Friday 17 July 2009
To celebrate the start of The Open Championship at Turnberry in Scotland on July 16th we’re bringing you everything you could possibly want and need to know about the Open, and a lot more, right here in the weeks leading up to the tournament and as Tiger and chums tread the fairways, in association with Nikon, Patron of The Open Championship… With Lucas Glover’s composed...
Written by TG staff writer on Friday 17 July 2009
An out-of-form Michael Campbell pulled out of The Open during his unhappy 2nd round – his fifth withdrawal this season. It’s hard to believe that Campbell won the US Open just four years ago. Nowadays the Kiwi is a shadow of the player who triumphed in 2005 and went close to winning the Claret Jug at St Andrews a decade earlier. In fact...
Written by TG staff writer on Friday 17 July 2009
Aussie Terry Pilkadaris is a very brave man indeed. Some macho golfers wouldn’t be seen anywhere near a golf course with their ‘better halves’ but 36-year-old Pilkadaris is definitely an exception to the rule. So much so he has his wife Monique acting as his caddie and the duo get on like a house on fire – on and off the course! After...
Written by TG Features Writer on Friday 17 July 2009
Japanese world number 125 Kenichi Kuboya has started his second round in fine style with two birdies in his first four holes to move a shot clear on -6. The 37-year-old ended his first round in spectacular fashion with a birdie, birdie, eagle, birdie finish and he’s continued in that vein in tougher conditions today with birdies on the 1st and 4th. American debutant Steve...
Written by TG staff writer on Friday 17 July 2009
Who emerged the 1st round’s best putter, bagged the most birdies and found the most greens? Here’s the main 1st round men… Stats Life… Longest Driver 1. Alvaro Quiros 327 yards average 2. Sergio Garcia 318.5 3. Dustin Johnson 317 Fairways Hit 1. Ernie Els 13.00 93% Greens in Regulation 1. Mike Weir 18.00 100% 2=. Retief Goosen, Billy Mayfair and Mark Calcavecchia all...
Written by TG staff writer on Friday 17 July 2009
All Japanese Open eyes are practically focused on 17-year-old wonderkid Ryo Ishikawa, but they shifted to unknown Kenichi Kuboya, a surprise 1st round frontrunner after shooting a 65 (-5). Kuboya, currently 125th in the World rankings, will be looking to build on his cracking start this morning – even though he admits he’s not a big fan of lnks golf! “I can’t honestly say...
Written by TG Features Writer on Friday 17 July 2009
Yesterday’s benign weather conditiond will seem like a distant memory for the players as the wind picks up at a drizzly Turnberry. 50 players shot under par in the windless conditions yesterday but the Ayrshire links is fighting back today with gusts of 35 to 30mph forecast. It was thought today’s early starters would face similar conditions to yesterday but this prediction...
Written by TG Features Writer on Thursday 16 July 2009
Miguel Angel Jimenez holds a one shot lead after firing a a flawless six under par 64 on the first day of the Open Championship at Turnberry. The Spaniard went out late and birdied the 17th and 18th to steal the lead away from Americans Tom Watson and Ben Curtis who had earlier posted 65s. The American duo were joined by little-known...
Written by TG staff writer on Thursday 16 July 2009
Teenage Italian Matteo Manassero had the time of his young golfing life playing alongside veteran Tom Watson and his idol Sergio Garcia. At sweet 16, Manassero – he automatically qualified after capturing the British Amateur crown – is the youngest Open competitor but was he overawed by being paired with the oldest, the living legend that is Tom Watson, and the...
Written by TG staff writer on Thursday 16 July 2009
Tom Watson rolled back the years today and after firing a first round 65 (-5) firmly believes he can clinch his sixth Claret Jug – and his second at Turnberry. “I feel like I’m playing well enough to win the tournament. It doesn’t feel a whole lot different from 32 years ago (his last success at Turnberry) except that I don’t...
Written by TG staff writer on Thursday 16 July 2009
It’s fair to say red-hot favourite Tiger Woods was not best pleased with his bitterly disappointing opening effort of 71 (+1). Tiger was clearly not at his best despite winning his previous event (AT&T Championship) and the near-perfect conditions. He only opted to use his driver three times all day and each time miserably failed to find the short stuff. He conceded: “I certainly...
Written by TG staff writer on Thursday 16 July 2009
It wasn’t a very happy return to Turnberry for Greg Norman who opened his Open account with a six-over-par 77. The 1986 Turnberry champion suffered one disaster after another and for once regular gallery cries of “Come on, Aussie” failed to inspire him. What a difference a year makes. Twelve months ago at Birkdale the Great White Shark got off to a flyer, impressively...
Written by TG Features Writer on Thursday 16 July 2009
Tom Watson has backed up his confident comments from yesterday by shooting a 65 to lead the Open Championship at Turnberry. The 59-year-old his every fairway and recorded five birdies without a single blemish on his card to lead by one from John Senden, who shot a 66, and David Howell, who stands at -4 through 11 holes. Past champions Mark O’Meara...
Written by TG staff writer on Thursday 16 July 2009
The weather, as always, will play a major role at The Open and the early 1st round starters should have the best of the conditions. The early risers were greeted with perfect golf conditions – warm sunshine with barely a breeze to worry about so getting up at the crack of dawn could well prove a blessing in disguise, a significant...
Written by TG Features Writer on Thursday 16 July 2009
The 138th Open Championship at Turnberry got underway at 6.30am with England’s Paul Broadhurst firing the first tee shot of the tournament. Broadhurst found the centre of the fairway with a rescue club, while former US Open champion Michael Campbell laid up short of the bunkers and Mark Calcavecchia found the first cut of rough with a 3-wood. All three started with...
Written by TG Features Writer on Wednesday 15 July 2009
Thirty-two years on from the legendary ‘Duel in the Sun’ Tom Watson still believes he can claim a sixth Open Championship crown. The 59-year-old has an enviable record on links courses having won the Open in ’75, ’77, ’80, ’82 and ’83 and the Senior British Open right here at Turnberry in 2003. When asked if he thought Turnberry was a course where he could...
Written by TG staff writer on Wednesday 15 July 2009
Turnberry will break new ground this week – the first drug-testing Open Championship. And one of the first to be tested will be R&A chief executive Peter Dawson. Explained Dawson: “I’ll undergo the test tomorow morning because I want to see the process first hand. “We are using the European Tour policy and procedure which involves a selection of players and the drug...
Written by Jonathan Greathead, TG Equipment Editor on Wednesday 15 July 2009
Henrik Stenson believes he is better prepared for this year’s Open Championship than ever before. The super-cool Swede revealed that he had been in the region for considerably longer than his usual pre-championship routine. “I’ve been here since Thursday night last week so I’ve had plenty of time to prepare, play the course three or four rounds in total so that’s probably as...
Written by TG staff writer on Wednesday 15 July 2009
Sergio Garcia, one of the big favourites this week, is determined to rid himself of the ‘best player never to have won a major’ tag – once-and-for-all. “Yes, I’d love to get rid of it for sure,” he confirmed before adding: “But I don’t know whether that player is me or not and to be honest I don’t really care. “I...
Written by TG Features Writer on Wednesday 15 July 2009
Japanese wonderkid Ryo Ishikawa has set his sights on making the cut in his first Open Championship at Turnberry. The 17-year-old sensation will tee off with Tiger Woods and Lee Westwood at 9:09am tomorrow and 2:20pm on Friday. “My goal is to play four days and make the cut and try to make this tournament as wonderful as it is,” reveaked the world number...