Hoylake is a venue known perhaps as much for its legacy of world-class winners as it is for its historically insidious holes where out-of-bounds plays a somewhat outsized role.
No, the winner of this week’s Open Championship and its $US3 million first-place check won’t be a hardship case who will have to hitchhike home. However, competing in a UK tournament as an American-based player can be shockingly expensive—and not just because of the cost of flying private across the Atlantic.
It has happened before, but not since 1985 when Manuel Ballesteros joined his wee brother, Seve, in the Open Championship field at Royal St George’s alongside another pair of siblings, Tateo and Naomichi Ozaki from Japan. So the sight of Matt and Alex Fitzpatrick and Rasmus and Nicolai Hojgaard in the starting line-up this week is unusual rather than unique.
Golf’s civil war is over. Well, it might be over. Depends who you ask. The professional game has at least reached detente, and though no one knows for certain where the sport is going and who will be guiding it and what it all means, there is one incontrovertible takeaway from two years of drama, conflict, instability, and struggle:
For almost 20 years, Garry Harvey has etched some of golf’s most famous names into the claret jug in his role as the R&A’s official engraver at the Open Championship.
It’s one thing to have confidence in your teenage son’s abilities as a golfer. It’s another thing entirely to plant your flag when he’s just 15 years old and bet on him winning a major championship some day.
It represents an 18 percent increase from last year when the champion at St Andrews, Cameron Smith, earned $US2.5 million from a prize fund of $US14 million.
Lowry knows how to get things done when the wind is blowing, the rain is falling and many of his contemporaries are wishing they were somewhere other than enjoying a day out on the links.
Augusta National Golf Club and the R&A released statements Tuesday regarding the merger between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf, calling the deal a “positive development” for the game.
The Royal and Ancient Golf Club (R&A) has announced exemptions for the 151st Open in July. Following the lead of the Masters and US Open, LIV Golf members will be able to compete in the championship.
Cameron Smith enjoyed an epic year highlighted by five wins around the world. Chief among the three PGA Tour titles he claimed was the 150th Open Championship at St Andrews, but he also triumphed at the Players Championship and Sentry Tournament of Champions in stunning fashion.
Australian Golf Digest
