With all the LIV defections, we take a look at the odds for 20 PGA Tour players.
We’re closing in on the start of the 2022 Open Championship at the Old Course at St. Andrews, as the golf world settles in for one of the most anticipated major championships in recent memory. The Home of Golf hosting the 150th edition of the Open has excitement through the roof.
“It’s such a fun hole to play. I think that’s one of the special things about this golf course.”
ST. ANDREWS, Scotland – Justin Thomas made the most out of missing the cut in last week’s Genesis Scottish Open.
With an extra two days free of demands, Thomas cruised to the quaint seaside village known as St. Andrews and set up shop. That Saturday evening he strolled around the Old Course with Tiger Woods, each armed with a putter and wedges, to familiarize himself with the lay of the land ahead of the 150th Open Championship. The next day the two played 18 holes with every club.
And Thomas played a tour guide to his fiancé, Jillian Wisniewski. The two arrived at the tee box of the Road Hole and Thomas went all explanatory.
“Trying to explain that hole and that tee shot to my fiancée was a little bit difficult,” Thomas said. “So I had to take her out there myself.”
“You hit (your tee shot) over the hotel,” Thomas said.
“OK, but not really,” Wisniewski replied.
“Oh, no, really. You have to hit it over this hotel,” Thomas responded.
Adrian Meronk of Poland and Tiger Woods of The United States make their way past the Old Course Hotel during a practice round prior to The 150th Open at St Andrews Old Course on July 12, 2022 in St Andrews, Scotland. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)
The hotel would be the Old Course Hotel, just one of the features that comes into play on the quirky, 495-yard, slight dogleg-right 17th hole that may be the most famous hole in the world and will play a pivotal role in the outcome of the Open.
Players choose a letter from the Old Course Hotel sign to aim at for their blind tee shot. Side note: the hotel features extra-resistant glass in the windows.
There also is the greenside pot bunker that has made grown men cry, the Old Station Road and stone wall behind the putting surface that has produced an equal number of tears. Rough and hay rim the fairways, the green is a sliver of safety just 13 yards deep in one portion.
“Professional golfers are entitled to choose where they want to play and to accept the prize money that’s offered to them. I have absolutely no issue with that at all. But there is no such thing as a free lunch.”
ST. ANDREWS, Scotland – In his meeting with the media Wednesday at the 150th Open Championship at the home of golf, R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers knew what was coming, and in brief but at times stern remarks addressed a topic that has caused disruption in men’s professional golf.
That would be LIV Golf, the burgeoning rival league led by Greg Norman and backed by Saudi Arabia that has lured some of the game’s biggest names away from the PGA Tour and DP World Tour, including Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia, Patrick Reed and Bryson DeChambeau.
His remarks, while noteworthy, did nothing to stem the onslaught of questions.
Try as he might, Slumbers could not make the celebration of the 150th Open Championship on the Old Course at the Home of Golf the main talking point.
But he was unwavering in his remarks and answers dealing with LIV Golf.
“Professional golfers are entitled to choose where they want to play and to accept the prize money that’s offered to them. I have absolutely no issue with that at all. But there is no such thing as a free lunch,” Slumbers said. “I believe the model we’ve seen at (London’s) Centurion and (Oregon’s) Pumpkin Ridge (the first two tournaments of LIV Golf) is not in the best long-term interests of the sport as a whole and is entirely driven by money. We believe it undermines the merit-based culture and the spirit of open competition that makes golf so special.
“I would also like to say that, in my opinion, the continued commentary that this is about growing the game is just not credible and if anything, is harming the perception of our sport which we are working so hard to improve.”
When Slumbers was done with his remarks, 16 of the 24 questions had LIV Golf at their heart. One concerned Norman, who was asked not to come for Monday’s Celebration of Champions exhibition and Tuesday’s Champions’ Dinner
“We are absolutely determined to ensure that this goes down in history as about the 150th Open,” Slumbers said. “We decided that there would be, based on noise that I was receiving from multiple sources, that with (Norman’s attendance), that was going to be potentially unlikely.
“We decided that we didn’t want the distraction. We wanted to ensure that the conversation was all about this week and playing golf and balls in the air tomorrow and the Champion Golfer on Sunday.”
