It’s always a special feeling when you get to an Open Championship and feel that links land under your feet again and start hitting shots off that beautiful links turf. There’s really nothing else like it.
And, as I said in my previous report, the R&A and greens staff at Royal Troon have to be congratulated for presenting the course in truly wonderful condition. The weather in the build-up hadn’t been great, with lots of rain, but they did a fantastic job.
Obviously we had some proper British summer weather during the week and that can be a big factor in an Open, depending on which side of the draw you’re on. But for me, playing with Phil Mickelson and Lee Westwood in the first two rounds, we mostly had the best of the conditions. The truth is, I played very nicely in stretches, but just wasn’t able to fully capitalise on the benign weather that we had on Thursday afternoon. Then on a cool, damp Friday morning I found trouble on two or three holes – easily done on a course like Royal Troon which is narrow and has small greens – and I got punished.
It was a disappointing result. The Open is my favourite tournament of the year and I came into the week feeling relaxed and confident about my game, especially after a good finish at Congressional.
Of course, it’s hard not to mention being alongside Phil as he tried to make history out there in that first round at Troon. We both wanted him to hole that putt on 18 and I don’t think he could have hit it better and it’s incredible it didn’t go in. Still, in 26 appearances in The Open I’d say that was definitely one of the best rounds of links golf that I’ve personally ever witnessed.
And Henrik’s magical 63 on Sunday was a great finale to the whole event. I can only imagine Phil’s disappointment after shooting a 65 and still finishing three shots off the pace. It was a great display of the highest quality golf with both players hitting shot after shot under intense pressure.
We now move on to a big National Open, the RBC Canadian Open. I can still remember watching this tournament on TV in the 1970s and 80s and following guys like Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson, Lee Trevino and my childhood hero Gary Player. It’s a great tournament, one of golf’s oldest national opens in fact, and you can’t help but enjoy the enthusiasm and the sense of national pride that the fans have for it. I’m really looking forward to it. This is my second visit to Glenn Abbey, having finished tied-21st here in 2013, and I’m extremely motivated to play hard and try to show the same form that helped me register that top-5 finish at Congressional last month.
On a separate note, I want to mention the energy and commitment that RBC has put into golf and charitable fundraising. They’ve raised a lot of money – some $45 million – for some very worthy causes and we’re blessed that Els for Autism has been one of the causes to benefit. Thank you RBC for your continued support.
That’s it for now. Follow me on Twitter @TheBig_Easy.
