Tag: The Open Championship

Do you remember a dude named Phil Mickelson?

Lefty is back again. But not really.

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The 150th Open Championship kicks off Thursday morning at the historic Old Course at St. Andrews and one of the men who will be teeing it up is an older fella out of California who has won this major before.

The dude I’m talking about goes by the name Phil Mickelson. He’s a lefty who has won a bunch of times on Tour and has six major championship victories on his resume.

Lefty, as fans have called him for years, has been a shell of himself since he ripped into the PGA Tour in February. He was apparently mad at the Tour for making him $94,955,060 in career earnings and wanted to go join a Saudi-backed league ran by people who he called “scary (expletives)” to teach the PGA Tour a lesson, or whatever.

Mickelson went into hiding after making those comments and wasn’t seen again until he teed it up in LIV Golf’s first event last month in London, where he shot 10-over in the three-round exhibition and finished tied for 33rd place (out of 48 players).

But in all honesty, he’s still very much in hiding and has nobody to blame for that but himself.

This should have been another week to celebrate Mickelson for all that he’s accomplished in this game, which has been a lot. This should have been another week of Lefty making funny videos on social media about hitting high bombs at the Old Course. This should have been another week of wondering if the 2021 PGA champ could somehow win another major in his 50s.

Instead, he skipped out on the champions dinner last night, didn’t play in the awesome Celebration of Champions event on Monday, and will tee off at 2:30 a.m. ET tomorrow with Lucas Herbert and Kurt Kitayama and be done with his first round before most of us are even awake.

Oh, and his only two Instagram posts in the last 20 weeks have been two statements he made about his comments and about his decision to join LIV.

Mickelson will likely miss the cut this week. His golf game has been terrible since his return. After that 10-over finish in London he went 11-over through two rounds at the U.S. Open and missed the cut. Then he went to Portland for another LIV event and finished in a tie for 40th place at 10-over.

None of that is very good, at all.

It’s too bad Phil had to take the path he took. It’s too bad he couldn’t have had fun with all the other past champions last night. It’s too bad he has continued to make empty statements about the people who run LIV Golf.

This is a very special week for golf as we all celebrate the 150th playing of The Open Championship at the home of golf – St. Andrews. The days leading up to the tournament have felt so special, with players taking it all in and legends of the game standing right there with them.

Mickelson, however, has been in the background all week, a place he and his big personality has never liked to be. But it’s a place he sent himself to and it’s a place he’ll likely remain for quite some time.

Quick hits: Panthers punter sells jersey number to Baker Mayfield… KD asks fans about their legacies… Max Homa’s perfect Tiger Woods tweet… And more. 

(Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

– Panthers punter Johnny Hecker had a great reaction after selling his jersey number to Baker Mayfield.

– NBA fans had a lot of funny answers to Kevin Durant’s tweet about adding to your legacy.

– Max Homa had the perfect tweet after he found out he’ll be playing with Tiger Woods in the first two rounds of The Open and golf fans loved it.

– Charles Curtis looks at 9 wild possible Donovan Mitchell trades.

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Tiger Woods is a massive sportsbook liability at The Open

The public is hammering Tiger.

Tiger Woods is less than 100%, but that isn’t deterring bettors from putting money on the GOAT’s chances at The Open Championship this weekend.

Despite +7000 odds at Tipico Sportsbook to win the event — the 25th-shortest in the field — Woods represents 10% of the book’s bets on outright winners. If he were to pull it off, bettors would rake in a whole lot of dough. His +1500 odds to finish in the top five are tied for 28th, and his odds to finish in the top 20 can be had at +300. Those are the longest odds out of his group for the first two rounds, which includes Matt Fitzpatrick and Max Homa, who is a noted Woods fan.

At BetMGM, Woods is the single biggest liability, with 5.7% of tickets and 6.7% of handle on him.

As noted in the tweet from Cover reporter Geoff Zochodne, BetMGM is comfortable with the amount of money pouring in on Woods because of his condition. The last time we saw Woods in real competition was the PGA Championship in May, when he withdrew after the third round.

Woods skipped the U.S. Open last month to give his leg ample time to recover before this weekend, but he remains a longshot to come out on top. Rory McIlroy is the betting favorite to win, with +900 odds on Tipico, followed by Jordan Spieth, Scottie Scheffler, Jon Rahm and Xander Schauffele all at +1500.

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14 awesome photos of Tiger Woods playing a practice round at the British Open

Tiger Woods had a fun little Sunday at the home of golf.

