This will be thirteenth time which is the oldest tournament in golf, the British Open, or The Openas you wish, it is celebrated in Royal Liverpool, in Hoylake (England)a link that has not been on the route since the Argentine Robert of Vicenzo won 1967 to Tiger Woods he did in 2006. He was brown and dry when Tiger won in 2006 – by the way, he was also the last Briton to play in his career and with his caddy son, Seve Ballesteros– and the american only used the driver once. And Hoylake is smooth enough for the success of Rory McIlroy in 2014 –Shared second place Sergio Garcia– when in the third round he took two tees for the first time in history to avoid the drop and finish on Sunday. A Rory coming here with a thrilling Scottish Open victory on Sunday at North Berwick, his second in 2023.
World no. 1 Scottie Scheffler He began playing links in 2021 at Royal St. George’s, in Sandwich (England). He saved the videos of the last two British in Hoylake and confirmed the changes. “I saw two faces,” he said. “One is very hard, the other is soft.” Even as the players began to arrive on the field, Hoylake showed signs of summer. The morning sun was made like an oven. Rain made visibility difficult in the early morning. Then a mix of sun and rain and clouds and cold, all before dinner.
Royal Liverpool has also changed. The last two times the Open was played, players faced a 145m par 3 back to the clubhouse, then a par 5 towards the village, a long par 4 towards the Irish Sea and the Closing par 5 where McIlroy played in 2014 a massive 5-iron in the third round for eagle that gave him a five-shot lead. Now the 15th hole is a 560 meter par 5 back to Hoylake, the 16th is still a par 4 and the 17th is a 120 meter par 3 towards the Dee estuary, for some, a sacrilege because a link can’t be played just like that. The 18th hole is still a par 5, but about 60 meters long. The pair are now 71.
And this is the hole that didn’t exist in the last British edition in 2014, actually existed, but they brought it back and it’s a new hole. Not only does it look almost nothing like the previous one, but it has even changed its location in the ‘routing’ of the field. It’s like we say 17th hole, par 3, which used to be 15th hole (it’s still 15th for members and guests) and they have almost nothing to do with it.
The Royal Liverpool opened its doors in 1869 and was designed on almost sacred ground Robert Chambers and George Morris, Old Tom’s younger brother…Courses are in constant evolution and it goes without saying that the design played in 2014 has little or nothing to do with what the British Amateur youngsters played in 1885, the first edition of the tournament played on this beautiful hoylake course . In fact, himself Harry Colt He redesigned the course in the 20th century and continued to make changes over the years.
And the rectors decided to rotate the 15th hole, which used to be played down from tee to green and is now played up. That is, where the green used to be is now the tee and vice versa. They started remodeling it in 2019 and finished in mid 2020. The view from the tee is amazing. As the green is elevated, it conveys the sensation of having endless green, as its tip joins the sky and the ocean. It’s a flan-shaped green, so it’s not easy to reach and it’s very well protected. It has a very deep bunker on the right, another very complicated short bunker, on the left there is another sand trap, perhaps less complicated than the other two, and the long fault meets some important bushes and an area of sand. Recovery is really hard. The 17th hole is called ‘Little Eye’ and is played in the direction of Wales. This is undoubtedly one of the great attractions of this British Open. Previously, Royal Liverpool ended on par 5, par 4 and par 5 and now it will end on par 5, par 3 and par 5. More drama and more tension, although some will still find it sacrilegious.
However, after the last US Open in Los Angeles, where McIlroy left with a chance to win on the final day, the Northern Irishman said: “I’ll live a hundred Sundays like this to get another Grand Slam.” In addition to now being the last ‘major’ on the calendar – this is the fourth time the PGA Championship has gone from August to May, so players are used to it – this is the last time for Americans on the LIV Golf circuit, funded for Saudi Arabia, to submit their bids for the Ryder Cup. Brooks Koepka He has done his part and is close to securing one of the six automatic spots thanks to his 2nd at the Masters and his victory at the PGA, his fifth ‘major’. dustin johnson will have to win to have any chance of getting one of the six places that give direct access to the American team – the classification ends after the BMW Championship, on August 20 – although a good performance could earn him a ‘wild card’ from captain deer Zach Johnson.
It all starts this Thursday, and for McIlroy, the key is patience. “It’s a journey to get into contention for the Jug, and to be there on Sunday afternoon. There’s a lot of shots to be taken and a lot of golf to be played. The worst thing you can do in this sport is anticipate events. .
Source: La Verdad
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