Still buzzing about the Open
Things worth checking out while post-major golf season gets back into its rhythm
Looking forward to next year (Stuart Franklin/R&A via Getty Images)
With the PGA Tour back to its same old same old at the 3M Championship and the majority of LIV’s stars headed back to their silo until next April, the Daily Drive is still just buzzing about an eventful Open Championship and an American sweep of the majors. While things recharge, here’s a selection of stories worth perusing.
Scott Michaux at Global Golf Post+ digested the events of Open week with his traditional Birdies & Bogeys breakdown with items such as “BIRDIE: Railway. Both the hole (No. 11) and the trains that whoosh past it on the regular are majestic. Too bad America didn’t embrace a comprehensive railway transit system – or the way at most GB&I golf clubs the trains whiz past welcome visitors. This hardest hole fittingly was the scene of more proverbial trainwrecks than all others, with 33 doubles and 16 others.” It’s worth checking out just to better see the looks on Monty’s and Tiger’s faces in this nearly three-decade old classic …
Geoff Shackleford has started his usual three-day, bang-up, no-holds bar recap across Substack on his The Quadrilateral page with takes like this …
Wind. Technology-diffusing blasts off the Firth muted several annoying modern trends while reminding fans what it looks like to watch a championship when multiple skills called upon. The Golf Gods have let us down at recent majors on the weather front. Nice to see them call in some favors for the final major. Best of all, the conditions rewarded those who prepared, adjusted and embraced the insanity. Just the way it should be.
Back at Global Golf Post+, Ron Green Jr’s ode to the glory of “Small Wonders” like the Postage Stamp is worth a look. “Short holes are the most fun holes, and isn’t fun at the heart of why tens of millions of us put up with the frustration that is built into the game? Find me someone who likes playing 200-yard par-3 holes (the 16th at Cypress Point is an exception for its beauty).
Still waiting …”
The Postage Stamp eighth hole at Royal Troon (David Cannon/R&A via Getty Images)
Over at Sports Illustrated, Bob Harig notes that one of Scotland’s greatest links — the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfer at Muirfield — might soon get back into the rota. “Absolutely we’re going back to Muirfield,’’ said Martin Slumbers, the outgoing R&A CEO, though he didn’t say when. Maybe 2027? That would be nice.