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Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Why brains and not brawn will bring home the Claret Jug at The Open, writes RIATH AL-SAMARRAI
At 3.30pm on Wednesday, about 15 hours before Padraig Harrington was scheduled to hit the first shot of the 153rd Open, Bryson DeChambeau was out on the links of Royal Portrush trying to find sense in its riddles. It was the chuntering that gave his game away. He was practising on the 11th hole and that is one of the toughies — a 475-yard par four that bends aggressively to the right and is lined the entire way on both sides by gorse, mounds and lost balls. Behind DeChambeau was a magnificent view of the Irish Sea and, if you looked hard enough, Giant's Causeway. Out in front was something different — a narrow, snaking strip of fairway and the devilish question of how much of the corner you dared to cut. Or to frame that one slightly differently — are you feeling a bit silly today? Speak to the old boys, or even a younger one like Robert MacIntyre, and you know that is the crux of links golf. It is golf as it was first imagined and it is golf that we only see a few weeks of the year at the elite end. It is the golf of fescue and thorns and no pretty stripes in the grass. It is the golf of gusts and unfair bounces. It is golf where the brain counts for more than strength. It is the golf of wisdom and nous and, occasionally, taking the long way to get there quicker. Rolling the dice on a links course? It is silly to roll the dice. On the 11th, DeChambeau was feeling bold, naturally, so he took a greedy bite out of that corner and will have known that the more you bite, the less of a landing zone you have. He might also know by now that the locals, guys like Graeme McDowell, say this is one of the hardest holes on the course and that a missed fairway is an automatic bogey or worse. DeChambeau missed and then, with brambles at his ankles, missed the green. That was when he tried something else and worked on his approaches from the fairway, this time with his Trackman device on the ground behind him. He was going back to the world he knows best — the data of spin rates, clubhead speed, angles and trajectories. He is an interesting character, DeChambeau. A physics graduate, he styles himself as a scientist, and it has been years since we first added the 'mad', but that next shot at the 11th was better. It went well and he smiled. But before long he was in the rough stuff again and, laugh as he might, he was also bordering on a different kind of mad. An exasperated kind of mad. DeChambeau has always been a tough fit for the Open, where his results read: cut, T51, cut, T33, T8, T60, cut. He can be the smartest man in the world on a parkland course and the silliest on the links. But isn't that the beauty of this major? Isn't that the point? Because some get it and some don't. Some arrive later than others, like Phil Mickelson, and some never arrive at all. Will DeChambeau balance science with art — enough to win? Maybe, because he is so good, but good and wise are different beasts. It would be a brave bet. We might say the same about Scottie Scheffler. He has the shortest odds in this field of 156, which happens wherever he plays, but he has never finished higher than seventh at the Open. Statistically, he has all metrics on his side from tee to green, but what about those shots you rarely encounter in the manicured playgrounds of the US? Those bumps and runs between the mounds, those tests of ingenuity? Those chips across a moonscape that take the decision away from the usual of a wedge into the air, towards a seven iron along the contours? The Open is the most random of the big four and can throw up surprises every day GRAEME MCDOWELL's THREE KEY HOLES There is a reason Tom Watson was still challenging for a Claret Jug at 59 and there is a reason Scheffler is yet to show his very best over here. That will change sooner rather than later, we assume, but assumptions around links golf make jugs and mugs of us all. Experience counts and at 29, we are yet to see proof that Scheffler has cracked this code. It is complicated and so are the burdens of success — Scheffler's comments this week about the lack of 'fulfilment' he has found in his dominance of the game were arresting. He stunned us with his candour. Were they signs of burnout amid the relentless churn of tournaments? Or was he revealing that the secret to his dominance came from attaching greater importance to matters away from the course? It was both jolting and quite unclear. Rory McIlroy has had a few of those conversations himself of late. He returns to Portrush wishing to embrace the local hoopla, after admitting he was overwhelmed by the pressure of a home