Eleven Aussie golfers – the country’s strongest representation since 2017 at Birkdale – will hope two historical omens hold true when they contest the 149th Open Championship at Royal St George’s Golf Club starting Thursday.
The championship is part of the UK government’s “events research program”, which is designed to measure the level of transmission when large crowds gather and, in turn, hopefully open up events like Wimbledon, the British Grand Prix and The Open to more and more spectators.
The return of the Open Championship after a two-year hiatus will be cause for celebration this week. But reminders of why it was canceled last year still linger.
The first Spaniard to win America’s national championship, Rahm is a good bet to be the first player since Tiger Woods to apex the US Open and the Open in the same season.
Bryson DeChambeau’s Open Championship odds held steady at 20-1 following his missed cut at the Rocket Mortgage Classic. The odds for who will carry his bag at Royal St George’s next week, however, are a bit more interesting.
It’s been nearly 24 months since the R&A named Shane Lowry its last “champion golfer of the year,” the COVID-19 pandemic causing the cancellation of the Open Championship in 2020 for the first time since World War II.
Almost a year on from having to cancel the Open Championship at Royal St George’s, the R&A is currently planning three events – no crowd, limited crowd, unrestricted crowd – for 2021.
In the wake of the PGA of America’s decision to move next year’s PGA Championship away from Trump National Bedminster, the R&A has underlined its reluctance to grant what is now Trump Turnberry the opportunity to host the Open for a fifth time.
The moves complete the shift in venues brought on by the decision to call off this year’s Open at Royal St George’s in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Australian Golf Digest
