146th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale

[Forged4ever]

Kuchar is such a nice guy I can't imagine the emotional roller coaster he was on thru the back 9.

 

To go from 3 down, to 2 up and then in a matter of two holes be back down by 1 it's got to mess with his head. I am sure the 30 minute delay didn't help him but who would have thought Jordan could come back from that mess with a birdie and eagle.

 

Kuchar was like a field goal kicker who gets the "freeze" treatment by the opposing team's time out.

Except in this case, it worked.

Ya but somehow kuch went into 14 up played it Par-Birdie-Par-Birdie and came out two down, not exactly a choke

I would have to agree Bro!!

 

When you're one up and ya Play a four hole stretch on the back nine on Sunday of a Major at -2 and you're standing 2-down on 18 tee, LMAO, well, I know an awful lot of Players, cough cough Norman, who would Love to have those four holes on their back nine??

 

If Kuch could kick a football, he could kick for my team any day!!

 

Have a great week Gents?

 

My Best?

RP

[knock it close]

Kuchar is such a nice guy I can't imagine the emotional roller coaster he was on thru the back 9.

 

To go from 3 down, to 2 up and then in a matter of two holes be back down by 1 it's got to mess with his head. I am sure the 30 minute delay didn't help him but who would have thought Jordan could come back from that mess with a birdie and eagle.

 

Kuchar was like a field goal kicker who gets the "freeze" treatment by the opposing team's time out.

Except in this case, it worked.

Ya but somehow kuch went into 14 up played it Par-Birdie-Par-Birdie and came out two down, not exactly a choke

I would have to agree Bro!!

 

When ya Play a four hole stretch on the back nine on Sunday of a Major at -2 and you're standing 2-down on 18 tee, LMAO, well, I know an awful lot of Players, cough cough Norman, who would Love to have those four holes on their back nine

 

If Kuch could kick a football, he could kick for my team any day!!

 

Have a great week Gents

 

My Best

RP

In saying that I damn feel for Kuch for responding like that but when your hands are tied like that nothing you can do.

 

Hope you are well RP

[DrRob1963]

That last hour or so was some of the best golf I've ever seen coming down the stretch in a Major. And I thought Jordan was falling apart under the pressure. Wow!

A shot in front, Kuchar played 14-17 par-birdie-par-birdie and lost three shots to Jordan's birdie-eagle-birdie-birdie - Kooch was simply steam-rolled by the Speith Express. Just sublime golf to watch live - Jordan is the man!

Of all the major championship golf Ive watched (lots), that has to be the most memorable finish. I wonder if the long delay @ #13 made him speed up afterward, and that just helped him play better, less self-conscious golf. Whatever, something dramatically changed with him after that hole (or maybe during)

 

You may have a point here.

 

Spieth prepares for Quail Hollow by playing continuously with Rickie Fowler, imitating his pace of play the best he can.

 

Spieth shoots 45 under par to win the PGA by 32 stokes and completes the career grand slam. Called it.

 

Jack Nicklaus winning the 1986 US Masters is still my favorite - Jack's last great charge - still 4 behind standing on the 15th green: Eagle-Birdie-Birdie-Par finish to beat World No.1 Seve Ballesteros, fend off Tom Kite and Greg Norman, and a host of other top notch golfers.

And then there was the 1977 Open at Turnberry, Watson slugging it out with Nicklaus, and last years Open triumph by Stenson over Phil.

But this was great golf too - Kuchar played well enough to beat an ordinary mortal, but Speith played ridiculously sublime golf when it mattered - Fantastic and Inspiring!

[wmblake2000]

Jordan at 13 - the delay - reminds me of the Cubs game 7 rain delay. Both came out in a different mental space.

[knock it close]

Jordan at 13 - the delay - reminds me of the Cubs game 7 rain delay. Both came out in a different mental space.

I completely agree, I don't think either win without that delay, I also don't think that delay was Jordan's fault, 30% of it probably was but there were a lot of moving parts and a lot of decisions to go through

[jmvargas]

i cannot recall a better finish by a winner in a major after facing earlier adversity than what Jordan just did...

 

and that's after watching a lot of golf over the last 60 years!!

[Ronanraff]

Will he be known as the Practice Range Champion, like Seve the Car Park Champion? Bit of a shame how long it took to sort out the drop but the resulting 5 and the next 4 holes showed determination rarely seen in any sport.

[KennyP]

Nothing wrong with what Spieth did but the practice ground really should be OoB.

 

Why?

 

Because Spieth was smart enough to realise that purposely missing the 13 way right was better than being in one of the fairway pot bunkers. With the enormous galleries, he figured a lost ball was unlikely and even having to take an unplayable, as he did, was less penal than potentially having no stance in a fairway pot.

