫

A buddy of mine dubbed him Lord Waggleton.

[ChetlovesMer]

10 hours ago, GolfLug said:

Congratulations to Harman and like him a lot more after watching his post win presser for sure. But that waggle though... Not as bad as Keegan's pre address dance but a bit hard to watch.

They list him at 5'7"... I have to say he doesn't look that tall to me. 

I've never worked as one of those guys who guesses your height and weight at the county fair. But, if I had to guess I'd bet he's closer to 5'5" ... 

[GolfLug]

5 minutes ago, ChetlovesMer said:

They list him at 5'7"... I have to say he doesn't look that tall to me. 

I've never worked as one of those guys who guesses your height and weight at the county fair. But, if I had to guess I'd bet he's closer to 5'5" ... 

Welp we've met a couple of times, so if you want a random sizing guide, I'm 5'7" with shoes on plus a few pounds..

[Archie Bunker]

Amazing contrast when standing next to the low amateur at the ending ceremony, who was 6'8"!

[ChetlovesMer]

26 minutes ago, GolfLug said:

Welp we've met a couple of times, so if you want a random sizing guide, I'm 5'7" with shoes on plus a few pounds..

I think you are taller than Brian. 
And I don't think it's close. 

I think Brian's 5'7" is very generous. 

Having said that. ... It ain't always the size of the dog in the fight but the size of the fight in the dog. 👍😁👍

[3jacker]

53 minutes ago, ChetlovesMer said:

I think you are taller than Brian. 
And I don't think it's close. 

I think Brian's 5'7" is very generous. 

Having said that. ... It ain't always the size of the dog in the fight but the size of the fight in the dog. 👍😁👍

Yes, very generous.  The PGA Tour stats around height/weight are always fictional. Adds inches, drops pounds.

This past week I noted that he slimmed up, too.  Very trim - which in his case, makes him even smaller.  But what an awesome performance.  The only player to just consistently hit good golf shots, tee to green, minimal mistakes.

[GolfLug]

1 hour ago, ChetlovesMer said:

It ain't always the size of the dog in the fight but the size of the fight in the dog. 👍😁👍

Well said! Hits home closer than you would think..👍

[boogielicious]

4 hours ago, GolfLug said:

Welp we've met a couple of times, so if you want a random sizing guide, I'm 5'7" with shoes on plus a few pounds..

But you have an aura around you that makes it seem you are 6’7”! Either that or I need a new prescription. 😜

[Carl3]

7 hours ago, GolfLug said:

But still. Bit rough on everyone else's nerves... lol.

Ever notice Jordan Speith's over-active thumb as he is getting ready to hit the ball?

[Zeph]

Cantlay for reference:

 

[turtleback]

On 7/24/2023 at 5:17 AM, Vinsk said:

Well Harman’s win certainly solidifies the dire need for rolling the ball back. 😏

I know you were kidding, but it's still worth mentioning that outliers rarely serve as a solid basis for drawing conclusions.

7 hours ago, ChetlovesMer said:

They list him at 5'7"... I have to say he doesn't look that tall to me. 

I've never worked as one of those guys who guesses your height and weight at the county fair. But, if I had to guess I'd bet he's closer to 5'5" ... 

FWIW, Ian Woosnam was 5'4" and not only won a Masters, but was #1 in the Official World Golf Rankings for almost a year in the early 90s.  He routinely finished in the top ten in the Order of Merit, leading it twice.  Largely forgotten now despite a sparkling career, largely because back then few golfers made the move from the European Tour to the US.

[phan52]

6 hours ago, ChetlovesMer said:

I think you are taller than Brian. 
And I don't think it's close. 

I think Brian's 5'7" is very generous. 

Having said that. ... It ain't always the size of the dog in the fight but the size of the fight in the dog. 👍😁👍

I was marshalling at a tournament in 2018 and I specifically remember standing next to Harman and being surprised at his size. I am 5'8" and I was slightly taller. 5'7" is probably accurate. McIlroy was slightly taller, probably no more than 5'9".