2015 British Open at St. Andrews Discussion Thread

[Fourputt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by saevel25

One lucky shot does not mean he's actually exciting.

Can't call that lucky. Afterwards Brad Faxon pointed out that every player in the field could make the shot that Bubba made from the trees but less than a handful could have made that double eagle shot.

It's still 99.9% luck when a shot like that goes in the hole.  Anyone who has had an ace will tell you the same thing (I have two, and no matter how pretty or how ugly, the fact of the ball falling in the hole is just great good fortune).  I witnessed Steve Lowery's double eagle on the 71st hole of the International several hears ago, from inside the ropes as a hole marshal on that hole.  It was a great shot but holing it was luck. The better you are, the more chances you might give yourself, but it's still mostly accidental when you hole one out.

I'll offer my congratulations to Zach Johnson for a fantastic viewing event and a well earned win.  I would have usually agreed that with scores that low, the expectation would have been for a boring major, but the simple fact that there were so many with a chance to win the Jug coming right down to the wire that it was impossible to pick a likely winner.  Watching the final 7 or 8 holes sort out the contenders from the rest was as exciting as golf gets.  I didn't get to watch the final round until today on DVR, and I was riveted to the TV like no other tournament in a long time.  It was just icing on the cake that one of the guys I was rooting for was the ultimate winner (and no, Spieth wasn't one of my guys - just can't get behind him for some reason - I honestly don't know why ).

[Vinsk]

Thought he worked as a clown.  How respected can the community clown be?

LOL!! That's just damn funny. 5 stars!

[mvmac]

[RiddleMeThis]

Webb Simpson, jimmy walker, zj, spieth, and Billy horschel.  Quite the group of buddies

[iacas]

I guess golfers don't have the same superstitions as hockey players, etc. in not touching a trophy you haven't won yet (like the Stanley Cup, or even touching the conference trophy as that's not the one you ultimately want…).

[nevets88]

It is a... jug.

Ratings improved from last year. As well as streaming numbers.

The Open on ESPN digital platforms reached record-breaking viewership this year as live coverage of Monday’s final round finished as the top golf event and one of the top 10 events all-time in minutes viewed for WatchESPN behind the 2014 FIFA World Cup and 2015 College Football Playoff National Championship game. Monday’s coverage alone – including the early morning session, Spanish language feed and international view – generated over 1.1 million unique viewers, more than 94 million total minutes viewed and an average minute audience of 222,000.

http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2015/07/21/espns-coverage-of-the-open-at-st-andrews-posts-double-digit-ratings-increases-from-2014/434475/

And here's a table of shots shown. Apparently more shots shown than this years' Masters and USO.

http://www.classictvsports.com/2015/07/shot-chart-from-espn-final-round-of.html

[Judah Ben-Hur]

Doesn't matter if you're boring when you're as good as Spieth.  The guy has a good shot to win 10 majors.  You have that talent, be as boring as you want.

Eight more to go Zach.

[Vinsk]

I don't think JS is an act. He's a good kid and so be it. Hell, if he was acting...can you blame him? Today's PC police are always searching for the next "I'm offended" nonsense which has really just become the adult version of a child's "I'm telling". On The Open....does anyone know why they don't put the shot tracker on more holes? Cost? I really enjoy the tracker and was curious why they don't use it more?

[Gunther]

I don't think JS is an act. He's a good kid and so be it. Hell, if he was acting...can you blame him? Today's PC police are always searching for the next "I'm offended" nonsense which has really just become the adult version of a child's "I'm telling". On The Open....does anyone know why they don't put the shot tracker on more holes? Cost? I really enjoy the tracker and was curious why they don't use it more?

Good question, I think it was used at more holes than ever at The Open, however. I would guess it's financial, yes. Follow-up: I also noticed that often when it was set up, it didn't work. I couldn't figure that out. Does it have to do with the start line of the ball?

[RandallT]

Thought #11 was interesting during the tournament, as I watched how different holes played each day. Seems to me that par 3's typically play at or above par, and that was the case at The Open, except for #11 during Round 3.  It played about a half-stroke easier for Round 3.

Hole #11, Round 3:

Hole #11, Round 1:

Here's the layout of the hole:

Here are the pin positions. Round 3 is shown. Round 1 is the lightly shaded circle above and to the left of it.  Round 2 is just beyond and to the right of that middle front bunker.  Round 4 was back right.

