Punters: Elbow Fine, Tiger Woods Tells TigerWoods.com

Tracking down Tiger Woods while he waiting to purchase a latte** in Terminal 5 at Heathrow where he awaited a connecting Flybe flight to Edinburgh, a TigerWoods.com cub reporter managed to get the World No.1 on the record about his injured elbow.

As posted on TigerWoods.com:

I started chipping and putting a little over a week ago and I'm full go for the British Open. I'm very confident that my left elbow strain won't be a problem and I will be able to hit all the shots I need to hit. That's why I took the time off, so it could heal, and I would feel comfortable playing again. I'm still taking anti-inflammatory medication for my elbow and getting treatment, but the big thing at Muirfield Golf Club will be to avoid the rough.

Woods is 8-1 or 9-1 depending on which bookmaker you should so desire.

The reporter at TigerWoods.com also elicited many comments from Woods about links golf and his recent AT&T National event at Congressional.

**Sources tell me exclusively he was buying a one-week supply of Pimms in the duty free shop along with a Keep Calm Carry On refrigerator magnet for his rental house this week.

Muirfield As Seen From Its Neighbor...

Okay this view was better in person and I'm really only rubbing it in that I played a firm, fast and feisty Gullane No. 1, one of the truly singular golf experiences on the planet. (More photos to follow after The Open.)

Still...here's how the circus looks from the next door neighbor's 7th tee (click to enlarge):

Video: Vardon V. Braid In Edinburgh

To get us in the mood for The Open's return to "The Cradle of Golf," the British Museum has posted this amazing old film of a Harry Vardon-James Braid match from Edinburgh's July, 1904. If you've ever been to the World Golf Hall of Fame and checked out the archives of old R&A clips, you've seen this video:



While on the topic of Vardon, Shane O'Donoghue filed this story on Vardon and his role in the evolution of the island of Jersey's golf legacy.

Videos: Muirfield's 15th and 16th

From the left tee this is one of the most inviting drives in the world--at least for a righty. There is also a tee right of the 14th green that is not as appealing though it's still a fine hole posing plenty of interesting questions.

The par-4 15th hole analysis from Golf Monthly and Strokesaver:

On a back nine filled with so many super holes, the 16th is not very interesting visually or strategically. Playing gently uphill to a bunkered green with few hole location options and little opportunity to run the ball up, the hole figures to play the same each day unless the wind varies drastically.

The overhead and analysis video:

Open Championship App, Website Updated

Interesting stuff in this from the R&A

For Immediate Release:

FOLLOW THE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP ON THE NEW OFFICIAL IPAD/IPHONE APP

12 July 2013, Muirfield, Scotland: Golf fans can follow all the excitement and drama of the 142nd Open Championship at Muirfield next week on the new official iPad/iPhone App.

The App has been specially developed for the 2013 Open and will feature a range of digital innovations designed to bring fans closer to the action and give them a unique behind-the-scenes view of the Championship.

Among the many features of the App will be up-to-the-minute live scoring, video highlights of the play and an interactive course guide.  Live coverage from @TheOpen Live and @TheOpen RADIO will be available along with coverage of holes 9, 10 and 11 during the Championship. The Open Timeline offers fans a wealth of historical information about golf’s oldest Major Championship.

The App, along with the Official Open Championship Apps available on the Android, BlackBerry and Windows 8 Mobile platforms, is part of an expanded array of digital content designed to enhance the spectator experience at this year’s Championship.

Michael Tate, Executive Director – Business Affairs at The R&A, said, “We are continually looking at ways to deliver a better experience for spectators and golf fans at The Open Championship. Our fans around the world download our apps in huge numbers and relish being able to interact digitally with The Open.

“The new App will enable people to access a great deal of dynamic digital content from live TV and radio to video highlights and live scoring. It will be an ideal tool for people with handheld devices who will be able to follow their favourite players from wherever they are whether it is at home, in the office or on the move anywhere.”

The U.S. iTunes store link to get the app for iPhones.

The website improvements sound promising. Especially if you have a job and want to get nothing done:

TheOpen.com website enables people to access wall-to-wall live coverage of play on the interactive digital channel @TheOpen Live and through multiple television and radio channels available online. The website’s newly designed video player will allow spectators to watch live and on-demand video seamlessly in the same player.

Users at home can follow comprehensive television coverage of all four days of the Championship from the official broadcasters - the BBC in the UK and ESPN in America on the website.  Scoring has been further enhanced with a new hole statistics section and the interactive course guide features 3D flyovers of all 18 holes of the course as well as extensive information about Muirfield.

Monty Likes Watson's Chances For A Turnberry Repeat

The hill climbing at Omaha Country Club? Not so much.

