Open Golf Championship (Royal Birkdale)

[bennythedip2]

Open Golf Championship, which begins on Thursday at Royal Birkdale on the 20th July 2017

(Bennys view) > Having listened to the experts , i'm going with just the two

FOX, Ryan

Son of former All Black, Grant Fox, whose recent form reads very nicely.
Effortless power and ability to perform under a variety of conditions make him one to follow closely throughout the rest of the season and it wouldn’t be a surprise were he to keep the good run going despite this being just his second Open start, having made the cut and no more at St Andrews two years ago. (150/1)


GARCIA, Sergio

THE MASTERS CHAMPION!

What a glorious night that was and now, free from the shackles of being the Old Sergio Garcia, who’s to say the New Sergio Garcia can’t add a Claret Jug?
Doing so in the same season would be an exceptional achievement but he’s an exceptional links golfer who has never been in a better place.
Birkdale form reads 28-51 which is solid enough to expect him to go well under a style of golf that he has fully embraced with no fewer than 10 top-10 finishes in the Open. Mark O’Meara completed the same double at the same course in 1998. (14/1)

That's me folks - good luck

[Tony2005]

Even though he seems out of form at the price

RORY MCILROY @ 20/1

Must carry a few quid of our money.

Also @ 20/1 JUSTIN ROSE must be right there on a course he finished 4th at when only 16

For a couple of longer priced runners..

PADRIG HARRINGTON @ 66/1 is coming back to form and won this last time it was staged here.

TYRELL HATTON @ 100/1 and JASON DUFNER @ 140/1 Look like decent E/W runners with 8 places being paid by a few bookies

[bennythedip2]

Open Championship:
Jordan Spieth clear 4/1 favourite after carding flawless opening 65 - (July 20 2017)
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Open Championship round one leaders


-5 Jordan Spieth, Brooks Koepka, Matt Kuchar

-4 Paul Casey, Charl Schwartzel

-3 Ian Poulter, Justin Thomas, Richard Bland, Austin Connelly, Charley Hoffman, Rafael Cabrera-Bello


Two-time major winner Jordan Spieth gave himself nine out of 10 after beginning his bid to secure the third leg of a career grand slam in impressive fashion in the 146th Open Championship.

But a resilient Rory McIlroy insisted he remained firmly in contention for a second Open title at Royal Birkdale after recovering from a woeful start to end the day six shots off the pace.

Spieth carded a bogey-free 65 to share the lead with US Open champion Brooks Koepka (8/1) and Matt Kuchar (12/1), with Paul Casey and Charl Schwartzel a shot behind on four under.

Casey, who will celebrate his 40th birthday on Friday, is also at 12/1 after he headed the challenge for a first English winner since 1992 ahead of compatriots Ian Poulter and Richard Bland, who were part of a five-strong group on three under par.

And while 2014 champion McIlroy, who suggested his pre-tournament odds of 20/1 represented a good bet, could only manage a 71, that was quite an achievement after playing the first six holes in five over par; he's now 25/1 having hit 100/1 during that nightmare start.

McIlroy covered the back nine in 32 with three birdies in the last four holes to finish one over par, the same score as playing partner and world number one Dustin Johnson.

The 65s of Ryder Cup team-mates Spieth and Koepka equalled the second lowest first-round score in an Open at Birkdale, a shot outside Craig Stadler's record of 64 set in 1983.

But after hitting just five of 14 fairways, Spieth acknowledged there was room for improvement as he looks to add the Open title to his Masters and US Open victories in 2015.

"I thought today's round was extremely important, as they all are, but given the forecast coming in, I thought you really needed to be in the red (under par) today," the 23-year-old said.

"Everything was strong. I give it a nine across the board for everything - tee balls, ball-striking, short game and putting. So things are in check. It's just about keeping it consistent.

"I'd call it a top five major round that I've played. There are scores that I've shot that were closer to par that were better given what I needed to do.

"But I couldn't have done much better today. I essentially missed two greens today in some 15mph winds."

Spieth had not played competitively since winning the Travelers Championship on his last start three weeks ago by holing a bunker shot on the first hole of a play-off with Daniel Berger.

And Koepka had been inactive for a week longer since claiming his first major title in the US Open at Erin Hills, where his 16-under-par total equalled the tournament record set by McIlroy in 2011.

"We had planned to take it off so it's not a big deal," said Koepka, who is trying to become the first person since Tiger Woods in 2000 to win the US Open and Open in the same year. Only Woods, Bobby Jones (twice), Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Lee Trevino and Tom Watson have achieved the feat.

"It felt like I'd been playing well and links golf just takes a creative mind. Sometimes golf can get a bit boring but I see so many shots out here that are fun that it really gets me going."

Casey's last round in his 30s contained five birdies and a three-putt bogey on the 11th, but was a 12-shot improvement on his opening effort at Birkdale in 2008.

