2017 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale Discussion Thread

[Golfingdad]

On 7/17/2017 at 7:04 AM, Wally Fairway said:

Tee times & Pairings have been posted - https://www.theopen.com/TeeTimes#!/R1

Looking through the tee times and I thought it was amusing the photo they chose for Tom Lehman - it's like 800 years old.  Then I realized that it's exactly 21 years old.  The photos of most of the players are of them in action after hitting a shot, but the photos of past winners are cropped photos of them with their trophy.  Daly's sporting his mullet, and Duval and Els look like kids. 

[ChrisP]

Love the Open, but the one part that I don't like is the luck of the draw. One half always gets screwed and the forecast is one that calls for some heavy wind part of Friday so it likely will happen again this year. You look back last year and Stenson/Mickelson ended up where they did because they got the benign conditions on Friday. Really every year in recent memory other than prolly 2013 it's been an issue. So it will be interesting to see who gets screwed this year and which half dodges the bullet. 

[Buckeyebowman]

On 7/17/2017 at 10:04 AM, Wally Fairway said:

Tee times & Pairings have been posted - https://www.theopen.com/TeeTimes#!/R1

Weather looks to be Openeque - per accuweather Wednesday could be a mess with showers, heavy thunderstorms and some local flooding,  Thursday might be the best day high of 64° with no rail predicted and the weekend being

 

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Tournament Airtimes on Golf Channel (Eastern):
Thursday         1:30 a.m.-4 p.m. (Live) / 10 p.m.-Midnight (Replay)
Friday              1:30 a.m.-4 p.m. (Live) / 10 p.m.-2:30 a.m. (Replay)      
Saturday          4:30-7 a.m. (Live) / 10 p.m.-2 a.m. (Replay)
Sunday            4-7 a.m. (Live) / Midnight-4 a.m. (Replay)

Tournament Airtimes on NBC (Eastern):
Saturday          7 a.m.-3 p.m. (Live)
Sunday:           7 a.m.-2 p.m. (Live)

Thanks for posting this. I was going to ask this exact question. I'll have to remember to get up early this weekend!

1 hour ago, ChrisP said:

Love the Open, but the one part that I don't like is the luck of the draw. One half always gets screwed and the forecast is one that calls for some heavy wind part of Friday so it likely will happen again this year. You look back last year and Stenson/Mickelson ended up where they did because they got the benign conditions on Friday. Really every year in recent memory other than prolly 2013 it's been an issue. So it will be interesting to see who gets screwed this year and which half dodges the bullet. 

Hey, it's the breaks! I think we need more players like Tom Watson and caddies like Bruce Edwards! Tom continually got screwed by weather, except for the "duel in the sun", and just soldiered on! I think Watson could have been a Navy Seal!

And, remembering a Feherty essay, he wrote that if you're ever golfing in Scotland and the caddy says, "The sheep are laying down, that means it's going to rain.", just remember where you are! You're in Scotland, and it's ALWAYS going to rain!

[jamo]

3 hours ago, Golfingdad said:

There will be some internal OB this week:

 

Yuck. I hate internal OB. 

(In my own play, at least. It sounds like they have a solid reason for applying it here.)

[Jack Watson]

Can't root for DJ the philandering sniffer but will be rooting Spieth!

Some weather and a tough course makes it interesting!

Good job R and A preventing a semi chea with in course OB!

[BallStriker]

Just now, Jack Watson said:

Can't root for DJ the philandering sniffer

 

clown comment....

[Jack Watson]

11 minutes ago, BallStriker said:

clown comment

http://www.golf.com/tour-and-news/dustin-johnson-suspended-pga-tour-after-positive-test-cocaine

DJ ain't the sharpest tool in the shed.

Go Jordan!

[Antneye]

Fowler for the win......

[Piz]

When the sheep are laying down...it means they are tired.

[Shindig]

7 hours ago, MuniGrit said:

Pretty sure he didn't carry a driver when he won the tournament.

Which?  The comment you were responding to referenced the Open at Torrey Pines in 2008 which Phil didn't win.

[Golfingdad]

6 minutes ago, Shindig said:

Which?  The comment you were responding to referenced the Open at Torrey Pines in 2008 which Phil didn't win.

Yes but he's about to play in the British open without a driver ... and he was pointing out that he won the British open without a driver a few years ago. :)

[MuniGrit]

26 minutes ago, Shindig said:

Which?  The comment you were responding to referenced the Open at Torrey Pines in 2008 which Phil didn't win.

British Open he won.

[skydog]

Nobody is a high betting favorite this week...Spieth leading the pack at 14/1. My guess is DJ and Rory won't be in contention and Spieth and Fowler will be.

 

Edited July 19, 2017 by skydog

[jetsknicks1]

10 hours ago, Antneye said:

Fowler for the win......

I'd love to see that.

[ChrisP]

Watching some pre-practice rounds, the rough doesn't look nearly as penal as it was in '08 when scoring an 80 was like scoring Even Par. Course looks in good shape...looks a bit dry which is what you want for a links course. Not dry like 2013, though....that Open at Muirfield was fun to watch. It was as if they were playing on garage cement the way the ball was bouncing and rolling.

[MuniGrit]

7 hours ago, Golfingdad said:

Yes but he's about to play in the British open without a driver ... and he was pointing out that he won the British open without a driver a few years ago. :)

Exactly. People love to give Phil crap even though he has won a ton because he isn't afraid to go against the norm. That is a perfect example of selective memory. People only remember his failed no driver attempt at the US Open but are ignorant enough to forget he won the tournament he is about to play without a driver. Most players will hit only a handful of drivers a round. It is smart to take something else especially if the course is super dry.

[onthehunt526]

If it's dry the fairways will play like I-95 at 5 pm with no traffic. One or two under might win, but not likely.

Birkdale is tight, so Phil's no driver+2 3-iron +64° wedge+ Mad scientist experiment = Might win.

[Shindig]

19 minutes ago, onthehunt526 said:

If it's dry the fairways will play like I-95 at 5 pm with no traffic.

It won't exist?

19 minutes ago, onthehunt526 said:

Birkdale is tight, so Phil's no driver+2 3-iron +64° wedge+ Mad scientist experiment = Might win.

Yes, but he also might win with a driver.  And just because he wins with it doesn't mean it's the better strategy.