The Open 2012 - the excitement is starting to build up!

Tiger is practising at Royal Lytham this morning, so I guess it's time to
start talking about The Open.


For me it's the best week of the golfing calendar, I always take Thursday
and Friday off work so that I don't miss a minute of the TV coverage. I really
envy those who live close enough to Open venues to be able to travel daily from
home. It becomes rather expensive when you have start totting up the costs of a
season ticket, travel, accommodation, food etc, so it's usually a seat on the
sofa for me.


I note that there are only two Amateurs in the field this year, as none got
through from the Qualifying phases. I think that this is probably the
lowest number for some time, so it will just be a duel for the Silver Medal.


Not sure there are any "dead certs" this time around. On a
personal note I will be looking out for Ian Keenan, the pro from Royal
Liverpool who got through the Qualifying Stages. Ian has a young family,
and does a part-time job alongside playing some tournament golf (Challenge +
EuroPro), so am really pleased that he is getting the chance to experience
playing in a Major.


Anybody else getting excited yet?

Yes Mary I'm starting to feel the buildup now. I'm usually at work for the first two days and left to follow it online, but I have this week off though I'm off up to Sheffield on Thursday for my daughter's graduation so won't see much of the first day. I'll be glued to the TV on Friday though - then strangely I'm booked to play golf on both Saturday and Sunday but I'm sure I'll see some of the weekend coverage in the golf club which should be a good place to watch.

I'm looking for Luke or Lee to break their Majors duck this week though I'm not sure if that's more hope than expectation

BTW I'm going to make this our "sticky thread" for the week - hope you don't mind

For those on Twitter - @Lancastergc is good to follow for the latest photos (Greenkeepers at The Open)

Tee times are on the website - I'm starting to get excited!

http://www.theopen.com/en/TeeTimes/TeeTimes.aspx

Mary_S wrote:Tee times are on the website - I'm starting to get excited!

http://www.theopen.com/en/TeeTimes/TeeTimes.aspx

Could never have guessed Mary, now where did my crystal trophy go....

Bets have now been placed - just small E/W wagers, for a bit of fun:-

Anders Hansen @ 125/1
Francesco Molinari @ 33/1
Ian Keenan @ 1500/1
Ian Keenan to make the cut @ 5/1

and somehow, by mistake - Raphael Jacquelin @ 125/1

Molinari at 33/1 looks a good punt. I haven't had a chance to look at all the odds yet to see where my hard earned couple of quids will go - I'll probably take a look at either Luke or Lee (depending on the odds) and then take an outside bet on someone like Siem, Colsaerts, Lawrie, Dyson etc etc depending on the value of the odds

I hear Faldo has been involved with the course set-up, and trying to make it a really tough test like the US Open. I saw that the fairways looked tight and the rough was full on, but thats golf. I think the Open should be a tough test, but fair, so that the best player wins over 4-rounds.

With all the rain we've had this year, especially in the last couple of months, the rough is bound to be really lush and very tough. Normally on links courses, the grass may look knee high from a distance, but when you are in it the brown wispy stuff is ok to play from if you hit it hard. It won't be like that this year! I've heard the word brutal used in a couple of interviews so far.

To be fair, they need the rough to make the course more of a test. I imagine the greens will be fairly soft and receptive (like Castle Stewart last week) and the fairways will be lush as well, with more rain forecast for the next 2 days.

The only time I think heavy rough is unfair is whe you have hard bouncy fairways that throw well struck drives into the rough. Doesn't seem like that will happen this year, so if anyone is in the thick stuff it will be because they hit a poor shot.

What I like about Lytham is that the bunkers are penal. I hate it at the US Open when players would rather be in a bunker than the rough / fringe because it means they will get up and down.

I am taking the wife and kids to the Open for the first time this weekend; I know you see more on the TV but nothing beats live sport for me.

