HOYLAKE, England — Jon Rahm can do without so many cameramen following his every move.
For the third straight major, he has made them the target of his angst.
Rahm complained in a F-bomb-laden rant, according to members of the press who witnessed it and later was asked in both Spanish and English about what was troubling him.
“I’m trying to walk and there’s way too many people in my way, and I can’t go on my pace because they’re in my way,” he explained.
Rahm, the Masters champion in April and world No. 3, had a disappointing day, which ended with a bogey after his second shot at 18 found a bunker and he had to play out backward. He signed for 3-over 74.
“Then I’m walking off 18 and trying to deal with the unlucky moment on 18, and there’s somebody with a boom light on my ass keeping up with Rory’s pace, and I can’t go at my own pace. That’s kind of the disregard that I (dealt with), that’s all,” he said.
In the third round of the PGA Championship in May, Rahm expressed his frustration with an ESPN cameraman who had gotten too close to him at the eighth hole. “Stop aiming [the camera] at my face when I’m mad, it’s all you guys do,” Rahm could be heard saying on the telecast.
At the U.S. Open, he was a bit more discreet but couldn’t hide is anger with a cameraman, who he claimed was in his face on the par-3 11th at Los Angeles Country Club during the third round.
Rahm plays with his emotions on his sleeve, and contends that when he gets angry it often brings out his best golf. He’s not the only golfer who has complained about cameras being too close to them. Bryson DeChambeau had a similar outburst a few years ago at the Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit.
But being shown on TV also goes with the territory when you’re one of the biggest names in the game. It’s why sponsors such as Santander, a new deal announced with Rahm this week, want the company logo on his sleeve and Callaway re-upped on his endorsement deal, too. Rahm likely will just have to come to terms with cameramen being “in his face.”
The first round of the 151st British Open, however, was not that day.
Woods, who won the Claret Jug here in 2006, was honored on Tuesday evening at the annual Association of Golf Writers dinner. Woods, who had ankle surgery in April and is sidelined indefinitely, received an award for outstanding services to golf. Woods delivered a recorded acceptance speech from his Florida home. He highlighted his victory at Hoylake, where he sobbed on the shoulder of his caddie Steve Williams after tapping in to secure the win just two months after the death of his father, Earl.
“That week in 2006 was a very emotional one,” Woods said in the recorded message. “It was the first championship I ever won without my dad being there. It was a tough, tough week, but also probably the most gratifying. After my last putt I realized my dad was never going to see this again.”
It marked the last of Woods’s three Claret Jugs in 22 appearances. He also noted the third-round 81 he shot in dreadful conditions at Muirfield in 2002.
“That was the worst day I have ever known and probably the worst in the history of golf,” he said. “I have never felt that cold on a course, I have never felt that wet and have never felt that miserable. I remember a couple of my friends among the writers from the UK offering me coffee when I walked in to speak. That was great.”
HOYLAKE, England — Englishman Tommy Fleetwood figures he’s imagined winning the British Open in his native land a million times.
“Winning a major is a dream, or winning the Open is a huge, huge dream,” he said. “For sure I’ve pictured it a lot and visualized it a lot; just haven’t done it yet in person, so that’s hopefully the next thing.”
Fleetwood is off to a stellar start at the 151st British Open as he tries to make his dream come true. On Thursday, the 32-year-old Fleetwood fired a 5-under 66 at Royal Liverpool Golf Club to share the opening-round lead with South African amateur Christo Lamprecht and Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo.
Fleetwood has been plagued by slow starts, recording only five rounds in the 60s to start his week this season on the PGA Tour. It adds up to a first-round scoring average of 70.38, which ranks a dismal 72nd overall. Asked if this was one of his most enjoyable starts at a major, Fleetwood didn’t hesitate to nod in the affirmative.
“One of, for sure,” he said. “Just a combination of everything really. One of the things that we’ve said this week is what an amazing time it is for us to be out on the golf course with that support, playing in an Open. It’s very, very special.”
