Troon, Scotland. The Open provides an ongoing passageway. Honoring yesterday certainly while celebrating today with a clear focus for the future ahead.
The Open’s traditions lie at the core of golf’s oldest major event dating back to 1860.
That steadfast resolve manifests itself with vintage links courses as the stage for the golf. Demonstrating a commitment to ensuring a remembrance to how the game first originated and how its maintenance in going forward is an essential element in defining lasting greatness.
While three of the four major events are played in the USA the finale is played where the seeds of golf were first planted.
The cornerstone of links golf is combining twin essential ingredients. Playing shots through the air and along the ground. The modern game at the elite level is now played mostly in the air. Players have become accustomed to and expect near total certainty as an end result. Links golf does not eschew the bounce of the ball – it encourages it.
The Scots are famous in saying the game of golf only starts when the ball hits the ground. Calculating how the ball reacts when in contact with the turf is the sine qua non of links golf.
Some players embrace that challenge – others forever loathe it.
When the word “great” is contemplated for placement in front of a golfer’s name it is mandatory that at some point in their careers they have placed their hands around the famed Claret Jug as “champion golfer of the year.”
Phil Mickelson’s surprising victory in 2013 with a career defining final round 66 at Muirfield elevated him to another level. Mickelson himself frankly admitted he did not know if he had the needed skillset to climb the high mountain that is links golf.
Winning in the USA alone does not provide an elevated stature. A world class player must prove a global intersection. That confirmation comes from realizing the inner character one must possess that links golf demands.
The 1966 win by Jack Nicklaus at Muirfield earned the Golden Bear a career grand slam. The win was so meaningful he eventually named his own course in Ohio – Muirfield Village.
Bad bounces are a routine matter in links golf and a constant irritant. Some will bemoan randomness and curse the madness of it. Truly elite players see such outcomes as a mental and physical test in establishing resolve to push ahead and demonstrate an iron will in overcoming them.
The spirit of links golf comes alive when players are adroitly capable of navigating themselves throughout the round and of synergizing mental and physical attributes.
The stunning achievement by Tiger Woods in winning at St. Andrews in 2000 was elevated by his uncanny ability to escape the clutches of any of the fearsome bunkers at the Old Course.
Sadly, power golf has become the dominant trait at the elite level. Precision commands far less billing. Links golf cannot be brow beaten by the hulking physical specimens one sees today. Shaping shots from side-to-side and with the requisite trajectory is still paramount.
Flashback to 2009 when a 59-year-old Tom Watson nearly captured a record-tying 6th Open victory at Turnberry, nearly replicating his success from 32 years prior when vanquishing Jack Nicklaus in their epic “duel in the sun” battle royale.
Watson deftly used his keen understanding of links golf and navigated all but the last of the 71 holes played. An untimely bounce on his approach at the 18th was followed by an aging putting stroke kept him from accomplishing the greatest achievement in the sport’s long and storied history.
Links golf places Mother Nature at the center of the storyline. The unpredictable wind conditions can be docile at times and then just as quickly howl with uncompromising viciousness. That cruel circumstance impacted Woods in 2002 when seeking to win at Muirfield after winning the first two majors. The 15-time major winner was derailed by a cold driving rain producing his highest score at that time with an 81.
Rain can lash out and temperatures can range from moments where basking in glorious sunshine is present and then plummeting with a chill that seeps into the bones.
Links golf takes center stage this week with the 152nd Open at Royal Troon. The last time the club hosted the event was 2016 and featured an epic back-and-forth between eventual winner Henrik Stenson and Mickelson.
The golfer demonstrating the most consistent effort will be proclaimed the “champion golfer of the year.” However, the lasting star is links golf and what it has meant to all those who have competed from the times of Old Tom Morris to Scottie Scheffler and present company today.
Sadly, the intersection with links golf is only for the briefest of moments. The professional golf scene is a wandering circus show that traverses elsewhere with money the driving ingredient.
Such host sites are far too often putting contests to see who can make the most birdies with nary a meaningful challenge. This week’s contest will force players to invent the needed shots in their attempt to conquer such compelling holes as the Postage Stamp 8th and the Railway 11th. The holy grail of shotmaking commands center stage.
The lore of links golf is a constant reminder in the magical elements it expects for those seeking lasting glory.
While only one man can hoist the Claret Jug – the core of links golf will always remain the defining ingredient of what makes The Open Championship the most global of all events played.
The history books await.
That date with destiny starts with Thursday’s first round.
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