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The 2011 Open Championship 

Royal St Georges Golf Club, Sandwich, Kent

July 14 - July 17

Royal St George's is situated on the South East coastline close to Prince's Golf Club and further down the coast, Royal Cinque Ports Club, both former Open Championship venues.

This will be the 14^th time The Open has been at St Georges, a links course unlike most in that instead of 9 holes out and 9 holes back along a strip of terrain between sea and land, it is similar to Muirfield, with two halves roughly circular, giving the resemblance of a figure of 8.  Only St Andrews (27), Prestwick (24) and Muirfield (15) have hosted more Opens and it was the first club, in 1894, to host The Open outside of Scotland.

A par 70 of 7211 yards, it is a serious test of golf requiring confidence, strong nerves, solid ball striking and a small degree of luck as the undulating fairways can give rise to quirky bounces.  The players don’t have the total control of the ball they would like.  Good shots aren’t always rewarded.  Hit it down the middle and the chances are very likely that you will not end up in the middle.  Once the ball lands it will bounce, but it could be to the right or to the left and standing on the tee it is impossible to know which of those directions it is going to be.

Mind games creep in here.  Who can best control their emotions after the many bad bounces that a player will get during 72 holes round St Georges?

This year, everyone is now talking about Rory McIlroy, having just won the US Open.  He will start The Open without a competitive round since his Major triumph but insists this is the right approach as if he had played the French Open and the Scottish Open the media attention would have been too much.... We’ll see, but it is a huge ask to expect him to win another Major straight away, but Rory is quite capable of proving us wrong and his record in Majors is already amazing, having held at least a share of the lead in seven of his last eight rounds in majors and has shot par or better in 11 of his last 12 rounds in a Major.  That’s quite exceptionable!

It would be great to see Lee Westwood with his hands on the Claret Jug, or indeed any “home” grown player.  Of the Americans, who are having a thin time at the moment getting their hands on Majors, Phil Mickelson must always be a consideration despite little success over here and there is Nick Watney, who I think has what it takes to be a Major winner, as well as Matt Kuchar and Dustin Johnson...

Day 1 is exactly 1 week today as I write this and the defending Champion is Louis Oosthuizen.  He decided to skip the links preparation offered at The Scottish Open this week, in preference to The John Deere Clasic.  Being the son of a farmer in South Africa, he was unable to turn down the chance to spend time messing about with the sponsor’s tractors! It did him no good as he failed to make the cut...

DAY 1

It’s 6.30 am and of the 156 starters, 52 are from the USA and 9 of them are Open Champions.  Surprisingly, there are only 36 British players.  There’s a bit of wind and a bit of rain about...

65   Thomas Bjorn (Den) - the last time he played the 16^th and 17^th, he dropped 3 shots and lost the Open by 1 shot.  Today he was 4 shots better on those 2 holes!  Only learned on Monday that he had qualified to play.

        Tom Lewis (Amateur – Eng).  No stranger to Sandwich, he won The British Boys Championship here in 2009.  Winner of the St Andrews Links Trophy in November last year (as did Justin Rose in 1997), the 20 year old from Nick Faldo’s home town of Welwyn Garden City lost a play off to Peter O’Malley for the New South Wales Open and then came 12^th in the Australian Open,towards the end of last year.  He is playing in The Open after qualifying with 63 and 65 down the coast at another great links course at Rye.

66   Miguel Angel Jimenez (Esp) – veteran European Tour and Ryder Cup player with 18 wins on tour.

       Lucas Glover (USA) – winner of Wells Fargo Championship earlier this year and 2009 U S Open.  

       Webb Simpson (USA) – Twice a runner up on the US PGA Tour and 3 top 10 finishes, obviously in form.

68   12 players on 2 under include Graeme McDowell (NI); Martin Kaymer (GER); and a trio from     USA, Ricky Barnes; Jeff Overton and Ryan Palmer.  

Other fancied players scores:

69   Ian Poulter (Eng); Adam Scott (Aus); Bubba Watson (USA); Steve Stricker (USA)

70   Stewart Cink (USA); Dustin Johnson (USA); Rickie Fowler (USA); Sergio Garcia (Esp); Phil Mickelson (USA).

71   K J Choi (Kor); Peter Uhlein (Amateur- USA); Rory McIlroy (NI); Luke Donald (Eng); Jason Day (Aus); Lee Westwood (Eng); Charl Schwartzel (RSA).

