147th Open tee times, leaderboard ://www.theopen.com/TeeTimes#!/R1
It all gets underway at 6.35am local, 1.30am here in Toronto on Thursday with Sandy Lyle, former Scottish #1 and winner of the 1985 Masters striking the first shot of this 147th Open.
Fittingly Lyle spent his entire pro career eschewing the driver for his famous 1 iron, and with Carnoustie's fairways burnt brown and running hard and fast, you will see players using as few as 1 driver per round, Tiger has said he'll use anywhere between 1 and 4, depending on the wind.
Speaking of the wind, it is scheduled to blow substantially particularly on Thursday and Sunday, from the west, south-west, calmer in the morning and strongest for the leaders around 5pm, up to 25kph.
Rain is in the forecast Friday, wind still west, south-west, rain heaviest in the morning.
Saturday the breeze eases off and switches completely in the morning, early tee times get what there is of it (10kph) from the NE, but by noon it will come from the SE and stay that way all day.
Finding the fairways: Most all of the UK is experiencing climate change as we all are, it's the hottest, driest summer in recent memory. Links courses are used to winds soaked in salt water, and of course rain which keeps the courses green and the rough lush and deep. As a result like Gullane last week, you'll see the fairways burnt out, and the rough thin at Carnoustie this year.
Therefore a key to scoring will be club selection off the tee. Tiger and most others will be hitting "stingers", long irons driven low and running, and hopefully avoiding the sod faced bunkers. How far the ball will run will be trial and error, but remember this evens the field out as all the short hitters will be able to roll the ball just as far as the big boys. Carnoustie under these conditions plays not at 7400 yards, more like 6500.
Others like Rory have decided to take drivers where they normally wouldn't, to smash it over all those bunkers and the Barry Burn which meanders through 10 of the holes. For example Brandt Snedeker hit his drive at the famous 18th in practice, over the burn into the greenside bunker, some 435 yards away. Imagine if John van de Velde had that luxury in 1999 !.
Carnoustie Memories:
1975, Bobby Cole led after 54 holes. Then the wind got up on Sunday and he slipped to 76 to miss the playoff between Australian playboy Jack Newton (74) and Tom Watson (72). Tom narrowly won his first of 5 Open's (1975, 77, 80, 82, 83) in an 18 hole playoff in the rain over Newton. Newton was hampered when he severely sprained his ankle on the practice range on Wednesday and had to have it heavily wrapped.
Sadly in 1983 he walked into a plane propeller in Sydney and lost his right eye and arm and was given a 50/50 chance of survival, which he did and went on to a long career in broadcasting.
As Sir Michael Bonallack put it, “When the wind is blowing, it is the toughest golf course in Britain. And when it’s not blowing, it’s probably still the toughest.” It isn't just long, it's long and narrow. Someone dubbed it " Carnastie"
1999 of course I remember the John van de Velde triple bogey fiasco at the 18th and the resulting 4 hole playoff between the Frenchman, Justin Leonard and Scotland's Paul Lawrie who started the day 10 shots behind van de Velde, but won the aggregate by 3 shots for the only major of his career
I remember the 2007 version for 2 main reasons. Sergio Garcia led after 54 holes and was looking great for his 1st major. Secondly when it came down to the final holes it was Sergio, Padraig Harrington and Anders Romero in contention, and none seemed to want it.
Romero had made 10 birdies on that Sunday but had a double bogey,bogey finish left him a single stroke out of the playoff. Harrington was playing great and stood on the18th tee with a one-shot lead but put it in the Barry burn twice for a double-bogey six to finish with a round of 67. Garcia meanwhile went to the final hole one ahead but found a greenside bunker with his approach shot. He left himself a ten footer for par and the title, but the putt lipped out and he had to settle for a 4 hole playoff which Harrington won, and Sergio did not ingratiate himself with his griping afterwards
So it will be a fascinating Open again for me this year, I think the uncertainty caused by the extremely fast fairways will cause great drama.
Join me here as always.
Bryan Angus.
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