''Apparently life begins at 40 so maybe that's a good omen for me,'' said Casey, who recovered to finish seventh in 2008. "It felt like I had to do something with a very strong leaderboard and everyone saying that bad weather is coming.

"It was a case of making hay while the sun shines so it was important to capitalise on the conditions.''

Nine years after finishing second to Padraig Harrington in 2008, Poulter's three-under-par 67 was his lowest ever opening round in a major at the 54th attempt.

"Birkdale nine years ago felt pretty good on Sunday afternoon and it felt just as good today," said the 41-year-old, who did television commentary on the Open last year after being sidelined with a foot injury.

"I played really well. A couple of putts slipped by the edge but it adds up to a decent score so I'm pretty happy."

Heavy rain and wind had made life a misery for the early starters, with former champion Mark O'Meara hitting the opening tee shot at 6:35am straight out of bounds.

O'Meara went on to card a quadruple-bogey eight on his way to an 11-over-par 81, but was far from alone in finding the 448-yard par four a daunting prospect.

One player in each of the first three groups also went out of bounds and the first eight groups were a combined 23 over par for the opening hole before Sweden's Alex Noren - who shot 68 - recorded the first birdie.
Open Championship round one collated scores


(Gbr & Irl unless stated, par 70)

65 Brooks Koepka (USA), Matt Kuchar (USA), Jordan Spieth (USA)

66 Charl Schwartzel (Rsa), Paul Casey

67 Richard Bland, Charley Hoffman (USA), Justin Thomas (USA), Ian Poulter, Austin Connelly (Can), Rafael Cabrera-Bello (Esp)

68 Kent Bulle (USA), Richie Ramsay, Hideki Matsuyama (Jap), Alex Noren (Swe), Joost Luiten (Nld), Bubba Watson (USA), Stuart Manley, Kevin Na (USA), Daniel Berger (USA), Sung-hoon Kang (Kor), Ernie Els (Rsa), David Lipsky (USA), James Hahn (USA), Martin Laird

69 Jason Day (Aus), Andrew Johnston, Xander Schauffele (USA), Adam Scott (Aus), Andrew Dodt (Aus), Robert Streb (USA), Haotong Li (Chn),Aaron Baddeley (Aus), Marc Leishman (Aus), Jon Rahm (Esp), Bernd Wiesberger (Aut), Matthew Fitzpatrick, Thomas Pieters (Bel), Henrik Stenson (Swe)

70 Ross Fisher, Gary Woodland (USA), Branden Grace (Rsa), Si Woo Kim (Kor),Thongchai Jaidee (Tha), Tony Finau (USA), Laurie Canter, Russell Henley (USA), Yusaku Miyazato (Jap), Kevin Kisner (USA), Matthew Griffin (Aus), Steve Stricker (USA), Kyle Stanley (USA), Toby Tree,Brian Harman (USA), Andy Sullivan, Thorbjorn Olesen (Dnk), Paul Lawrie

71 Soren Kjeldsen (Dnk), Shaun Norris (Rsa), Adam Hadwin (Can), Danny Willett,Jamie Lovemark (USA), Webb Simpson (USA), Scott Hend (Aus), Rory McIlroy,Bill Haas (USA), Justin Rose, Rickie Fowler (USA), (a) Alfie Plant, Lee Westwood, Chris Wood, Darren Fichardt (Rsa), Dustin Johnson (USA),J.B. Holmes (USA), Yuta Ikeda (Jap), Yi-Keun Chang (Kor),Young-Han Song (Kor), Alexander Levy (Fra)

72 Joseph Dean, Martin Kaymer (Den), Tom Lehman (USA), Matthew Southgate, Pablo Larrazabal (Esp), Peter Uihlein (USA), Chan Kim (USA), David Drysdale, Sean O'Hair (USA), Shane Lowry, Jimmy Walker (USA)

73 Francesco Molinari (Ita), Haydn McCullen, Brandon Stone (Rsa),Michael Hendry (Nzl), (a) Connor Syme, Patrick Reed (USA), Anirban Lahiri (Ind), Shiv Kapur (Ind), Jason Dufner (USA), K.T. Kim (Kor), Gi-Whan Kim (Kor), Kevin Chappell (USA), Phil Mickelson (USA), Sergio Garcia (Esp), Dylan Frittelli (Rsa), Padraig Harrington

74 Pat Perez (USA), Nick McCarthy, Paul Waring, Matthieu Pavon (Fra),Ryan Fox (Nzl), Callum Shinkwin, Charles Howell III (USA), John Daly (USA),Phachara Khongwatmai (Tha), Cameron Smith (Aus), Julian Suri (USA),Wesley Bryan (USA), Sebastian Munoz (Col), Russell Knox, Ryan Moore (USA)

75 Mike Lorenzo-Vera (Fra), Zach Johnson (USA), Alexander Bjork (Swe),David Horsey, Darren Clarke, Luca Cianchetti (a) (Ita), Paul Broadhurst, Adam Bland (Aus), Tyrrell Hatton, Jhonattan Vegas (Ven), Mark Foster,Ashley Hall (Aus)