Bathed in glorious sunshine that made his rock-star hair glisten, Fleetwood sandwiched birdies at Nos. 5 and 7 around his lone bogey of the day at the sixth. Out in 34, he tacked on a birdie at the 11th and then reeled off three straight birdies starting at the 14th.
Fleetwood has been a picture of consistency this season – notching six top-10 finishes, including losing in a playoff at the RBC Canadian Open, a T-5 at the U.S. Open in June and T-6 last week at the Genesis Scottish Open.
“It’s much better having good results than getting kicked in the teeth all the time when you feel like you’re working so hard and you’re doing the right things,” Fleetwood said. “I think good results always spur you on and they give you the confidence to keep pushing on and doing those things.”
What has eluded Fleetwood is victory — he’s still winless on the PGA Tour and since the start of the 2017-18 season has the second-most top 10s of any player without a win in that span with 26. (Brian Harman with 29 leads this dubious distinction.) To hear Fleetwood tell it, he just needs to continue to be patient and trust in what he’s doing.
“There’s times where it could go either way, and it hasn’t gone my way yet,” Fleetwood said. “It’ll be my turn soon.”
He’s had his share of chances at majors, including at the British Open, where he finished second to Shane Lowry in 2019. All told, he’s recorded six top-fives in majors, including a runner-up finish at the 2018 U.S. Open. Fleetwood, born and bred in Southport, England, is bidding to become the first Englishman to win the British Open since Nick Faldo in 1992. Fleetwood considers Royal Liverpool to be “hallowed turf,” a links where one of his closest friends as kid was a member and he had the chance to play it on occasion. He’ll have plenty of support to win on home soil from a partisan crowd, who have been cheering heartily for their “Tommy Lad.”
“I’ll always be a northwest boy, and to have so many people out there from the area supporting is really, really great,” Fleetwood said. “You can easily put too much pressure on yourself. You can easily try too hard. But just having that support and people egging you on, whether you’ve hit a good shot or a bad shot, good hole, bad hole. Yeah, just pushes you on…having the opportunity to do it so close to where you grew up is something that’s very unique and very special.”
The final men’s major of the year is at Royal Liverpool in Hoylake, England, for the 2023 Open Championship.
Cam Smith entered the week as the defending champion after his come-from-behind victory over Rory McIlroy at St. Andrews in 2022.
McIlroy claimed the Claret Jug at Hoylake nine years ago, his third of four (and most recent) major victories. Like Smith, McIlroy won in his last start, the Genesis Scottish Open.
“I was that one guy when they said no one can play all three. Well, I did it. Shocker.”
Patrick Reed hasn’t had much success at the Open Championship over the last two years. After missing the cut in 2021 at Royal St. George’s, Reed tied for 47th at St. Andrews in 2022.
However, he’s off to a great start this time around, posting an opening-round 1-under 70 at Royal Liverpool on Thursday morning.
“Oh, it was frustrating,” Reed said of his round. “Felt like I hit the ball pretty well for the most part. Left myself a lot of good looks, a lot of good spots. Just didn’t really make anything.
“The game feels good. The number is just not producing. That very easily should have been a 4-, 5-, 6-under par round, and I shoot 1-under par. I guess I could say it’s kind of one of my better first rounds I’ve had in a while. I’m having to play huge catch-up.”
Despite this week being the final men’s major championship until the Masters in April, it’s easy to look forward to September’s Ryder Cup. Reed has been a part of three United States vs. Europe battles, but missed out on the Whistling Straits blowout two years ago.
His move to the LIV Golf League has made his journey to earning a spot on Zach Johnson’s team much more difficult, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. Just look at LIV’s Brooks Koepka, who currently owns an automatic qualifying spot thanks to his performances in majors this year, including a win at the PGA Championship.
Reed understands what he has to do to earn a trip to Rome, and he’s trying to keep it as simple as possible.
“I mean, the only thing I can do on that is go out and play well this week, go out and have a chance hopefully to win the tournament on Sunday and put myself in that position where they have to think about it,” Reed said.