Open here in 2019. He carved his first shot out of bounds six years ago, but comes back with a Green Jacket and signs of drastically improved form and mood. He has the game and nous to pull this place apart, like he did as a 16-year-old when he set the course record of 61. Those numbers will surely not be repeated in 2025, but as ever much depends on the weather. The forecasts suggest rain on most days and the wind is expected to be modest, rather than the heavenly fury of Troon last year. That might favour the bigger names, of whom Jon Rahm ought to be rated a serious contender. He has not won on the LIV tour this year, but nor has he finished lower than 12th and his results in the 2025 majors are strong — 14th at the Masters, eighth at the PGA Championship and seventh in the US Open. Crucially, he has vast links experience. He spoke this week about first taking on the dunes as a 14-year-old with his dad, when he learned a three iron on the roll can be smarter than a driver on the fly. He also developed the counter-intuitive skill of being able to accept a bad outcome from a good shot. He would be my pick. But if the Masters can usually be predicted from a pool of a few names, the Open is the most random of the big four. It might be too soon in the recovery from a rib injury for Xander Schauffele upon the defence of his title, but what about Shane Lowry? He is the best chipper in golf and won the last time it was in Portrush. A number of experts fancy him for a good week and ditto Sepp Straka. Tommy Fleetwood also has the ball striking to do well, Tyrrell Hatton has the iron play, Ludvig Aberg has the lot and MacIntyre is a former champion of the Scottish Open whose links expertise has been sought by both Scheffler and DeChambeau. Further from left field, the range talk is floating names like Tom McKibbin, a local who joined Rahm's LIV team, and Ryan Fox, who is overdue a strong major. At this stage, it's all hypothetical at a tournament where predicting a winner is as foolish as getting greedy at the 11th.
The Guardian
5 hours ago
- The Guardian
Darren Clarke back at Royal Portrush with high hopes for McIlroy
The 7am tee-time practice trio on Tuesday at Royal Portrush: Darren Clarke, Rory McIlroy, Tom McKibbin. The galleries grew and grew. The venue for the Open this week was the site of a starstruck McIlroy meeting Clarke on his 10th birthday in 1999. Clarke's foundation played a key role in the early development of McIlroy. McKibbin, as a 13-year-old playing at McIlroy's home club in Holywood, was invited by him to play in the Irish Open's pro-am in 2016. The connections are as uplifting as they are strong. Clarke's description of seeing McIlroy win the Masters in April, completing his set of majors, is therefore understandable. 'I watched every shot,' Clarke says. 'I couldn't take my eyes off it. Rory winning there was almost like watching my two boys, Tyrone and Conor, win. I was that emotional. 'I have known Rory for so long, I know his talent and his journey. To get over the line and do it, in true Rory fashion keeping us on the edge of our seats until the very end … It was destiny for Rory to join that exalted company. I was very proud just watching it. If I gave a 0.0001% help in his journey then brilliant but it was more pride, knowing him as I do. It isn't often you will watch something and feel like you are watching your own two boys play.' Clarke has never claimed any credit for McIlroy's achievements. That will not change. McKibbin and Shane Lowry also had involvement with Clarke's foundation. 'I was just trying to help,' he says. 'I don't seek publicity for it because that isn't why I do it. Half of my foundation is to support breast cancer research [his first wife, Heather, died of the disease in 2006], half is to help the development of junior golf in Ireland, so that is all close to my heart.' The 56-year-old recalls not only that 1999 meeting but the early buzz around McIlroy. 'I am not saying this to be all 'I told you so' but you could see back then how good he was, how much potential he had,' Clarke says. 'Now, potential and turning into the player that he has become are two different things but the talent he showed even from that age was just incredible. He was gifted, totally gifted.' All evidence suggests McIlroy has rediscovered his mojo after a brief post-Masters lull. Clarke knows the scenario; his life was hugely altered by lifting the Claret Jug in 2011. 'I'm not in any shape or form comparing what I did with Rory but when you search and go for so long trying to achieve your goals, sometimes it is hard to have a reset afterwards,' Clarke says. 'He has achieved what only five other people in the history of our game have, so it's no wonder there is a reset for him. The reception he will get at Portrush will be unbelievable.' Clarke's own situation is fascinating on two fronts. He was on course to make the cut in 2019 before a nightmarish triple-bogey seven on his 36th hole. Clarke returns to the Dunluce Links, where the 9th hole has been named after him, knowing this could be his final Open. Motivation stems in part from events of six years ago. 'I was fuming,' he admits. 'All my years of experience and to do that on the last hole … I had played so nicely. It wasn't steam coming out of my ears, it was lava. The 'new me' as I get older? Bollocks to that! That irritated me a lot. It hurt me. I have never played tournaments just to make that cut but I was comfortably inside the line and to do that was beyond frustrating.' Clarke is undecided on whether this Open will mean goodbye. He remains not only hugely competitive on the Champions Tour in the US but a prodigious worker. 'I had gone through a spell of missing the Open cut too many times in a row but last year I actually played OK without having a great weekend. This year I have been playing really nicely without putting well. So I will see, I don't know. I really haven't made my mind up. If it gets to the stage where I think I have no chance of having a semi decent week, of making the cut, then I definitely won't play. 'I love Portrush, that goes without saying. It is just a very special place for me. If this is to be my last one, there isn't a better place. I am determined to really enjoy this one. Sometimes, I have tried so hard that I haven't been able to enjoy where I am.' Clarke was a staunch advocate of the Open's return to Portrush after a 68-year hiatus. Peter Dawson, the former chief executive of the R&A, took on the case. 'I kept chirping at Peter's ear,' Clarke says. 'I think he ended up trying to avoid me at all costs. It was a bold move on his behalf to commit to bringing the Open to Portrush. It was great the last time; this one will be even better. They could easily just have come back for one but they didn't, they committed.' Clarke encountered the Troubles. He comprehends what it means for Northern Ireland to showcase itself now on a global sporting stage. 'Bombs and shootings became part and parcel of life,' Clarke says. 'You were always wary. I think playing golf and playing in tournaments all over Ireland from a young age got me thinking there was more going on, about what was happening back home not making any sense. We have come an awful long way from that. 'That's not at all to say other places in the world haven't had bad times but you grew up in a tough time. I was fortunate my parents gave me everything to allow me to play golf, which in turn let me see what opportunity was possible back in those days.' The final words, and intriguing ones, are for McKibbin. 'I have spent a lot of time with Tom, we have the same coach,' Clarke says. 'He is the real deal. He just flushes the ball. He is eager, he wants to learn so much.' It feels sensible to take note.
BBC News
6 hours ago
- BBC News
Harrington wants first and last shot of The Open
Two-time champion Padraig Harrington has said he will be "very nervous" to hit the opening tee shot at the 153rd Open Championship on Thursday but that he does not want to be viewed as a "ceremonial golfer".Irishman Harrington, who won the US Senior Open last month, will begin the championship at Royal Portrush at 06:35 BST. "Look, my goal is to hit the first shot and the last shot this week. So, in my head, that's what I'm trying to do," said Harrington, who lifted the Claret Jug in 2007 and 2008 and also won the 2008 US PGA Championship."That's what I'm thinking. I'm sure the bookmakers will tell you that's not a reality, but I have to prepare. "If I get there on Sunday and get myself in contention, I have to prepare to be ready for that moment and see how that goes."Harrington said the first hole at Royal Portrush is "not a comfortable tee shot for anybody" in the field."I'll be definitely very nervous about that and I'll be very comfortable with anything in play," said the 53-year-old."I'll be doing a bit of posing after I hit. No matter how bad the shot is, I'll be holding my finish and pretending it's a good one."When the championship was last held at Portrush in 2019, it was Northern Ireland's Darren Clarke who hit the opening however, said he would not be taking advice from the 2011 Open champion."[Clarke] says, 'I was going to hit the little three iron down there' and he got so nervous, he took out the driver and bunted it down there because it was a bigger head," Harrington added."I'm saying, 'Darren, this isn't helping me'."I don't know what the conditions is going to be, but I really don't fancy hitting a driver off the first tee. Hopefully it will be the three iron."