76 Emiliano Grillo (Arg), Brendan Steele (USA), Prayad Marksaeng (Tha),Tommy Fleetwood, Jbe Kruger (Rsa), Roberto Castro (USA), Bryson DeChambeau (USA), Billy Horschel (USA), Ryan McCarthy (Aus)

77 Robert Dinwiddie, Byeong-Hun An (Kor), Stewart Cink (USA), William McGirt (USA), Hideto Tanihara (Jap), (a) Harry Ellis, Jeunghun Wang (Kor), Fabrizio Zanotti (Pry), Sandy Lyle

78 Maverick McNealy (a) (USA), Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa)

79 Todd Hamilton (USA), David Duval (USA)

80 Adam Hodkinson

81 Mark O'Meara (USA)

(a) denotes amateurs

[bennythedip2]

Open Championship 2017:

Player reaction from day three at Royal Birkdale - (July 22 2017)

Quotes from the likes of Rory McIlroy, Henrik Stenson and Dustin Johnson following their third rounds at the Open Championship.

Jordan Spieth (65 and 11 under total)

On learning from previous experiences in majors: "I've had a five-shot lead in a major and squandered it before.

"I've had the high and the humbling so I will keep my head down and not get ahead of myself.

"I think I'm in a position where it can be very advantageous, just everything I've gone through, the good, the bad and everything in the middle. I understand that leads can be squandered quickly, and I also understand how you can keep on rolling on one.

"It was a humbling experience that I thought at the time could serve me well going forward. And if I don't win tomorrow, it has nothing to do with that. It has to do with it was someone else's day, and I didn't play as well as I should have.

"And if I win tomorrow it has nothing to do with that, either. You're learning and it all goes into the mental process.

"Tomorrow will be a day that will be emotionally draining and difficult to stay very neutral in the head, but that's probably the most important thing for me to do."

Rory McIlroy (69 and 2 under overall)

On whether he can still win the Open this year: "It's hard to think 'big picture' now, I'm just off the golf course and I'm a little disappointed," he said.

"I definitely feel like today was an opportunity lost to get right in the mix going into tomorrow.

"It (his game) is getting there. It's not quite where I need it to be to win the biggest golf tournaments in the world but it's getting there.

"I need to pick myself up, play a good round tomorrow, hope for some bad weather, hope for some guys to struggle and we'll see what happens.

"This week has been a step in the right direction, there's no doubt about it.

On what the plan is for Sunday: "Just play a good round of golf and see where that finishes me, I guess.

"Go out there and play well and try to limit the mistakes and get off to a fast start again like I've done the last couple of days and just try to keep it going.

"There are low scores out there and people are not making mistakes. If you keep it in play, it's almost hard to make a bogey out there."

Dustin Johnson (65 and 3 under par overall)

On his third-round performance: "Fortunately I hit some really good shots today, a lot better than I have the last couple of days, and shot a really good score.

"I'm really pleased with the way I played but on 16 - well, I just left it short from eight feet or something, and then on 17 I was right in the middle of the fairway and made par. So, I definitely lost a couple of shots there on the last couple of holes.

"You never know what's going to happen tomorrow but I figure I'm going to need to shoot, probably, nine under."To get to 12 under, I think that would be a decent number to sit in the clubhouse at."

Henrik Stenson (65 and 3 under par overall)

On what he needs to do on Sunday again: "It might well have to be something like that (at Troon), depending on what the last couple of groups are doing. If they keep on making birdies, that 63 might not even be good enough.

"But we'll see. I'm just happy with the way I played today, and should move up in the result list and hopefully get closer to the leaders."

On whether he could have matched the 62 on Branden Grace: "I think we could have been sniffing around those numbers as well. I made some great putts out there but I also had a couple that were really close and I didn't take advantage of 17 the way I would have liked to.

"I don't think it would have been impossible for me to shoot a similar number today but I'm happy with the 65."

Ian Poulter (71 and 2 under overall)

Summing up his performance: "It's disappointing, extremely disappointing - easy conditions and the greens were soft. No excuses. From a three-putt at the first, which was poor... it's a real shame."

"I tried to get some adrenaline going and just threw them all away."

What he needs to do on Sunday: "Not to make stupid mistakes. There were too many stupid mistakes.

"I made one bogey yesterday in all those treacherous conditions we had and then I made five bogeys today. It's not good enough, simple as that. I'm p***** off. I don't know what else to say."

Richie Ramsay (70 and 2 under overall)

On his display in round three: "Today I didn't feel like I got much out of it. It wasn't a Jordan Spieth-esque round where you get everything for your game.

"But I didn't get overawed, I really enjoyed it. I just give 100 per cent, pick off my shots and commit to them. The result will be the result at the end of the day.

"I've been very good at staying in the process and I was tested to the limit.

"I thought I came through with flying colours under certainly the most intense pressure with the best players in the world. I kept a good mindset and attitude and stayed positive."