We have decided to stay in the NW for the following week as well so have booked rounds at Hesketh, Fairhaven, Southport & Ainsdale and West Lancs. The children are then entered in the Wallasey Junior Open on the Friday while Suzi and I are on the club mixed weekend away. A total of 7 games in 7 days on 6 different courses - can't wait!

Lets hope for sunshine and a bit of wind (but not too much!)

That sounds like a perfect week Jethro. Don't say it too loudly, but .... I think the weather is supposed to improve after today.

No doubt you will have a superb time, as you say - nothing beats actually being there and sampling the atmosphere. Good luck to the family ine comps too.

Thanks for The Open post Mary. And might as well throw part of a stolen article from usatoday.com concerning pace of play into the mix:

"Players have been told that groups of three are to complete their first two rounds in 4½ hours, with twosomes on the weekend required to finish in 3 hours, 45 minutes. If a player falls behind, he will first receive words of encouragement to pick up the pace. A second lapse results in a warning and the player being put on the clock. Further breaches will be met with a one-stroke penalty, then two strokes, then a final offense results in disqualification.

"We have a pace-of-play policy, which we intend to apply stringently," said Jim McArthur, chairman of the championship committee. "We are intent on doing what we can to improve the pace of play in golf.

"We feel that particularly, maybe not so much at the professional golf level, but certainly in amateur golf, that slow play is, in some ways, if not killing the game, is killing the club membership because of the time it takes to play."
Doling out penalty strokes is rare, but McArthur said "we would take whatever action is appropriate."

Good luck to Dale Whitnell, a mate of mine from the same club who is playing in his first Major.

Dale had an excellent record at Lytham as an amateur, he may just have to be a sneaky pick in my Fantasy League team!

BlueCoverman wrote:Good luck to Dale Whitnell, a mate of mine from the same club who is playing in his first Major.

Dale had an excellent record at Lytham as an amateur, he may just have to be a sneaky pick in my Fantasy League team!

Will also watch him now. And as a side bonus to you BC, europeantour.com have mentioned you indirectly with the last word in their bio of Dale:

"
Represented Great Britain and Ireland in the Walker Cup in 2009 shortly before turning professional. Was ranked Number One amateur in England that year and won the English Golf Union Order of Merit convincingly. Made his professional debut on The European Tour at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in October 2009, finishing 36th, then bettered that by coming fourth at the Alfred Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek in South Africa, the first event of The 2010 Race to Dubai. Enjoys all sports and relaxing with family and friends ."

Less than 12 hours to go until the first group tee off!

The info about slow play was very interesting Venice, hopefully they will stick to their word.

Will add Dale Whitnell to my list of players to watch out for.

4.5 hours for a three-ball? I suppose they play a different game to us but that seems generous. Anyone who exceeds that certainly needs some sanctions

I'm not as bad as that grumpy old git who used to post here who bragged about getting a three ball around in three hours (where's the fun in that?) - but I played a two-ball today in 3.5 hours and we were held up on only a few holes (to be fair to the group in front they offered a couple of times to let us through but they were playing a mixed greensomes match and we were actually enjoying a leisurely stroll) - only the last couple of holes of their match (they finished on the 15th green) did they start to get slow to the point where we got a little impatient but having had the offer of playing through a couple of times, which we refused, we couldn't really complain. In fact, this mixed greensome match would have been VERY quick if they themselves weren't held up by a very slow two-ball on the front nine!

Thanks for that Venice. I had the pleasure of playing in the same Thornton Cup team as Dale in 2009 shortly before he turned Pro and he is a fantastic talent. At the age of just 13 he was club champion at his local club and also broke the course record.

Really pleased that he has qualified for the British Open this year. During the week he had a practice round with Matt Kuchar, Gary Woodland and Ian Keenan and also had a few holes with Thomas Bjorn and Simon Khan. How envious are we! Good luck to him, would be great if he could make the cut.

BlueCoverman wrote:Good luck to him, would be great if he could make the cut.