 

Not Spieths fault, but the R&A need to take note for next time. We are told the fairway pot bunkers need to be avoided at all cost and it seems on occassion the best policy is to miss the fairway by miles, or even purposly aim into the vast areas where the spectators have walked rather than play the hole as intended.

[scruffynick]

Nothing wrong with what Spieth did but the practice ground really should be OoB.

 

Why?

 

Because Spieth was smart enough to realise that purposely missing the 13 way right was better than being in one of the fairway pot bunkers. With the enormous galleries, he figured a lost ball was unlikely and even having to take an unplayable, as he did, was less penal than potentially having no stance in a fairway pot.

 

Not Spieths fault, but the R&A need to take note for next time. We are told the fairway pot bunkers need to be avoided at all cost and it seems on occassion the best policy is to miss the fairway by miles, or even purposly aim into the vast areas where the spectators have walked rather than play the hole as intended.

That's what Hale Irwin said about seve in 79, he new exactly which holes to go wild on and on which side.

He couldn't believe they found keys for all those cars on the car park but in the end Irwin just sat back and watched a genius at work.....same can be said for Speith!

[JD3]

Nothing wrong with what Spieth did but the practice ground really should be OoB.

 

Why?

 

Because Spieth was smart enough to realise that purposely missing the 13 way right was better than being in one of the fairway pot bunkers. With the enormous galleries, he figured a lost ball was unlikely and even having to take an unplayable, as he did, was less penal than potentially having no stance in a fairway pot.

 

Not Spieths fault, but the R&A need to take note for next time. We are told the fairway pot bunkers need to be avoided at all cost and it seems on occassion the best policy is to miss the fairway by miles, or even purposly aim into the vast areas where the spectators have walked rather than play the hole as intended.

He didn't purposely hit it there. He wasn't there in any of the previous 3 rounds. He setup to aim down the fairway.

 

And if some people are so upset by the range not being OB for Spieth, why aren't they also livid the parking lot wasn't OB for Seve when he won a British Open by making a birdie out of one?

[Bingo1976]

The R&A made the 10th fairway OB (IIRC) to stop players short cutting that hole. I do agree that driving ranges should be OB - if it's a Thursday morning and he hits it there with 50 guys hitting balls, is it still a viable drop? These are players who are on a tight warm up schedule for a tee off time, so stopping them for 10 minutes plus is going to cause a lot of knock on issues for other players, not just Kuchar. Seems like a bit of a miss for the Rules Committee, and I expect future competitions should have such areas ruled as OB.

[JD3]

The R&A made the 10th fairway OB (IIRC) to stop players short cutting that hole. I do agree that driving ranges should be OB - if it's a Thursday morning and he hits it there with 50 guys hitting balls, is it still a viable drop? These are players who are on a tight warm up schedule for a tee off time, so stopping them for 10 minutes plus is going to cause a lot of knock on issues for other players, not just Kuchar. Seems like a bit of a miss for the Rules Committee, and I expect future competitions should have such areas ruled as OB.

No player would purposely try to hit it there thinking it would make the hole easier, that's the difference with the 10th fairway rule. It may have happened only once in 4 days someone actually hit it from there. Pros at the range are well organized, accurate, cooperative, and 10 minutes is just a fraction of their time there. Given the low chance of it happening, lack of advantage to purposely going that route, and negligible consequence if a ball ended up there, there's no justification to add an additional awkward internal OB to the course.

[imakaveli]

Congratulations for a great win with a bit of luck, great comeback!

Feel for Kuch, but I think he lacks something on Sunday. Overall great tournament!

[MattyO1984]

Kept myself off of here over the last couple of rounds, I wanted to watch it and take it in as much as I could.

 

Still can't get over the display of grit that we saw from Spieth yesterday. When he was looking for a place to take that drop on 13 my head was spinning. I couldn't believe what I was seeing and I cannot comprehend what must have been going through his thoughts. The crazy thing is that you just knew he was going to hole that bogey putt. No one has been as money with a putter in there hand since Tiger in his prime.

 

The energy that that gave him was unreal and to then play the next four holes in -5 is just insane. It was Man United vs Bayern Munich in 1999 on a golf course.

[KennyP]

Nothing wrong with what Spieth did but the practice ground really should be OoB.

 

Why?

 

Because Spieth was smart enough to realise that purposely missing the 13 way right was better than being in one of the fairway pot bunkers. With the enormous galleries, he figured a lost ball was unlikely and even having to take an unplayable, as he did, was less penal than potentially having no stance in a fairway pot.

 

Not Spieths fault, but the R&A need to take note for next time. We are told the fairway pot bunkers need to be avoided at all cost and it seems on occassion the best policy is to miss the fairway by miles, or even purposly aim into the vast areas where the spectators have walked rather than play the hole as intended.