Tiger Woods has spent the weekend living every golfer’s dream – playing a few rounds of golf at St. Andrews in Edinburgh, Scotland.

The GOAT, of course, is getting ready to play in the British Open, which starts Thursday at St. Andrews, which is the home of golf and is looking so good leading up to the 150th Open Championship.

Tiger has won the Open Championship three times, including in 2005 when it was played at… St. Andrews.

Tiger played Sunday with his good buddy Justin Thomas, who won the PGA Championship in May. Let’s take a look at some cool photos from his practice round.

July Sports Betting Calendar: NBA Summer League, The Open Championship and MLB All-Star Week

No NBA or NHL playoffs? No problem.

If you thought the June conclusion of the 2021-22 NBA and NHL seasons meant less to bet on in July, you thought wrong. Not only do the MLB and WNBA seasons roll along this month, leading into their respective All-Star breaks — which includes the Home Run Derby — but the NBA keeps the momentum going too with summer league action.

The solo sports also keep things interesting, as Wimbledon crowns its singles champions on July 9 and 10, and The Open Championship is competed in the following days.

Those are just a few of the highlights in a month filled with them. Here’s a look at all of that and more.

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Players angry, consider skipping Open Championship after R&A hands down strict COVID regulations

Some are considering a boycott of the prestigious event and others are simply miffed by the regulations.

A series of strict COVID protocols has drawn the ire of some PGA Tour players leading into next month’s Open Championship, with some considering a boycott of the prestigious event and others simply miffed by the regulations.

The 149th Open is scheduled to be held at Royal St George’s starting on July 15th, but the R&A sent players a long list of specific mandates that will alter the accommodation plans many had arranged.

One player, who spoke with Golfweek under the condition of anonymity, said he strongly considered skipping the major, which was canceled in 2020. Shane Lowry has had the Claret Jug for 22 months now after he won his lone major at Royal Portrush in Ireland in 2019.

“I’m going to go because it’s the British Open. But I certainly thought about not going. I just can’t believe with the numerous examples of successfully run safely held tournaments and majors here that they can’t figure out a better situation,” the player said.

“If someone on your plane tests positive on way to the British and is sitting anywhere close to you, you’re out no questions asked, no matter if you’re vaccinated. It’s aggravating that they deem the tournament safe enough for 32,000 fans a day to attend, but won’t let a player’s wife, children travel and watch the tournament, nor will they even let players visit a restaurant without threat of disqualification.”

According to the note sent by the R&A to players, caddies and coaches, those on different player teams will not be allowed to stay together, which makes things difficult for many who travel in support of players.

“The up-to-four persons [regulation] within private rental accommodation must be included within the players’ own support group … For example, multiple players or multiple caddies are not permitted to share private self accommodation,” the R&A email read. “We recognise this is difficult for many that used to share during the championship but the Government’s strict contact tracing requirements mean that this will not be possible in 2021.

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“No-one outside the accommodation ‘buddy’ group is permitted to visit other self-catering private accommodation. This would be a breach of the Covid-19 protocols and could lead to withdrawal from the championship.”

The potential for being ousted from the tournament has players angry, especially in light of the eased restrictions for patrons. The R&A recently announced that up to 32,000 fans will be able to attend each day at Royal St George’s — that’s 80 percent of the typical 40,000 spectators allowed on the site.

“They care more about the revenue of the fans buying beers than they do about the actual people participating in the tournament,” said the player who spoke with Golfweek. “Any fan can go to a grocery store or a restaurant and we can’t. Does that make sense? And I’m vaccinated. How does that make sense?”

Coach Pete Cowen, who works with Rory McIlroy and Brooks Koepka as well as others, said that he’ll be forced to find a new place to stay.

“I was due to stay with a few of the caddies in a huge RV just by the practice range,” he told Telegraph Sport in a story that was printed in the Guardian. “It wasn’t cheap, but it seemed the wisest option in the current climate. But we’ve just found out that we are not allowed to stay together because it breaks the Government protocols.”

Cowen echoed the comments from the player who spoke with Golfweek.

“There are going to be 32,000 fans allowed in every day and they’re saying we can’t stay in anything other than the dedicated hotels — most of which are already sold out — because we’d be mixing with the public,” Cowen said. “And we can’t stay together, like we have on the PGA Tour for the last year. We have all been vaccinated and will have been tested before we are allowed in. This ‘bubble’ we have created between ourselves has produced no problems at all.

