Tag: bunker

Bunkergate? Sand at 2023 British Open raked differently over night

Much had been made about how grounds crews had flattened the bunkers in advance of the tournament.

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HOYLAKE, England — Players voiced their displeasure with the Royal Liverpool bunkers at the 151st British Open on Thursday and the R&A has responded by making an adjustment for Friday’s second round.

Championship organizers changed the way the bunkers were raked overnight.

“Yesterday afternoon the bunkers dried out more than we have seen in recent weeks and that led to more balls running straight up against the face than we would normally expect,” the R&A said in a statement released on Friday morning. “We have therefore raked all of the bunkers differently to take the sand up one revet on the face of the bunkers. We routinely rake bunkers flat at most Open venues but decided this adjustment was appropriate in light of the drier conditions which arose yesterday. We will continue to monitor this closely for the remained of the Championship.”

Much had been made about how grounds crews had flattened the bunkers in advance of the tournament, a move that didn’t allow wayward shots to settle comfortably in the middle. The result had been an array of difficult lies for players, some in fairway bunkers and others while cozying up to the greens.

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler discussed on Wednesday how penal the bunkers can be, how they made him nervous and how unusual he found them to be in comparison to what he experienced in 2021 at Royal St. George’s in England.

“I feel like at St. George’s a lot of the bunkers had a tiny bit of an upslope before you got to the wall face, and here it seems like the faces of every bunker is almost a downslope going towards it,” he said. “I don’t think that’s something I particularly like in a golf course. I think it doesn’t reward the good shots as much. If you’re closer to the green you end up closer to the lip, and if you get a worse shot and barely get into the bunker you actually have a play.

“So I would prefer if there was a little bit of slope there, but that’s what’s so special about the majors. Every golf course is different and it’s a challenge, and I’m just going to do my best to stay out of them this week.”

Added Rory McIlroy after the first round: “When you hit it into these bunkers you’re sort of riding your luck at that point and hoping it’s not up against one of those revetted faces.”

But thanks to the adjustment made by the R&A, McIlroy said he had a better chance to make

“I hit a 4-iron into the 5th hole today, and it pitched on top of the bunker and came back in, and I thought it was going to be — like I didn’t know at this point (about the change) that they’d made that little gradual rise up into the face, and when I got up there, I was pleasantly surprised that I had a shot,” McIlroy said. “Yeah, I wouldn’t say there’s one person in the field that wouldn’t welcome that change.”

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Watch: Xander Schauffele struggling to get out of a fairway bunker will make you squirm

If you have issues playing out of the sand, you’ve probably done what Xander Schauffele did Saturday.

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If you have issues playing out of the sand, you’ve probably done what Xander Schauffele did twice on Saturday during the third round of the 2023 U.S. Open.

Standing in a fairway bunker on the first hole, Schauffele had no chance of getting to the green for his second shot, so he took out a wedge and attempted to hit over the lip of the bunker and into the fairway.

Thump.

His ball drilled the lip, went backward and landed behind him in the bunker. Oh, well. Shake it off and try again.

Thump.

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It took Schauffele not one, not two, but three shots to get out of the fairway bunker. From there, he was able to get up and down for a great bogey save, but it wasn’t a good way to begin his third round when he started only two shots off the lead.

WATCH: Lydia Ko’s fabulous bunker shot from her knees at Carnoustie – ‘at least don’t face-plant’

Lydia Ko pulled off some spectacular shots on Friday at Carnoustie, including one doozie out of the bunker from her knees at the par-4 ninth.

Lydia Ko pulled off some spectacular shots on Friday at Carnoustie, including one doozie out of the bunker from her knees at the par-4 ninth.

When did Ko learn to hit from her knees? Today, she said, after putting the finishing touches on a 1-under 71 at the AIG Women’s British Open.

“I actually had multiple times where I was like, I could do with being left-handed for a few of these shots,” said Ko. “The sand is pretty fluffy, so the ball settles down after it hits a bank or rolls in.

“It’s not easy, but for both of those times, I said, OK, don’t make a fool of yourself and like keep – all of your core exercises are right for this moment. Keep that core tight and at least don’t face-plant.”

Ko missed a boatload of fairways to begin the second round and looked like she might be missing the weekend as well after making the turn in 38. But a solid tee shot on the 11th hole led to the first of three birdies over the next four holes. She’s currently in a share of 32nd, six strokes back of leaders Georgia Hall and Mina Harigae.

“I think because my contact was good, I wasn’t getting too frustrated about it,” Ko said of the early portion of her round.

“I just focused on my keys and put a swing on it, and for me, I think if I hit a committed shot, I think that’s all I can do, and if the ball goes left or right, I can’t do much about it. So yeah, I didn’t really think about something new that made it turn around.”

Ko has had put together a string of special rounds on Sunday this year, including a 62 at the ANA Inspiration, a 65 en route to bronze at the Olympics and a 63 last week at the Trust Golf Women’s Scottish Open that led to a share of second.

“I don’t think you can take yourself out of it, especially around a golf course like this,” said Ko, who said she had never been so excited to come to the British Open as she was this week.

“If you felt confident with a putter and you are hitting it somewhat, pretty solid, you’ve got a good chance. Minjee (Lee) showed that you can be quite a few shots back and be able to be the one lifting the trophy on the end of Sunday.

Ko, of course, is referring to Lee’s recent victory at the Amundi Evian Championship, where she came from seven back to win in a playoff.

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