He didn't purposely hit it there. He wasn't there in any of the previous 3 rounds. He setup to aim down the fairway.

 

And if some people are so upset by the range not being OB for Spieth, why aren't they also livid the parking lot wasn't OB for Seve when he won a British Open by making a birdie out of one?

 

I'm fairly sure he did hit it over there on at least one other occassion and admitted aiming over there in an interview. Obviously he wasn't aiming that far right on Sunday.

 

I have no problem with what Spieth did. He out-smarted the R&A. It was within the rules and doesn't detract from a fantastic victory.

[JD3]

Nothing wrong with what Spieth did but the practice ground really should be OoB.

 

Why?

 

Because Spieth was smart enough to realise that purposely missing the 13 way right was better than being in one of the fairway pot bunkers. With the enormous galleries, he figured a lost ball was unlikely and even having to take an unplayable, as he did, was less penal than potentially having no stance in a fairway pot.

 

Not Spieths fault, but the R&A need to take note for next time. We are told the fairway pot bunkers need to be avoided at all cost and it seems on occassion the best policy is to miss the fairway by miles, or even purposly aim into the vast areas where the spectators have walked rather than play the hole as intended.

He didn't purposely hit it there. He wasn't there in any of the previous 3 rounds. He setup to aim down the fairway.

 

And if some people are so upset by the range not being OB for Spieth, why aren't they also livid the parking lot wasn't OB for Seve when he won a British Open by making a birdie out of one?

 

I'm fairly sure he did hit it over there on at least one other occassion and admitted aiming over there in an interview. Obviously he wasn't aiming that far right on Sunday.

 

I have no problem with what Spieth did. He out-smarted the R&A. It was within the rules and doesn't detract from a fantastic victory.

His press conference is here [media=]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQ2XKyFG81k[/media]

 

No mention of purposely aiming it over there ever. Early on a reporter asked him why he had such a good understanding of the rules (sounded like a leading question), and all he said is because he's used to hitting all over the place. Later he said when he hit the tee shot he thought "oh no, that's a 6".

 

He parred it all 3 previous rounds, I seriously doubt he made those pars by driving into those nasty mounds and rough, or hitting it 250 yards out from the range. Watch the replay again of the tee shot, he wasn't aiming there. Clearly it was a bad swing

[oneover73]

Maybe the Titleist truck should have been moved rather than Spieth taking line of sight relief? It was a fairly big advantage as he didn't have to go over the high sand dune that was supposed to be kept in his line when taking the unplayable....

[stixman]

Remember Seve being dubbed The Car Park Champion (1979 Royal Lytham) by the American media.

Irony has a way of biting back..

Now we have a Lorry Park Champion

[i*windows]

we enjoyed the golf this weekend, but we are not sure if we like Jordan.

[avrag]

His press conference is here [media=]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQ2XKyFG81k[/media]

 

No mention of purposely aiming it over there ever. Early on a reporter asked him why he had such a good understanding of the rules (sounded like a leading question), and all he said is because he's used to hitting all over the place. Later he said when he hit the tee shot he thought "oh no, that's a 6".

 

He parred it all 3 previous rounds, I seriously doubt he made those pars by driving into those nasty mounds and rough, or hitting it 250 yards out from the range. Watch the replay again of the tee shot, he wasn't aiming there. Clearly it was a bad swing

 

The British commentary I got on Sky Germany said that he hit it between the bunkers and the mounds in all 3 previous rounds and the on-course commentator said before the shot that he aimed right of the bunkers.

Personally, I don't remember what he did in rounds 1 to 3, so I cannot tell, if this is true.

[4Par]

we enjoyed the golf this weekend, but we are not sure if we like Jordan.

 

Do a little research on the relationship he has with his family..... golf is just part of the whole with Jordan.....

[JD3]

His press conference is here [media=]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQ2XKyFG81k[/media]

 

No mention of purposely aiming it over there ever. Early on a reporter asked him why he had such a good understanding of the rules (sounded like a leading question), and all he said is because he's used to hitting all over the place. Later he said when he hit the tee shot he thought "oh no, that's a 6".

 

He parred it all 3 previous rounds, I seriously doubt he made those pars by driving into those nasty mounds and rough, or hitting it 250 yards out from the range. Watch the replay again of the tee shot, he wasn't aiming there. Clearly it was a bad swing

 

The British commentary I got on Sky Germany said that he hit it between the bunkers and the mounds in all 3 previous rounds and the on-course commentator said before the shot that he aimed right of the bunkers.

Personally, I don't remember what he did in rounds 1 to 3, so I cannot tell, if this is true.

2nd round highlights ... tee shot @ #13 @ 8:52...middle left of fairway

[media=]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pW6bh8bgfts[/media]

[Sean2]

I didn't see the tournament, but I thought if you declare a ball unplayable, you drop a ball within two club lengths of the spot where the ball is sitting, but no nearer the hole. How did he get to drop so far back?

