Tag Archives: British Open

McIlroy Blames Weather For Poor Performance At The Open

Posted on July 21, 2011 by | Comments Off on McIlroy Blames Weather For Poor Performance At The Open

Just read an interesting article about the fact that Rory McIlroy wasn’t impressed with the weather conditions at the recent British Open, so much in fact that he has blamed this for his performance.

McIlroy, who finished joint 25th despite being favourite to win at the start of the week,  was quoted as saying “There’s no point in changing your game for one week of the year…”

This has apparently angered some senior players and I can understand why. In my opinion he has belittled the importance of The Open with that statement, and also the weather plays a huge part in golf all year round – it’s one of the great things about the game that you have to take this factor into account before every shot that you take.

It’s also a leveller – the conditions were the same for every golfer on the course.

Have a read of the article here and let me know your thoughts…

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Clarke Continues To Dominate The Headlines

Posted on July 19, 2011 by | Comments Off on Clarke Continues To Dominate The Headlines

British Open Winner Darren Clarke continues to dominate the headlines this morning on the front and back pages of the newspapers, as well as online and on TV.

He has jumped over 80 places in the world rankings to number 30, and as the third Northern-Irishman to win a major in the last year, (Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell are the other two) he is now calling for the Open to be held in Northern Ireland in the near future, which the R+A are investigating.

He conducted a series of interviews back at Royal St George’s yesterday, and in several interviews seemed to be a little the worse for wear too – who can blame him…!

There’s a great montage of his best shots from the tournament on the BBC Website, while Sky Sports reports that Clarke nearly quit the game just a few months ago…

 

 

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British Open Championship – Review Of Day Four

Posted on July 18, 2011 by | Comments Off on British Open Championship – Review Of Day Four

I was personally so thrilled to see Darren Clarke keep his nerve to lift the famous trophy on the 18th green at Royal St George’s yesterday evening.

I think the old saying goes: “Nice guys finish last” – well Tom winning The Apprentice and Darren winning The Open has certainly knocked that theory clean out of the water!

Darren has had to battle through some incredibly hard times, which anyone who has lost somebody close to them can relate to. There weren’t many dry eyes among the golfing community yesterday as they watched the Northern Irishman walking down the 18th fairway and struggling to keep his own emotions in check.

With his parents watching course-side and his two boys watching at home, he did remarkably well to keep his composure under physical and emotional pressure to hold his nerve and lift the trophy at the 20th time of asking.

It capped an intriguing four days of golf where Darren was the best player on the course, and had his penultimate putt of the tournament not finished just a couple of inches short of the 18th hole, he would have carded four rounds of under 70, a great achievement in tricky Links conditions.

You can read a lovely article and great interview with Darren, who pocketed £900,000 as the tournament winner and a cool £2m from his sponsors, in the Sun Online.

Click here to watch a video montage of the best shots of the tournament.

Check out the final Leaderboard by clicking here.

 

 

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British Open Championship: Day Three Round-Up

Posted on July 17, 2011 by | Comments Off on British Open Championship: Day Three Round-Up

Darren Clarke takes a one-shot lead into the final round of the Open at Royal St George’s on Sunday.

The 42-year-old survived a morning weather onslaught to shoot a one-under 69 to edge to five under on a tough day’s golf.

Dustin Johnson lies second having shared best round of the day, 68, with compatriot Rickie Fowler.

Spain’s Miguel Angel Jimenez slipped to a two-over 72 to end one under alongside joint overnight leader Lucas Glover (73) of America.

World number six Phil Mickelson headlined a group at level par comprising fellow American Anthony Kim (70), US Ryder Cup captain Davis Love (72), Germany’s world number three Martin Kaymer, Dane Anders Hansen (72) and South African George Coetzee (72).

US Open champion Rory McIlroy struggled to a round of 74, which included a double-bogey seven after going out of bounds at the 14th, to end on four over.

Just three players negotiated Royal St George’s under par on Saturday and only six are under par for the tournament going into the final round.

Watch today’s play live on the BBC – and checkout the leaderboard here.

 

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British Open Championship: Day Two Round-Up

Posted on July 16, 2011 by | Comments Off on British Open Championship: Day Two Round-Up

Darren Clarke and Lucas Glover are joint top of the leaderboard after day two of the British Open, carrying a one-shot lead into today’s action.

Clarke shot 68  and 2009 US Open champion Glover carded 70 to lead the field at four under on a beautiful day at Royal St George’s.

They pulled away from joint overnight leader Thomas Bjorn (72), Chad Campbell, Martin Kaymer and Miguel Angel Jimenez.

Luke Donald and Lee Westwood, the world number one and two respectively, both missed the cut.

Other big-name players getting the weekend off are former major champions Padraig Harrington, Graeme McDowell, Ernie Els and Angel Cabrera.

Ian Poulter (+7), Ernie Els (+8), world number eight Matt Kuchar and 2003 winner Ben Curtis (both +11) are also on their way home.

Masters champion Charl Schwartzel, 1996 Open winner Tom Lehman, US Ryder Cup captain Davis Love, American Dustin Johnson, Spain’s Pablo Larrazabal, Dane Anders Hansen and South African George Coetzee (one of my tips!) all finished on two under.

US Open champion Rory McIlroy had four birdies and three bogeys in a 69 to finish level par.

Watch today’s play live on the BBC – and checkout the leaderboard here.

