Observations from The Open

[Awsi Dooger]

Great summary. Stenson always has the subtle sense of humor and will interact with fans several times per day. Not every hole like Phil but often enough, and it almost makes it more special when he breaks it out again.

 

I was there the day he took off his pants at Doral on the 3rd hole. He knew there would be immediate scrutiny and his quotes were great. The remainder of that week he seemed to loosen up with fans, who became instantly more aware of him. That was when his on-course personality changed, IMO, or at least became more evident. Prior to that he was somewhat like Nick Faldo, a guy who had plenty of personality but for whatever reason decided to be mostly a robot on the course.

 

The aspect of how the players act at the practice range and between holes is always the most interesting aspect of attending an event. It is rarely accurately portrayed in the media or even on boards like this. I'll never forget walking a round with Bill Kratzert decades ago at Doral and being shocked at how negative he was, always mumbling to himself and cursing under his breath for seemingly no reason at all. He was being hyped at the time but after watching that display I knew he wouldn't fulfill his potential. And in recent years the same applies to Billy Horschel. He seemingly hears everything and can't wait to rant about it to his caddie between holes.

[rukahs]

> @Mikey5e said:

> > @MMB1500 said:

> > The Open isn't until next month. ;)

>

> The US OPEN is the real open.

 

HahahahaHahahahaHahahahaHahahahaHahahahaHahahahaHahahahaHahahahaHahahaha

 

Remind me of the time the players/world of golf mocked the R&A for a poorly setup golf course the same way the players/world of golf did/do to the USGA? Go on, i'll wait :)

 

Still waiting......

 

US Open is, most years, a joke and they can only dream that they had the same level of golf course as we do in the UK. They have to manipulate the course to play a certain way.

 

The Open is the original. The founder. The toughest test in golf.

[Golfjack]

Nice to hear a great time. Good point about the Tiger crowd. How can you even see anything. Better to stay in a good spot or follow some cool guys (not moody like Rahm). Stenson looks like a good follow. He even broke out his driver a couple times I think I saw in highlights for his fans. What a guy.

For those people talking about the Open, you just missed the cruise because you're complaining about the ship's name. Nice to miss ya.

[bscinstnct]

> @alpineto said:

> > @bscinstnct said:

> > > @alpineto said:

> > > Just correcting you it's not the open it's the U.S open , the open is reserved for the home of golf .

> >

> > If you overheard someone recounting this experience in person,

> >

> > Would you say,

> >

> > “Just correcting you it's not the open it's the U.S open , the open is reserved for the home of golf .”

> >

> > Lol, cmon, man.

> >

> Why is the man confusing things by calling the US open the open , when we all know where the open is played

> the home of golf , the United Kingdom .

> >

> >

> >

>

 

Ok, lol, nice troll, now I see, you doing a Felix Unger thing (love that show)

 

 

[BeerPerHole]

> @dalehead said:

> > @alpineto said:

> > Just correcting you it's not the open it's the U.S open , the open is reserved for the home of golf .

>

> Since this thread, which started with a very good post has degenerated into condescending elitists nit picking word choices ( the favorite pastime of many WRX'ers) I'll join the fray and point out that "The Open Championship" is being played this year in Northern Ireland, which as far as I know has never been credited or claimed to be the home of golf.

>

> There. Now that I've demonstrated my superior knowledge and golf political correctness I feel better about my self.

 

OK, this gave me a great laugh to start the day. Yeah...well said. In reading through the thread I feel some dismay at what people focus on. F'n semantics. Lord help em...

[exit47]

> @Golfjack said:

> Nice to hear a great time. Good point about the Tiger crowd. How can you even see anything. Better to stay in a good spot or follow some cool guys (not moody like Rahm). Stenson looks like a good follow. He even broke out his driver a couple times I think I saw in highlights for his fans. What a guy.

> For those people talking about the Open, you just missed the cruise because you're complaining about the ship's name. Nice to miss ya.

 

I just shook my head at all of the people heading to the back 9 at Pebble Friday morning for Tiger. Literally thousands of people. Grandstands at 16 were empty as droves went right by to 9-13. We sat at 16, watched everyone go through, then went back up to our spot at 4 and 5.