 

RULE 28- Ball Unplayable

 

 

All defined terms are in italics and are listed alphabetically in the Definitions section.

 

The player may deem his ball unplayable at any place on the course, except when the ball is in a water hazard. The player is the sole judge as to whether his ball is unplayable.

 

If the player deems his ball to be unplayable, he must, under penalty of one stroke:

 

a.

Proceed under the stroke and distance provision of Rule 27-1 by playing a ball as nearly as possible at the spot from which the original ball was last played (see Rule 20-5); or

 

b.

Drop a ball behind the point where the ball lay, keeping that point directly between the hole and the spot on which the ball is dropped, with no limit to how far behind that point the ball may be dropped; or

 

c.

Drop a ball within two club-lengths of the spot where the ball lay, but not nearer the hole.

 

If the unplayable ball is in a bunker, the player may proceed under Clause a, b or c. If he elects to proceed under Clause b or c, a ball must be dropped in the bunker.

 

When proceeding under this Rule, the player may lift and clean his ball or substitute a ball.

Penalty for Breach of Rule:

 

 

Match play - Loss of hole; Stroke play - Two strokes.

 

Thank you gentlemen!

[Gem]

Congratulations for a great win with a bit of luck, great comeback!

Feel for Kuch, but I think he lacks something on Sunday. Overall great tournament!

 

It was amazing to watch but I agree with you and I do feel a bit for Matt. He just couldn't put any real pressure on Jordan to take bigger advantage of his poor play early on.

 

First time in that position for him so easy to be critical as a viewer.

[buckeyefl]

Nothing wrong with what Spieth did but the practice ground really should be OoB.

 

Why?

 

Because Spieth was smart enough to realise that purposely missing the 13 way right was better than being in one of the fairway pot bunkers. With the enormous galleries, he figured a lost ball was unlikely and even having to take an unplayable, as he did, was less penal than potentially having no stance in a fairway pot.

 

Not Spieths fault, but the R&A need to take note for next time. We are told the fairway pot bunkers need to be avoided at all cost and it seems on occassion the best policy is to miss the fairway by miles, or even purposly aim into the vast areas where the spectators have walked rather than play the hole as intended.

You think he hit that drive on purpose?

[buckeyefl]

Nothing wrong with what Spieth did but the practice ground really should be OoB.

 

Why?

 

Because Spieth was smart enough to realise that purposely missing the 13 way right was better than being in one of the fairway pot bunkers. With the enormous galleries, he figured a lost ball was unlikely and even having to take an unplayable, as he did, was less penal than potentially having no stance in a fairway pot.

 

Not Spieths fault, but the R&A need to take note for next time. We are told the fairway pot bunkers need to be avoided at all cost and it seems on occassion the best policy is to miss the fairway by miles, or even purposly aim into the vast areas where the spectators have walked rather than play the hole as intended.

He didn't purposely hit it there. He wasn't there in any of the previous 3 rounds. He setup to aim down the fairway.

 

And if some people are so upset by the range not being OB for Spieth, why aren't they also livid the parking lot wasn't OB for Seve when he won a British Open by making a birdie out of one?

 

I'm fairly sure he did hit it over there on at least one other occassion and admitted aiming over there in an interview. Obviously he wasn't aiming that far right on Sunday.

 

I have no problem with what Spieth did. He out-smarted the R&A. It was within the rules and doesn't detract from a fantastic victory.

 

Ah i see you were serious. I would have lost that bet.

 

Oh and as to your last thought, no he didnt and no it doesnt.

 

Out of curiosity is your tinfoil hat Tour Issue?

[MountainGoat]

All I can say about Speith's final round is that I want to hire Michael Greller to be my best friend. If that had been me, and I had bogeyed 3 of the first four holes, I would have been so dejected that I would have just quit. If I had hit that drive on 13, I would have been so embarrassed and my brain would have been so scrambled, I would have broken every club in my bag and walked into the sea. Greller must have monster persuasive powers to keep his guy on the planet.

[beachguy]

Well the near ACE after this hole made me realize just how good he's become.

 

The eagle... birds..it was a sign that he won't be shaken as easily at future majors

 

 

 

[ray9898]

That was one amazing finish. Jordan is a class act. Kuch played well and is a class act himself, I hope a major is in his near future.

[Vindog]

All I can say about Speith's final round is that I want to hire Michael Greller to be my best friend. If that had been me, and I had bogeyed 3 of the first four holes, I would have been so dejected that I would have just quit. If I had hit that drive on 13, I would have been so embarrassed and my brain would have been so scrambled, I would have broken every club in my bag and walked into the sea. Greller must have monster persuasive powers to keep his guy on the planet.

 

Caddies are over rated, though.