DAY ONE
Tommy can you hear me? Fairway Jesus himself, Tommy Fleetwood, showed up and showed out in his homeland on the first day of The Open Championship. His three consecutive birdies, starting on the 14th, had him finishing with a 66 and a share of the lead. Perhaps the winner this week will be some Saxon mother’s son.
Joining Fleetwood at (-5) is Emiliano Grillo, a journeyman from Argentina who has plugged away on tour to middling success. He vaulted to the top of the leaderboard today by carding 31 on the back nine, culminating with a 51-foot putt on the 18th for birdie. A win this week would see him gain fame following in the footsteps of fellow countryman Roberto De Vicenzo who captured the Claret Jug at this very course, Royal Liverpool, in 1967.
The likes of Max Homa and Jordan Spieth lurk just a few strokes behind. Brooks Koepka is within shouting distance, just four shots back. Also at (-1) is the Norwegian who would, Viktor Hovland. Vicky had a bird squarely shit on his hand today as he prepared an approach from the fairway. They say it’s good luck; only time will tell.
Rory and Rahm both had ho-hum days but are surely not out of it yet.
While the golf was good and the scores tight, the real star of the show was the course. Royal Liverpool was lush. The verdant fairways rippled along under the creamy English sun, making today's viewing a thing of beauty.
But come the weekend, the golfers may get a tan from standing in the English rain. Perhaps Royal Liverpool may show some of its teeth. With tee times flipped for Friday, there are sure to be some interesting developments by this time tomorrow.
DAY TWO
The wind was up early and so was Brian Harman. The wee lefty from Georgia started off hot and never looked back, shooting a 65 which has him firmly in the lead. Can he hang on for dear life?
Jordan Spieth got off to a rollicking start, carding three birdies on the front nine. Sadly, those three birdies were followed by three bogeys on the back which leaves him at (-2) where he started the day and eight shots off the lead.
Lamprecht? More like shipwrecked. The 6’8” amateur from South Africa had a share of the lead going into Friday’s round but now is basically out of it; thirteen shots off the lead.
Rory rolled in a birdie on the first hole of his second round, but his slouch irons have left him in the lurch. Although his week is far from over, he will really need to turn it on to make some magic happen.
As is the case at The Open every year, the weather remains a story. The rains are setting in for Saturday and Sunday and paired with some wind are sure to factor in.
DAY THREE
Brian Harman was put on notice early. Jon Rahm came out firing. Rahm’s 63 was turned in just before the leaders teed off. The Spaniard is most certainly within shouting distance.
Photo: Oisin Keniry/ Getty Images
Rory started his day with a stripe show, going three under through his opening nine holes. He would later cool off, but still shot -2 on the day. He is nine shots off of the lead going into Sunday.
Tommy Lad didn’t shit the bed but, he didn’t do much better. A round of even par on Saturday will not cut it when contending for a major championship.
But, the real story is the man himself, Brian Harman. He’s had a respectable, if not spectacular, career on tour and this week could be his crowning achievement. He surely could’ve let the moment be bigger than he is, but not today. His round of 69 has him five strokes ahead of his nearest competitor Cameron Young.
Here’s to hoping this thing isn’t a runaway.
DAY FOUR
Yawn. Sadly, both the course and the tournament were pretty ho-hum this week. We had to follow up Wyndham Clark with this?
There was potential for some cool storylines and glimmers of hope but, ultimately the front runner Brian Harman comes out on top.
Photo: Kim Cheung/ AP
He played some great golf and when he made mistakes, acquitted himself well.
Unfortunately for HarmAn, he will most likely become a footnote champion; forgotten by next Spring.
Either way, congratulations to this man.
The year started out with Rahm slipping on the green jacket and Brooks reappearing (they LIV) from his doldrums. Yet, here we are celebrating journeymen and asking a thousand questions of the game's biggest stars. The Ryder Cup is coming up in the early fall, we will keep our powder dry until then.
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@Choppinglines
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