“That’s the thing; playing good golf takes care of everything. Takes care of these events, the majors, takes care of the Ryder Cups and all that. Just going and playing your way on, but playing well. Yeah, the guys that are part of LIV of course we’re on the 8-ball with that because of course we only have four tournaments that count. All we can do is continue playing solid golf and give yourself chances because winning trophies takes care of that.”
Patrick Reed of the United States reacts on the ninth during the morning fourball matches of the 2018 Ryder Cup at Le Golf National on September 29, 2018 in Paris, France. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
Reed mentioned that he has talked to Johnson this week, but the conversation wasn’t about golf.
The 2018 Masters champ was later asked about potentially playing on the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and LIV Golf League as the landscape of the sport is being transformed by the Tour-PIF framework agreement.
“I’ve always wanted to play and keep my European Tour status. I’m an honorary lifetime member. I take pride in that,” he said. “PGA Tour, yeah of course I’d love to play. The first year of LIV I would have played the minimum — I already played the minimum on the PGA Tour.
“I have played every event on LIV and I would have played the minimum on the European Tour. I was that one guy when they said no one can play all three. Well, I did it. Shocker.
“But that’s the thing. Where I play, who knows. If I play PGA Tour, LIV, or if I played European Tour. The biggest thing is there should be no reason why if we’ve qualified well we shouldn’t be able to. People say you can’t make your cake and eat it, as well, but how many PGA Tour players go over and play a European Tour for money? They’re getting appearance fees. They’re not showing up to play for competition. They’re getting paid to do that. It shouldn’t matter as long as you play the minimum and do what you’re supposed to, you play, and that’s fine.
“If you play the minimum on the European Tour and you earn enough points to keep your card, you should be able to play. If you play the minimum on the PGA Tour and you have enough FedExCup points to keep your card, more power to you.”
Reed will tee off at 7:31 a.m. ET Friday for his second round.
For the first time in nine years, all eyes are on Royal Liverpool for the 2023 Open Championship.
The last time we were in Hoylake, Rory McIlroy became the 2014 Champion Golfer of the Year after outlasting Rickie Fowler and Sergio Garcia. McIlroy, who finished third at St. Andrews last year, is coming off a stellar win at the Genesis Scottish Open, battling tough conditions down the stretch and birdieing the final two holes.
Cam Smith enters the week as the reigning champion thanks to his come-from-behind victory over McIlroy at the Old Course.
Before the action gets underway Thursday morning, here are Golfweek‘s picks to win and a few sleepers to keep an eye on.
HOYLAKE, England — As Rory McIlroy arrived on the scene at the 151st British Open at Royal Liverpool Golf Club on Monday, the memories of his victory here in 2014 came flooding back.
“Maybe not as much as you would think,” he said. “Over the past nine years a lot has happened in my life and I’ve played a lot of golf tournaments. But yeah, there’s a few things that I remember, and it’s nice to get back on to the golf course and sort of refamiliarize myself with it.”
Perhaps he remembered the goose bumps he felt during Saturday’s third round as he walked to the 18th green before rolling in a 10-foot eagle putt, his second in three holes. Ninety minutes earlier, McIlroy had been tied for the lead before his hot streak broke the championship wide open as he built a commanding six-stroke 54-hole lead.
“It wasn’t quite the championship, but it put one hand on the Claret Jug,” McIlroy said. “I just needed to go out Sunday and not do anything stupid. That Saturday afternoon was huge.”
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland celebrates with the Claret Jug after his two-stroke victory after the final round of The 143rd Open Championship at Royal Liverpool on July 20, 2014 in Hoylake, England. (Photo by Ross Kinnaird/R&A/R&A via Getty Images)
He claimed his third major championship a day later and the third leg of the career Grand Slam at age 25. He would go on to win the WGC Bridgestone Invitational and PGA Championship in back-to-back weeks a month later, yet, improbably, 33 major starts since that PGA at Valhalla, he’s still stuck at four Grand Slam titles.