Many of the questions concerned the R&A’s potential adjustments to the qualifying and exemption regulations for the oldest championship in golf. This year, those players with LIV Golf were allowed to play.
“We have been asked quite frequently about banning players. Let me be very clear. That’s not on our agenda,” Slumbers said. “But what is on our agenda is that we will review our exemptions and qualifications criteria for the Open. And whilst we do that every year, we absolutely reserve the right to make changes as our Open Championships Committee deems appropriate.
“Players have to earn their place in The Open, and that is fundamental to its ethos and its unique global appeal. We will hold totally true to the Open being open to anybody. But we may well look at how you get into that, whether it’s an exemption or a need to qualify through our qualifying process.
“With that, I’d like to get back to what we are all here for, The 150th Open.”
That proved futile.
The next question dealt with Slumbers’ being on the Board of Directors of the Official World Golf Rankings Association. The OWGR will determine whether LIV Golf will receive world rankings points, which would help some players qualify for the major championships. Slumber said the question needed to be addressed to the chairman of the OWGR.
Lewis will have one eye on the Home of Golf this week as she competes in the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational.
Stacy Lewis will have one eye on the Home of Golf this week as she competes in the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational in Midland, Michigan. As one of only two female professionals to ever win on the Old Course, with Lorena Ochoa being the first in 2007, Lewis considers it to be “the coolest place” in golf.
Lewis, of course, won the 2013 AIG Women’s British Open at St. Andrews and, in 2008, became the first player to go 5-0 in the Curtis Cup over the Old Course. That week also started a special relationship between the Lewis family and the famed Dunvegan Hotel, which used to be owned by Texas native Jack Willoughby and his wife Sheena, a native Scot.
Lorena Ochoa with the trophy after winning the Ricoh Women’s British Open at The Old Course, St Andrews, Scotland. (Photo by Martin Rickett – PA Images/PA Images via Getty Images)
Ochoa’s celebration in 2007 was at the Dunvegan as was Lewis’ in 2013, though hers was more low-key back in the Claret Jug Restaurant with close friends and family. They watched a replay of the last three holes on television and ate pizza.
When the Women’s British went to Kingsbarns in 2017, Lewis again stayed at the Dunvegan. Last year, in between quarantine bubbles for the Scottish and British, she stopped by the famous pub with longtime caddie Travis Wilson. They walked around the 18th and reminisced.
“It truly is, it’s my favorite place,” said Lewis. “Any opportunity I have I’m going to stop back through there.”
Stacy Lewis of the United States putts for birdie on the 18th green during the final round of the Ricoh Women’s British Open at the Old Course, St Andrews on August 4, 2013 in St Andrews, Scotland. (Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images)
Which is why 37-year-old Lewis, a two-time major winner and former No. 1, was disappointed not to have been invited back this week for the 150th celebration of the men’s Open Championship. On Monday, the R&A Celebration of Champions included Tiger Woods, Lee Trevino and Rory McIlroy playing a four-hole loop around the Old Course. In all, there were 38 former R&A champions, including four LPGA players: Georgia Hall, Catriona Matthew, Laura Davies and Anna Nordqvist.
When Lewis won over the Old Course, she birdied the last two holes, including a spectacular 5-iron on the Road Hole that flew low and chased up the hill to 4 feet.
The women return to the Old Course in 2024, and for many players on the LPGA, like Lewis’ partner this week, Maria Fassi, it will be their first time on golf’s sacred ground. The men’s British Open has been staged at the Old Course 29 times, the first coming in 1873.
“I think the players will see how special it is,” said Lewis of what’s to come. “I just think we’ve only had two female winners there. Lorena and I are the only ones that have won at St. Andrews included with the list of all these guys.
“The tour is going there to add another winner to that list, so I think just that opportunity for the women is huge. We have an awesome opportunity at Muirfield this summer. So just the investment across the board, we’re giving our players lots of great opportunity to do things that have never been done.”
Don’t be surprised to see plenty of three-putts and worse on the giant greens of the Old Course at St. Andrews.
Jordan Spieth was one shot back of the lead on No. 8 tee in the final round of the 2015 British Open on the Old Course at St. Andrews, and he knocked his tee shot at the 174-yard par 3 onto the green. Normally that would be cause for at least a little satisfaction, but not necessarily on the Old Course.
