Context
The Open (sometimes known in the United States as The British Open) is the oldest of the four Golf Majors (Masters, Open, U.S. Open, PGA) and was first played in 1860. The Open is often considered the most prestigious because it is played in the country which is the home of golf, although many golf fans and historians would argue that the Masters, a U.S. tournament founded by the legendary golfer Bobby Jones is the most prestigious. The tournament rotates from golf club to club throughout the U.K. and has been in England, Ireland, and, of course, Scotland. This year the tournament is being staged in Angus, Scotland, at Carnoustie, a links style course that has many difficult challenges, so much so that players often call it Carnasty. The challenges in 2018 have been made more difficult by the weather–the lack of rain in the area (a rarity) has made the links fairways as hard as the top of a pool table, so shots off the tee and long iron shots can hit and bounce and run for very long distances–often into trouble. Carnoustie was the scene of the famous Jean van de Velde meltdown on the 18th in 1999, when the French golfer–literally on the verge of winning the tournament–needing only a 6 on a par 4 hole to win–made a triple bogey 7, and ended up in a four hole playoff with Justin Leonard and Paul Lawrie for the championship . Lawrie won the playoff by three strokes over the four holes. Notably, van de Velde handled the entire incident with a level of class and sense of humor seldom seen in any sport.
Results
The weather was unexpectedly cooperative throughout the tournament and that grace of state resulted in optimum scoring conditions. The expected (Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Kevin Kisner) delivered solid performances, just not enough to win. The unexpected surprised the experts: Jordan Spieth did not have a good final round–actually, he had a bad final round, going 5 over par–and Francesco Molinari, who should not have been unexpected as a winner but was, won the tournament with an 8 under par 276 score for the tournament. Molinari had previous won the BMW OGA Championship on the European tour and the Quicken Loans National in the USA in 2018, before winning The Open. In other words, he was in the groove and playing predictably well; he did not have a bogey on the final day. His playing partner was Tiger Woods; Molinari was not intimidated. He is the first Italian to win the The Open. Woods story was one of the great ones of the tournament–everyone, even people who don’t follow golf, was delighted to see him in the hunt again. He actually led the tournament for a very short time on the final day. Justin Rose, Rory McIlroy, Kevin Kisner, and Xander Schauffele all came in tied for 2nd at 6 under. Eddie Pepperell, Tiger Woods, and Kevin Chappell were all T-6 at 5 under. Tony Finau, Matt Kuchar, and Jordan Spieth were tied for 9th at 4 under par for the tournament. Phil Mickelson was one under for the tournament. The tournament is over and the Champion Golfer of the Year is Francesco Molinari. Congratulations, sir. Well Done. See you next year.
Resources
Direct Link to the Official Site of The Open
The Leaderboard
The Course
Direct Link to Official Site of Carnoustie Golf Links
How to Qualify for the British Open
Carnoustie, Hole by Hole
How to Watch The Open
Instagram Feed: #theopen
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