2017 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale Discussion Thread

[onthehunt526]

The momentum shifted when Jordan was able to squeak out a 5 on 13. After hitting it in the elephant grass off the tee... 

Yes, I agree he should have been penalized for slow play on 13.  The R and A did give a lot of latitude given the situation, and calling for a ruling, I thought killed the clock anyway. But as stated this was anything, but a run of the mill unplayable lie ruling, he had all the trucks over there to get line of sight relief from. Still took forever. Great win and comeback though. 

[saevel25]

11 minutes ago, Marty2019 said:

I thought strokes gained, putting, took that into account.   Strokes gained, putting, factors in the distance from the hole to get an expected number of putts to get the ball into the hole.  So strokes gained, putting is a true measure of putting prowess.  

According to PGA Tour stats, Spieth is 37th in strokes gained, putting.  

It's the best we have now.

The reason why Spieth is 37th is because he is actually less than average inside of 10'  (he's ranked 104th in putts made inside 10 FT). He's one of the better putters from 20 FT or greater.

[ChrisP]

11 minutes ago, onthehunt526 said:

The momentum shifted when Jordan was able to squeak out a 5 on 13. After hitting it in the elephant grass off the tee... 

Yes, I agree he should have been penalized for slow play on 13.  The R and A did give a lot of latitude given the situation, and calling for a ruling, I thought killed the clock anyway. But as stated this was anything, but a run of the mill unplayable lie ruling, he had all the trucks over there to get line of sight relief from. Still took forever. Great win and comeback though. 

But was it slow play or was it the rules officials walking him through the options? I've watched it five times now and most of the time he was taking to play the shot, he was either searching for the ball or it was the rules official was with him explaining his options to him. Even the rules official himself said he had to radio the R&A to see the options of playing on the practice grounds, so that took time. After the shot, I thought it was more Jordan's fault for slow play and a penalty should be considered. But after listening to the rules officials and even Roger Maltbie who was there and said it wasn't Jordan's fault...he was just trying to see what his options were so he could hit the right shot.......I changed my view on it. It's unfortunate what happened and for Kuchar, but it was what it was. 

Edited July 24, 2017 by ChrisP

[onthehunt526]

The putts Jordan made on 15 and 16 reminded me of the PGA in 2000..... That other guy who seemed to will all his putts in.

[BallStriker]

Also, a shout-out to Bones on a pretty impressive debut.....predicting Jordan Speith as the winner pre-tournament and also predicting that a 62 was possible on Saturday morning.

 

 

Edited July 24, 2017 by BallStriker

[rehmwa]

I like that the volunteers at the tee boxes just hold up one arm with the red/quiet sign.

Other tournaments - fat old guys facing the crowd with both arms in the air - IMHO it looks pointless and ridiculous.  Hold up a quiet sign and stop there.

[nevets88]

http://golfweek.com/2017/07/24/tv-blog-nbc-got-big-stuff-right-but-landed-in-bunker-with-details/

Bones banal. Ouch.

[Chris223]

7 minutes ago, nevets88 said:

http://golfweek.com/2017/07/24/tv-blog-nbc-got-big-stuff-right-but-landed-in-bunker-with-details/

Bones banal. Ouch.

He makes a few valid points.  I didn't think he was THAT bad, but he deffinately needs some polishing.  

[nevets88]

We guessed 240 yards (practice range shot).

 

[DaveP043]

1 hour ago, rehmwa said:

I like that the volunteers at the tee boxes just hold up one arm with the red/quiet sign.

Other tournaments - fat old guys facing the crowd with both arms in the air - IMHO it looks pointless and ridiculous.  Hold up a quiet sign and stop there.

As one of those "fat old guys" who worked as a marshall at the 2014 US Open at Pinehurst, I resent this characterization, even if it IS accurate.  I know that the USGA prefers a few traditional things, like the hands in the air without signs, and scoreboards operated by real human beings.  I always felt bad standing in front of someone, but I made sure to move around slightly so it wasn't always the same person.  

[colin007]

6 hours ago, skydog said:

I was surprised and a bit annoyed to hear they were told to speed up the pace of play as they were making the turn....I guess they were well behind the group in front of them but they played the front nine in just under two hours, which seems perfectly acceptable for the last group of a major on Sunday.

That said, the 13th was a mess and needed to be handled better/faster.

Your correct position is directly behind the group in front of you.

I really should like Spleef, considering I can also hit a driver 100 yards off line in either direction, but I still think he's a tosser and a nonce. He can go chew aluminum foil.

Edited July 24, 2017 by colin007
Spelling

[iacas]

5 hours ago, TN94z said:

Wasn't a good bit of that time used by the rules officials to confirm ball placement? I remember them stating that the "clock" would not take into account the time working with the officials on a ruling.

He took, what, ten minutes AFTER his ball was in play again (all drops/rulings done). The whole time his caddie was walking ahead and trying to figure out a yardage and get a line was time he was basically delaying.

It was not the entire 26 minutes it took him to hit the shot, but it was a good chunk of it.

5 hours ago, nevets88 said:

I think his caddie was. Saw him using AE, at least I thought he did, not the fingers, but straddling the line for slope. Also I read something on social media or the announcers said something, can't remember, something out there mentioned his caddie was using Aimpoint.