From Bill Fields' U.S. Senior Open report on Tom Watson's continued good putting:

To the 50-year-old who was not enjoying Omaha CC's hills either, despite bettering Watson's score by a shot, it was still pretty impressive. "Amazing," Mongomerie said. "Fantastic effort. Good home support for him. I think he's quite close [to home]. I think Kansas is the next state down. Flatter, I believe, in Kansas. So we should have played there. Good golf for Tom. Sixteen pars for nearly 64 years old."

Watson will go from Nebraska to Scotland, for another British Open at Muirfield. "He has every chance to do well again, as he did at Turnberry in 2009," Montgomerie said.

"He's just being nice," said Watson, who had more immediate concerns.

Videos: Muirfield's 13th And 14th

One of my favorite one-shotters on the planet is a Tom Simpson redesign of H.S. Colt's hole and it is the centerpiece of a Golf World story I filed on uphill par-3s. A 191-yard new tee extends the hole and changes the angle in an unfortunate way, but this is still one of the world's most fascinating, beautiful and rewarding par-3s.

The Golf Monthly/Strokesaver analysis:

The original tee view:

The new tee view:

And from the green looking back:

The 14th plays from an elevated tee and there is huge incentive to get past the last fairway bunker 300 yards from the tee, which has been extended to 476 yards. Avoiding that bunker opens up a pretty simple second shot to a receptive green.

Videos: Muirfield's 11th And 12th Holes

Muirfield really picks up steam with the blind tee shot at the 11th to kick off a number of outstanding driving holes coming in. A new tee has extended this hole 33 yards while the green is one of the more interesting on the course with a steep front.

The Golf Monthly/Strokesaver analysis:

The approach to the eleventh green in 2012, with the red flagstick for the 5th green directly behind:

There isn't great reward for hitting driver at the 380-yard 12th even if the wind is helping, so most players will lay back to less than 263 yards setting up an approach to a tightly bunkered green with the short left bunker being particularly deep.

The 12th hole video:

View of the approach to the twelfth:

Videos: Muirfield's 9th And 10th

The world famous par-5 9th at Muirfield is a bit of a mess these days, with a new back tee on neighboring Renaissance Club ground and the ancient wall demolished to accommodate the new tee needed because of all those stomach crunches by today's golfers.

The Golf Monthly/Strokesaver flyover shows the risk-reward beauty of this hole muted by rough up the left side off the tee, eliminating any flirting with the fairway bunkers to open up the best angle to go for the green in two.

The ancient wall rebuilt to accommodate modern distance:

The optimum view to attack the green after flirting with fairway bunkers...at least in another era. Now it's all rough.

The 10th features fairway bunker and not much else besides length heading into winds from the north.

Videos: Muirfield's 7th And 8th Holes

Two-time winner at Muirfield Nick Faldo believes a key to success in an Open there is managing its set of difficult par-3s and while the 4th is severe because of the green complex, the slightly uphill 185-yard 7th is sneaky because of its relatively benign green complex. However, the green is exposed to the elements, framed dreadfully by a horribly misplaced course structure that pops up behind the green's all-important horizon line. Using a 3-iron in his prime, Faldo calls the shot a "giant chip shot" because of the vital need to keep the ball out of the wind here.

The seventh is not a particularly interesting bit of design, but because of the wind and uphill angle, a miss-hit can get in a lot of trouble here and spoil a fine start.

Golf Monthly's 7th hole analysis and Strokesaver flyover:

View from the tee and that building which, when completed, no doubt made for an interesting meeting of the Green Committee:

The eighth hole features a lovely setting and some nice ground features, plus a deceptive second shot, but the fairway pinching to 81 yards may discourage a risk taker from using their driver unless the wind is helping out of the left. Last year the rough was worse on this hole than any other, but hopefully the warm weather is thinning it out.

The video:



The fairway view:


The bunker fronting the green that is actually thirty or so yards short of the uneventful putting surface:

And Just Like That, Stephen Gallacher Is In The Open!

After narrowly missing, Stephen Gallacher is in courtesy of John Daly's rare pre-event WD due to pending elbow surgery.

JOHN DALY WITHDRAWS FROM THE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

8 July 2013, St Andrews, Scotland: Former Champion John Daly has withdrawn from The Open Championship at Muirfield due to injury.

Stephen Gallacher is the 1st Reserve and will take his place in the Championship which is played from 18-21 July. The Scot is the next non-exempt player in the Official World Golf Rankings.

The 38-year-old won his second European Tour event at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic in February. His best finish in The Open was tied 23rd at St Andrews in 2010. There will now be ten Scots in the starting field at Muirfield.

West Lothian's Gallacher Misses Open By £755

A Press Association story on Marc Warren finishing raggedly in Paris but still edging out fellow Scot Stephen Gallacher by £754 on the final pre-Open Championship money list.