72   Louis Oosthuizen (RSA); Jim Furyk (USA); Anthony Kim (USA); Zach Johnson (USA); Justin Rose (Engl).

73   Padraig Harrington (IRL); 74 Nick Watney (USA); Paul Casey (Eng); Mat Kuchar (USA).

DAY 2

Sandwich has yet to bare its teeth as the second days play began with blue skies white clouds and, would you believe, sunshine.  Short sleeve shirts on display today!

But if fireworks on the course were expected on such a benign day, then there was disappointment as the top 5 leaders all fell back and the 36 hole total came back from 5 under  to 4 under.  Wait till the weather deteriorates, as is forecast for the weekend!

136   Darren Clarke (NI) 68 – halfway there and yet another Northern Irishman breathing heavily on a Major Trophy!  42 year old Clarke plays this type of links golf all the time at his native Portrush, so is better suited to playing this type of golf and especially in bad weather...                                        

Lucas Glover (US) 70

137   Chad Campbell (US) 69; Thomas Bjorn (Den) 72; Miguel Angel Jiminez (Spa) 71; Martin Kaymer (Ger) 69

138   Dustin Johnson (US) 68; Charl Schwartzell (RSA) 67; Davis Love111 (US) 68; Tom Lehman (US) 67; Pablo Larrazabal (Spa) 70; Anders Hansen (Den) 69

139   Phil Mickelson (US) 69; Jeff Overton (US) 71; Adam Scott (Aus) 70; Ryan Plamer (US) 71; Tom Lewis (Amateur, Eng) 74

  140   13 players on 140 including Steve Stricker (US)71; Zach Johnson (US) 68; Anthony Kim (US) 68; Y E Yang (Kor) 69; Rory McIlroy (NI) 69; Rickie Fowler (US) 70; Sergio Garcia (Spa) 70                            

The cut was made on 3 over 143 and some fancied names have packed their bags and gone home, including on 144  Padraig Harrington 71 and Lee Westwood 73;  145 Graeme McDowell 77; 146 Luke Donald 75; 147 Ian Poulter 78; 151 Matt Kuchar 77.

DAY 3

Looking out the window, today is not a day I would like to be playing golf...and certainly not 18 holes of links golf!  I have played Royal St Georges, Sandwich, many times as a youth, unfortunately always early in the year and my memories are similar, I would imagine, to those of a combatant on an assault course!  Wind, rain, sometimes sleet and snow, almost every time I visited this majestic but difficult course, the weather was bad.  In those days there was no such thing as lightweight, breathable waterproofs.  You either got soaking wet with the rain or soaking wet with perspiration caused by the PVC or rubber lined waterproof suits of the day!

Watching the television today, I was glad to be in the warmth of my own home.  It was windy and wet out there and scores are bound to go high...

205 Darren Clarke (NI) 69

206 Dustin Johnson (US) 68

208 Rickie Fowler (US) 68;  Thomas Bjorn (Den) 71

209 Lucas Glover (US) 73;  Miguel Angel Jiminez (Spa) 72

210 Phil Mickelson (US) 71;  Anthony Kim (US) 70;  Anders Hansen (Den) 72;  Davis Love III (US) 72; George Coetzee (RSA) 72;  Martin Kaymer (Ger) 73

211 Zach Johnson (US) 71; Ryan Palmer (US)72; Tom Lehman (US)73; Chad Campbell (US) 74

212 Raphael Jacquelin (Fra) 71; Steve Stricker (US) 72; Simon Dyson (Eng) 72; Webb Simpson (US) 72; Adam Scott (Aus) 73

Fowler had the worst of the weather of the top group and his 68 was superb. Amazingly, the weather, though bad early on, did not get worse and the scoring didn't go off the board.  By the end of the afternoon the worst of the rain was over and it can only be hoped that it will not be any worse for the last day.

Surely, tomorrow’s winner must come from one of the above players...

What happened to...??             Y E Yang 73 and Charl Schwartzell 75 on 213;  Tom Watson 72; Rory McIlroy 74;  Sergio Garcia 74 all on 214;  Bubba Watson 74 and the Amateur Tom Lewis 76 on 215;  Louis Oosthuizen 74, the defending Champion on 216;  Peter Uihlein (US) 75 the only other Amateur (US) left, playing for the Silver Medal, on 217

DAY 4

Will today herald the 12^th different Major winner in a row?

Glover, Mickelson , Love III and Kaymer, are the only Major winners in the top 12 close enough to spoil that, poised within 4 to 5 shots of the leader.

Clarke has been runner up in the 1997 Troon Open and third in the 2001 Open at Royal Lytham & St Annes.  This is his 20^th attempt to lift the Claret Jug and there would be nobody more popular, should he do it.

Johnson has three times been in the last group of a Major and this time hopes to finish the job.

But breathing down their necks are a lot of guys with the talent and determination to spoil their day...

On a changeable day, dull then sunny, windy always, fine then lashing rain, this is what links golf is all about and anything could happen...

With a 1 shot lead Darren was never headed and although he came through with a 3 shot margin it was never a runaway victory until the last few holes.

If the 12 foot putt for par at the 1^st had not gone in, who knows what might have happened, but in it went and a birdie at the second increased his lead to 2.  Up ahead, his pal Phil Mickelson, who had started 5 behind, was absolutely burning it up and had birdied the 2^nd, 4^th, 6^th, before slotting a beauty on the 7^th for an eagle and at one stage after a birdie on 10, the difference was just 1 shot.

Meanwhile, Dustin Johnson who was playing with Darren, was playing steadily but not producing the necessary fireworks, and although Darren dropped a shot at the 4^th, he made an eagle himself at 7 and reached the turn at 7 under which was 2 shots better than Phil up ahead before Phil made his birdie on 10 and the gap was just 1.

But that was as close as it got and nobody else but Phil and Dustin got anywhere near.  After 13, Dustin was at 5 under, 2 behind but hit his second shot went out of bounds at the long 14^th and Phil’s charge had abruptly ended with a run of 4 dropped shots in 6 holes and Darren was suddenly 4 ahead.

Despite the luxury of being able to afford to miss a short putt on both 17 and 18, Darren had done enough and a final 70 saw him become the 2011 Open Champion by 3 shots, ahead of the tied runners up, Dustin Johnson and Phil Mickelson.

The best Amateur for the Silver Medal went to Tom Lewis (Eng) on 289, 3 ahead of Peter Uihlein (US).

Leading Scores:

275  Darren Clarke (NI) 70

278  Dustin Johnson (US) 72;  Phil Mickelson (US) 68

279  Thomas Bjorn (Den) 71

280  Anthony Kim (US) 70;  Chad Campbell (US) 69;  Rickie Fowler (US) 72

281  Raphael Jacquelin (Fra) 69

282  Davis Love III (US) 72;  Sergio Garcia (Spa) 68;  Simon Dyson (Eng) 70

283  Steve Stricker (US) 71;  Lucas Glover (US) 74;  Martin Kaymer (Ger) 73

284  George Coetzee (RSA) 74

285  Zach Johnson (US) 74;  Fredrik Jacobson (Swe) 72;  Charl Schwartzel (RSA) 72;  Richard Green (Aus) 71;  Webb Simpson (US) 73; Y E Yang (Kor) 72

286  Anders Hansen (Den) 76; Tom Watson (US) 72;  Tom Lehman (US) 75

287  Rory McIlroy (NI) 73;  Adam Scott (Aus) 75;  Miguel Angel Jiminez (Spa) 78

Some interesting facts:

Darren, at 42 years old is the -

Oldest Open champion since Roberto Di Vicenzo, who was 44, in 1967

Oldest major winner since Ben Crenshaw's 1995 Masters victory at the age of 43

Oldest first-time major champion since Di Vicenzo's 1967 triumph at Hoylake

The second Northern Irishman to win The Open after Fred Daly in 1947

The third Northern Irishman in the past 13 months to win a Major Open Championship.

Article by: Martin Dawson

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