Anyone have any insights into why the players would've found that hole so easy Round 3 (32 birdies and 42 pars is pretty good from 174yds)? I don't recall them mentioning anything, but perhaps that position is far easier than the Round 1 position, even though it wasn't the far from it?  In Round 1, the hole played in the tougher half of the holes. In Round 3, the hole played the 3rd easiest of all.

Just curious.

Edit: changed "toughest" to "easiest" in last sentence. Duh

[misty_mountainhop]

Anyone have any insights into why the players would've found that hole so easy Round 3 (32 birdies and 42 pars is pretty good from 174yds)? I don't recall them mentioning anything, but perhaps that position is far easier than the Round 1 position, even though it wasn't the far from it?  In Round 1, the hole played in the tougher half of the holes. In Round 3, the hole played the 3rd easiest of all.

Maybe the weather. Round 1 had the breeze from a nasty quarter on the back 9 and round 3 would have been pretty damp underfoot with a slightly easier wind direction, so maybe shots were easier to control in round 3, both in the air and in terms of run out on the green once they'd pitched.

[pumaAttack]

Yeah I don't understand people who say it's "an act." So tigers was an act too? Phils? Rory's? I don't get it. So you're nice and respectful to people in front of the camera. Is that a crime? What you are off the camera...nobody knows unless you're there or hear otherwise. You shouldn't assume because more times than not you're wrong.

What I mean by "act" is that he is just portraying himself like that because he has been told to.

He doesn't have much personality and comes across as cookie-cutter.  Always saying the PC comment and making sure not to offend anybody.

He just seems phony to me and not genuine.

[DeadMan]

What I mean by "act" is that he is just portraying himself like that because he has been told to.

He doesn't have much personality and comes across as cookie-cutter.  Always saying the PC comment and making sure not to offend anybody.

He just seems phony to me and not genuine.

This is exactly what I think. He seems like he has a legion of PR consultants telling him exactly what to do at every step. Tiger seemed to be the same way at first, and we found out that was a big act. I just don't trust squeaky clean images like his, because people are not squeaky clean.

I mean, he once said that one of his favorite things is the Pro-Ams at tournaments. Come on. I don't believe that.

[Mr. Desmond]

This is exactly what I think. He seems like he has a legion of PR consultants telling him exactly what to do at every step. Tiger seemed to be the same way at first, and we found out that was a big act. I just don't trust squeaky clean images like his, because people are not squeaky clean.

I mean, he once said that one of his favorite things is the Pro-Ams at tournaments. Come on. I don't believe that.

Pity the fool that speaks their mind these days.

Social media blows up everything one says. Why waste your time defending yourself? Best to say the PC thing -- it is SMART.

Where the eff are the PC consultants of which you speak? Haven't seen them on the course, haven't seen them whisper in his ear.

I think some here and elsewhere make this stuff up because Spieth is not the stupid fart that we once were and some of us still are.

[pumaAttack]

Pity the fool that speaks their mind these days.

Social media blows up everything one says. Why waste your time defending yourself? Best to say the PC thing -- it is SMART.

Where the eff are the PC consultants of which you speak? Haven't seen them on the course, haven't seen them whisper in his ear.

I think some here and elsewhere make this stuff up because Spieth is not the stupid fart that we once were and some of us still are.

Ummm....

Watch the end of The Masters...  His parents yelled at him to go thank the fans and volunteers!

[Golfingdad]

Pity the fool that speaks their mind these days.

Social media blows up everything one says. Why waste your time defending yourself? Best to say the PC thing -- it is SMART.

Where the eff are the PC consultants of which you speak? Haven't seen them on the course, haven't seen them whisper in his ear.

I think some here and elsewhere make this stuff up because Spieth is not the stupid fart that we once were and some of us still are.

Ummm....

Watch the end of The Masters...  His parents yelled at him to go thank the fans and volunteers!

I agree.

Doesn't everybody refer to their parents these days as Public Relations Consultants?  I know I do.

[Gunther]

Ummm.... Watch the end of The Masters...  His parents yelled at him to go thank the fans and volunteers!

lol, this points more to the fact that he is genuine than the way you'd like to portray it. He was raised correctly and his folks still help guide him. Calling them PC consultants is just ludicrous.

[jsgolfer]

I must have missed this.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/golf/theopen/11752527/Peter-Alliss-causes-new-storm-with-sexist-remark-about-Open-winner-Zac-Johnsons-wife.html