That’s because most of the putting surfaces on the Old Course – which this week hosts its 30th British Open – are gigantic double greens that serve two holes with flagsticks planted on opposite sides. As can so easily happen after an approach shot finds the wrong portion of one of these greens, Spieth faced a putt of some 100 feet. His ensuing four-putt – his first attempt sailed off the green – and the double-bogey 5 left him playing catchup the rest of the day, and he eventually fell one shot short of a playoff won by Zach Johnson.
None of this is a knock on Spieth’s putting – he was a top-10 putter on the PGA Tour that year, and that double bogey clearly was caused by an errant iron shot. On a normal course, Spieth would have missed the green, likely by a wide margin, and he probably would have pitched a wedge shot of some kind onto the putting surface without ever leaving such a dent in his putting stats.
Jordan Spieth throws his ball into the crowd after four-putting for double-bogey on No. 8 in the final round of the British Open on the Old Course at St Andrews in Scotland on July 20, 2015. (Ben Stansall/AFP via Getty Images)
The Old Course is different, and errant iron shots don’t always lead to pitches or chips. Instead, players often face massive putts for which they must judge distance, extreme mounding and even the wind if they are to have any hope of getting their first putt close.
The Old Course has only four greens that serve just one hole, at Nos. 1, 9, 17 and 18. The rest of the holes play to one side of seven giant double greens. An interesting note for the hardcore golf nerds: If the two hole numbers served by a double green are added together, they always equal 18. For example, No. 2 and No. 16 share a green, so they equal 18. Other shared greens are Nos. 3 and 15, Nos. 4 and 14, Nos. 5 and 13, Nos. 6 and 12, Nos. 7 and 11, and Nos. 8 and 10.
And they are huge.
The average size of the putting surfaces at the Old Course is 22,267 square feet, more than half an acre, and the double green for Nos. 5 and 13 is over 37,000 square feet. By comparison, the average green size at Pebble Beach Golf Links, another seaside course famed for hosting major championships, is about 3,500 feet. Augusta National, another major staple, has greens that average just over 6,400 square feet.
Even if you halve the size of the double greens at the Old Course to make an apples-to-apples comparison equaling 18 greens, the putting surfaces at the Old average more than 13,600 feet per hole, nearly four times the size of the greens at Pebble Beach.
Perhaps most telling, several of the double greens are more than 100 yards across. Play to the wrong flag – it happens, even for the pros – and you will face one of the longest putts of your life.
The out-and-back layout of the Old Course makes such greens possible, as most of the holes are situated in a long, somewhat narrow stretch of land between other courses as they play away from the massive R&A clubhouse toward an estuary before turning back toward the clubhouse. Parallel holes play in opposite directions through the corridor, making it possible to approach the shared double greens from opposite directions.
And their size isn’t their only feature. The greens of the Old Course are packed with humps and hollows that following the natural contours of the lumpy ground. Some of the slopes wouldn’t work on smaller putting surfaces, but because the greens of the Old Course are so big, the extreme contours fit. If a modern designer tried to squeeze such slopes into a normal-sized green, there would be almost no puttable areas were a ball would stop rolling, and the usable portion of the green would be too small.
Tiger Woods practices on the 18th green Tuesday on the Old Course at St Andrews in Scotland. No. 18 features one of only four single greens serving just one hole on the course. (Andy Buchanan/AFP via Getty Images)
The size, the slopes – they all factors into strategy and thinking. The Old Course requires precision, often along the ground, to small targets within giant greens. Even with big overall targets, big misses still lead to big numbers.
Two of the best American public-access examples of such huge greens would be Old Macdonald at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Oregon and Streamsong’s Black Course in Florida, both of them modern courses where three-putts, four-putts and worse happen every day. Like the Old Course, the greens at Old Mac and the Black feature tremendous contours that force players to concentrate on hitting small targets within all that square-footage.
The perfect example as we head into this week’s British Open was Spieth’s four-putt in 2015, when he proved that a green hit in regulation doesn’t always mean much at St. Andrews.
When we last visited with John Daly, he was (very briefly) leading the 2022 PGA Championship and showing off his usual wild sartorial choices.
