HooperstarGolfer @ The Open

When 8 gentlemen (7 Scots and 1 Englishman) played three rounds of the 12 holes at Prestwick on the West Coast of Scotland on 17 October 1860 little did they know what they were starting. From 8 men to over 2,000 with a grand qualifying structure the event has grown into one of the great international sporting spectaculars, with hundreds of thousands of fans attending each year and many hundreds of companies exhibiting in the large tented village. The Open Championship is no longer just about a group of men playing golf, it is a major logistical operation and a major television event. When it comes down to it though, the bare bones of this incredible event is the golf and just as in 1860 the field of competitors have a title in their eyes and a place in golfing history to play for.

This week on the East Lothian coast the world's golfers will assemble for the 142nd Open Championship, 156 players from all corners of the world will hope to emulate Willie Park Sr. and walk away as The Open Champion. Throughout this week I will be covering the championship with a series of blogs dedicated to The Open, with previews, features and live blogs as well as my experience attending The Open on Wednesday. 

I attended my first and before Wednesday only Open Championship in 2007 at Carnoustie, that turned out to be one of the all-time great championships and having seen the course today I believe strongly that we are in for another classic. I got up at 5am to reach my 6am bus from St Andrews to Leuchars, from which I got a train to Edinburgh Waverley followed by one to Drem. Here the hords of golf fans filed into specially arranged buses to complete the pilgrimage to Muirfield. I entered through the gate for ticket holders and had my bag scanned, as is custom at every major event since 9/11, and upon entering the sight was awesome. The tall fescue grass, a thin slither of fairway and massive hospitality units straight ahead, along with the entrance to the tented village and the large grandstands around the first tee to the right. Even though it was before 9am the crowds were significant and the sun was shining and creating an intense heat despite the early stage of the day. I firstly headed for the range and sat in the large grandstand overlooking the practising competitors, I observed Chris Wood playing long chip and runs and demonstrating a natural ability to perform on a links and then I headed for the course.

I picked up Luke Donald practising on the tenth hole and followed for 3 holes before walking around the remaining 6 holes of the back nine with Sir Nick Faldo, Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson. 

This was my first chance to see the golf course at Muirfield, I have played Royal Lytham and Royal Portrush & worked at Carnoustie and St Andrews but never been on the hallowed grounds of the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers. The course lived up to the commentary and fulfilled my expectations with incredibly deep rough on every hole and the amazing summer weather baking the fairways and greens. With the largest grandstands ever I felt that Muirfield was much better suited to staging the event than Carnoustie. I watched the three-ball play the final hole from the massive grandstand to the right of the 18th fairway, not before bumping into a former University colleague. "Matt" a soft Geordie voice yelled! I couldn't believe it when I saw it was Gareth Cooper, we haven't kept in touch much since leaving Myerscough but it was good to see him. The thrill of sitting in The Open grandstands, even on a practice day, is fantastic.

I then made my way to the tented village to meet up with the gentleman I came on the train with, Don Chornak, a starter at the Honda Classic and WGC-Cadillac Championship and international member of the New Golf Club, which I work in the bar at. Don is the definitive gentleman and we shared a pint in the Open Arms in the tented village. I then popped into the large merchandise pavilion otherwise known as "The 2013 Open Shop" and bought an Open Championship collection shirt, a box of logo'd tees and a putter head-cover.

In the afternoon I followed Rory McIlroy for four holes before he mysteriously disappeared, clearly a forerunner of his tournament to come as he crashed out of The Open on Friday evening at 12-over-par, four outside the cut mark. The front nine was equally as impressive as the back nine and I followed Dustin Johnson for a couple of holes before walking up the ninth and back to the tented village and the R&A Club Marquee, which the ticket and pass I had borrowed from a friend enabled me to get access to. At around 4.30pm I left the course to get the bus back to Drem and the train back to Leuchars, sweaty and tired I had enjoyed attending my second Open Championship and I was anticipating a truly superb Open Championship.

THURSDAY

When the championship began on Thursday it didn't take long for the players to feel the stress of competing on arguably the firmest and fastest links course of the last 30 years, despite the challenging underfoot conditions and at times controversial pin placements 20 players broke par. 2007 Masters champion Zach Johnson led the way with a 5-under-par 66 to give himself a one-stroke lead over Spain's Rafael Cabrera-Bello and 1998 Open champion Mark O'Meara. Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods were tied on 2-under-par and were in contention going into Friday. A lot of the talk however focused upon the conditions and the pin locations. Ian Poulter said "Unfortunately the guys this afternoon will struggle with a few pin positions. 8th hole is a joke, 18th needs a windmill & clown face." and Phil Mickelson commented "“No. 8 is probably the worst one that you’ll see if you watch it on TV, “It won’t stop until it collects in a little level area about eight feet away, six, eight feet away.”

