2016 British Open at Royal Troon Discussion Thread

[nevets88]

 

[RandallT]

1 hour ago, nevets88 said:

 

The 8th hole is playing 13th of 18th holes in difficulty so far this year (one of the easier holes). It is playing to just under par 2.977.  51 birdies, 28 bogeys, 7 "others."

I get that it's a unique hole and daunting because of the small green and bunkers. But sometimes I think they're glorifying how intimidating it is to these guys. 51 birdies of 218 opportunities to play is nearly 1 in 4. ( and 7 "others" isn't that many)

I did watch Nobilo roll a bunch of balls around the green complex to show how the bunkers vacuum up balls that are only slightly off line. So frankly (pun, intended), I am not sure why the scores aren't worse than they are. 

[Chilli Dipper]

7 minutes ago, RandallT said:

The 8th hole is playing 13th of 18th holes in difficulty so far this year (one of the easier holes). It is playing to just under par 2.977.  51 birdies, 28 bogeys, 7 "others."

I get that it's a unique hole and daunting because of the small green and bunkers. But sometimes I think they're glorifying how intimidating it is to these guys. 51 birdies of 218 opportunities to play is nearly 1 in 4. ( and 7 "others" isn't that many)

I did watch Nobilo roll a bunch of balls around the green complex to show how the bunkers vacuum up balls that are only slightly off line. So frankly (pun, intended), I am not sure why the scores aren't worse than they are. 

What's the day-by-day breakdown on those scores? I can understand the hole being target practice for the pros yesterday, when there was no wind.

[RandallT]

19 minutes ago, Chilli Dipper said:

What's the day-by-day breakdown on those scores? I can understand the hole being target practice for the pros yesterday, when there was no wind.

I thought you were onto something, but it turns out it's easier today. Maybe just earlier and small sample size?

19 birdies, 4 bogeys. Averaging about 2.8. 18th ranked hole (easiest).

Yesterday:

Averaging just over par.

[Chilli Dipper]

Who predicted a Mickelson-Stenson showdown for this tournament?

[ChrisP]

When was the last time we had a major where Rory, Spieth and Day were all out of contention going into the weekend? Now Rory could still change that, but it's definitely a weird feel this weekend. But that's the beauty of the British. Really would love to see Phil get another Claret Jug. Anybody but Patrick Reed, please.

Would be a shame if these afternoon guys get screwed with the draw. Looks like some bad stuff coming in for them.

Edited July 15, 2016 by ChrisP

[b101]

2 hours ago, Chilli Dipper said:

What's the day-by-day breakdown on those scores? I can understand the hole being target practice for the pros yesterday, when there was no wind.

And @RandallT - I think the problem has been how wet it has been over the last two weeks. If it was hard like it normally would be in summer and balls weren't sticking and spinning back, you'd see a very different hole. 

I agree though that it's massively overstated as to how hard it is. 11 now, that would give me nightmares...

[boogielicious]

Those bunker cams are awesome and evil at the same time. 

[b101]

Spieth and his short par 3s 

[mtsalmela80]

Jordan's 1st bunker shot at Postage Stamp has to be one of the most demoralizing things I've ever seen a golf ball do.

[b101]

On 13/07/2016 at 3:57 AM, BallStriker said:

4 to make the cut.....

Jordan Speith

Henrik Stenson

Dustin Johnson

Jason Day

 

On 13/07/2016 at 9:45 AM, b101 said:

Spieth's the biggest risk there, surely?

Probably the first time I've ever called one of these things right!

[rehmwa]

Postage Stamp tee shot....

I'm sorry, Bubba, what was that you said?.....

 

 

and let's see if the R&A handle Paddy's ball moving better

 

 

[b101]

5 minutes ago, rehmwa said:

Postage Stamp tee shot....

I'm sorry, Bubba, what was that you said?.....

Genuinely the only golfer I will ever enjoy failing. Those three tee shots were pretty poor, though.

[Scotsclaff]

If anyone can lead from the front it's Phil.Rory needs another couple of birdies,wind at his back coming in.Spieth's all over the shop.

[Chilli Dipper]

It's worth mentioning that it's great to have a major championship where I have no complaints about the TV coverage. NBC/Golf Channel are doing a fantastic job so far.

[Scotsclaff]

30 minutes ago, Scotsclaff said:

If anyone can lead from the front it's Phil.Rory needs another couple of birdies,wind at his back coming in.Spieth's all over the shop.

Talk about the kiss of death,2 bogies.

[b101]

16 minutes ago, Chilli Dipper said:

It's worth mentioning that it's great to have a major championship where I have no complaints about the TV coverage. NBC/Golf Channel are doing a fantastic job so far.

Out of interest, is that different to the usual coverage of the Open? I only ask because it's the first year Sky have covered it rather than BBC, which has always been seriously stale coverage. The Sky coverage thus far has been incredible - loads more on-course cameras, range coverage, protracer etc. Best coverage of any tournament I can remember.

2 minutes ago, Scotsclaff said:

Talk about the kiss of death,2 bogies.

And two utterly abysmal putts 

[RandallT]

17 minutes ago, Chilli Dipper said:

It's worth mentioning that it's great to have a major championship where I have no complaints about the TV coverage. NBC/Golf Channel are doing a fantastic job so far.

Thinking the same thing. NBC has earned good marks from me, and the addition of Mike Tirico was a nice touch to make the feel very seamless. He was the ABC voice I'm used to hearing in those early mornings of this tournament. He fits right in with this crew on NBC, and I think I enjoy this coverage better than ABC/ESPN, who owned this tournament in recent years. Faldo, who I associate with CBS, has been a great fit too.

 

2 minutes ago, b101 said:

Out of interest, is that different to the usual coverage of the Open?

I'd say that NBC brought a similar feel that they've always brought to the US Open here in the States. Fox Sports took that event over, and to me, the US Open has been iffy the past couple years.

NBC has a pretty consistent, packaged brand. They do our Olympic coverage, so they know how to get a good mix of stories in with actual event. They don't do anything flashy here, like I hear Sky can do, but it's solid. To put in as many hours of coverage as they do, they've just got a ton of talent spread out across the whole thing that they make it look effortless to cover without missing a beat or looking tired.