2015 British Open at St. Andrews Discussion Thread

[Gunther]

Not a single prediction in the contest for Bubba. By my spreadsheet of the choices, 85 different golfers were picked. Not one person picked him!

Dang, you keep a spreadsheet? I should have consulted you prior to making my pick a couple days ago; it was arduous trying to figure out who hadn't been selected yet, lol. Do you happen to have a line on the 2014 PGA?

[nevets88]

The Ben Martin story

I totally understand why the family got crossed up, I could see it happening to anyone, but , if you weren't planning anything, your appointment book/calendar would just show up empty/blank. I wouldn't write down "this week is clear" or "clear week". If I saw "Open week" I might have asked, why'd you bother to put down the week was free? And why capitalize the O? It could be Open conference - like Open Source, or Open symposium. Anyways, nothing to do w/the Open. Just a little hint at how anal I am. Three words: Family Shared Calendar. Like Google calendar or such. But that opens another can of worms w/family members who don't do tech.

[RandallT]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RandallT

Not a single prediction in the contest for Bubba. By my spreadsheet of the choices, 85 different golfers were picked. Not one person picked him!

Dang, you keep a spreadsheet? I should have consulted you prior to making my pick a couple days ago; it was arduous trying to figure out who hadn't been selected yet, lol. Do you happen to have a line on the 2014 PGA?

That's the first page! You know me- spreadsheets for everything! Red was for an instantly bad pick (couldn't win). Yellow was for a pick that became obsolete by a subsequent pick. Blue was for a pick that duplicated a prior pick (also obsolete, unless winner fails to claim).

[ChrisP]

A little update in the weather forecast....really looks like the Early Thursday/ Late Friday guys are going to get the easiest of the conditions and the toughest of the conditions. They'll get little wind tomorrow morning and tropical storm gusts Friday. The other part of the draw will get breezy weather tomorrow afternoon and Friday morning but will escape the worst of it. Then Saturday looks to be bad early and dying down late.

[Gunther]

[URL=http://thesandtrap.com/content/type/61/id/128002/] [/URL] That's the first page! You know me- spreadsheets for everything! Red was for an instantly bad pick (couldn't win). Yellow was for a pick that became obsolete by a subsequent pick. Blue was for a pick that duplicated a prior pick (also obsolete, unless winner fails to claim).

lol, looks like more than half the picks are dead, which is about what I figured doing a rough tally. This is 1st picks only, I assume?

[nevets88]

The Rocket (Open era Grand Slam) and The King!

[RandallT]

lol, looks like half the picks are dead, which is about what I figured doing a rough tally. This is 1st picks only, I assume?

There's a number in parentheses under the score in each cell. It is a (1), (2), or (3).  If there are any (1)'s in the row, then all the (2)'s and (3)'s are voided.  If there's a (2), the (3) is voided. Yes, only the white cells are in the hunt.

[RJH999]

A little update in the weather forecast....really looks like the Early Thursday/ Late Friday guys are going to get the easiest of the conditions and the toughest of the conditions. They'll get little wind tomorrow morning and tropical storm gusts Friday. The other part of the draw will get breezy weather tomorrow afternoon and Friday morning but will escape the worst of it. Then Saturday looks to be bad early and dying down late.

So, like Tiger? :dance: The Open Championship begins in 8 hours! :-)

[ChrisP]

So, like Tiger? :dance: The Open Championship begins in 8 hours! :-)

Tiger and Jordan need a good start....or else they'll be hanging on for dear life Friday. If you tee off early tomorrow and don't shoot something in the 60s you're gonna need to play the round of your life Friday.

[Gunther]

There's a number in parentheses under the score in each cell. It is a (1), (2), or (3).  If there are any (1)'s in the row, then all the (2)'s and (3)'s are voided.  If there's a (2), the (3) is voided. Yes, only the white cells are in the hunt.

Cool, I can't read it, too small, and can't enlarge from my mobile device. It's a good idea to track it like that.

[Wansteadimp]

Tom Watson makes his final appearance at The Open this week (maybe). Former champions were exempt until they were 60 years of age until 2009, when Watson finished 2nd, which prompted them to give past champions that finish in the top 10 five years of extemption. If he finish in top 10, he can return to the championship, but probably not to St. Andrews.

Watson will tee it up for the 38th time, having won it 5 times, which is more than anyone else since Harry Vardon.