Given the outcome of the 142nd Open Championship it is somewhat ironic that these two individuals made the comments they did. As ever, the R&A responded to player comment and softened the course somewhat over the next three days, but not by much.

FRIDAY

On Friday England's Lee Westwood moved into contention with a 3-under-par 68, he had reached 6-under for his round before 3 late bogeys saw him fall back but still left him well placed for a charge at his first major championship. A level par 71 saw Tiger Woods also complete two rounds at 2-under and he would play with the Englishman in the third round on Saturday. The two however would be out in front of the leader Miguel Angel Jimenez who added a 71 to his first round of 68 to post 3-under and lead the championship, one stroke ahead of Woods, Westwood and Sweden's Henrik Stenson. Phil Mickelson shot a 3-over-par 74 to fall back to 1-over-par, four shots out of the lead going into the weekend.

SATURDAY

And so to Super Saturday

Saturday's third round had the feel of a final round and was highlighted by the pairing of the current and former world number ones Tiger Woods and Lee Westwood. With Muirfield now resembling a dust-bowl the course was at its fiercest off the tee, but the greens had been made more receptive due to watering by the greens staff and the breeze was at its strongest so far making for even more great drama on a memorable afternoon. Woods landed the first blow with a birdie at the 2nd and following Westwood's bogey at the third soared into a 2 shot lead over the Englishman, tied with Miguel Angel Jimenez. Westwood responded in stunning fashion though with a pummelled driver off the tee and off the fairway to just short of the fifth green, he then rolled in the sloping right to left putt from 50 feet plus for an eagle. The roar of the fans left Tiger in no doubt as to who they were favouring. Woods bogeyed 4 and 7 to fall two behind Westwood, who birdied the par three seventh hole to reach 4-under-par and hold a three stroke lead.

Then at 8 and 9 things changed again, Westwood bogeyed both holes and Woods birdied 9 to completely erase the difference, the two were tied going into the back nine on Saturday, it felt more like Sunday. The back nine on Saturday was when I started to believe that Lee Westwood was genuinely on the verge of his first major championship victory. He had putted superbly all week and his chipping and bunker play had been stunning, on 14 he hit a sensational second shot to behind the hole and rolled in the short, but nerve-racking putt to once again assume the lead on 3-under. He then pulled his tee shot on the par three 16th well left and could only extricate the ball to short of the green, he pitched on and left himself a 20 foot putt for bogey. It was a crucial moment in the championship. He rolled in the putt and remained ahead of the pack on 2-under.

On 17 he blew Tiger out of the way with an enormous drive and set up a birdie which would take him further clear on 3-under-par. Westwood had shown immense character and no little ability under pressure to come back from the bogeys at 8 and 9 and surge back into the lead whilst playing with the greatest golfer of his generation.

This was his moment, his chance to become a major champion on British soil in front of British fans in the presence of Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. The Englishman took a two shot lead into Sunday over Hunter Mahan and Tiger Woods.

SUNDAY

Sunday was a little less sunny than the previous days of this 142nd Open, and the sea haar cooled the air making the course play a little softer. But if the atmosphere was cool the golf was red-hot on a day which will go down in history as Phil Mickelson moved ever closer to completing the career grand slam of all four major championships. The day was poised to see Lee Westwood get over the line for his first major win, but after pars at the opening two holes he struggled to get anything resembling a challenge going, making five bogeys and a solitary birdie, he remained in contention until the 15th hole. His game was lacking its usual power and accuracy and his short game could not bail him out as it had done in the previous three rounds, he took two shots to get out of the greenside bunker on 7 and on a day which he seemed destined to claim the title he came up short again, finishing third.

His tied for third place finish has helped Westwood create a probably unwelcome record of 8 top 3 finishes in majors without winning one. Although you can say he has been in contention to win more majors than anyone in the last five years the Englishman is now 40 and by common consent running out of time to get over the line. However, the last three Open Champions have all been aged 42 and over, so maybe there is still time for the former world number one to claim that elusive career-defining championship. Since 1992 only three men have finished in the top 3 of more majors than Lee Westwood, showing just how close he has come to that major title.


