Golf: 146th Open Championship: July 20-23. Royal Birkdale.

[OhCaptainMyCaptain]

Kuchar is such a legit nice dude.

 

[Dakota Sioux]

Spieth has lead the last two tour events he has played wire to wire.

He was one back of Kuch today after his bogey on 13

 

[c9777666]

Crazy to think how things flipped on 13th.

Obviously Speith salvaging bogey was huge, but Kuch only parred and could have had a 2 shot lead with 5 holes left.

 

[MrFunnyWobbl]

He was one back of Kuch today after his bogey on 13

Yes, but he lead after every round. Wire to wire.

 

[Raging Bull]

Two great major finishes this year and one boring one.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

That was so cool.

Still hard to process what I just watched.

 

[Dakota Sioux]

Wins before age 24:
Jordan 3 majors 11 tour wins
Jack 3 majors 8 tour wins
Tiger 2 majors 15 tour wins

 

[MrFunnyWobbl]

Wins before age 24:
Jordan 3 majors 11 tour wins
Jack 3 majors 8 tour wins
Tiger 2 majors 15 tour wins

Do we have to do this?

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Pretty similar, huh?

Gonna need a plaque on 13.

1960: Arnold Palmer wins the first two majors of the year, goes to Saint Andrews trying for the 3rd leg of the single season grand slam. Finishes one shot off the winning score. Palmer's next chance at redemption at the Open was in 1961 at Birkdale when he won his first Open.

2015: Jordan Spieth wins the first two majors of the year, goes to Saint Andrews trying for the 3rd leg of the single season grand slam. Finishes one shot off the winning score. Spieth doesn't win his first his first chance at redemption at the 2016 Open, but at the 2017 Open at Birkdale, he ........................

Pretty similar, if Jordan wins tomorrow. Only difference would be Palmer won on his first try after his shot at the first three of the year, would be Spieth's second shot.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

I still have that bet with Dogge over whether Jordan or Rory will win the Career Gland Slam first.

I don't think Quaill Hollow sets up that well for Jordan, but he's won two in a row, so maybe he's playing too well to lose. Rory could always win at Augusta, but I agree with Dr. John that he'll need a year where the course is very soft or a year where he knocks down every flag stick.

 

[Dakota Sioux]

Do we have to do this?

Do what? Putting what Jordan has done in perspective with 2 of the greats. Why does that bug you?

 

[Raging Bull]

The PGA should be a good one for Rory to get back into the win column, he's won there before.

 

[Hadoop]

So glad I tuned in to Speith's back nine.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

I've seen some fans complaining about Jordan's win, in regards to what happened on 13 and that it was unfair to Kuchar. Any thoughts on that?

I'm not sure there was actually anything that could've been done that differently, unless Jordan just went back to the tee and accepted a lower score.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Spieth has lead the last two tour events he has played wire to wire.

I saw a stat where Jordan has lead for more rounds at a major through like 70 events than Jack and Tiger combined, and it still wasn't even that close when you combine the times they lead. People claim that his overall win percentage is not high enough to sustain such a high major pace, but his major pace is incredibly good. He's 3 for 18 right now in his pro career, which would put him on a pace for 18 by age 50 if he continued that pace. Nicklaus had a tremendous career, but he was about the 1/6 number Jordan's currently on, and he started playing majors later. Jordan had two majors by the age Jack started his pro career, therefore he has a couple extra years to try to win majors, and had a head start. Maybe the major performances are just a good start, and he'll settle down on a lesser trajectory, like Rory did, although Jordan has always been on a better pace than Rory, but he has 3 1sts and 3 seconds at age 23. Thats not some nobody playing the best tournament of their career at age 22 and being on one of these "youngest to" lists because of one event. Thats comical for any stretch of golf for anyone to be 1st or 2nd in 1/3 of the events played, this is 18 events we are talking about, like a full season of events for some golfers.