And this week, at the 2022 British Open at St. Andrews, the 1995 British Open champion is back, getting ready to tee it up at the Old Course.
So far, on Monday and Tuesday, we’ve only seen a couple of his iconic fits, but they’ve been eye-popping with a pink-patterned pair of pants to go with a blue shirt, and a pair of black and white skull-and-flower shorts.
We’ll see what he’s got cooked up for later this week soon enough. Just enjoy what he wore so far:
To celebrate the 150 British Open, Nike has created a special version of its Nike Air Zoom Infinity Tour NEXT% NRG that pays tribute to Scotland.
The British Open is a tough event for apparel and footwear makers to plan for because traditionally the swirling winds, fluctuating temperatures and suspect conditions have players adding and removing layers all day. At the same time, this week’s 150th playing of the Open is the season’s final major in men’s golf and is being held at St. Andrews, the home of the game.
To celebrate, Nike has created a special version of its Nike Air Zoom Infinity Tour NEXT% NRG that pays tribute to Scotland. The shoe is functional, featuring two Zoom Air units in the forefoot for extra cushioning and a textile upper that enhances breathability. There are also two spikes on the forefoot and two more designed into the heel to compliment the sole’s traction elements, but the shoes are also loaded with symbols of the game’s homeland.
The Nike Air Zoom Infinity Tour NEXT% NRG is available now for $180 at nike.com. Here’s a look at it.
[afflinkbutton text=”Nike Air Zoom Infinity Tour” link=”https://go.skimresources.com?id=77560X1658191&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nike.com%2Ft%2Fair-zoom-infinity-tour-next-nrg-mens-golf-shoes-6nzLBD%2FDQ4131-103%3Fcid%3D4942550%26cp%3Dusns_aff_nike_content_PID_100379947_Skimlinks%26cjevent%3D5ad43df3020a11ed8144c0370a82b82c”]
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Tiger Woods will take it easy before the start of the 2022 British Open at St. Andrews.
ST. ANDREWS, Scotland – And now he will rest.
Until Thursday.
Tiger Woods, the 15-time major champion and three-time Champion Golfer of the Year, has played 58 holes in practice rounds and an exhibition ahead of Thursday’s start of the 150th Open Championship at St. Andrews. In his only other two starts this year – the Masters and PGA Championship – Woods played 27 practice holes at each event.
But seeing as the Old Course is his favorite track in the world, Woods emptied his tank despite favoring his surgically repaired right leg, ankle and foot, with all three not close to being 100 percent and needing constant attention.
Woods chipped, putted and hit a few wedges over 18 holes on Saturday evening with Justin Thomas. He played 18 on Sunday with Justin Thomas, 9 holes more on Monday and 9 more on Tuesday. He also played in the four-hole Celebration of Champions exhibition on Monday.
“So that was going to be it for me,” Woods said Tuesday after his practice round. “I’ll take tomorrow off. I’ll practice, keep my feels. But I wanted to get a good sense of how the golf course is going to be playing but also conserve my energy, so that’s why I’m taking tomorrow off.”
Woods’ first encounter with the Old Course came in the 1995 Open Championship, when he tied for 68th as an amateur. He won his first Claret Jug in 2000 on the Old Course, completing the career Grand Slam, added another in 2005 at the Home of Golf and his third at Hoylake the following year.
“This is where it all began for me as an amateur. My first chance to play in the Open Championship was here. I’ll never forget I played with Ernie Els and Peter Jacobsen the first two days,” he said. “We had a chance to play with some greats in practice rounds – Freddie (Couples), Raymond (Floyd), (Jose Maria Olazabal), Bernhard (Langer). I had a great time as a young little kid, and they showed me the ropes of how to play this golf course and how many different options there were. It was eye opening how this golf course can play as easily as it can be played and also as difficult it can play just by the wind changing.
“This is my sixth Open Championship here. Just to have that experience and have the ability to play here at the Home of Golf is always quite special.”
So he had a little extra adrenaline pushing him through.
“I’m just trying to get used to the speed of the fairways and getting used to hitting the ball down and also giving more wide berth on shots, allowing for more drift on the wind,” Woods said. “The ball just gets eaten up here when you play on links courses and seaside courses. The air is heavier, and you’ve just got to give it more room. And sometimes it’s just hard to see that and hard to understand. You’ve got to give it a little more 30 yards because obviously it’s going to bounce, it’s going to roll and then it’s going to roll out another 40 yards once it lands. And that’s just with a 7-iron in your hand.
