2015 British Open at St. Andrews Discussion Thread

[treebound]

Okay, back in town and time to program the dvr for this tournament and get my head back around golf.

[bm85]

Stoked!

Used to hate golf, especially watching it. Now I fall asleep to it on Sunday like a real man.

Interesting to see who can earn some glory.

[marcharing]

The forecast is getting pretty certain for high winds Friday afternoon and through the day Saturday. http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/2638864

I can't see much past Jordan Spieth if that's the case. They can all control the ball but in high winds you have to have the concentration levels and I see him being exceptional in that respect. Maybe Fowler or Kucher but that's it for me. Mind you if I place a bet on them they've got no chance.

[pitchandputter]

Was at the practice rounds at the Old Course last weekend and have to say the weather is very unpredictable across here just now...four seasons in one day yesterday!

Not warm either. Have a feeling the Open could go to someone with a lot of experience, a player who has who put a great deal of practice in and someone who played the Scottish Open down the round a few days back.

Ootsthuizen, Coeztee and Molinari have been out every day on the course so far.

So based on that I'm going to go for a shock:

Mcdowell  -10

Oosthuizen -10

Donald -10

Three man play off with Luke Donald coming out on top. If anybody remembers Carnoustie 1999 and Muirfield 2002 conditions are currently and as likely to be as bad as back then. Going to be interesting!

[pitchandputter]

Mentioned this on another thread:

Was at the practice rounds at the Old Course last weekend and have to say the weather is very unpredictable across here just now...four seasons in one day yesterday!

Not warm either. Have a feeling the Open could go to someone with a lot of experience, a player who has who put a great deal of practice in and someone who played the Scottish Open down the round a few days back.

Ootsthuizen, Coeztee and Molinari have been out every day on the course so far.

So based on that I'm going to go for a shock:

Mcdowell  -10

Oosthuizen -10

Donald -10

Three man play off with Luke Donald coming out on top. If anybody remembers Carnoustie 1999 and Muirfield 2002 conditions are currently and as likely to be as bad as back then. Going to be interesting! Although the weather might be cold, the atmosphere is very warm. :-)

[saevel25]

Was at the practice rounds at the Old Course last weekend and have to say the weather is very unpredictable across here just now...four seasons in one day yesterday!

I am hoping for some bat-shit crazy weather. :)

[pitchandputter]

Saevel25:

There was the usual concerns in the press here about the Old Course being too easy for a major championship, however I don't think that's going to happen. Going to be a true test of links golf this weekend. Stood at the 17th green at the weekend and many of those practicing were naturally out practicing chipping out from the road but possibly also anticipating some north winds this week.

As always draw times will play a big part -but predicting the weather at the moment is very difficult across here given the mixed condtions. Hat goes off to the people we watched from the 18th Stand who ventured out from the West Sands and into in the North Sea, brave or very tough people lol ;-)

[KevinFaulkner]

In a salary cap pick 6 league, would you guys change any of these picks? D. Johnson, Fowler, Holmes, Palmer, T. Fleetwood, J. Luiten.

Got 4 guys who crush the golf ball, different combo of 4 guys who played very well in the Scottish open. Key is for all 6 guys to make the cut. From there DJ and Fowler would be the guys I count on to win. What are your thoughts?

[ChrisP]

Problem with Friday's forecast is it looks similar to what we saw in 2010 where the morning guys get the rain and the afternoon guys get the wind. Tiger and Jordan are part of that afternoon wave. Looks really nasty Friday and Saturday which will at least keep scores from getting to -20. There was talk around the course yesterday that if the weather is nice several players could get to -20. But if this forecast holds true -10 would be good.

[Silent]

I'm really looking forward to this tournament. Bummer that Rory isn't there, but on the other hand it might make the battle for 1st place more interesting.

[ChrisP]

I just hope if the wind does blow hard, it blows hard for everyone. That's the one thing about the Open that I don't like is some guys get huge breaks with weather and some guys get penalized. 2010 was a perfect example. Louis Oosthuizen was the third group teeing off that day. He was on the tee at 18 when the gale force winds just started to pick up. The rest of the guys got screwed.

Another interesting note: It was the wind that ended Tiger Woods' caldendar grand slam hopes in 2002. You hope it doesn't ruin Jordan Spieth's as well. I think the early Thursday/late Friday may get shafted.

[tomvk77]

I like Rocky Fowlers chances. He likes to play links, and just won in Scotland.

Tiger seems to hitting the ball pretty well also, saw some video's him practicing at

the course, he pretty much hit all the fairways again. And also with driver.

Well my hopes are for Joost Luiten, after a decent finish T4 in Scotland he seems to get a bit off form. Now he should play 3 good rounds and a decent one. In scotland he started with a +1 round in fairly easy conditions, but a sensational second round (63 -7) and a very good third round (66 -4) put him in T3 position for sunday only 2 back. To bad he posted a level par 70 to finish T4 while playing partner Ricky Fowler birdied the last and carded a 68 -2  and won the tournament.

[tomvk77]

In a salary cap pick 6 league, would you guys change any of these picks? D. Johnson, Fowler, Holmes, Palmer, T. Fleetwood, J. Luiten.

Got 4 guys who crush the golf ball, different combo of 4 guys who played very well in the Scottish open. Key is for all 6 guys to make the cut. From there DJ and Fowler would be the guys I count on to win. What are your thoughts?

Holmes an Palmer out.

Lois Oosthuisen and Brandon Grace in.

Interesting pick on Fleetwood he has a huge record on that course.... if he will be able to handle it under this pressure??? lets see, looking forward to it for sure.

What about Tiger will he make it into the top 10 or will he miss cut???

[RiddleMeThis]

Very interested to see how the course plays with all this "soft" talk.  Tiger fanboy over here hoping he can turn it on this weekend

In a salary cap pick 6 league, would you guys change any of these picks? D. Johnson, Fowler, Holmes, Palmer, T. Fleetwood, J. Luiten.

Got 4 guys who crush the golf ball, different combo of 4 guys who played very well in the Scottish open. Key is for all 6 guys to make the cut. From there DJ and Fowler would be the guys I count on to win. What are your thoughts?

Sleeper pick to throw in: Russel Knox .  Low salary cap hit and has been playing well this year.  Knows how to play in the conditions.  Holmes can bomb the hell out of the ball but not sure how he will fare in Scotland

[KevinFaulkner]

Holmes an Palmer out. Lois Oosthuisen and Brandon Grace in. Interesting pick on Fleetwood he has a huge record on that course.... if he will be able to handle it under this pressure??? lets see, looking forward to it for sure. What about Tiger will he make it into the top 10 or will he miss cut???

With the salary cap i cant take Oostie and Grace and keep the rest of the guys. Possible replacements for holmes would be Horschel, Dubuisson, and F Molinari. Replacement for Palmer could be Kisner. Thoughts?

[KevinFaulkner]

Any past knowledge of how Kevin Kisner plays on links courses? Most underrated golfer of the year in my opinion. Makes almost every cut, lost in 3 playoffs, 2nd at the Players, 12th at the links like Chambers Bay. Seems like a great sleeper pick for this week if only I knew a thing or two about his golf in windy links conditions.

[ChrisP]

One thing I can guarantee you.....we know who CBS is rooting for in the British Open. If a certain player wins, they will shatter ratings records at the PGA this year.

[ChrisP]

Btw, thank god they're forecasting wind this week because word is that the course is playing very easy. In fact a couple analysts have said that the all-time major record of 63 is in serious jeopardy, and if lacks wind, several players could get to 20-under. However, with wind, it should keep scores more reasonable instead of players going super low.