The next major golf open is about to get underway as the British Open is set to tee off with some of the world’s best golfers.
Well rested, Rory McIlroy eschewed PGA stops and this past weekend’s Scottish Open to let the U.S. Open victory sink in. During his downtime he rooted on Andy Murray from the Royal Box at Wimbledon and also caught Wladamir Klitschko lay down the hurt on David Haye in a 12-round jab-a-thon.
While doubters admonished the lightning speed at which the media seemingly jumped on the “Rory is a jolly good golfer” bandwagon, the picture-perfect swing the 22-year-old coaxes out of his slight 5-foot-10, 160-pound frame didn’t just materialize out of thin air in the last few months.
Before Rory’s major breakthrough at Congressional, the Northern Irishman had finished in the top 3 at the 2010 British Open and the 2009 and 2010 PGA Championships, and he held a four-shot lead going into Sunday of the 2011 Masters before losing his composure, entering the shank zone and plummeting down to 15th on the leaderboard.
A reputation for nippy windbreaker weather and a preponderance for especially nutty bounces precedes The Open. There are also, of course, bunkers that when the pressure mounts can feel as deep as black holes. And while all this may not measure up sweat equity-wise to surviving a quartet of bone-crunching best-of-seven series, when the sun sets on this vaunted Open, clutching the Claret Jug — emblazoned with the names of the tourney’s previous victors — is professional golf's closest corollary to hoisting Lord Stanley’s Cup.
For single-digit handicappers and weekend duffers alike, any of the exclusive clique of clubs in the rota that plays host to this illustrious major are bucket list material. Royal St. George’s, which takes the honor for the 14th time this Thursday, is no exception.
This tournament will be very exciting to watch with the unpredictable terrain and conditions. Get all of the latest odds and golf betting options on this event at Skybook.