Thursday, July 14, 2022

The British Open, Day One

Since 1970, here's a list of all the British Open winners who won at St. Andrews:

1970:  Jack Nicklaus
1978:  Jack Nicklaus
1984:  Seve Ballesteros (ESP)
1990:  Nick Faldo (ENG)
1995:  John Daly
2000:  Tiger Woods
2005:  Tiger Woods
2010:  Louis Oosthuizen (RSA)
2015:  Zach Johnson

That's a really impressive list.  So it will be interesting to see who can win this year, which is the 150th playing of the British Open.  Today was a funny round, because conditions were very favorable in the morning, and quite windy in the afternoon -- so you had a big advantage if you played in the morning.

A lot of big stars are out of it already.  Brooks Koepka and Jon Rahm are tied for 77th place after shooting one-over par 73's.  Sergio Garcia is in a tie for 117th place after shooting a 3-over par 75.  Tiger barely made it around the course with a 6-over par 78.

Others have a slightly better chance.  Phil Mickelson, Collin Morikawa, and Justin Thomas are all part of a tie for 55th with even par 72's.  Jordan Spieth and Hideki Matsuyama part of a tie for 35th with one-under par 71'.

Meanwhile, here is the current top 10, led by 25-year-old Cameron Young, an American from Westchester County, New York.  Young is better than you think -- he's currently ranked number 32 in the world and came in third at the PGA Championship back in May.  Today he shot a 64, which gives him a two-shot lead with 54 holes left.  But there are some big names behind him.

1.  C. Young:  -8 (64)

2.  R. McIlroy (NIR):  -6 (66)

T3.  C. Smith (AUS):  -5 (67)
T3.  R. Dinwiddie (ENG):  -5 (67)

T5.  Mr. B. Brown (am) (ENG):  -4 (68)
T5.  K. Kitayama:  -4 (68)
T5.  L. Westwood (ENG):  -4 (68)
T5.  B. Kennedy (AUS):  -4 (68)
T5.  V. Hovland (NOR):  -4 (68)
T5.  T. Gooch:  -4 (68)
T5.  D. Johnson:  -4 (68)
T5.  S. Scheffler:  -4 (68)

11 comments:

  1. So far, today has been the battle of two Camerons:

    1. C. Smith (AUS): -11 (28 holes)

    2. C. Young: -10 (27)

    3. D. Johnson: -9 (36)

    T4. S. Scheffler: -8 (36)
    T4. T. Hatton (ENG): -8 (36)

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  2. Phil Mickelson (4 over par through through 31 holes), and Tiger Woods (9 over par after 36 holes) will not be playing the weekend.

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  3. Almost done for the day:

    1. C. Smith (AUS): -13 (36 holes)

    2. C. Young: -11 (36)

    T3. D. Johnson: -9 (36)
    T3. R. McIlroy (NIR): -9 (36)

    T5. S. Scheffler: -8 (36)
    T5. T. Hatton (ENG): -8 (36)

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  4. Viktor Hovland holes out from the fairway on the par-4 15th hole. He makes an eagle and moves to 9 under par, in a tie with Dustin Johnson and McIlroy.

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  5. On 16, Hovland's approach shot goes into a greenside bunker.

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  6. On 17 -- the difficult Road Hole -- McIlroy hits an excellent second shot and lands the ball safely on the putting surface. Meanwhile, Hovland's bunker shot on 16 is also very good, and he has a good chance to save par.

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  7. Hovland saves par on 16. And McIlroy holes his 20-foot birdie putt on 17! Great stuff from Rory.

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  8. 1. C. Smith (AUS): -13 (36 holes)

    2. C. Young: -11 (36)

    3. R. McIlroy (NIR): -10 (35)

    T4. D. Johnson: -9 (36)
    T4. V. Hovland (NOR): -9 (34)

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  9. Rory has won four major titles, but remarkably he has not won a major since he captured the 2014 PGA Championship.

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  10. McIlroy pars the 18th hole to finish with a 68. He's at 10 under par, three shots off the lead.

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  11. Hovland birdies the 18th hole. He finishes with a 66, and he's tied with Rory at 10-under par.

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