“So trying to get my mind right for that, I’ve been trying to do that, but the only way you can truly do it actually is to get out here and experience it.”
As for his body, it’s good enough to give it a go.
“Well, my body certainly can get better, but realistically, not a whole lot,” he said. “It’s been through a lot, and at 46 you don’t quite heal as well as you do at 26. So it is what it is. Just lucky enough to, in our sport, to be able to play as long as we are able to play late into the 40s, especially on links golf courses like this, you can continue into your 50s.
“It just takes a lot of knowledge and understanding of how to play this type of golf. And with the fairways being fast and firm, it allows players who are older to run the ball out there and have a chance.”
Good luck getting the ball on the tee Thursday, Max.
Every once in a while, old tweets resurface. Sometimes they’re bad takes, sometimes they’re miraculous predictions that somehow come true, and sometimes they’re heartwarming things like this.
In 2013, Max Homa, a then collegiate golfer at Cal, sent out a tweet asking Tiger Woods for a practice round at that year’s U.S. Open (Homa qualified for the event at Merion).
Like many professional golfers in this era, Woods was Homa’s hero.
Fast forward to 2021 and the California native took home the hardware at the Genesis Invitational, an event hosted by Woods and his foundation. So, after receiving the trophy, Homa took a picture with the 15-time major champion to mark the victory.
@TigerWoods just won PAC 12s, NCAA championship, and qualified for the us open. Any chance I can get a practice round with u?? #hero
Now, 507 days later, it was announced the four-time Tour winner will tee it up with Woods and Matthew Fitzpatrick for the first two rounds at the Old Course for the 150th Open Championship.
The threesome with tee off at 9:59 a.m. ET on Thursday and 4:59 a.m. ET on Friday.
Homa was asked about the dream pairing: “Unreal times a million.”
In 2018, the then Korn Ferry Tour player went on the No Laying Up podcast and discussed the 2013 tweet.
Here's @maxhoma23 in 2018 talking about trying to track Tiger down for a practice round.
This was when he was playing on the Korn Ferry Tour.
Now he's gonna tee it up with Tiger f'n Woods at the Old Course in The Open Championship. pic.twitter.com/YQ4ojyuJRF
Everything you need to know for the first round of the 150th British Open, including Tiger Woods’ tee times.
ST. ANDREWS, Scotland – Tiger Woods will begin his pursuit of a third Open Championship title at St. Andrews at 2:59 p.m. (local time) Thursday when the oldest championship in golf begins on the Old Course.
Woods, who won on the Old Course in 2000 and 2005, has played 58 practice rounds holes on his favorite golf course in the world – he played just 27 before the Masters, 27 before the PGA Championship. He made the cut in both, his only two starts of the year.
Woods is out with Max Homa and reigning U.S. Open champion Matthew Fitzpatrick.
Paul Lawrie, the 1999 Open Championship winner, will hit the first shot of the tournament at 6:35 a.m. The final tee time is 4 p.m.
Following the Woods group at 3:10 p.m. is the threesome of 2017 Open champion Jordan Spieth, Jon Rahm and Harold Varner III.
(Streaming will include featured groups, featured holes and full coverage. Featured groups and featured holes will also be available on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app.)
Friday, July 15th
TV
USA: 4 a.m.-3 p.m.
STREAM
Peacock: 1:30 a.m.-4 a.m. Peacock: 3 p.m.-4 p.m.
(Streaming will include featured groups, featured holes and full coverage. Featured groups and featured holes will also be available on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app.)
Saturday, July 16th
TV
USA: 5 a.m.-7 a.m. NBC: 7 a.m.-3 p.m.
STREAM
Peacock: 7 a.m.-3 p.m.
(Featured groups and featured holes will be available all day and will be available on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app.)
Sunday, July 17th
TV
USA: 4 a.m.-7 a.m. NBC: 7 a.m.-2 p.m.
STREAM
Peacock: 7 a.m.-2 p.m.
(Featured groups and featured holes will be available all day and will be available on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app.)
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