🏌️♀️McIlroy, fans, and Calamity Corner… the storylines to follow at The OpenThis week, Joy is in Portrush for the 153rd Open and writes about some of the biggest talking points before the final major championship of the season.
The most historic week of world golf is here. The Open Championship is the oldest running individual sporting event in the world. Yachting’s America’s Cup claims to be the oldest sporting event in the world, but after its first hosting in 1851, it was not held again until 1870 — a gap of 19 years. It has had several long pauses, including a 21-year period during World War II. First held in 1860, the Open Championship — or, as the Americans insist on calling it, the British Open — wasn’t held in 2020 due to COVID-19, and prior to that, for five years during the two World Wars. The final major championship of the year now has a total prize purse of $17 million. Interestingly, for the first three years until 1862, the professionals were not paid a single dime. The winner got only a championship belt. When prize money was introduced for the first time — £10 in 1863 — it was distributed equally among the eight participating professionals. The beauty of the Open Championship lies in it being played on some of the finest links courses in the UK, such as the Royal Portrush Golf Club in Northern Ireland this year. Proximity to the ocean and finicky weather systems make it the purest form of golf battle that any golfer can face. It requires a different set of skills to succeed on links courses. ‘Imagination’ and ‘creativity’ are two words you’d hear most professionals attach to links golf. That’s because the intensity of the wind, the firmness of the fairways, and the native grass and the different ways to play in and around the greens make it for a completely different test from parkland courses. Ahead of the 153rd Open Championship, and as we have done in the past, let’s have a look at some of the storylines worth following this week…
Scheffler and the links question: The world No1, so dominant in the parkland courses in the US with his high-ball flight, has shown that his incredible skills are more than capable of carrying him through on links courses. In four past Open appearances, he has twice finished in the top 10 and twice just outside the top 20. It’s been a relatively short career for the reigning PGA Championship winner so far, but he will need to lift the Claret Jug at least once to secure his place among the pantheon of golf greats. Local Hero McIlroy: A record crowd of 278,000 people are expected at Royal Portrush this week. If you conducted a poll, more than half would like McIlroy to lift the Claret Jug for the second time in his career (and that’s because there are people from so many nationalities who come for the championship). An encouraging bit: McIlroy, who became only the sixth professional golfer to win a grand slam earlier this year at the Masters, seems to have rediscovered his mojo. Portrush and the fans: For a tiny town of 6,300-odd residents, Portrush has once again embraced the Open Championship with religious zeal. Every hotel within 50 kilometers of the golf course is booked out, and every nook and cranny has something that is Open-related. The 278,000 fans I mentioned earlier are second only to the landmark 150th Open at St. Andrews. Given that the Royal Portrush went off the Open rotation because the R&A felt it did not have the required infrastructure to handle the crowd (and other obvious reasons like the Northern Irish troubles), this is good news. The absence of Indians: Being an Indian journalist, it’s the one that really hurts: we’ve had several years of at least one of our men in the field, but none this year. Anirban Lahiri came close, but missed out by one shot in the final qualifying. This heartbreak comes a year after losing in a playoff for the last spot. The past few years, we have been treated to some heroic efforts by Shubhankar Sharma; although he is struggling this season. Personally, I am so looking forward to next week’s Senior Open at Sunningdale, where both Jeev Milkha Singh and Arjun Atwal are playing. DeChambeau getting better with wind: Coming in as the reigning US Open champion at Royal Troon, windy conditions blew Bryson DeChambeau away. Since then, he has definitely gotten better in handling the most unpredictable natural element on a links course. He played well in Miami earlier this year, and also last week in Valderrama, and it was blowing in both places. The average profile of a champion: Based on the champions over the past few years, the player who has the best chance of winning an Open Championship is someone between the ages of 28 and 33, and someone ranked between 20 and 35 in the Official World Golf Rankings. The last world No1 to have won the Open was McIlroy in 2014. Will Calamity Corner live up to its name? It’s the signature hole of Royal Portrush and even though there is no hazard (water or bunker) to think of, it is 236 yards of pure terror. It is built at the highest part of the golf course; as a result, it is greatly exposed to wind. Any wayward shot right would find itself in a deep ravine. In 2019, just about two-fifth of players found the green in regulation over the four rounds. Rest assured, no lead can be safe on the course — unless a player crosses the hole. My dark horses for the week: Don’t ask why, but I’d name American Ben Griffin, playing his first Open Championship, and Austrian Sepp Straka. THE WEEK THAT WASPGA Tour: Tournament: Genesis Scottish Open Winner: Chris Gotterup (USA) Winning scores: 68-61-70-66 (15-under) Prize purse/Winner’s cheque: US$9 million/US$1.575 million Indians in the field: None Event this week: The Open Championship/Barracuda Championship Tournament: 2025 ISCO Championship Winner: William Mouw (USA), beat Emiliano Grillo (ARG) in a playoff Winning scores: 67-73-69-61 (10-under) Prize purse/Winner’s cheque: US$4 million/US$720,000 Indians in the field: Shubhankar Sharma MC (78-76) Event this week: The Open Championship/Barracuda Championship LIV GOLF: Tournament: LIV Golf Andalucia Winner: Talor Gooch (USA/Smash GC) Winning scores: 69-66-70 (8-under) Prize purse/Winner’s cheque: US$20 million/US$4 million Winner: Legion XIII (Rahm/Hatton/Surratt/McKibbin) Winning scores: +4+3-12 (5-under) Prize purse/Winner’s cheque: US$5 million/US$3 million Indians in the field: Anirban Lahiri T23rd (73-73-69) Event this week: The Open Championship LPGA/MAJOR: Tournament: Amundi Evian Championship Winner: Grace Kim (AUS), beating Athaya Thitikul (THA) in a playoff Winning scores: 65-68-70-67 (14-under) Prize purse/Winner’s cheque: US$2 million/US$1.2 million Indians in the field: Aditi Ashok T28th (67-69-70-73) Next event: ISPS Handa Scottish Women’s Open ASIAN TOUR: Tournament: No event last week Next event: The Open Championship DP WORLD TOUR: Tournament: Genesis Scottish Open Details in PGA Tour Event this week: The Open Championship KORN FERRY TOUR: Tournament: The Ascendant presented by Blue Winner: Neal Shipley (USA) Winning scores: 68-71-67-64 (18-under) Prize purse/Winner’s cheque: US$1 million/US$180,000 Indians in the field: Rayhan Thomas MC (72-74) Event this week: Price Cutter Charity Championship LADIES EUROPEAN TOUR: Tournament: Amundi Evian Championship Details in LPGA Tour Next event: ISPS Handa Scottish Women’s Open ASIAN DEVELOPMENT TOUR: Tournament: No event last week Next event: Ciputra Golfpreneur Tournament PGTI TOUR Tournament: No event last week Next event: To be announced Written and edited by Joy Chakravarty (@TheJoyofGolf). Produced by Shashwat Mohanty.
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