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THE OPEN: ROYAL LIVERPOOL July 20-23, 2023

LTtxfan

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LTtxfan

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McIlroy will be most popular in his return as the betting favorite at the leading online sportsbooks. But so will Englishman Tommy Fleetwood, as Hoylake is a short distance from his home. Fleetwood is still shooting for his first PGA Tour win, but he was runner-up in The Open in 2019 and tied for fourth last year. He’s playing some of his best golf in 2023 with solid strokes gained stats across the board that have helped him finish top-5 in four tournaments since mid-March including the U.S. Open and runner-up in a playoff at the Canadian Open.

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Rickie Fowler had two particularly strong reasons for wanting to qualify for The 151st Open.

A return to Royal Liverpool was a significant motivation, after he finished joint-second behind Rory McIlroy on the previous occasion The Open was held in Hoylake nine years ago.

Fowler was also stung by missing out on The 150th Open at the Old Course last July – the first time he had missed the Championship since his debut in 2010.

“That was a bummer to miss St. Andrews last year for sure, I love that place,” Fowler said.

Happily for the Californian, he has enjoyed a return to form in 2023 and by virtue of making the top 50 in the Official World Golf Rankings on 29 May, the 34-year-old booked his return to The Open.

Ahead of his 12th appearance in golf’s original Championship, Fowler spent some time reflecting on what he enjoys so much about Royal Liverpool and his experience there in 2014.

“Hoylake is a past Open where I had a very good week in 2014,” he said. “We were trying to chase down Rory. He never really gave us a chance of it but it's a place that I've had good success at and it’s awesome to get back to a place where I've played well and had such a good finish in a major.”

A tie for second with Sergio Garcia represented Fowler’s best performance in a major, during an impressive year that saw him record top-5 finishes at The Masters, US Open, Open and PGA Championship.

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The final round also marked the first time he played in the final group of a major. On the big stage of an Open and playing with Rory, what did that feel like for the then-25-year-old?

Fowler said: “It was obviously a different position for me. But playing alongside Rory, someone who we're basically the same age and we had played quite a bit together at that point, so to have some of that familiarity was nice.

“It might have been a different feeling had I been in a situation where it was first time in a final group with Tiger or something like that. I'm not saying that Rory doesn't hold a presence, he's obviously earned that now. I feel like it was a very comfortable pairing and we definitely had a good time. He obviously played so well.”

McIlroy’s final-round one-under 71 ultimately sealed a two-shot win over Garcia and Fowler.

However, although he fell short of claiming the Claret Jug, the young American could be proud of his efforts in shooting 67 on the final day.

Asked what he took from that close call, Fowler said: “I think what I learned is you don't have to do anything special. What Rory did so well that day is he didn't really make too many mistakes. That's for the most part, every day out here, but especially important in final rounds.

“During those rounds you have to stay within yourself and make sure you are more intentional with your decisions. It might feel like you're walking a little bit slower and going through things a little bit slower. Sometimes you can get going a bit quick in the moment, and you want to avoid that.”

To Fowler’s credit, he looked relaxed for most of the day, often smiling with his caddie and being quite friendly and loose with McIlroy on the first tee. The six-shot margin was too much to overcome, but a bogey-free final round was nevertheless impressive.

After a number of strong performances this year, Fowler will head back to Hoylake with renewed confidence.

He is aware of significant alterations to the course since he was last there in 2014, not least the creation of a new par-3 17th hole.

“It’ll be interesting to see the changes. I do remember it gives you a lot of options off the tee but in links golf - especially there at Hoylake - it's about getting the ball in play and staying out of trouble.

“You've got to avoid the pot bunkers. I remember there being a good variety of tee shots from hitting irons off of tees to hitting 3-wood and driver as well. It's much more a course that's about being in position and trying to avoid pot bunkers as much as possible and trying to keep it in the short stuff so you can keep moving forward on the board,” Fowler said.

Fowler was in strong form coming in to The Open in 2014 as he had just tied for second in the US Open the previous month.

When asked what worked so well for him at Royal Liverpool, the American had a clear recall of what worked.

“I think a lot of it was I had a great gameplan, I was hitting it well and it just came down to executing,” Fowler said.

“I was putting it well. I did a really good job around the greens and I kept it fairly simple in a way. You don't have to go out and overpower that course and hit drivers everywhere, so I was just able to stick to that gameplan that I had and I did a good job of executing because there are plenty of holes where you can kind of push it and hit more club, and I didn’t try to do too much.”

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Fowler is a feel player and that type of game and the creativity that comes with it translates well to links golf. It is no wonder, therefore, that links is one of his favourite styles of play.

“I just like the creativity and the amount of options that you have and the different shots you can hit,” Fowler said.

“Very rarely is there a shot that you're up against that there's only one way to play it. There's usually anywhere from two to ten different ways to play it.

“You can play the ball in the air, on the ground, ride the wind, hold it against it. I feel like it kind of brings out the creative side and being able to see different shots and it's fun when you visualise something and you actually hit it and it plays out how you thought it was going to.”

Fowler’s shots of late have certainly been playing out quite well as he waits with anticipation like all of us for next month’s return to Hoylake.

 

 

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LTtxfan

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Nick Faldo pauses broadcasting retirement for NBC’s 2023 British Open coverage

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A year after announcing his retirement, Nick Faldo has decided to jump back into broadcasting … at least for one of golf‘s major championship. The Sports Business Journal reported Faldo plans to call this year’s Open Championship at Royal Liverpool Golf Club.

Faldo joins the NBC Sports team to offer analysis of this year’s fourth major championship. He announced his retirement from “full-time” broadcasting last August.

