British Open or The Open proves why it's better than U.S. Open
Who cares if they call it The British Open or The Open? (Though, personally after seeing how much The Open frustrates TravelGolf.com’s resident fuddy duddy Tim McDonald I’ve developed an affinity for that style.) What you have to call it is better than the U.S. Open.
Isn’t it fun watching a golf tournament where the best players in the world have a chance to go for it? What novel thinking to set up a course that allows low numbers that can change everything in a flash. Nice to know that the eagle is not extinct in major championship golf.
Any tournament that puts four good, interesting players within two shots of Tiger Woods heading into the final round did something right. “The Open’s” setup allowed Sergio Garcia to shoot a 65 on Saturday for Ben Hogan’s sake.
Forget for a minute that Sergio has about as much chance of beating Tiger as Roseanne Barr does of winning the Miss Universe pageant later Sunday night. The point is “The Open” allows for such possibilities.
Someone is going to have to actually shoot a below par round to win a major Sunday. That’s an improvement already.
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Indeed, such Open setups as Hoylake and St. Andrews ARE considerably easier than Royal St. George's and Carnoustie, but I honestly believe that Carnoustie is one of the hardest, if not THE hardest, golf course in the world.
I enjoy watching The Open more than the U.S. Open, and I honestly believe that the U.S. Open has lost some of its prestige - due in large part to the fact that the USGA are about as capable of running a golf tournament as the U.S. Department of Defense are of trying to fight a war and run a military.
The last couple of U.S. Open setups have been botched because the USGA are trying to make the courses too difficult - in fact, I think they're trying to outdo The R&A by making a harder course (which they rarely do, anyway, not that it really matters), mainly because they want everyone to think that they run the grandest championship in golf.
Add 30,000 spectators, pin placements, whatever other conditons (dry and fast greens or narrow fairways), and any other element that makes it a PGA quality course and try shooting par or even below par for four rounds and then, maybe you can declare the course easy.
Try doing it week in week out, season after season, major after major and when you can win 10 majors and be the number one in the world, then declare the course easy.
Does Tiger declare any course easy? even if he's won by double digits?
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