Diverse Groups Make The Open a Must Watch

Tuesday, July 12, 2022

Golfer Magazine

It used to be called the British Open in America, but now it's simply called "The Open Championship," as it has always been known across the sea. And this week's renewal at historic St. Andrews is attracting more attention than ever before for a variety of reasons.

Tiger Woods, winner of The Open in 2000, 2005 and 2006, is back and has been the subject of much speculation since his arrival a few days ago.

Then, there's the group of PGA Tour players who have been among the backbone of U. S. play for so many years; among them Jon Rahm, Justin Thomas, Rory McIlroy (2014 winner), Tony Finau, Jordan Spieth (2017 winner).

There's the cadre of newbies who seemingly have taken over the Tour in the past year or so - Scottie Scheffler, Max Homa, Sam Burns, Will Zalatoris, Xander Schauffele, Abraham Ancer, Joaquin Niemann, Patrick Cantlay.

There's the smaller group of LIV defectors who have been allowed to compete this week because it's not an event sponsored by the PGA Tour, which has suspended them - Phil Mickelson, Ocalan Louis Oosthuizen, Sergio Garcia, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Patrick Reed, Talor Gooch, Ian Poulter, Branden Grace, etc. Phil won The Open in 2013, Louis won in 2010.

There's Trey Mullinax, a mostly minor league player who apparently was invited after winning the Barbasol Championship on Sunday.

There's the oldies - a bunch of former winners who have no chance of winning this one and probably little chance of making the cut, but who love St. Andrews, dating back to 1989 (Gator Mark Calcavecchia). Also included: John Daly (1995), David Duval (2001), Darren Clarke (2011), Padraig Harrington (2007, 2008), Zach Johnson (2015), who's only 46 but who hasn't been a factor for several years, Stewart Cink, who found new life at the age of 48 (2009), and Ernie Els, who one might say is due in 2022 after winning in 2002 and 2012.

There's the other recent winners - defending champ Collin Morikawa, Shane Lowry (2019), Francesco Molinari (2018), and Henrik Stenson (2016), who holds The Open record of 20 under par.

There's the huge group whose names and faces are unknow to U. S. aficionados - Ashley Chesters, Justin De Los Santos, Ben Campbell, Barclay Brown, Guido Migliozzi, Marco Penge - and many more.

There's not: Greg Norman (1986, 1993), organizer of the LIV circuit, who would probably have had to show up in Fife, Scotland in body armor.

There promises to be more written about this edition of The Open than any in history, even more than when Tom Morris Jr. won four in a row from 1868 to 1872 (no event in '81). Picking a winner? Impossible!