It was no disgrace for Fleetwood to finish six shots behind the sentimental favourite who held him at bay through driving rainThe Sabbath was never a day for gambling in these parts and Tommy Fleetwood resisted the temptation in picking his way round a sodden, wind-whipped course with more devil in it than your average prison cell. He still did not win but he did as well as the elements, the Dunluce Links and his temperament would allow.On a day when JB Holmes shot 87 and Cameron Smith reckoned a 15-handicapper would not get around the course at all, it was no disgrace finishing six shots behind the sentimental and rightful favourite, Shane Lowry. The ever-smiling Irishman held him at...
The conclusion of the third round of this year’s Open will be greeted by flutes and drums in Portrush and a depressing look back to a Northern Ireland beset by sectarian divisionWhen the Portrush Sons of Ulster’s Facebook page becomes essential reading, you realise this year’s Open is no ordinary championship.As the third round of the final major of the year concludes, spectators will exit Royal Portrush to the sound of flutes and drums. The R&A wants us to cast our minds dreamily back to 1951, when Max Faulkner triumphed on Antrim’s north coast; Saturday evening will instead catapult us back to 1690 and the Battle of the Boyne. Continue reading...
Carnoustie’s 1999 champion has worked tirelessly at the grassroots of the game and though he is not desperate to be a Ryder Cup captain, he admits he would love to do the jobThere has always been a danger of Paul Lawrie being underappreciated. He was rightly and significantly wounded by his Open triumph of 1999 being widely recognised for Jean van de Velde’s blundering rather than his own brilliance. Lawrie’s intense commitment to grassroots golf in his native Aberdeenshire puts to shame those who pay lip service to charity foundations.It may have taken until only recently for Lawrie’s career and contributions to the game to be properly acknowledged. When receiving a lifetime achievement award at a sports dinner in Glasgow, a visibly...
The American’s triumph ended the run of maiden major winners and has put a different slant on next month’s US PGA Championship when he can secure a career grand slamGolf has its mojo back. It should hardly be disrespectful to those who had claimed the seven majors before the Open Championship that Jordan Spieth’s success has a broader appeal. Every sport benefits, after all, from blue-chip players winning blue‑chip events.Such a theory will be borne out in a matter of weeks as Spieth attempts to become the youngest player in history to claim all four major titles. Among those entitled to savour spine‑tingling events at Royal Birkdale on Sunday was the PGA of America; its US PGA Championship has suddenly been ramped...
The memory of his collapse at the Masters in 2016 was the biggest threat to Jordan Spieth’s Open victory – overcoming it shows how tough a golfer he isThe second shot was the one. It flew left and fell deep in the crowd gathered around the 1st green. From there, Jordan Spieth chipped on and missed a putt from 12 feet for a bogey. So he had dropped a shot before he had even made it off the 1st hole. The atmosphere crackled as the crowd realised that whatever else had happened in the last three days, whatever else would happen in the next four hours, one thing Spieth’s final round would not be was easy. Related: Jordan Spieth’s astonishing 13th-hole...