Americans call it the British Open.
For most of the golfing world, it is simply The Open Championship.
It will be played for the 144th time next week and for the 29th time at golf’s most recognizable venue — The Old Course at St. Andrews.
One Sunday, July 19th, one man will be crowned “Champion Golfer of the Year” and in his arms he will cradle one of sports most iconic trophies — The Claret Jug.
St. Andrews has been a marvelous stage. It has been the setting where golf’s greatest champions have performed and performed well. Jack Nicklaus hoisted the jug in 1970 and 1978 at the Old Course. Tiger Woods did the same in 2000 and 2005. Seve Ballesteros gave the world a lifetime of memories in 1984 and Nick Faldo made all of England proud in 1990.
The Old Course is home to some of golf’s most famous landmarks — The Road Hole, Hell’s Bunker, the Swilcan Burn and the stone bridge that crosses it.
It has given most their introduction to pure links golf — courses built on land that connects the water to a town, often sandy and in the case of St. Andrews, formed by time and nature’s elements.
St. Andrews has few defenses but they are formidable. They are the wind, the weather, the pot bunkers and the thick heather and gorse. The course has 112 such bunkers and the champion is typically the player who avoids them for 72-holes.
Hell Bunker is the most famous, it even captured Jack Nicklaus, although not during Open competition. It took Nicklaus four shots to get out and afterward he simply said: “I do not want to visit it again.” There are more like it, less famous, but they lurk.
The wind is the biggest question mark along with the weather. Tiger Woods came to the Open Championship at Muirfield back in 2002 and on a rainy, windy day, shot 81 on Saturday and ended his hopes to win the first three majors that year. It was also the world round of his pro career at the time.
If there is no wind at St. Andrews, the scoring will be low. Louie Oosthuizen won in 2010, the last time the Open was played at St. Andrews and he shot 16-under. Woods shot 19-under in 2000 and 14-under in 2005. Faldo shot 18-under in 1990. Without the wind, St. Andrews is open for low scores.
Players will make or break their rounds on the loop holes — the seventh, eighth, ninth, 10th, 11th and 12th. There are two par threes (eight and 11) and three short par fours. To contend, you must make your birdies there. An old Scottish caddie once declared: “Ye can nay play St. Andrews unless ye can cane the loop!”
There is room to drive the ball, but lines must be precise to avoid the penal bunkers.
With all of this in mind, who might emerge from the field on Sunday as “The Champion Golfer of the Year”?
These are some of the favorites per the Westgate Super Book in Las Vegas:
Rory McIlroy: The golf world was stunned early Monday when Rory, the defending Open champion and No. 1 player in the world, revealed on his Instagram account that he has suffered what he described as “a ruptured ligament” in his left ankle. It happened last Saturday when he was kicking a soccer ball with some buddies. Before the injury, he was the odds-on favorite at 4-1 and is now listed at 8-1. He was due for a good showing and his game was perfectly suited to St. Andrews, especially if the winds fail to show and it turns into a shootout. Odds are probably a lot better that McIlroy won’t be able to play when the Open Championship begins next Thursday. He’d be better served trying to get well for the PGA Championshp in August.
Jordan Spieth: The world is looking forward to see how the young man handles the pressure of possibly winning the first three majors of the season. He is playing in the John Deere this week and he’ll come into St. Andrews as the 9-2 favorite. His precision game, accuracy off the tee and incredible putting should put him in the thick of it if he’s firing on all cylinders, as he likes to say.
Dustin Johnson: How can he recover from the disaster that was the three-putt par at the 72nd hole at the U.S. Open at Chambers Bay last month? His length puts him into contention but can his head keep him there. DJ is a 12-1 shot and his mental state is the big question mark.
Justin Rose: The pride of England will have a lot of fans watching him. He’s 15-1 and may be the best bet on the board at that number. He has the game to take this title, no doubt about it.
Louie Oosthuizen: Put his name on the Jug in 2010, obviously knows the winning formula for St. Andrews. Has had a little resurgence in his game and at 20-1, should be in the hunt.
Adam Scott: He’s also 20-1 and the return of caddie Steve Williams has brought Scott’s game back to life. Still, the putter is the question mark for the former Masters champion.
Henrik Stenson: He’s listed at 20-1 but can the “best player in the world without a major” get rid of that unwanted title at St. Andrews? His ball striking skills are amazing but putting is the big question mark, especially in the heat of major championships.
Tiger Woods: He was 60-1 before he managed a few good rounds at the Greenbrier Classic. Don’t let that fool you, even at his current 25-1. Woods still has major problems with his driver and putter and that’s not a good circumstance for a major championship. He knows this course well but asking him to look the way he did 10 years ago is simply asking too much.
Rickie Fowler: Like Tiger is 25-1 but right now, Rickie’s a better overall player.
Jason Day: His doctor in Columbus says Day’s vertigo comes from a middle-ear infection and he’s now taking medication to try and get rid of that. It has stabilized him. What he did at the U.S. Open was simply amazing considering his condition. If he’s feeling better, he can make some noise this week, especially at 25-1.
Bubba Watson: Golf’s most puzzling player, there’s good guy Bubba and bad guy Bubba. Bad Guy Bubba dislikes Europe, isn’t fond of links golf and is incredibly moody when he doesn’t like situations. If it rains, his attitude gets even worse. At 30-1, that’s just about where he should be.
Phil Mickelson: Opposite of Bubba. Phil has comes to embrace links golf, won himself the Open Championship two years ago at Muirfield, proving anything’s possible. Can he conquer St. Andrews? His heart says yes but his sometimes errant tee shots may say otherwise. Lefty’s 30-1 and no doubt he’ll place a big bet on himself. Gambling is legal in the UK and perhaps Phil needs to buy a second home there.
Sergio Garcia: Has the ball striking skills to win any major but his putter is the demon. Also, will Sergio’s mind let him win a major? So far the answer has been “no” and he goes off at 30-1.
The final thought to keep in mind is that luck can be a huge factor in the championship. Luck with the weather and luck of the draw. The first two days, it can be horrible in the morning, beautiful in the afternoon and a contender can end up in bad weather both of the first two days or just as easily have perfect conditions the first two days.
It is what makes the Open Championship the most interesting and intriguing of the four majors.