[mocokid]

> @alpineto said:

> Just correcting you it's not the open it's the U.S open , the open is reserved for the home of golf .

 

It's not a PGA event, it's USGA event. The US Open is AKA the National Open. The British Open is now the Open, as it has far outshone the US Open in last 20+ years something no Yank would have expected back in the day, when few Yanks or others were showing up.

[Lagavulin62]

Wondered why there were two Open threads. This thread is all messed up. Was that intentional?

[Ashley Schaeffer]

The British has certainly done a fine job to re-market itself as The Open. Most are on board with it. Gotta respect the hustle.

[Mikey5e]

> @mocokid said:

> > @alpineto said:

> > Just correcting you it's not the open it's the U.S open , the open is reserved for the home of golf .

>

> It's not a PGA event, it's USGA event. The US Open is AKA the National Open. The British Open is now the Open, as it has far outshone the US Open in last 20+ years something no Yank would have expected back in the day, when few Yanks or others were showing up.

 

ARE there any trees on the courses in the UK?

[Springbok45]

> @"Ashley Schaeffer" said:

> The British has certainly done a fine job to re-market itself as The Open. Most are on board with it. Gotta respect the hustle.

 

Not quite, short answer as follows, a much better piece in the link below that. I love that we golfers have to make these things as complicated as possible, tennis seems to be ok with three different Opens (Aussie, French, US) and Wimbledon (The Championships, Wimbledon) as its big prizes.

 

For all the "Open" hoopla we don't have the same discussions about The Masters/British Masters/shot clock masters/Volvo Masters or the PGA championship Vs the US PGA, which I find strange.

 

"In its early years it was often referred to as The Championship but with the advent of the Amateur Championship in 1885, it became more common to refer to it as The Open Championship or simply The Open. The tournament inspired other national bodies to introduce open golf tournaments of their own, such as the U.S. Open, and later many others.[70] To distinguish it from their own national open, it became common in many countries to refer to the tournament as the "British Open". The R&A (the tournament's organiser) continued to refer to it as The Open Championship. During the interwar years, a period with many U.S.-based winners, the term British Open would occasionally be used during the trophy presentation and in British newspapers.[71][72]

 

In 2017, a representative of the R&A openly stated that it is a priority to "eradicate the term British Open" and have a single identity and brand of "The Open" in all countries.[73] Tournament partners, such as the PGA Tour, now refer to it without "British" in the title,[74] media rightsholders are contractually required to refer to the event as The Open Championship,[73] and the official website has released a statement titled "Why it's called 'The Open' and not the 'British Open'" stating that "The Open is the correct name for the Championship. It is also the most appropriate".[70] The R&A's stance has attracted criticism from some commentators.[73][75][76]"

 

https://www.pga.com/news/news-feature/open-championship-whats-in-name

[BlackDiamondPar5]

> @"Ashley Schaeffer" said:

> The British has certainly done a fine job to re-market itself as The Open. Most are on board with it. Gotta respect the hustle.

 

Huh? Pretty much the whole of North American still calls it the British Open and will do so always. The only people that are obsessed with it being called the open is the R&A and some of those here on wrx.

[Ripken08]

> @BeerPerHole said:

> > @MMB1500 said:

> > The Open isn't until next month. ;)

>

> That's good...

 

But true.....

[Ashley Schaeffer]

> @Springbok45 said:

> > @"Ashley Schaeffer" said:

> > The British has certainly done a fine job to re-market itself as The Open. Most are on board with it. Gotta respect the hustle.

>

> Not quite, short answer as follows, a much better piece in the link below that. I love that we golfers have to make these things as complicated as possible, tennis seems to be ok with three different Opens (Aussie, French, US) and Wimbledon (The Championships, Wimbledon) as its big prizes.

>

> For all the "Open" hoopla we don't have the same discussions about The Masters/British Masters/shot clock masters/Volvo Masters or the PGA championship Vs the US PGA, which I find strange.

