R&A Presser Primer: "Peter Dawson would be advised to bring a tin hat"

Euan McLean, writing for the Daily Record, says "it will be a game of cat and mouse as [Peter]Dawson tries to defend the indefensible" during Wednesday's and prepares us with the stock answers Chief Inspector Executive Dawson will give to defend the R&A's stance on membership.

What's interesting in this piece--headlined in print "R&A have to lead way with a sex change"--is McLean's focus on the R&A instead of the Honorable Company of Edinburgh Golfers. And just a reminder, the R&A is a separate entity from the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews. Got that?

Ewan Murray says there is hypocrisy from all angles in the membership debate, while appearing to put down yesterday's Telegraph report that a change in club secretary will change things at Muirfield.

There is hypocrisy, too, from those in the media who dish out routine kickings to male-only clubs such as Muirfield or Troon yet appear there at the drop of a hat if a game is on offer. Peter Dawson, the chief executive of the R&A, meanwhile defends the hosting of the Open at such clubs by pointing to the legality of Muirfield's membership criteria. That is a dubious argument; something needn't be illegal to be immoral and archaic.

On another traditional R&A press conference topic, Eamon Lynch explains why a Royal Portrush-hosted Open Championship has no chance of happening in the playing lifetimes of Mssrs. McIlroy and McDowell: riot season.

Open Championship Scenes, Monday And Tuesday

A few images of the always enchanting Open Championship grounds, Muirfield edition.

Here are my explanations for the inevitable questions: yes, that is a hat from the 1992 Open; the steep backswing belongs to Thaworn Wiratchant; the incredible Open Championship poster is held up for the camera by artist Lee Wybranski.

And yes, it is an enormous thrill and privilege to walk these grounds and at days end, to hang out in Gullane.

Tiger: Fiery Muirfield Similar To Hoylake In '06

Lee Wybranski's official Open graphic (click to enlarge)From Tiger Woods' Tuesday morning press conference, where it sounds like he and many others won't be using driver very often:

This golf course is playing similar to that. It's quick. And so far I've played a couple of days now, three days, and I've only hit a couple of drivers here. I remember Jason was playing with me the other day and he hadn't hit a driver yet. A lot of irons off the tees. Some of the holes, 4-iron was going 280. 3-iron is going a little over 300 yards. So it's quick. That's on this wind. So obviously it could change. Like what we had in '02, it could come out of the northeast and it could be a totally different golf course.

Q. Does it matter, the amount that the ball runs on the fairway after it lands has got to be the important thing?

TIGER WOODS: Yeah, it's being able to control that as best you possibly can. Downwind holes, that if you hit -- I've hit 3-wood, I'll run probably close to 80, 90 yards. Sometimes a little bit more than that. And you can chase balls that can go a long ways. And on 17 yesterday I hit 3-iron, 3-iron over the green. And granted, it's just all in the run. It all depends on where you land it. It could land into a slope and get killed or land on the backside and it could shoot forward another 40, 50 yards. And that's the neat thing about links golf, is that it's predictable, but also unpredictable at the same time.

Telegraph: Secretary Change, Progress Coming To Muirfield

Oliver Brown reports that longtime club secretary Alastair Brown, a defiant voice on the club's problematic stance against admitting women, will be retiring sometime after The Open.

He will be replaced by a "reformer" in Stuart McEwen.

McEwen, who more recently served as director of golf at Gleneagles, has drawn widespread praise for his innovative work at Kingsbarns on the Fife coast since its founding in 2000, adding to the sense of a possible shift in Muirfield’s controversial position towards women.

One source close to the process said: “The notion of women members is talked about openly now, rather than in whispers. It is not a case of if any longer, but when.”

It won't look good if even the Honourable Company Of Edinburgh Golfers moves into the 21st Century as the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews holds its ground!

Remembering Tiger's 81 Day In '02 Open

Nice package of pre-Open stories from ESPN.com, starting with Bob Harig taking the weather/Tiger angle first.

Even better though was this anecdote from Steve Elkington, who reminds us how quickly things can turn at Muirfield.

He had returned to the Auld Hoose, a pub just around the corner from where he was renting a place in the nearby town of North Berwick.

"It sits just above the port there, and the harbor is so old that they have stone gates to let boats in and out,'' Elkington recalled. "After the Friday round, I go into the Auld Hoose and there's an old guy who has a silver jug that they just leave for him. They call him the harbor master, and he has this big, long beard.
"So I'm in there on the Friday night and he pulls me off to the side. 'Listen to me. The weather is going to be s--- at about 3 p.m. tomorrow.' He could tell from the current. 'I'm telling you, it is going to be s---.' ''

Elkington got out early and shot a 3-under-par 68, one of just four players to score in the 60s all day.

"I come back to the Auld Hoose and I went in the back to have a sleep in one of the rooms,'' Elkington said.

"When I came back out, two hours later, I looked out the front door, and there was a guy crawling along hands and knees trying to get in the pub, the weather was so bad. Now I'm watching the scoreboard and I'm going from 40th to 30th and then into the top 10. It was a great break.''

Gene Wojciechowski talks to Mark O'Meara about old buddy Woods. O'Meara and Woods, carpooled to Muirfield with him in '02. Tiger vowed a Sunday 65 to O'Meara after the 81.