Not to mention, he should still theoretically get better. People forget Jordan's only 23, one of the youngest players on the PGA Tour. The media thinks every other young golfer will improve. If Jordan keeps this level of iron and wedge play or even somewhere good and gets his putting back to where it was last year and the year before and its starting to get there the last two events, he should keep a very high pace. I'm so tired of reading stuff like Dustin Johnson's a more talented golfer, read it again today from an SI writer. DJ's better with literally only one club in the bag. How does that make him more talented? I can't stand when people make it seem like he's just some guy who makes putts and does nothing else well. Its so false. I think he has TW's level of talent with 13 clubs in his bag, if you consider how he's ranked statistically in some of these categories in his career, he just hasn't consistently been at the top in all of them yet. He's not overall as talented as Tiger though because the 14th is pretty important and Tiger was the longest hitter in his prime and pretty straight for a few years, but Jordan's game is very well-rounded. You don't lead SG Approach the Green on the tour at age 23, and not have that area as a major strength. No one doubts that he's one of the best putters and short game players in the world. And even the driver, this is the first year outside the top 100, so its not awful, just not comparatively good for what you'd expect of a top player. There have been some years where he drove it really solidly. I still think he could be an average or slightly better driver of the golf ball, if he continues to work on it. Just not been a good year in that category, and he's probably never gonna be the best driver because he's not one of the few longest hitters on the tour.

 

[MrFunnyWobbl]

I saw a stat where Jordan has lead for more rounds at a major through like 70 events than Jack and Tiger combined, and it still wasn't even that close when you combine the times they lead. People claim that his overall win percentage is not high enough to sustain such a high major pace, but his major pace is incredibly good. He's 3 for 18 right now in his pro career, which would put him on a pace for 18 by age 50 if he continued that pace. Nicklaus had a tremendous career, but he was about the 1/6 number Jordan's currently on, and he started playing majors later. Jordan had two majors by the age Jack started his pro career, therefore he has a couple extra years to try to win majors, and had a head start. Maybe the major performances are just a good start, and he'll settle down on a lesser trajectory, like Rory did, although Jordan has always been on a better pace than Rory, but he has 3 1sts and 3 seconds at age 23. Thats not some nobody playing the best tournament of their career at age 22 and being on one of these "youngest to" lists because of one event. Thats comical for any stretch of golf for anyone to be 1st or 2nd in 1/3 of the events played, this is 18 events we are talking about, like a full season of events for some golfers.

Not to mention, he should still theoretically get better. People forget Jordan's only 23, one of the youngest players on the PGA Tour. The media thinks every other young golfer will improve. If Jordan keeps this level of iron and wedge play or even somewhere good and gets his putting back to where it was last year and the year before and its starting to get there the last two events, he should keep a very high pace. I'm so tired of reading stuff like Dustin Johnson's a more talented golfer, read it again today from an SI writer. DJ's better with literally only one club in the bag. How does that make him more talented? I can't stand when people make it seem like he's just some guy who makes putts and does nothing else well. Its so false. I think he has TW's level of talent with 13 clubs in his bag, if you consider how he's ranked statistically in some of these categories in his career, he just hasn't consistently been at the top in all of them yet. He's not overall as talented as Tiger though because the 14th is pretty important and Tiger was the longest hitter in his prime and pretty straight for a few years, but Jordan's game is very well-rounded. You don't lead SG Approach the Green on the tour at age 23, and not have that area as a major strength. No one doubts that he's one of the best putters and short game players in the world. And even the driver, this is the first year outside the top 100, so its not awful, just not comparatively good for what you'd expect of a top player. There have been some years where he drove it really solidly. I still think he could be an average or slightly better driver of the golf ball, if he continues to work on it. Just not been a good year in that category, and he's probably never gonna be the best driver because he's not one of the few longest hitters on the tour.

Yeah I would be inclined to agree, but I still think it is unnecessary to always compare everyone against Tiger. This seems to be the only sport where every achievement is compared against the GOAT. Also, move past people tooting DJ's horn. DJ only got good after like what.. 8 seasons on tour?

 

[Raging Bull]

I've seen some fans complaining about Jordan's win, in regards to what happened on 13 and that it was unfair to Kuchar. Any thoughts on that?

I'm not sure there was actually anything that could've been done that differently, unless Jordan just went back to the tee and accepted a lower score.