Major Championship top three finishes since 1992
Tiger Woods 24 (14 wins, 6 runners-up and 4 third places)
Phil Mickelson 20 (5 wins, 8 runners-up and 7 third places)
Ernie Els 15 (4 wins, 6 runners-up and 5 third places)
Lee Westwood 8 (2 runners-up and 6 third places)
Retief Goosen 6 (2 wins, 2 runners-up and 2 third places)
Colin Montgomerie 6 (5 runners-up and 1 third place)
Vijay Singh 5 (3 wins, 1 runner-up and 1 third place)
Sir Nick Faldo 5 (2 wins, 2 runners-up and 1 third place)
Rory McIlroy 5 (2 wins and 3 third places)
Jose Maria Olazabal 5 (2 wins and 3 third places)
David Duval 5 (1 win, 3 runners-up and 1 third place)
Nick Price 3 (3 wins)
Padraig Harrington 3 (3 wins)
Angel Cabrera 3 (2 wins and 1 runner-up)
Darren Clarke 3 (1 win, 1 runner-up and 1 third place)
Bernhard Langer 3 (1 win and 2 third places)
Kenny Perry 3 (2 runners-up and 1 third place)
Mark O'Meara 2 (2 wins)
Ben Curtis 2 (1 win and 1 runner-up)
Mike Weir 2 (1 win and 1 third place)

List may not be comprehensive but samples some of the great players since 1992

The leading groups were all struggling and the excitement was coming from further down the field in the shape of Ian Poulter and Phil Mickelson. Poulter has always struggled to re-create his Ryder Cup passion in an individual scenario but on the ninth hole he pumped himself up with an eagle, to move from five-over to three-over-par and he followed it with an amazing three successive birdies to get to level par and to within, at one point, two shots of the lead. A bogey at 16 ended his realistic challenge for the title but it was evidence that the European Ryder Cup star can perform to a similar level in major championships.

Adam Scott got off to a torrid start playing with Tiger Woods in the final round, in fact both were 2-over for the championship on the 7th tee. Four successive birdies though saw the Masters champion surge to the top of the leaderboard on 2-under and bang in contention for a second major title of his career and of 2013. But four successive bogeys from the 13th ended his challenge on a day when several players dipped their toes into the water of contention but quickly removed them. Henrik Stenson birdied three of the first nine holes to be 2-under-par at the turn and in a share of the lead on several occasions but bogeys at 12 and 13 stalled the Swede's bid to go one better than Jesper Parnevik in 1994.

Once again Tiger Woods' hopes of a 15th major title ended with a limp weekend performance of 72-74 (4-over) and 6 bogeys in the final round prove that the world number one is still struggling to convert his regular tournament form into major championship winning form.  

Woods' great rival has now won two major championships since Woods won his last in 2008 and Mickelson has moved to within one major win at the US Open of completing the career grand slam and joining Woods as the only two men to have achieved the feat since Jack Nicklaus in 1966. Starting five shots back of Westwood the four-time Major champion birdied five and nine to move back to level par and in contention coming down the back nine. A bogey at 10 stalled his progress before birdies at 13 and 14 moved him into a tie for second with Westwood, one behind Scott. Scott's run of four bogeys opened the way for Mickelson to his fifth major and with a birdie at 17 moved to 2-under and into a 2-stroke lead. His approach to the 18th kicked off the left greenside bunker and to 10 feet behind the hole. He rolled the putt in and lifted his hands above his head in exaltation for what he had just achieved.

66 on the final day of The Open Championship to win.

In the major championship everybody said, including himself, that he could not win.

It was a round which will go down in history alongside the greats of all-time.

Miller's 63 at Oakmont. Seve's 65 at Royal Lytham and St Anne's. Nicklaus' 65 at Augusta.

Both Mickelson and his caddie Jim McKay were resounding in saying it was his best career round.

It was the round which has given the chance for Mickelson to go to Pinehurst and claim an elusive US Open and complete the grand slam, thus cementing "Phil The Thrill" into golf history.

This was an Open Championship which will be remembered for a long time, for the course, for the conditions, for the field and for the manner in which it was won by one of golf's greats. Thus adding to the incredible roll of honour at Muirfield and the incredible record of all-time greats winning their first Open Championship at the East Lothian course. Hilton, Vardon, Braid, Player, Nicklaus, Faldo, Els and now Philip Alfred Mickelson.