He almost pulled off one of the most amazing victories in 2009, where he lost the championship to Stewart Cink in a playoff. He almost became the oldest to win a major by a large margin, as the current is Julius Boros at the age of 48. Watson was 59 when he finished 2nd in 2009.

I don't think there were a lot of spectators out there rooting for Cink to win that playoff. We remember that tournament because Watson lost, not because Cink won, which is a bit sad for Cink, but he's still got the trophy.

Peter Thomson says "G'day"

[ChrisP]

Whatever happened to Stewart Cink? Talk about a guy who was a solid player before he won a major, then won a major, and then disappeared off the face of the earth. It's not like age caught up to him...he's not that old.

[turtleback]

A little update in the weather forecast....really looks like the Early Thursday/ Late Friday guys are going to get the easiest of the conditions and the toughest of the conditions. They'll get little wind tomorrow morning and tropical storm gusts Friday. The other part of the draw will get breezy weather tomorrow afternoon and Friday morning but will escape the worst of it. Then Saturday looks to be bad early and dying down late.

I really really hope Spieth gets a fair shot at it and does not get torpedoed by weather like Tiger did in '02.  If Spieth doesn't win because someone just plays better that is fine, but it would be a shame to lose out because of something random like the luck of the weather draw.  I know it all evens out in the long run but a chance at a Grand Slam is not something "the long run" applies to - it is a relatively one-off event.  I'd like to see the golf gods give the kid a fair shot at it.

[RJH999]

Whatever happened to Stewart Cink? Talk about a guy who was a solid player before he won a major, then won a major, and then disappeared off the face of the earth. It's not like age caught up to him...he's not that old.

Yeah, but the same can be said about the other major winners in 2009. Angel Cabrera shows up once or twice a year, Lucas Glover & Y.E Yang were good players and winners on major tours, but they've completely fell apart, at least Stew Cink is still playing on tour and making cuts. Y.E lost his card and plays in Europe and Asia and Lucas Glover might be the worst putter in PGA Tour history.

[Gunther]

Whatever happened to Stewart Cink? Talk about a guy who was a solid player before he won a major, then won a major, and then disappeared off the face of the earth. It's not like age caught up to him...he's not that old.

Such a waste of a major champion. We'd still be talking about Watson if his 2nd shot on 18 at Turnberry would have landed a foot shorter. I am inexplicably disdainful of 1-time wonders.

[Mr. Desmond]

Such a waste of a major champion. We'd still be talking about Watson if his 2nd shot on 18 at Turnberry would have landed a foot shorter.

I am inexplicably disdainful of 1-time wonders.

Well, that's on Watson, not Cink.

Watson threw up all over himself...

[ChrisP]

Yeah, but the same can be said about the other major winners in 2009. Angel Cabrera shows up once or twice a year, Lucas Glover & Y.E Yang were good players and winners on major tours, but they've completely fell apart, at least Stew Cink is still playing on tour and making cuts. Y.E lost his card and plays in Europe and Asia and Lucas Glover might be the worst putter in PGA Tour history.

Cabrera's won a couple majors, though, and has competed down the stretch in several others. Glover and Yang were more flukish in their wins. Cink was actually a really good player before his 2009 win and I truly thought would win another one, but he hasn't done squat. It's like Darren Clarke, but Clarke's a lot older and even admitted he lost his motivation after winning.

[ChrisP]

I really really hope Spieth gets a fair shot at it and does not get torpedoed by weather like Tiger did in '02.  If Spieth doesn't win because someone just plays better that is fine, but it would be a shame to lose out because of something random like the luck of the weather draw.  I know it all evens out in the long run but a chance at a Grand Slam is not something "the long run" applies to - it is a relatively one-off event.  I'd like to see the golf gods give the kid a fair shot at it.

Unfortunately, the luck of the draw is the one part about the British Open I hate. Oosthuizen was super lucky in 2010 with his draw. He finished early enough Thursday before the wind started kicking up and then just as his putt dropped on 18 on Friday, the gale force winds arrived. Darren Clarke got the good end of the draw in 2011. Ernie Els was in the last group in 2002 in the third round and by the time he got to the 7th, that horrendous storm started to let up and he took advantage. Even last year, Rory missed the winds that blew for the late Thursday/early Friday guys. 2/3 of the guys who made the cut last year came from one side of the draw.

For Jordan's sake, hopefully he doesn't screwed. The good thing is it appears tomorrow morning will be pretty calm so he needs to take advantage of the conditions early in the day if he's to have a chance. You MUST score well tomorrow if you tee off early. Tiger, that includes you, too.