The highlight of the day arguably came on the sixth hole when Tom Watson hit a hole-in-one, the second of the tournament so far.

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Open Championship Day One Review

Posted on July 15, 2011 by | Comments Off on Open Championship Day One Review

Tom Lewis, an amateur who had to come through qualifying, is the surprise leader of the British Open Championship after day one, sharing the lead with Danish veteran Thomas Bjorn after the first round.

Bjorn, who went out earlier in the day, shot a five-under 65 and was joined later on by the 20-year-old Lewis.

The pair lead by one from Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez, 2009 US Open champion Lucas Glover and American debutant Webb Simpson.

Northern Ireland’s 2010 US Open champion Graeme McDowell and countryman Darren Clarke (playing in his 20th Open!), England’s Simon Dyson (one of my Outside Bets) and Germany’s world number three Martin Kaymer were in a large group on two under.

World number one Luke Donald had a bad day with the putter, shooting 71, (+1), as did Lee Westwood and US Open champion Rory McIlroy, who got off to a shaky start, dropping two shots in his first three holes, fighting back to play the last 15 in one under.

The other star of the day was Dustin Johnson who shot a hole-in-one on the 16th during a roller-coaster round.

Remember you can keep-to-date with the latest leaderboard by clicking here.

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The British Open Championship Is Underway!

Posted on July 14, 2011 by | Comments Off on The British Open Championship Is Underway!

Just after 6.30am this morning American Jerry Kelly hit the opening shot of this year’s British Open Championship at Royal St George’s, Sandwich.

Kelly though it seems will be doing well to make the cut having started with a bogey, and followed that up with a double at the second.

There is plenty of coverage to choose from today but I would really recommend the BBC as it’s comprehensive.

Their Open mini-site has everything you could possibly need – however if you want to bookmark a live leaderboard then it seems that the easiest way to do this is at The Open’s Official Site.

On Twitter, @danwalkerbbc is providing some excellent coverage and analysis as is @robhodgetts .

At the time of writing, Ian Poulter is about to tee off, followed by that formidable trio of McIlroy, Els and Fowler.

Enjoy the golf and let me know what you think of today’s play over at my Facebook Page.

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Open Championship Preview

Posted on July 13, 2011 by | Comments Off on Open Championship Preview

Following my article yesterday on who I’m backing to win the British Open, it’s time to get excited as this time tomorrow we will be well underway.

There seems to be more interest than usual in this historic tournament and I would put that down to the amazing form of Rory McIlroy and also the absence of a certain Tiger Woods.

Should McIlroy repeat his amazing achievement at Congressional, the 22-year-old will become the youngest Open champion since 1893, only a few weeks after becoming the youngest winner of the US Open since 1923.

He has played in the tournament three times previously, in 2007 as an amateur, and then in 2009, and last year when he finished joint third.

The BBC will be providing some epic coverage of the tournament, showing over 40 hours live over the four days.

The coverage starts tomorrow at 0900 BST, a lot of the coverage will be via the red button and also freely available on the BBC website.

Talking of the BBC website – there’s a great article here called ‘The A-Z Of The British Open‘ – well worth a read if you’ve got five minutes!

I’ll be providing my own round-up and views across the next four days so stay tuned and look out for my updates on Facebook and Twitter too.

 

 

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My Tips For The British Open

Posted on July 12, 2011 by | Comments Off on My Tips For The British Open

In just 48 hours the British Open at Royal St George’s in Sandwich will be well underway, with American Jerry Kelly hitting the first shot of the historic tournament at around 6.30am on Thursday morning.

All eyes are of course on Rory McIlroy, who has been teamed up veteran Ernie Els and rising American star Rickie Fowler for his first round, to see if he can repeat his success of last month at the US Open.

However in terms of the betting – I’m heading for value elsewhere!

Here are my tips:

Lee Westwood – has been paired with Masters champion Charl Schwartzel and American Steve Stricker in his first round. He looks good value at around 11/1.

Ricky Fowler – As above, he’s a rising star and expected to perform well at this tournament – he’s tremendous each value at around 90/1,

Simon Dyson – I like to back an outsider each way, and this year I’ve got my eye on this guy at 150/1 – he’s got the ability to produce a shock.

George Coetzee – Talking of outsiders, there’s a chance you may not have heard of this 24 year old South African, but he’s on form and has a tournament win to his name this year – I’ve had a cheeky couple of quid on him each-way at 200/1.

Let me know who you’re backing!

 

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Woods Will Miss British Open – Confirmed

Posted on July 6, 2011 by | Comments Off on Woods Will Miss British Open – Confirmed

Former world number one Tiger Woods has confirmed he will miss this month’s Open Championship at Sandwich because of his troublesome left leg injury.

The 35-year-old has not played competitively since suffering a recurrence of the injury at thePlayers Championship in mid-May.

“Unfortunately, I’ve been advised that I should not play in the British Open,” Woods said on his official website.

Woods has 14 major titles, four short of the record held by Jack Nicklaus.

Despite slipping to 17th in the current world rankings, Woods insisted: “I think my best years are still ahead of me and I’m very confident and optimistic about the future.

“I am only going to come back when I’m 100% ready. I do not want to risk further injury.

“In hindsight, I probably shouldn’t have competed at the Players, but it’s a big event and I wanted to be there to support the tour. I’ve got to learn from what I did there and do it right this time and not come back until I’m ready.”

Read the full article at www.bbc.co.uk

 

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