Faldo, a six-time major champion, started his broadcasting career back in 2004. He’s worked with ABC, Golf Channel, CBS and NBC over the course of his career.

Since his retirement, Faldo has focused more of his attention on course design, per the report. Since it’s only been a year since he’s covered a live golf event, we’re guessing he hasn’t lost his touch.

The Open Championship runs from Thursday, July 20 through Sunday, July 23. Cameron Smith won the Claret Jug last year in the 150th playing of the prestigious event.

 

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TonyTexas

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Ho hum. Scottie shoots a 65 and Is currently in the top 5 in a major. Probably won’t finish the day there as the afternoon wave is just teeing off but he’s in the hunt. In other expected news, Jordan shot a 74 in the 1st round and is T124 going into today’s round. 

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TonyTexas

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21 minutes ago, conVINCEd said:

The Scottish Open is not a major.  It’s the undercard so guys can get the jet lag out of their system.

You’re right. For some reason I had it in my head that this was the Open. My bad. However my point about typical results still stands. 

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conVINCEd

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2 minutes ago, TonyTexas said:

You’re right. For some reason I had it in my head that this was the Open. My bad. However my point about typical results still stands. 

Scottie almost always good is a safe bet.  Jordan being an erratic mf’er is also a safe bet.  Wouldn’t shock me if he missed the cut this week and is teeing off after lunch next Sunday.

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ztejas

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On 6/27/2023 at 9:14 PM, McCroskey said:

Had tickets and sold them…wife insisted we go to Portugal instead though tbh I was cool with that.

Next year I’ll go to Troon for 2 days, and just not invite her to begin with.

You had us in the first half. I was worried.

Fun leaderboard developing at The Open-lite.

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LTtxfan

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1 hour ago, conVINCEd said:

Scottie almost always good is a safe bet.  Jordan being an erratic mf’er is also a safe bet.  Wouldn’t shock me if he missed the cut this week and is teeing off after lunch next Sunday.

Yeah... Jordan is due for another good performance  at "The Open".  

He seems to play better at events where creativity is rewarded. 😋

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Grade of D as in David

Grade of D as in David 13253

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1 hour ago, LTtxfan said:

Yeah... Jordan is due for another good performance  at "The Open".  

He seems to play better at events where creativity is rewarded. 😋

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Jordan: I'm going to bounce it off the Titleist trailer over to the top of the tent and let it roll gently onto the green

Greller: (under his breath)I know I'm going to get blamed for this 

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ztejas

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Part of the problem with Spieth is his best isn't the Tour's best anymore. He has to play great for four days to win a major. And he hardly ever does that. It's why he has barely won outside of Majors. He used to show up with his B+ game and accidentally win sometimes.

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LTtxfan

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On 7/14/2023 at 10:44 AM, Grade of D as in David said:

Jordan: I'm going to bounce it off the Titleist trailer over to the top of the tent and let it roll gently onto the green

Greller: (under his breath)I know I'm going to get blamed for this 

I busted out laughing at this... Thanks!! 😂

As for Jordan, he hasn't played well since injuring his wrist... but what's surprised and frustrated me most recently are his short game and putting struggles...

Just saw this after Jordan missed the cut this weekend:  "Spieth has now missed the cut in four of his last five starts (he tied for fifth at the Memorial). The Texan usually thrives on links-style golf courses, but he wasn’t able to get anything going and fired rounds of 72-69."

 

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Given his stellar season and history at Royal Liverpool, Rory McIlroy enters the 2023 British Open surrounded by quite a bit of interest.

After all, the Northern Irishman won one of his four major championships at the 2014 Open that was held on Merseyside at Royal Liverpool in Hoylake, England, not to mention he’s fresh off a win last weekend at the Genesis Scottish Open.

But McIlroy isn’t the only player in this week’s field with a little history at Royal Liverpool. A total of 44 players who teed it up in 2014 are back in Liverpool nine years later, and of those players, 29 made the cut.

Here’s how players in the 2023 British Open field fared in 2014 at Royal Liverpool.

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LTtxfan

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"THE OPEN" 2023 tee times, Rd 1 pairings

All times Eastern, Thursday July 20th

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It will be an early morning for players and viewers alike at the 2023 Open Championship beginning Thursday in Hoylake, England. The 151st Open is set to begin with local lad Matthew Jordan striking the first tee shot at 1:35 a.m. ET with tee times from Royal Liverpool stretching to nearly noon.

Jordan Spieth is one of the first notables to take on Royal Liverpool; he will do so at 4:03 a.m. alongside Matt Fitzpatrick and Jason Day. Each player will be looking for some form after a blossoming spring saw both the Englishman and Australian claim victories on the PGA Tour.

Roughly a half hour later, many championship contenders will begin their first rounds with Patrick Cantlay, Brooks Koepka and Hideki Matsuyama teeing off at 4:36 a.m. They will be followed closely by the trio of Scottie Scheffler, Tommy Fleetwood and Adam Scott at 4:47 a.m. Reigning Champion Golfer of the Year Cameron Smith, Xander Schauffele and U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark will be on deck at 4:58 a.m.

The afternoon hours will be littered with superstars traversing through the par 71. Viktor Hovland, Tony Finau and Justin Thomas begin their first rounds at 9:48 a.m. as the trio kicks off the start of three marquee groupings. World No. 2 and 2014 Open champion Rory McIlroy is paired with his European Ryder Cup teammates Justin Rose and Masters champion Jon Rahm at 9:59 a.m. Two years removed from raising his Claret Jug, Collin Morikawa will follow this threesome next to his fellow Cal Golden Bear Max Homa and the fiery Englishman Tyrrell Hatton at 10:10 a.m.

 

 

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