“It makes no sense at all when there will be 60,000 at Wembley, 140,000 at Silverstone (race track) and all those at Wimbledon on the weekend before — sitting next to each other. I suppose I should be grateful I am going at all, as initially the wording of the regs made me believe instructors would be banned.”

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Using only 11 clubs, pro golfer wins Japan Tour event, earns spot in Open Championship

Playing in a qualifying event for the Open Championship, Juvic Pagunsan, 43, carries his own bag and walks away with the win.

Juvic Pagunsan, who hails from the Philippines and at age 43, has spent the last decade on the Japan Tour, will step up onto a much bigger stage in July.

Pagunsan earned a spot in the Open Championship at Royal St. George’s in England after winning a tournament using just 11 clubs.

The tournament was the Mizuno Open, also known as “The Gateway to the Open.” The reason he used just 11 clubs is that due to COVID precautions, caddies are only allowed to follow their golfers in carts so Pagunsan lightened his bag a bit and went on to win his first Japan Tour title.

“It has been 10 years, 10 years. It took me 10 years to win. Now I am relieved,” he said after his round. “I get to go to UK. I can go again. Could I get my visa? How is the quarantine measures?”

The top two finishers in the tournament, in fact, earned invitations to the Open, with Pagunsan also receiving a trophy similar to the Claret Jug, although smaller.

He picked a good time to win. The Gateway Open has become an important qualifying event.

Every year, officials from R&A travels all the way to Mizuno Open with the Claret Jug, and it will be presented in a glass casings with lock and security guard’s watch at the 1st tee box. Winner of the Mizuno Open will be presented with a very similar type of the trophy. Also, the invitation to The Open will be given to the top 2 players.

How did Pagunsan choose the 11 clubs? He took out his 3, 4, 6, and 8 irons and loaded up on wedges, keeping his pitching wedge and adding 50, 52, 58-degree clubs. He also kept his 19-degree utility club in the bag, which he says he hit 254 yards for his second shot on the 6th hole. When Pagunsan got to the 198-yard 16th, he said since he didn’t have his 6 he used his 7 and “hit it a little stronger.”

Pagunsan played in the Open Championship seven years ago, shooting 76-74 to miss the cut by three at Royal Liverpool, as Rory McIlroy won his first and only Claret Jug.

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R&A’s Martin Slumbers has ‘cautious optimism’ the Open Championship will be played in July

R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers said a “rigorous scenario-planning exercise” is underway for this July’s Open Championship.

Royal and Ancient chief executive Martin Slumbers indicated that there is “cautious optimism” that the British Open will be played July 15-18 at Royal St. George’s after it was canceled last year.

According to a report from the Associated Press, Slumbers said a “rigorous scenario-planning exercise” is underway.

“We continue to plan for a full-scale championship,” Slumbers said. “But [we] also have robust plans in place for a reduced capacity or behind-closed-doors model.”

This comes after a report that quoted Slumbers as saying he “strongly believes” the tournament needs fans to be in attendance and that he’ll see how the limited numbers at April’s Masters Tournament goes.

There is currently a lockdown in place in England amid the rollout of a vaccination program.

The R&A previously confirmed the dates and venues for the Open Championship in 2023 and 2024. The 151st Open will be played at Royal Liverpool from July 20-23, 2023 while Royal Troon will host the following championship July 18-21, 2024.

The announcement comes after the R&A juggled the rescheduling of this year’s lost Open Championship. The 149th Open remains on the books at Royal St. George’s and will be played July 15-18, 2021. That allows the 150th Open Championship to still take place at St. Andrews in 2022.

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“There are undoubtedly many more pressing concerns facing people at the moment,” Slumbers said. “We believe that seeing the world’s best men’s golfers in action at golf’s original championship will bring some much-needed joy and excitement back into our lives this summer.”

Meanwhile, the 2022 Open Championship will mark the 150th such event and although tickets have just gone on sale, they’re part of “hospitality experiences” released by the R&A — and they aren’t cheap.

In fact, the top-tiered weeklong tickets run about $11,500, after taxes are added.

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Report: President Trump asked Jets co-owner Woody Johnson to help steer British Open to his property

According to a new report, President Trump asked New York Jets co-owner Woody Johnson to help steer the Open to Trump Turnberry.

According to a new report from the New York Times, President Trump asked New York Jets co-owner Woody Johnson — now the American ambassador to the United Kingdom — to help steer the British Open to one of the president’s resort properties. And although Johnson did reach out to a dignitary, nothing came from the interaction.