Update on 2013-07-08 15:14 by Geoff

**Gallacher is first alternate...err...reserve.

The Reserve List has now been established for The Open Championship and the first ten reserves are listed below:

1st reserve: Stephen Gallacher – Scotland
2nd reserve: Scott Stallings - USA
3rd reserve: Joost Luiten – Netherlands
4th reserve: Charles Howell III - USA
5th reserve: Brendon de Jonge – Zimbabwe
6th reserve: David Lingmerth – Sweden
7th reserve: Ryan Palmer – USA
8th reserve: Bae Sang-moon – Korea
9th reserve: Kevin Chappell - USA
10th reserve: Pablo Larrazabal - Spain

**The final Open Championship qualifiers, courtesy of the R&A:

A further eight players have secured their places in the 142nd Open Championship. The players earned their place in the starting field as the highest ranked non-exempt players in the Official World Golf Ranking at the end of Week 27 – 7 July 2013.

The eight players are as follows:

Jonas Blixt – Sweden
Martin Laird – Scotland
Fredrik Jacobson – Sweden
Marc Leishman – Australia
Graham DeLaet – Canada
Kyle Stanley – USA
Chris Wood – England
Ken Duke – USA

The five Race to Dubai exemptions were confirmed following the Alstom Open de France at the weekend:

Richard Sterne -  the South African finished four shots off the lead at the Alstom Open de France after winning his sixth European Tour event at the Joburg Open in February. The 32-year-old finished tied 34th at The Open in 2009.

Brett Rumford – the Australian has amassed five wins on the European Tour including two victories within seven days this year in the Ballantine’s Championship in Korea and the Volvo China Open. His best finish in The Open was tied 16th at Royal Liverpool in 2006.

Mikko Ilonen - claimed his third European Tour title at the Nordea Masters in Sweden in June. The Finn won the Amateur Championship in 2000 at Royal Liverpool and then finished tied ninth at The Open at Royal Lytham & St Annes the following year.

Thomas Bjorn - the veteran Dane will play in his 16th Open Championship where his best finish was tied second at St Andrews in 2000 and Royal St George's in 2003. The 42-year-old was runner-up at the BMW International Open in Germany and the Lyoness Open in Austria last month.

Marc Warren - the 32-year-old Scot finished tied second at the BMW PGA Championship in May. He will make his debut in The Open Championship at Muirfield.

The five FedExCup exemptions were confirmed following the Greenbrier Classic at the weekend:

Billy Horschel – the 26-year-old Floridean won his maiden event on the PGA Tour at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans in April.

Boo Weekley - the former Ryder Cup player won the Crowne Plaza Invitational in May. He finished tied 13th at The Open in 2009.

Russell Henley - the 23-year-old from Georgia won the Sony Open in Hawaii in January.

Jimmy Walker - finished joint runner-up at the Greenbrier Classic at the weekend. The 34-year-old will make his Open debut at Muirfield.

Harris English - won the FedEx St Jude Classic last month. The 23-year-old, who played in the last Walker Cup at Royal Aberdeen in 2011, finished tied 54th in The Open at Royal Lytham & St Annes last year.

Punters Note: Watson Has 22 Putts In Greenbrier Final Round 67

Okay so he finished T38 but the 63-year-old five time Open champion Tom Watson--including 1980 at Muirfield--is rounding into form. Just saying…he certainly is a candidate for low geezer. 

Jason Sobel with the post-round quote from Greenbrier's Pro Emeritus.

Watson is generally around 500-1 according to Oddschecker, where you can also see that Graeme McDowell is holding steady at 25-1 after his win in Paris.

"Our government must withdraw all funding and support for the R&A in its schemes to deliver golf to young people."

tells the world that a significant part of it remains backward and ridiculous. We permit Muirfield to be Scotland for a week or so and thus we tell the world that we treat women like second-class citizens.

The Observer's Kevin McKenna files what figures to be the first of many columns denouncing the Honourable Company Of Edinburgh Golfers and the R&A over their discriminatory membership policies, writing that the Open at Muirfield "tells the world that a significant part of it remains backward and ridiculous."

This was more interesting:

Our government must withdraw all funding and support for the R&A in its schemes to deliver golf to young people. Nor should government ministers, who are supposed to represent us all, be sharing platforms in the run-up to the Ryder Cup next year with officials who see nothing wrong with awarding golf tournaments and all the prestige that goes with them to clubs that refuse to treat women as equals.

Muirfield shames this country. Equally shameful, though, is how successive liberal administrations in post-devolution Scotland turn a blind eye.

Videos: Muirfield's 5th and 6th Holes

The players get a reprieve at the 559-yard 5th where a benign opening to the green allows those hitting the fairway to have a go in two, assuming the wind is favorable.

The view from the 5th tee (click to enlarge):

Hopefully you've made birdie at the fifth because the 467-yard sixth is narrow with fantastic contours that almost guarantee an unlevel lie and obscured views to a green. The second shot is framed by Archerfield Wood as a backdrop, which distorts depth perception. The hole also features an old stone wall just under 300 yards off the tee and at the dogleg, adding to the fun here.

Bunkers out of play for today's players before the fairway narrows and the rolls begin:

The wall at 300 or so yards from the tee: