Some stars, like Tiger Woods, are out of the Open and others, like Xander Schauffele, are still there
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There is a strange melancholy to the mid-marks of the Open Championship.
For golf fans in the UK those first two days are a celebration of the sport, the golfers who have to face the correct tests of golf from sunrise to sunset, a certain seaside town full of enthusiastic spectators, lively discussions about what may lie ahead on the tee and in the pubs, the tournament who is bursting with possibilities. For American fans those first two days are a rare joy, too: an excuse to stay up late or wake up early, to feel the childlike joy of turning on the TV to see what has already been revealed in the elements across the pond.
Friday night is over. The infinite possibilities of what could have been replaced by a small, limited set of possible weekend outcomes; it is natural to feel some sadness about what could have been. Take Tommy Fleetwood, for example, who grew up a few hours down the coast from Troon, has been one of the game’s most consistent players on the links courses and looks set to win one of these others the point. But when he double-bogeyed the ninth hole on Friday it was clear that this was not going to be his year; he wouldn’t even make the weekend.
“Yeah, look, the conditions are tough, the golf course is tough. But it’s your job to clarify and score, and I couldn’t do that either,” he said. “I will think and start again.”
That intense Friday feeling has only grown over the past half-decade, when the PGA Championship is contested in May and the Open is the last men’s championship of the year. For golfers this event now means the last chance to claim a life-changing title before the long wait for next year’s Masters begins. Avid golf fans face a similar reality: championship season means summertime, and when the long nights of the Open Championship have come and gone, so have the season’s opportunities, too.
Fleetwood is not alone in his disappointment at leaving Royal Troon. Even though he is a fan favorite and the pre-tournament betting favorite he is not yet among the big names to return home early.
There is Tiger Woods, still fighting his battle with Father Time, coming back from injury and looking healthy in every tournament this year but running into the subtle challenge of rust. He won the Masters but didn’t come close to the next two and he wasn’t closing this week either, finishing 14 over par and beating just a handful of competitors.
There’s Rory McIlroy, who suffered a crushing loss at Pinehurst in the US Open last month but appeared determined to bounce back and compete in Troon – but then bombed with a seven-over 78 in the opening round and was six over par. the first six holes on Friday, at which point his mind wandered to a vacation, looking for less than the fifth major after ten years sitting in four.
There’s Bryson DeChambeau, the man who beat McIlroy at Pinehurst, one of golf’s greatest characters and rivals, who was having the best season of anyone in the world before he shot the top nine for two days and headed for an early exit.
There are others too. Ludwig Aberg, who rose to World No. 4 in his first full PGA Tour season but shot nine over two days. World No. 5 Wyndham Clark, his elusive big game continued with a two-day total of 16-over par. Viktor Hovland, who is still looking, and Sahith Theegala, who is still looking for the best of the big time, and Tom Kim, the fashionable selector this week, and Tony Finau, whose opening 71 was betrayed by his 81 Friday and Keegan Bradley, who said he hopes to play his way into next year’s Ryder Cup team as captain but missed the cut by one painful shot. Their stories have come to an end in this big season. See you in April.
This is always the beauty of cut lines. Friday night at the Open could be about those guys – the potential hads and the missed opportunities. That’s right. But on Saturday we get something even more exciting: a spectacular race to the finish in the main final of the year. This third round is the same: beyond the spectacular absence this is a tournament full of weekend drama.
At the top is Shane Lowry, a proud Irishman, this year celebrating the fifth anniversary of his storybook victory at Royal Portrush and he would very much like to do so by lifting the claret jug again. He leads in two at seven-under par after a tumultuous Friday that was a reminder of just how much fun it is to watch him grind his way through the middle.
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There are Englishmen in second place at five-under par, Justin Rose and Daniel Brown, who have been chasing each other on a sunny day and the latter is a forbidden dark horse, whose first moment in the golf spotlight came on Thursday afternoon.
Scottie Scheffler has an impressive presence at T4, with only three players and five shots separating him from the lead. He’s the second betting favorite behind Lowry and it’s easy to see why; there is an inevitability to his presence on these leaderboards and in a year as dominant as theirs it would feel like he is sorely lacking if he wins just one big one.
There are LIV golfers with no majors and uncertain futures chasing points and world rankings and a long-term spot in these events, guys like Dean Burmester at T4, five back and Joaquin Niemann at T11, seven back. There are LIV golfers with many majors are chasing one more, especially the trio of Jon Rahm, Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka – each hiding in one place, eight shots back.
There’s the interesting duo of Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay, frequent practice partners and US teammates with remarkably similar careers — similar, that is, until Schauffele won this year’s PGA Championship. The two played together on Thursday and Friday and were paired together on Saturday, too. It is clear that on Sunday evening Cantlay can still fit in or Schauffele can step up to the next level of the game. One big thing is the table stakes for a good job, after all. Two invite you to a different party. There is a World No. 1 former, Jason Day (T7, six back) looking for second, and, fully accustomed to the joy of one and the desire of another more.
There are PGA Tour players whose solid careers can be topped by a win, guys like Billy Horschel (T4, five back) or Corey Conners (T7, six back). And there’s the UK’s odd underdog, England’s Matthew Jordan (T11, seven back), inviting himself into the weekend’s competition for the second year in a row.
In particular there is Troon, its coast and its dwelling pots and the wind that blows from the former and over to the latter. And there is the institution of the Open, and golf’s majors, which have proven their strength as some of the foundations of the game have been shaken. Players matter. Their star power is important. But the way they gather here, the way they play the claret jug in this setting – the competition is always bigger than the people who make up their field. So it’s worth lamenting the absence of some of the stadium’s blue chippers on Friday night. It’s worth considering, over a pint, what could have been but won’t be.
Then it’s time to rest to finish the Open Championship, its last two rounds, glorious, you know how much you’ll miss it when it’s gone.
Dylan welcomes your comments at dylan_dethier@golf.com.
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