Buried Lies . . .
And Other Indignities
Of the four major championships, The (British) Open is by far my favorite. The venues are by and large superb, the weather can be highly unpredictable, and the field is typically strong.
[A side note - if I were to rank the majors in order of preference to watch, they would come out as:
The Open
The U.S. Open
The PGA Championship
The Masters
I can hear the howls already … look, Augusta National is a beautiful, challenging course, and the timing of the tournament is perfect, particularly for people who don’t live south of the Mason-Dixon line. But looking at it objectively, it’s a limited field invitational event, half of which can be counted out from the start because of the tournament’s selection criteria. I will be happy to debate this with anyone.]
One thing that almost always simultaneously amuses and infuriates me is the observations from people who claim that Open Championship venues are ugly, oftentimes citing lack of trees and course conditions that are not the appropriate shade of green.
Addressing the latter point first - the Royal & Ancient (or R&A, which is the “other” governing body of golf) instructs the host venue to allow nature to take its course. Other than greens and tee boxes, the remainder of the course will reflect whatever weather conditions have prevailed over the summer. That’s why on the one hand, Royal Portrush (located in Northern Ireland), site of the 2019 Open, presented itself in a rich, lush manner, while 2018 host Carnoustie was baked to a golden brown, due to an unusually dry summer.
As for the lack of trees - seaside links are not conducive to that sort of vegetation, leaving the course more exposed to the elements - which certainly provides more of a challenge on a windy day, as well as providing striking vistas for those playing.
All of which is to point out that links courses may not show particularly well on television, but offer plenty of beauty while one is playing.
A word or two about last week’s US Women’s Open.
Pebble Beach produced a worthy champion in Hawaii’s Allisen Corpuz, who played solid golf on a demanding course setup. Unlike the men’s US Open, which generally produces more moaning from its participants than the maternity wing at your local hospital (and, I hasten to add, with far less justification), there was nary a complaint from anyone, save from noted curmudgeon Brandel Chamblee, who felt that the par 5 holes - particularly the iconic 18th - played too long for the women.
Perhaps the most entertaining round was produced on Sunday by England’s Charlie Hull, whose photo should appear in Merriam-Webster next to the word “effervescent.” Ms Hull’s 66 was a joy to watch, particularly when she arrived at the aforementioned 18th. Her drive found the lone cypress tree that bisects the fairway, leaving her a dicey shot to attempt to get to or near the green in two. In her discussion with her caddie, Charlie declared. “Shy kids don’t get sweets,” and gave it a rip. While she didn’t quite pull off the shot, one certainly had to admire the requisite chutzpa to try it.
(The shot in question comes at the 3:20 mark, but the entire clip of her final round highlights is worth watching . . . )
The Congressional hearing this past Tuesday regarding the proposed PGA/LIV framework gave an opportunity for certain Senators to bloviate, but aside from a few juicy tidbits (including the PGA’s insistence on the removal of Greg Norman as LIV CEO), nothing of any real substance came out of the session. Meanwhile, LIV announced that its team championship was being moved from Saudi Arabia to Donald Trump’s Doral in Miami. Given his legal problems, I suppose the Donald will welcome this influx of cash.
Meanwhile, LIV continues to make great strides in growing the game.
In keeping with this week’s allusions to links golf in general and St Andrews in particular, I offer An American Caddie in St Andrews by Oliver Horovitz, an informative and oftentimes hilarious memoir recounting the author’s coming of age while learning to caddie at The Old Course. Horovitz is accepted at Harvard but is “wait-listed” for a year, resulting in his decision to cross the pond to attend St Andrews University. His efforts to learn the caddying vocation (and in The Auld Grey Toon, being a caddie is serious business) while immersing himself in the local culture (along with several hit-or-miss efforts with the ladies) make for a fun read.
LEGENDARY GOLFER STORY OF THE WEEK
There’s little doubt that Annika Sorenstam is the greatest woman golfer in the history of the sport. One doesn’t reach those heights without being hyper-competitive.
Her first husband, a former Ping rep and an excellent golfer in his own right, tells the story of having a friendly match with her one day in Arizona, and wound up winning, 3 & 2.
Afterwards, he handed her the scorecard.
“What do you want me to do with this,” she demanded.
He replied, “I want you to sign it. I don’t think I’ll ever win a match against you again.’
Annika smiled sweetly . . . and tore up the card.
We shall return on Monday with Tales From the Golf Shop and a few other nuggets. Enjoy the weekend, and try not to spend too much time on the 19th Hole.