The script seemed written for him to end his major drought at last year’s Open at St. Andrews but his putter cooled off on Sunday and Cameron Smith dashed past him to claim the Claret Jug. After his media obligations were over, McIlroy drove off in a golf cart crying on his wife’s shoulders. Just last month, at the U.S. Open, in what seemed like a bad case of déjà vu, McIlroy played another solid round but was unable to make a birdie after the opening hole, losing by a stroke to Wyndham Clark. More heartbreak for McIlroy, who has six top-10 finishes in his last seven major starts, including two seconds and a third. Yet he’s proven time and again that he’s willing to get off the proverbial mat and come back swinging.
“I would go through 100 Sundays like this to get my hands on another major championship,” he said after the U.S. Open disappointment.
When McIlroy etched his name on the Claret Jug in 2014, he was at the peak of his powers.
“When you know you’re in control of your swing, it makes everything a little bit easier,” he said back in 2014.
He’s been chasing that form ever since, and just might be on the verge of a similar run. McIlroy has finished in the top 10 in each of his last six starts, his longest such stretch since he had a streak of seven straight before the 2019-2020 season was suspended due to COVID-19. He made birdie on the final two holes Sunday to nip Robert MacIntyre and win the Genesis Scottish Open, his 24th PGA Tour title, and improved to No. 2 in the world.
“I don’t feel like it really proves anything,” McIlroy said on Sunday. “I don’t feel like I need to prove anything in my career, but it’s satisfying to know that for me that I can still do it.”
NBC’s Brad Faxon, who doubles as McIlroy’s putting coach, argued that there can be no better preparation for competing in a major than to duel in the heat of battle for a title ahead of one of the four weeks that matter most.
“I don’t buy that you can practice better for a major by staying home. I think this is the best thing he could have done. Is it better to finish fourth place than first? I don’t think so,” Faxon said.
But it is winning majors that McIlroy knows will determine how he is remembered in the game. Whenever someone asks him to reflect on his career to date, he always circles back to his 18-year-old self at Carnoustie making his Open debut in 2007.
“If you were to tell him in 15-16 years’ time, this is where you would be in your career I would’ve thought, oh my goodness, I’ve hit the lottery and all my dreams have come true,” McIlroy said in an interview with The Open’s website. “I’m really happy with what I’ve done, I’m proud of my achievements. Are there tournaments that I could have won that have slipped through my fingers? Yes. But I feel like I’ve won my fair share and I’ve become a much more consistent golfer and that will only give me more opportunities to win big tournaments and big championships.”
“When I look at the big picture, I’m really happy with my body of work,” he added, but putting his name on the Claret Jug in 2014 “feels a long time ago…Happy to have it on once but would love to put it on again.”
Can someone shock the golf world this week at Hoylake?
The world of golf has returned to Hoylake for the 2023 Open Championship at Royal Liverpool. Nine years ago, Rory McIlroy outlasted Rickie Fowler and Sergio Garcia on his way to becoming the 2014 Champion Golfer of the Year at this very venue.
McIlroy, who won the Genesis Scottish Open last week, was chased down by Cam Smith last season at St. Andrews and eventually finished third.
Here’s a look at the amateurs playing in the 2023 Open Championship.
The final men’s major championship of the year is here, as the 151st Open Championship takes center stage at Royal Liverpool in Hoylake, England.
With that comes the best players in the world vying to hoist the Claret Jug, but there’s another competition up for grabs: the title of low amateur.
There are six amateurs who will try to conquer Royal Liverpool this week. some of them are exempt by winning amateur championships while others played their way into the field. Three amateurs have won The Open before, with Bobby Jones winning three Claret Jugs during his incredible amateur career.
The final men’s major championship of the year is here, as the best players in the world have descended upon Royal Liverpool for the 2023 Open Championship.
The last time the world of golf was at Hoylake was nine years ago when Rory McIlroy earned the title of 2014 Champion Golfer of the Year. McIlroy enters the week in great form with six straight top-10 finishes including a win at last week’s Genesis Scottish Open.
The reigning Open champion, however, is Cam Smith, who chased down McIlroy at the Old Course last season. Smith also won in his last start at LIV Golf London.
Here are eight of the best groupings for the first two rounds of the Open Championship. All tee times listed are Eastern Standard Time (Hoylake is five hours ahead).
