Man what an impressive display of golf by Xander Schauffele this week, and especially in the final round of the Open Championship. Excuse me… impressive display of gowf.
Xander’s putting was incredible. He was inches from shooting 64 with a birdie attempt on the final hole that barely missed. His ball striking was amazing. He was 1st in greens in regulation and in the final round hit 88.9% of the greens. When you putt well and are first in GIR, it’s over.
Three shot victory at -9.
Justin Rose was within striking distance to keep it interesting, but missed putts proved to be the difference maker. I’m a big Rose fan. Love his grit. 2nd place.
What This Win Means For Xander
This is the 2nd major victory of the season, the PGA being the first. Both final rounds were 65’s. That’s some clutch playing.
I’d have to think he will be the Player of the Year.
It’s raining fairly hard at Royal Troon today. Finally some real links golf! Shane Lowry may have an even better advantage with all his links golf experience. Who handles the rain and who doesn’t?
I’m really enjoying watching the featured groups live. First off DJ and BK have some “colorful” language and comments about the conditions and the course. Best though, is the Scottish announcers. Warms my heart and brings me back to my several trips to Scotland to golf.
The field was 1055 over par for the first two rounds. This 3rd round is bound to boost that number up considerably.
Winds are picking up. We might have us some links golf today.
Tiger Woods finishes the 2nd round at +14. That’s about 10 shots over the cut. He’s not DFL but he’s pretty close.
Shane Lowrey continues to play well and is in the house with a 69 in round 2, for a total of -7 and a 2 shot lead at the moment. There is a ton of golf left so that is likely to change.
Scottie Sheffler is at -3 with one hole left at this time. (Update), he finished round two at -2 which midway through the round is good enough for a tie for 4th place.
Jordan Speith hit a drive that was over 400 yards with the hard ground and a tail wind. Welcome to links golf.
U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeaux missed the cut. Had something to say about his gear not being setup correctly for colder temperatures. What the?
Other notables that missed the cut: Rory McIlroy +11, Cameron Smith +12, Tommy Fleetwood +9, adn Tyrrell Hatton +8.
LEGEND
Speaking of Tyrell Hatton… Legendary event today. Tyrrell Hatton carried his own bag down the 12th hole. He’d hit his tee shot so badly that he told his caddie he didn’t deserve to have someone carry his bag for him.
I’m NOT going to purchase the “Peacock” network to watch this. So I’m just using TheOpen.com website to watch some featured groups. I love me some proper links golf, but I could really use some high winds and rain. 🙂
Tiger Woods looks gimpy after an opening 40 on the front nine. He’s very slowly bending over, though he’s hitting long drives and hitting a lot of fairways. But he’s +7 and unless he catches fire, he’s already toast.
Network TV
Thursday, July 18: 4 a.m.-3 p.m. (USA)
Friday, July 19: 4 a.m.-3 p.m. (USA)
Saturday, July 20: 5-7 a.m. (USA); 7 a.m.-3 p.m. (NBC)
Sunday, July 21: 4-7 a.m. (USA); 7 a.m.-2 p.m. (NBC)
Peacock (have fun with it. I’m not signing up…)
THURSDAY, JULY 18
Early Round 1 Coverage: 1:30-4 a.m. (Peacock)
Featured Groups, Hole: All day (Peacock)
Late Round 1 Coverage: 3-4:15 p.m. (Peacock)
FRIDAY, JULY 19
Early Round 2 Coverage: 1:30-4 a.m. (Peacock)
Featured Groups, Hole: All day (Peacock)
Late Round 2 Coverage: 3-4:15 p.m. (Peacock)
SATURDAY, JULY 20
NBC Round 3 Coverage: 7 a.m.-3 p.m. (Peacock)
Featured Groups, Hole: All day (Peacock)
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