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Tom Watson is returning to the 2010 British Open hoping to bring back some of the magic he held in the 2009 tourney at Turnberry where he fell just one shot short of winning his sixth Open Title, losing to fellow American Stewart Cink. Joining him from the United States are players such as Cink, Ben Curtis, John Daly, Jim Furyk, and Mark O’Meara among others. They will be taking on the best the world of golf has to offer. Australia’s Matthew Goggin, Colombian Camilo Villegas, England’s Sir Nick Faldo and last year’s 3rd place finisher Lee Westwood. South Africa’s entry, Thomas Aiken finished in the 8th position in 2009. He will be joined by fellow South African’s Ernie Els, Retief Goosen. The home countries representatives are the 1985 Open Champion Paul Lawrie and 1985 Champion Sandy Lyle.
Past Open Championships
The 2008, Irishman Pádraig Harrington repeated as champion and retained the Claret Jug with a final round of 69, winning the tournament by four shots over Ian Pulter and 2006 was the last time Tiger Woods won the championship. The 2005 British Open was held at St. Andrews in Scotland and was much tougher to project than the other three majors, all of which are held on US soil. The tourney will be played from July 14-17 and will likely feature windy conditions on the par-72 “links” style course. Many of the courses in Europe are shaped differently than ones people are accustomed to in America and it takes a different style to be successful. The land is very sloped and hilly and the shots must be played with a lower trajectory as to avoid the often gusty winds of Scotland and the surrounding areas. It’s also quite chilly most of the time so the golf ball doesn’t tend to travel as far and shot making requires much more imagination. The biggest difference in the courses might be the amazing number of bunkers that links style courses feature. Many courses will contain up to and more than 100 bunkers, all of which can be in play on certain days. Many of the bunkers are feet deep or have large lips around the edges that can turn a good day into a dreadful one quickly. Many of the big names on the PGA Tour have struggled in the British Open but it’s likely a few names like Mickelson, Woods, Els, and Singh could find their way to the front page. More than likely, a few relative unknowns will find a way to keep within reaching distance and will look to make a run on Saturday or Sunday.
The 2003 British Open saw Ben Curtis, a relative no-name on the PGA Tour, come from nowhere to knock off Tiger Woods and Vijay Singh and take home the Claret Jug. If that story was enjoyable to you, the 2004 British Open at Royal Troon in Scotland must have seemed like it was the same script. Ernie Els and Phil Mickelson, two players known for their play in the biggest moments, were joined by Todd Hamilton, a player out of the Japanese Tour who didn’t even have a PGA Tour card last year. Mickelson finished the four days with a 9-under score of 275 while Els and Hamilton finished at 274 and were headed to a four-hole playoff. Els made three pars and a bogey while Hamilton made four pars and took the Claret Jug back home to Texas. |