Even if his caddie uses AimPoint, Kuchar had 20-40 foot putts. IIRC he burned a few edges or left some just short. It's not like his reads were all that bad… he just had a lot of long putts that you're not very likely to make.

5 hours ago, Marty2019 said:

Strokes gained, putting, factors in the distance from the hole to get an expected number of putts to get the ball into the hole.  So strokes gained, putting is a true measure of putting prowess.

It's one of the best, but there are still holes.

If you hit the ball to 35' feet all day you can make up more strokes if you hole two and two-putt the rest than if you hit a lot of putts to 9' and hole half of them.

5 hours ago, BallStriker said:

Well...right or wrong, the broadcast team clearly said that Kuchar's caddy John Wood was using AimPoint to ready the greens for Kuchar........and I think I heard it more than once....maybe there is no bad press, but they certainly did say AimPoint was being used

Kuchar putted pretty well. Again,you aren't gonna make a bunch of 40 footers.

https://www.theopen.com/playerstats/fulllist#!/lowputavg?group=5

He was T14 in putts per round despite being top 30 in GIR.

47 minutes ago, nevets88 said:

http://golfweek.com/2017/07/24/tv-blog-nbc-got-big-stuff-right-but-landed-in-bunker-with-details/

Bones banal. Ouch.

http://golfweek.com/2017/07/21/tv-blog-nbc-needs-to-put-some-meat-on-these-bones/

I thought he was pretty blah too.

 

 

[skydog]

12 minutes ago, iacas said:

 

I thought he was pretty blah too.

I don't know, I think it take some reps for most guys to get comfortable with a mic in their hand. I remember when I first heard Duval working for TGC, it was like nails on a chalkboard for me. Now I think he's gotten a lot better and I enjoy hearing him.

I think Bones is already better than most on NBC and has plenty of potential once he gets a little more comfortable.

[Mr. Desmond]

^^^

Yes, Bones may still be feeling out his position, not wanting to say too much that will offend players who he's known for 25 years ... or a bit less.

Don't know if that's it, but he's got to analyze. He can't get away with fluff - we want dirt (analysis) and color! 

[Jack Watson]

 Pretty harsh to hate on a rookie announcing crew member who obviously doesn't know yet how much leeway he really has or where lines are drawn.  I won't judge him before he even gets some time...

I think last group basically match play at a major let em have some leeway on time.  Tiger used to take forever on key shots no one hates on him.  He'd stalk some of those putts like an Indian trying to hunt the last buffalo on earth.  He walked around and around.

Spieths great to watch because he is young emotional and unpredictable in the clutch.  He might miss a three footer or drive way off line.  We could be seeing as dominant a player develop as there will be for quite some time.   His skills and mind are pretty balanced.  Often he does good things at key points in the round.   If you wanna score everybody knows at certain times there's no way out you just gotta make a shot! Great tournament!  

At this point the U.S. Open is a distant third behind the Masters and the Open.  Erin Hills?  I didn't even watch it after hearing they widened the fairways on a dadgum US OPEN!  I think the U.S.  Open should be the toughest test but it hasn't been lately.

I am a big Miller fan but his comments during the Spieth deal with the ruling showed he wasn't quite thinking it through.  I think Miller said why not just go back to the tee a couple times!  Why go back to the uncomfortable shot?

I don't know about that.  

I liked the split screen thing with commercials but commercials suck period.  Necessary evil.

Kuchar had his chances on the front to change everything.  He hit it well enough but couldn't stick the dagger in and twist the knife.

I just really hope Spieth doesn't make significant mechanical changes.  McCormick was self taught so I think it's a perfect storm right now for Spieth.  

Thank god he's not under Leadbetter or Spieth would be watching video of Faldo right now!  

I think at his level let him play and do necessary maintenance but no one ever gets to perfect.  Tiger proved that under the spec wearing midget!

 

 

 

 

Edited July 25, 2017 by Jack Watson

[iacas]

27 minutes ago, Jack Watson said:

 Pretty harsh to hate on a rookie announcing crew member who obviously doesn't know yet how much leeway he really has or where lines are drawn.

Who's "hating on" him? He was blah. That's not hate.

27 minutes ago, Jack Watson said:

I think last group basically match play at a major let em have some leeway on time.  Tiger used to take forever on key shots no one hates on him.  He'd stalk some of those putts like an Indian trying to hunt the last buffalo on earth.  He walked around and around.

He was never teeing off on 14 when the group ahead of him was on 16 green.

The leaders should play by and under the same rules as everyone else. Particularly when they were not, at that point, very far from the guy who was in the clubhouse. It was NOT "match play" at the time. The guy in the clubhouse could have won outright.

27 minutes ago, Jack Watson said:

I think at his level let him play and do necessary maintenance but no one ever gets to perfect.  Tiger proved that under the spec wearing midget!

Oy. 8 wins in two years, player of the year, body breaking down… yeah, that totally sucked.

[Jack Watson]

 No majors under the midget.  Foley wasn't self taught far as I know.  No common sense that comes from that.  Plus yips!

[iacas]

7 minutes ago, Jack Watson said:

 No majors under the midget.  Foley wasn't self taught far as I know.  No common sense that comes from that.  Plus yips!

Oh brother.

The brief spell of chip yips weren't under Foley.

Who gives a shit about being self taught? Self taught at what? Butch wasn't self taught. Hank wasn't self taught.

And what the hell does any of this have to do with the 2017 British Open? Nothing. It's… .