Unfair is the wrong word, more like unfortunate. Jordan didn't do anything wrong but it's hard to believe that didn't affect Kuchar in some way.

 

[Dakota Sioux]

I saw a stat where Jordan has lead for more rounds at a major through like 70 events than Jack and Tiger combined, and it still wasn't even that close when you combine the times they lead. People claim that his overall win percentage is not high enough to sustain such a high major pace, but his major pace is incredibly good. He's 3 for 18 right now in his pro career, which would put him on a pace for 18 by age 50 if he continued that pace. Nicklaus had a tremendous career, but he was about the 1/6 number Jordan's currently on, and he started playing majors later. Jordan had two majors by the age Jack started his pro career, therefore he has a couple extra years to try to win majors, and had a head start. Maybe the major performances are just a good start, and he'll settle down on a lesser trajectory, like Rory did, although Jordan has always been on a better pace than Rory, but he has 3 1sts and 3 seconds at age 23. Thats not some nobody playing the best tournament of their career at age 22 and being on one of these "youngest to" lists because of one event. Thats comical for any stretch of golf for anyone to be 1st or 2nd in 1/3 of the events played, this is 18 events we are talking about, like a full season of events for some golfers.

Not to mention, he should still theoretically get better. People forget Jordan's only 23, one of the youngest players on the PGA Tour. The media thinks every other young golfer will improve. If Jordan keeps this level of iron and wedge play or even somewhere good and gets his putting back to where it was last year and the year before and its starting to get there the last two events, he should keep a very high pace. I'm so tired of reading stuff like Dustin Johnson's a more talented golfer, read it again today from an SI writer. DJ's better with literally only one club in the bag. How does that make him more talented? I can't stand when people make it seem like he's just some guy who makes putts and does nothing else well. Its so false. I think he has TW's level of talent with 13 clubs in his bag, if you consider how he's ranked statistically in some of these categories in his career, he just hasn't consistently been at the top in all of them yet. He's not overall as talented as Tiger though because the 14th is pretty important and Tiger was the longest hitter in his prime and pretty straight for a few years, but Jordan's game is very well-rounded. You don't lead SG Approach the Green on the tour at age 23, and not have that area as a major strength. No one doubts that he's one of the best putters and short game players in the world. And even the driver, this is the first year outside the top 100, so its not awful, just not comparatively good for what you'd expect of a top player. There have been some years where he drove it really solidly. I still think he could be an average or slightly better driver of the golf ball, if he continues to work on it. Just not been a good year in that category, and he's probably never gonna be the best driver because he's not one of the few longest hitters on the tour.

Excellent post PB. I do think Jacks record of 18 majors will still be safe once Jordan is done. Just think there will be more and more young guys coming up during his playing career that won't allow him to reach 18 majors. He may challenge Tigers 14 though.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Yeah I would be inclined to agree, but I still think it is unnecessary to always compare everyone against Tiger. This seems to be the only sport where every achievement is compared against the GOAT. Also, move past people tooting DJ's horn. DJ only got good after like what.. 8 seasons on tour?

Excellent post PB. I do think Jacks record of 18 majors will still be safe once Jordan is done. Just think there will be more and more young guys coming up during his playing career that won't allow him to reach 18 majors. He may challenge Tigers 14 though.

Yeah, who knows, I really have no clue on exact numbers, I just thought it would be an interesting to have a look at the percentages. Really impossible to know whether it continues, gets better or gets worse.

One thing I'm not so sure about though is that golf's depth will effect anything. I hear this argument all the time, and I just don't agree. Look at this round for example, Matt Kuchar did absolutely nothing wrong, played a good round, he's had a very nice career, but the best players win in these types of situations. You just know that nearly every time they battle for a tournament with the "good" players, they are going to win. Thats sports, the best athletes usually pull out the wins when its close. So unless there are a lot more McIlroy's, Spieth's coming through who are their equal or close to it, I'm not so sure the Kuchar types will have much of an effect on their major totals. I think its like 95% based on themselves, whether they win majors or not.