Johnson, a co-founder of the Johnson & Johnson empire, told “multiple colleagues in February 2018” that Trump asked him to see if the British government could help direct the tournament to the Trump Turnberry resort, according to the article published on Tuesday.

The story insisted that Lewis Lukens, a deputy to Johnson, advised against any interference, saying the move would violate ethics policies, yet Johnson did so anyway, asking the secretary of state for Scotland, David Mundell, if he could help.

Host sites for the tournament are decided by the R&A, and have already been locked in through 2024. Royal St George’s Golf Club will host in 2021, followed by the Old Course at St Andrews in 2022, Royal Liverpool Golf Club in 2023 and Royal Troon Golf Club in 2024. These dates were all pushed back after the 2020 Open Championship was canceled due to the coronavirus.

Turnberry had previously hosted four Open Championships, seven Senior Open Championships, a Women’s British Open and a Walker Cup before the Trump Organization acquired Turnberry in April 2014 for a reported $63 million from Dubai-based Leisurecorp. At the time, Trump, pre-presidential run, said, “Our aim is to make it the finest golf hotel in the world.”

Turnberry closed in March due to the ongoing global coronavirus pandemic but reopened the golf course July 3, and the hotel is reopening this week.

In April, the Trump Organization applied for bailout money from Ireland and Scotland to help cover salaries for employees at its three golf resorts in Europe because of the coronavirus lockdown, according to a report by Bloomberg.

According to the report by the Times, Mundell said it was inappropriate to go into detail about his discussions with Johnson, but Lukens was apparently so concerned about the issue that he emailed officials at the State Department to tell them.

Lukens was relieved of his duties a few months later.

Turnberry was listed as a possible site when discussions arose in 2018, but then-R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers seemed to suggest the four-time Open Championship course was never a viable option as an upcoming venue with Trump sitting in the White House.

“We have criteria for which courses we want to go to, and part of that is macroeconomics,” Slumber said. “Clearly part of that macroeconomics is about politics.”

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Claret Jug from Greg Norman’s 1986 Open win up for auction

A Claret Jug from Norman’s 1986 win at The Open Championship is available for those willing to dig into their pocketbooks.

It looks like Greg Norman’s Colorado home isn’t the only thing of value tied to the Shark that’s been put on the market of late.

After learning that Norman had listed his 11,900-acre Colorado ranch, called Seven Lakes, for $40 million, now comes word that a Claret Jug from Norman’s 1986 win at The Open Championship is also available for those willing to dig into their pocketbooks.

The jug, which was likely created for another member of Norman’s entourage since players are allowed to have more than one made, was selling for just over $61,000 as of Friday evening. The auction closes on Saturday night at 7 p.m. ET.

According to Bob Zafian of Golden Age Golf Auctions, these things do come through from time to time.

This specific Claret Jug was auctioned through Zafian’s group back in 2018 for over $76,000 and he expects the piece to get closer to $85,000 this time through.

“But you just don’t know,” Zafian said. “Things things just don’t come up too often and sometimes, they take off.”

In terms of Norman’s home, the 13,907 square-foot home, located in Meeker, Colorado, sits next to the White River, one of the largest elk and deer migrations in the Rocky Mountains.

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R&A CEO dismisses report that British Open is canceled, says it’s still considering options

“We are continuing to work through our options for The Open this year, including postponement.”

Late Wednesday evening Golf Digest ran a story that cited sources saying that the R&A was set to cancel The Open Championship this summer due to COVID-19, a novel strain of the coronavirus.

On Thursday, the R&A issued a statement disputing that. While the statement didn’t rule out cancelation, R&A CEO Martin Slumbers wrote that “We are continuing to work through our options for The Open this year, including postponement.”

This tracks more with what we’d expect regarding a tournament that isn’t scheduled to be held until July. While I’m certain that cancelation is on the table, it seems strange that the R&A would make such a huge decision without knowing more.

Do I think the tournament will happen in July? Right now, I’d guess not. But August, if they can make it work with the schedule? Why not try? Think how much the world has changed in the last two and a half weeks. It’d be silly to try and predict what will be happening in July or August, even if cancelation looks possible or even likely.

The full statement:

“We are continuing to work through our options for The Open this year, including postponement. Due to a range of external factors, that process is taking some time to resolve. We are well aware of the importance of being able to give clear guidance to fans, players and everyone involved and are working to resolve this as soon as we can. We will give a further update as soon as we are in a position to do so and thank everyone for their support and understanding in this challenging situation.”

We’ll update the story as we learn more.

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