And if so, perhaps we may have an inside track for an interview conducted by one his buddies at some future date.

Would be only too happy to oblige Venice, but let's not get too far ahead of ourselves!

Gamemanship:

Don't know if he knows it but Alan Dunbar is under greater pressure as he tees off in the morning and needs to avoid too many bogies as Manuel Trappel (How did an Austrian get the name 'Manuel'?!) will know what score he has to beat later on in the day. Have a feeling these guys are subtly 'gunning' for each other knowing that they're the only amateurs in the field.

Good morning - not long to wait now! Am as excited as a kid on Christmas morning!

Venice - this is the first time I can remember there only being two amateurs competing for the silver medal. I think you are right, and they will be having their own individual battle along the way.

Did you know that they have somebody sleeping in a tent at the side of every green during Open week, to ensure that there is no vandalism? One of the many facts I've learnt from following the greenkeepers on Twitter.

Let's hope the Beeb do us proud with their coverage! Enjoy!

Morning Mary - I'm up early too but unfortunately I won't be able to see much today as I'm off soon to Sheffield for my daughter's graduation ceremony. Won't be back till later this evening so I'll have some catching up to do!

Enjoy the golf everyone!

Have a fab day Davie - definately a "proud parent" moment!

Michael Thompson replacing Russ Cochran, who has just withdrawn.

Mary_S wrote:Michael Thompson replacing Russ Cochran, who has just withdrawn.

Thanks Mary. That was cutting it close for Thompson. Wonder what Cochran was thinking by waiting until the last minute to withdraw.

The rest of the field dodged 2 bullets with TW's missed birdie putts on 8 and 9.

A very decent round for Dunbar considering he had a triple and two double bogies which were his only holes over par. Trappel has his work cut out for him to equal that.

Very nice opening round for Dale Whitnell. He'll have a good idea of what he needs to shoot to make the cut tomorrow with his group's afternoon tee time being the last one.

Good to see Casey on the first page of the leaderboard at the moment. Not many people would have predicted that.

I see steve williams had a blinding round to be leading with his player who after all just does what the true star of the show says.

LondonJonnyO wrote:I see steve williams had a blinding round to be leading with his player who after all just does what the true star of the show says.

Now if he could only encourage him to lose the broomstick but it's never going to happen as Adam seems shaky half of the time even with that thing. Can't imagine what his putting might look like if he used a real one.

venice1 wrote:Very nice opening round for Dale Whitnell. He'll have a good idea of what he needs to shoot to make the cut tomorrow with his group's afternoon tee time being the last one.

I'm sure if you had offered Dale 2 ahead of Lee Westwood at the start of play he would have ripped your arm off!

Fingers crossed for Dale tomorrow.

I think I jinxed Casey with my earlier post - after that he dropped down the leaderboard at a rate of knots.

LondonJonnyO wrote:I see steve williams had a blinding round to be leading with his player who after all just does what the true star of the show says.

Yes a nice opening round for Steve today, no doubt Adam will be looking forward to 15% of whatever Steve makes this week

Well I had a lovely day yesterday and was able to follow some of the scores in quiet moments but got no real "feel" for how the whole day at the Open panned out

Looking forward to seeing more of it today!

Coverage doesn't start until 9am though?

Pleased that you enjoyed the special day Davie.

I am sure that years ago the coverage used to start earlier, so that you saw the first groups go out? I did hunt around on the red button yesterday morning, but nothing until the main coverage at 9 a.m. I think the Beeb are missing a trick there, as I'm sure lots of golfers would grab the chance to see a bit of live play before having to go to work, besides those of us who are sad enough to watch it from start to finish each day.

Lots of shouts of "Fore" today!

Conditions must be difficult today - -1 is the best score (sorry, Luuuuke's just gone to -2!) and lots of people well over par.