 

[spintheblackcircle]

The PGA should be a good one for Rory to get back into the win column, he's won there before.

I think he either wins or blows up. I agree that he is going to be plenty motivated, if he can keep his state of mind like the last 65 holes, I like his chances.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Rory owns Quail Hollow. I expect him to win the PGA.

We could get the first battle in the McIlroy-Spieth rivalry though, as both are on good form heading into that event.

 

[Kyle McMahon]

I've seen some fans complaining about Jordan's win, in regards to what happened on 13 and that it was unfair to Kuchar. Any thoughts on that?

I'm not sure there was actually anything that could've been done that differently, unless Jordan just went back to the tee and accepted a lower score.

Speith should have been penalized for slow play. Took way, way, way too long. Either head back to the tee or drop and hit it. One minute of deliberation should be as long as it takes. 20 minutes? That was a complete farce. This won't be a popular opinion, but considering he was already warned for slow play, I'd have DQ'ed him.

 

[MrFunnyWobbl]

Rory owns Quail Hollow. I expect him to win the PGA.

We could get the first battle in the McIlroy-Spieth rivalry though, as both are on good form heading into that event.

Yeah, this. The guy shot an 11 under 61 there in 2015. Expecting Rory to dominate. Though I believe Rickie has good history there on top of his win.

Speith should have been penalized for slow play. Took way, way, way too long. Either head back to the tee or drop and hit it. One minute of deliberation should be as long as it takes. 20 minutes? That was a complete farce. This won't be a popular opinion, but considering he was already warned for slow play, I'd have DQ'ed him.

DQ'ing him on the back nine of a major championship? Yeah that would've been something else. Maybe I can see a penalty... but a DQ? please

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

This here is what I was telling everyone about. This viewpoint is out there.

Speith should have been penalized for slow play. Took way, way, way too long. Either head back to the tee or drop and hit it. One minute of deliberation should be as long as it takes. 20 minutes? That was a complete farce. This won't be a popular opinion, but considering he was already warned for slow play, I'd have DQ'ed him.

There are so many things wrong with this.

1. You are conflating two issues. This is not slow play, a rules situation is completely separate from how quickly or slowly someone is playing, and has always been treated in golf as such. The R&A is perfectly capable of handing something like this, if it was an issue. They warned the group to pick up the pace earlier in the round and if they deemed what happened on hole 13 was a problem towards that, they would've been on the clock. But they weren't, so they clearly separated the two issues.

2. Those are two of the options, but that wasn't the only option. The range was in play, and gave him his best chance to make a 4 or 5 as the contact out of the rough would not be the best and going back to the tee is farther from the hole to be playing shot 3 from a tee. If you actually assess what happened, most of the time that elapsed was because the R&A was unprepared for a ball to be played from over there, despite deeming that to be in bounds from the start of the Championship, so thats poor preparation on their part. They had a big TV camera in the sky that they had to move, they had to move the gallery, the walking rules official was in over his head and had to call in his boss because he was unable to deal with it. You can blame Spieth for playing slowly during the round, but what happened on 13 was not about him playing slowly, he knew his options quickly and it would've taken a much shorter time if the R&A was better prepared. The only things Spieth took any time on himself were quickly assessing his options, the yardage, and taking relief from the TIO. That itself is probably 10 minutes, all the waiting around is mostly on the other stuff that comes with this situation, which adds at least the same amount of time to it.

3. Its no farce at all. The rules were followed completely to the letter of the law, the governing body doesn't consider the wait to have anything to do with slow play by the player. You essentially added a new rule into the sport, of which I think would have next to no support to ever be instituted. If golf had a shot clock that completely misses all context of the situation with two strikes and you're out, there would be less people playing it and the sport's impact on professional sports would be significantly less.

 

[Hadoop]

If you're wondering what happened on 13, read this:

http://golfweek.com/2017/07/23/jordan-spieths-surreal-bogey-at-13-british-open-insider-view/


I like this part too:

http://golfweek.com/2017/07/23/why-jordan-spieth-told-caddie-go-get-that-after-making-crucial-eagle-at-british-open/


This is the stuff superstars are made of.