The Open
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Man i'd love to do a golf trip over there and play a few of those classic courses. Played a few rippers in NZ, Asia and Aus but never had a round in Europe
I watched some of this last night - it reminded me of playing golf in Wellington.
I'm not sure I'd play Royal Troon if you paid me!
I'd imagine turning up on an icy winter's day, with a howling wind and rain coming in sideways. Cold and wet by the end of the first hole.
Hazards everywhere. Never a decent lie.
Hacking from the tall fescue into the gorse.
And whenever I played a halfway decent shot, it would take a vicious bounce sideways into one of those bunkers.
Standing on the green writing the latest score.
"What'd you do there, Chris B."
"I think it was 26."
"No it was 32. It was 7 in the first bunker, 11 in the second and three lost balls. (That's the sort of helpful arse I play golf with)."
"Better write me down for 35, we might have missed a couple. That was a par three was it?"
At least the beach is nice and handy so that at the end I could wheel my clubs down there and hurl them into the sea!
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haha! Those bunkers are pretty scary. Just watching a few trying to get out without success first time. Do ya try for a second towards the pin if turn and hit it backwards like a few of the players did. Risky stuff!
Some of the bunkers at my course are like some of those at Royal Troon. Never good when the bunker has steps in/out of it
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@JK some of the bunkers you see on the Scottish links courses are scary AF.
I played in a big tournament at St Andrews in Hamilton one time, the par 3 18th there has a large bunker in front, no where as intimidating as some of the links bunkers, but I was up against the 6ft face and try a miracle to go for the green or go sideways to get out of the bunker into the 4 inch lush rough they had for the tournament....I chose the sideways option and got out of the bunker easily enough, but the rough saw me double hit the ball..I finished with a 6!
Fortunately the TV cameras that were there for the event, were not there for me, only one of the marshal's saw what I did!
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Postage stamp is epic. About 105m but watched plenty of bogeys and doubles there, including Rory and Morikawa.
Great evening of golf viewing. Not sure what the weather is like for the second round but have a feeling that anyone better than +3 is well in the tournament.
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Three golfers from the British and Irish Isles at the top of the leader board.
Lowry - 7 Clubhouse
Brown -5 14
Rose -4 10
Scheffler, Horschel and Burmester on -2 in the clubhouse.Shane Lowry, the 2019 Open Champion, must be the favourite if he can hold it all together. Justin Rose, who tied for 2nd in 2013 and finished 4th way back in 1997, has been here before too.