"There is something about Tiger Woods: There is no quit in him -- zero," says O'Meara. "I understand injuries. I understand personal issues. I get all of that. But that guy right there is the ultimate competitor."

On the drive home that day, Woods told O'Meara that he already had a plan for Sunday's round. He said he was going to shoot 65 and get back to even-par for the tournament.

O'Meara was on the range that Sunday when he noticed Woods was already 4-under on the front nine. He turned to his caddie and said, "See? There you go. That's typical Tiger Woods. Never give up."

Woods shot 65 and got to even-par but -- and O'Meara loves reminding everyone of this -- finished one stroke behind O'Meara.

Accompanying the package is a segment that includes a hilarious shot of a fan battling his umbrella and overall misery. Maybe I find it hilarious because the forecast this week is looking promising still...for now.

Video: Phil Plays Wedge Shot Backwards At Muirfield

Phil Mickelson, Monday at Muirfield, playing with Scott Piercy in preparation for the 2013 Open Championship.

On the 17th green:

Update on 2013-07-16 08:50 by Geoff

**Bob Harig taked to Mickelson after the practice round about the Scottish Open and also got this early scouting report on Muirfield:

"Tee to green, it's a great challenge. Some holes you have to go through the air and can't go on the ground."

Mickelson's playoff victory over Branden Grace on Sunday was his first in Europe since a 1993 victory in France at a tournament called Tournoi Perrier de Paris. He is credited with eight European Tour victories, which includes four major championships and three World Golf Championships. The French victory was a Challenge Tour win.

Nonetheless, the victory gives him a nice boost coming to the Open, where he has traditionally not fared very well. Mickelson has just two top-10s at the Open, a tie for second two years ago at Royal St. George's and a third in 2004 at Royal Troon. Eleven years ago, Mickelson finished tied for 66th at Muirfield and had not been back until Monday.

"It's very different," he said. "Much firmer and browner than in '02. Then it was lush, green and thick. And not anywhere as fast."

Update on 2013-07-16 15:47 by Geoff

**Phil was asked about the shot today at Muirfield:

Q. The backwards shot you hit on the green in the practice round, did somebody challenge you to do that or how did you end up doing that?

PHIL MICKELSON: I haven't hit it in so long, I just looked at it and thought I'd give it a try. I didn't know anybody was filming. It was Jeff, I guess. I don't know, I'm just having fun. I love the shots we get to hit over here. Sometimes we can get a wedge that can -- you can hit forward off a level lie can almost go behind you when the wind is strong enough. Just having fun with shots around here is enjoyable. Hopefully I won't have to hit that shot this week, though.

Bubba Tackles North Berwick, Word Gets Back To Town!

Okay, so the shops weren't closing with little signs on the door announcing "Our Bubba is back" and the crowd never grew to 7000. Most of the stores in North Berwick were already closed and yet there was something oddly beautiful as members, children and other interested types walked past our groups of internationally not-renowned writers, then bypassed PGA of America leaders Bishop, Bevacqua and Sprague to go watch the 2012 Masters champion tackle their amazing links.

As the sun set over the North Sea, the wonderful and bizarre little community that is golf shared an unforgettable scene of a champion golfer whapping it around their links on a perfect summer day. Just another reason the Open Championship needs to come to East Lothian more often!

My photo of the scene as Bubba's group came in:

Bubba posing for photos and signing Masters flags that magically just happened to appear!

While we're acknowledging pros playing North Berwick, Johnson Wagner also played Sunday.

Videos: Muirfield's 17th and 18th

The par-5 17th is a bit out of character because of all the unusual features (cross bunkers, green set in abrupt dune walls, etc...) but makes for a fine penultimate hole.

 The finisher is made difficult by a host of factors, but mostly by a difficult green that is impossible to read.

And the distinctive greenside bunker:

Tiger On Muirfield: "These fairways have some fire to them."

18th fairway at Muirfield Sunday (click to enlarge)Early Muirfield assessment by Tiger Woods, courtesy of Bob Harig:

"It's obviously playing a lot quicker than it did in '02,'' Woods said. "These fairways have some fire to them. The greens aren't up to speed but I'm sure they will get there. It's been dry over here. This place is firm. We're hitting the ball a long ways downwind.''

As an example, at the par-4 eighth, Woods took a 3-iron off the tee on the doglog hole and hit it too far. He switched to a 4-iron to keep the ball in play.

"That 4-iron just went 285,'' he said.

Observer: Muirfield Membership Policy Is A "Tragedy"

An Observer editorial had me until they wheeled out the tragedy word in describing Muirfield's membership policy of not admitting women.

If Muirfield similarly discriminated against blacks, Muslims or gays there would be a UK-wide outcry. So why is discrimination against women allowed?

With a few notable exceptions, golf writers have been acquiescent in this anti-women prejudice, while no pampered golf professional would ever let a principle get in the way of a pay cheque. And as far as the sponsors are concerned, well … ethics and profits simply don't mix.

The Scottish government is proud of the fact that thousands of boys and girls are taking up golf. It's criminal that they will come to know the sport they love treats women as lesser beings. That many will carry these attitudes into adulthood is more than a crime – it's a tragedy.