>

> "In its early years it was often referred to as The Championship but with the advent of the Amateur Championship in 1885, it became more common to refer to it as The Open Championship or simply The Open. The tournament inspired other national bodies to introduce open golf tournaments of their own, such as the U.S. Open, and later many others.[70] To distinguish it from their own national open, it became common in many countries to refer to the tournament as the "British Open". The R&A (the tournament's organiser) continued to refer to it as The Open Championship. During the interwar years, a period with many U.S.-based winners, the term British Open would occasionally be used during the trophy presentation and in British newspapers.[71][72]

>

> In 2017, a representative of the R&A openly stated that it is a priority to "eradicate the term British Open" and have a single identity and brand of "The Open" in all countries.[73] Tournament partners, such as the PGA Tour, now refer to it without "British" in the title,[74] media rightsholders are contractually required to refer to the event as The Open Championship,[73] and the official website has released a statement titled "Why it's called 'The Open' and not the 'British Open'" stating that "The Open is the correct name for the Championship. It is also the most appropriate".[70] The R&A's stance has attracted criticism from some commentators.[73][75][76]"

>

> https://www.pga.com/news/news-feature/open-championship-whats-in-name

 

Reminds me of when some try-hard tries to give himself a nickname.

“Hey, British.”

“Guys, I really wish you’d all call me The Open.”

“Haha! OK, British.”

 

[bscinstnct]

> @"Ashley Schaeffer" said:

> > @Springbok45 said:

> > > @"Ashley Schaeffer" said:

> > > The British has certainly done a fine job to re-market itself as The Open. Most are on board with it. Gotta respect the hustle.

> >

> > Not quite, short answer as follows, a much better piece in the link below that. I love that we golfers have to make these things as complicated as possible, tennis seems to be ok with three different Opens (Aussie, French, US) and Wimbledon (The Championships, Wimbledon) as its big prizes.

> >

> > For all the "Open" hoopla we don't have the same discussions about The Masters/British Masters/shot clock masters/Volvo Masters or the PGA championship Vs the US PGA, which I find strange.

> >

> > "In its early years it was often referred to as The Championship but with the advent of the Amateur Championship in 1885, it became more common to refer to it as The Open Championship or simply The Open. The tournament inspired other national bodies to introduce open golf tournaments of their own, such as the U.S. Open, and later many others.[70] To distinguish it from their own national open, it became common in many countries to refer to the tournament as the "British Open". The R&A (the tournament's organiser) continued to refer to it as The Open Championship. During the interwar years, a period with many U.S.-based winners, the term British Open would occasionally be used during the trophy presentation and in British newspapers.[71][72]

> >

> > In 2017, a representative of the R&A openly stated that it is a priority to "eradicate the term British Open" and have a single identity and brand of "The Open" in all countries.[73] Tournament partners, such as the PGA Tour, now refer to it without "British" in the title,[74] media rightsholders are contractually required to refer to the event as The Open Championship,[73] and the official website has released a statement titled "Why it's called 'The Open' and not the 'British Open'" stating that "The Open is the correct name for the Championship. It is also the most appropriate".[70] The R&A's stance has attracted criticism from some commentators.[73][75][76]"

> >

> > https://www.pga.com/news/news-feature/open-championship-whats-in-name

>

> Reminds me of when some try-hard tries to give himself a nickname.

> “Hey, British.”

> “Guys, I really wish you’d all call me The Open.”

> “Haha! OK, British.”

>

 

Is like when George wanted to be called

 

T-bone

 

But ended up with

 

 

[Booker]

> @exit47 said:

> > @Golfjack said:

> > Nice to hear a great time. Good point about the Tiger crowd. How can you even see anything. Better to stay in a good spot or follow some cool guys (not moody like Rahm). Stenson looks like a good follow. He even broke out his driver a couple times I think I saw in highlights for his fans. What a guy.

> > For those people talking about the Open, you just missed the cruise because you're complaining about the ship's name. Nice to miss ya.

>

> I just shook my head at all of the people heading to the back 9 at Pebble Friday morning for Tiger. Literally thousands of people. Grandstands at 16 were empty as droves went right by to 9-13. We sat at 16, watched everyone go through, then went back up to our spot at 4 and 5.

 

Sitting at 16green or 4 and 5 all your seeing is a wedge shot and a 7iron which is fine but that gets old quickly for me. Watching them battle the 2nd on 8 the tee shot on 9, 13,14 is much better than sitting at a hole most of the time.

[bill.ig]

OP, thx for sharing your experience with your son at PB. Glad to hear that you enjoyed it. Also good to read about Stenson.

[Darth Putter]

> @M4TT said:

> > @Mikey5e said:

> > > @MMB1500 said:

> > > The Open isn't until next month. ;)

> >

> > The US OPEN is the real open.

>

> HahahahaHahahahaHahahahaHahahahaHahahahaHahahahaHahahahaHahahahaHahahaha

>

> Remind me of the time the players/world of golf mocked the R&A for a poorly setup golf course the same way the players/world of golf did/do to the USGA? Go on, i'll wait :)

>

> Still waiting......

>

> US Open is, most years, a joke and they can only dream that they had the same level of golf course as we do in the UK. They have to manipulate the course to play a certain way.

>

> The Open is the original. The founder. The toughest test in golf.

 

The R&A Kool Aid is strong in this one.

 

The US has had a better level of golf course than the UK for decades, maybe even nearly a century.

[Darth Putter]

> @Springbok45 said:

> > @"Ashley Schaeffer" said:

> > The British has certainly done a fine job to re-market itself as The Open. Most are on board with it. Gotta respect the hustle.

>

> Not quite, short answer as follows, a much better piece in the link below that. I love that we golfers have to make these things as complicated as possible, tennis seems to be ok with three different Opens (Aussie, French, US) and Wimbledon (The Championships, Wimbledon) as its big prizes.

>

> For all the "Open" hoopla we don't have the same discussions about The Masters/British Masters/shot clock masters/Volvo Masters or the PGA championship Vs the US PGA, which I find strange.

>

> "In its early years it was often referred to as The Championship but with the advent of the Amateur Championship in 1885, it became more common to refer to it as The Open Championship or simply The Open. The tournament inspired other national bodies to introduce open golf tournaments of their own, such as the U.S. Open, and later many others.[70] To distinguish it from their own national open, it became common in many countries to refer to the tournament as the "British Open". The R&A (the tournament's organiser) continued to refer to it as The Open Championship. During the interwar years, a period with many U.S.-based winners, the term British Open would occasionally be used during the trophy presentation and in British newspapers.[71][72]

>

> In 2017, a representative of the R&A openly stated that it is a priority to "eradicate the term British Open" and have a single identity and brand of "The Open" in all countries.[73] Tournament partners, such as the PGA Tour, now refer to it without "British" in the title,[74] media rightsholders are contractually required to refer to the event as The Open Championship,[73] and the official website has released a statement titled "Why it's called 'The Open' and not the 'British Open'" stating that "The Open is the correct name for the Championship. It is also the most appropriate".[70] The R&A's stance has attracted criticism from some commentators.[73][75][76]"

>

> https://www.pga.com/news/news-feature/open-championship-whats-in-name

 

The R&A gets the same response from me as the clowns that tell me not to use words like "mankind,"

 

GO TO HE LL!

[ctsgolf]

> @M4TT said:

> > @Mikey5e said:

> > > @MMB1500 said:

> > > The Open isn't until next month. ;)

> >

> > The US OPEN is the real open.

>

> HahahahaHahahahaHahahahaHahahahaHahahahaHahahahaHahahahaHahahahaHahahaha

>

> Remind me of the time the players/world of golf mocked the R&A for a poorly setup golf course the same way the players/world of golf did/do to the USGA? Go on, i'll wait :)

>

> Still waiting......

>

> US Open is, most years, a joke and they can only dream that they had the same level of golf course as we do in the UK. They have to manipulate the course to play a certain way.

>

> The Open is the original. The founder. The toughest test in golf.

 

Just stop.

[teejaywhy]

> @MMB1500 said:

> The Open isn't until next month. ;)

And the US Open is not a PGA event.

 

 

[BeerPerHole]

...must be something in the water...

[BlackDiamondPar5]

> @bscinstnct said:

> > @"Ashley Schaeffer" said:

> > > @Springbok45 said:

> > > > @"Ashley Schaeffer" said:

> > > > The British has certainly done a fine job to re-market itself as The Open. Most are on board with it. Gotta respect the hustle.

> > >

> > > Not quite, short answer as follows, a much better piece in the link below that. I love that we golfers have to make these things as complicated as possible, tennis seems to be ok with three different Opens (Aussie, French, US) and Wimbledon (The Championships, Wimbledon) as its big prizes.

> > >

> > > For all the "Open" hoopla we don't have the same discussions about The Masters/British Masters/shot clock masters/Volvo Masters or the PGA championship Vs the US PGA, which I find strange.

> > >

> > > "In its early years it was often referred to as The Championship but with the advent of the Amateur Championship in 1885, it became more common to refer to it as The Open Championship or simply The Open. The tournament inspired other national bodies to introduce open golf tournaments of their own, such as the U.S. Open, and later many others.[70] To distinguish it from their own national open, it became common in many countries to refer to the tournament as the "British Open". The R&A (the tournament's organiser) continued to refer to it as The Open Championship. During the interwar years, a period with many U.S.-based winners, the term British Open would occasionally be used during the trophy presentation and in British newspapers.[71][72]

> > >

> > > In 2017, a representative of the R&A openly stated that it is a priority to "eradicate the term British Open" and have a single identity and brand of "The Open" in all countries.[73] Tournament partners, such as the PGA Tour, now refer to it without "British" in the title,[74] media rightsholders are contractually required to refer to the event as The Open Championship,[73] and the official website has released a statement titled "Why it's called 'The Open' and not the 'British Open'" stating that "The Open is the correct name for the Championship. It is also the most appropriate".[70] The R&A's stance has attracted criticism from some commentators.[73][75][76]"

> > >

> > > https://www.pga.com/news/news-feature/open-championship-whats-in-name

> >

> > Reminds me of when some try-hard tries to give himself a nickname.

> > “Hey, British.”

> > “Guys, I really wish you’d all call me The Open.”

> > “Haha! OK, British.”

> >

>

> Is like when George wanted to be called

>

> T-bone

>

> But ended up with

>

>

>

 

Ok I've got to give credit to both you @bscinstnct and @"Ashley Schaeffer" for this one... you guys win the internet for the day. Well done.

[Gilmore-Happy]

> @BeerPerHole said:

> My son and I were there all day Sunday. It was only my second PGA event in person. We really had a blast. It was just a huge celebration of golf with a bunch of fellow fans from all over. I chatted with people from Italy, Germany and many folks who used to live in California but have relocated to other places. Met several people from St. Louis - must be a golf-crazy town. Everybody seemed very friendly and stoked to be at Pebble. What a beautiful setting. Our first stop was right behind the 1st tee. Watching the guys negotiate that first shot is interesting. Sang "happy birthday" to Phil and watched him pipe one with a long iron. His shot was different than all the others we saw there - hammered.

> My son wanted to high-five several of the players and got to. It's interesting to see how different players react to the kids and interact with the fans. When we saw Rahm he was missing fairways and staring at the ground when he walked by. DJ was very nice with the kids. He looks much bigger in person. On tv he looks lanky. Henrik Stenson (saw him with Rahm) was very nice - looking at my son and I and saying, "Thanks for coming out guys!" I always admired his game so that was nice. I stood at the bend on 14 for a while and that was a great spot to watch the drives land and see the players each mulling over that daunting approach shot. Our time at the practice range was neat. Good chance for my boy to watch how the pros prepare. Got a strange vibe watching Reed. He didn't speak to anybody, not even his caddy...ever.

> I had heard of the Tiger hoards but didn't experience it until Sunday. Yeah...it's interesting. Probably the only time one would see jorts on Pebble Beach (humor). We decided not to follow him, as my son wanted initially, because it was pretty stupid. But, we did watch him a few times. He was struggling. It dawned on me that the cold air was probably painful on his joints (I was certainly feeling it). Saw him miss some fairways that are somewhat hard to miss.

> Loved watching Ricky hit some tee shots. After working to flatting my swing a lot more with our pro I've come to appreciate his action.

> Was happy to see Hovland out there. I think this kid is terrific. Great ball striker. Heard others also noticing that he's pretty ripped. Very strong-looking guy.

> We enjoyed spending the last hour or so on the 18th fairway. We were about 60 yards past the tree and were amazed to see how long the big hitters were. Did I hear right that Brooks hit an iron or 3-wood off that tee? Wow. Got to watch Woodland's final put and the place just erupted. Great memories for my boy and I.

 

That's awesome. Sounds like y'all had a blast. I made it to a practice round at Augusta in 2016. I also found it interesting how different some of those guys look in person as far as weight and height. Some guys that looked muscular on TV looked lanky as hell in person. Some were taller than I expected and some MUCH shorter than I expected. I think they list JT as 5'10. If he's 5'10, I'm 7'5 haha. It was cool to see how much different their stock ball flights were too. Especially with drivers. Some were hitting moon balls that almost looked like they had been hit off the crown and others hit absolute missiles.

[27x10.5]

Can’t believe how many squids are correcting ‘The Open’ comment

[bladehunter]

> @Springbok45 said:

> > @"Ashley Schaeffer" said:

> > The British has certainly done a fine job to re-market itself as The Open. Most are on board with it. Gotta respect the hustle.

>

> Not quite, short answer as follows, a much better piece in the link below that. I love that we golfers have to make these things as complicated as possible, tennis seems to be ok with three different Opens (Aussie, French, US) and Wimbledon (The Championships, Wimbledon) as its big prizes.

>

> For all the "Open" hoopla we don't have the same discussions about The Masters/British Masters/shot clock masters/Volvo Masters or the PGA championship Vs the US PGA, which I find strange.

>

> "In its early years it was often referred to as The Championship but with the advent of the Amateur Championship in 1885, it became more common to refer to it as The Open Championship or simply The Open. The tournament inspired other national bodies to introduce open golf tournaments of their own, such as the U.S. Open, and later many others.[70] To distinguish it from their own national open, it became common in many countries to refer to the tournament as the "British Open". The R&A (the tournament's organiser) continued to refer to it as The Open Championship. During the interwar years, a period with many U.S.-based winners, the term British Open would occasionally be used during the trophy presentation and in British newspapers.[71][72]

>

> In 2017, a representative of the R&A openly stated that it is a priority to "eradicate the term British Open" and have a single identity and brand of "The Open" in all countries.[73] Tournament partners, such as the PGA Tour, now refer to it without "British" in the title,[74] media rightsholders are contractually required to refer to the event as The Open Championship,[73] and the official website has released a statement titled "Why it's called 'The Open' and not the 'British Open'" stating that "The Open is the correct name for the Championship. It is also the most appropriate".[70] The R&A's stance has attracted criticism from some commentators.[73][75][76]"

>

> https://www.pga.com/news/news-feature/open-championship-whats-in-name

 

So. Synopsis is.

 

In 1890s it was referred to as “ the open “ until other opens were born. Then somewhere around 1930-1945 as other opens came it begun being referred to as “ the British open “ to clarify vs all the other world open tournaments. Then in 2017 the decision was made to actually brand it “ the open “.

 

All well and fine. And perfectly legal. But it doesn’t stop the fact that in the US it’s been referred to as “ the British open “ for a very long time. And our Open is commonly called “ the open “ in everyday talk and always has been.

 

So while the British open owns the rights to “ the open” it doesn’t alleviate the confusion that sometimes is had when talking about both in the US.

[Mikey5e]

I think the reason most don't like is that a new name The Open is because it feels a little bit arrogant to most. What is wrong with the original name the British Open? Do they not like the title British? Seems they want to separate themselves above the US Open, which in my opinion, is not appropriate. If anybody should have the right to have their golf tournament named The Open it should be the USA!