Mary - the Beeb are also missing a trick not showing any highlights and then at the weekend we have the ridiculous situation of having to keep swapping channels (and having a 10 minute break for the news at midday).

LP - is this the first year that we haven't had highlights? Oh - and don't get me started on all that channel hopping business which we have to do at weekends!

Molinari moved to -2 also.

Why do the commentators (especially Hazel) talks as if people watching have never seen golf before? She's just "explained" that the yellow boxes beside the player's name means he hasn't teed off yet! Good grief

..... and in case you didn't know, the players don't rake the bunkers because there is a marshall at each hole who does that.

Should start to get interesting now as the players near the top of the leaderboard commence their 2nd rounds.

It's not a marshal who walks round with them to rake bunkers, but qualified greenkeepers who are all members of BIGGA (the British and International Golf Greenkeepers Association). I wish they'd get their facts right!

And who is this girlie who is interviewing the players?

Damn and damn BC. Your mate Dale is making me nervous with his great start. Great stuff and thanks for adding another element to the tourney. Yikes.

I've got Dale tagged on the leaderboard too.

Poor Ian Keenan - my jinx has left him propping up the whole leaderboard.

Oooh - maybe I should stop rooting for Dale??

What a great start for Dale -2 after 6, I did say that he liked Lytham!

I'm getting really nervous too Venice, but I think he can do it from here, he is a pretty cool customer. Unfortunately I am just leaving the office now and going to the hospital to see Mum, so I won't be able to follow his progress. Mary, you stay well away from him in my absence!

You know Mary Blue, there's quite a few golfers that can turn her head. Looks like Dale's the next one in her sights.

Grumps - as if I would be so shallow!

Dale is still +1 for the tournament, with 2 holes to play.

Mary_S wrote:LP - is this the first year that we haven't had highlights? Oh - and don't get me started on all that channel hopping business which we have to do at weekends!

Molinari moved to -2 also.

This has ALWAYS been my gripe about BBC getting coverage of the Open as part of the "crown jewels" package.

In the days before digital channels, it was a no brainer that BBC couldn't or wouldn't give it the coverage it deserved, but now they have multi-channels and red button coverage, it's even more inexplicable

I know I'm a little biased, and yes, in a slightly privileged position that I already have Sky Sports, and that not everyone can (or want to) subscribe, but really - think how Sky would cover this event if they could

For the first two days, Sky would be on air at 6am with the build up, with live golf from first tee off at 6:30 on the opening two days - they would show live golf until the close of play and then would have a few hours highlights for those people who are at work during the day

BBC start live coverage at 9am or 9:30 and go off air at around 8pm, leaving those people who had to work all day with nothing to watch.

I was unlucky not to see any of the golf yesterday, but fortunate enough to see quite a bit today - but I'd love to be able to sit down now to a couple of hours highlights to fill in all the bits I missed and to somehow pull the whole day's action together.

Instead, BBC are showing a fricken warm up match for the Olympic football - on BBC1 no less!

Much as I love my football, why isn't this tucked away on a red button somewhere and show some golf highlights?

Just to add to the comedy of the situation, we now have Robbie Savage (FFS) talking about the action with Garth Crooks who looks like that cartoon of someone who has farted in a scuba suit, and the woman who usually presents the Rugby coverage (I assume she has been promoted for the Olympics)

Birdie on 17 by you-know-who.

Mary_S wrote:Grumps - as if I would be so shallow!

Dale is still +1 for the tournament, with 2 holes to play.

Back to level par with 1 hole to go.

Mary_S wrote:Grumps - as if I would be so shallow!

Dale is still +1 for the tournament, with 2 holes to play.

You can cast your eye over him and anything you would like to do Mary , he's finished with a 69 and is playing at the weekend

1GrumpyGolfer wrote:You can cast your eye over him and anything you would like to do Mary , he's finished with a 69 and is playing at the weekend

Well done Dale. And some extra credit to BC for bringing extra karma to the table.