British Open:: July 20 - 23

by **Tom Nolette** » Thu Jul 20, 2017 7:40 am

Golf-McIlroy confident and keen as British Open approaches

SOUTHPORT, England — Rory McIlroy is confident he can put injury problems and a frustrating run of form behind him to mount a serious challenge for a fifth major title at this week’s British Open.

The 28-year-old Northern Irishman, a former world number one now ranked fourth, is rated a 20-1 shot by bookmakers to repeat his 2014 Open victory at Royal Birkdale this week.

“It hasn’t been the year that I had planned, but these things sort of crop up out of nowhere and they challenge us,” McIlroy, who suffered a rib injury in January, told a news conference on Wednesday.

“Obviously, it’s been hard to get any sort of momentum with an injury and not being able to practise as much as you’d like,” he added.

http://bangordailynews.com/2017/07/20/s ... pproaches/

by **Tom Nolette** » Thu Jul 20, 2017 7:52 am

With British Open about to begin, Rory remains in the rough
Not only has Rory McIlroy missed three of the last four cuts, bookies list him at 20-1 to win at Royal Birkdale.

...“Good time to back me,” McIlroy said. “I mean, look, if I was a betting company and I saw my form over the past few weeks, yeah, that’s probably a fair enough price. But again, all it takes is one week for those odds to go back.”

He has been through these mini-slumps more than once in the 10 years since he first played the British Open at Carnoustie. McIlroy missed four of five cuts in 2012, including his title defense in the U.S. Open, and ended the summer by winning the PGA Championship to return to No. 1 in the world.

This one has been the most aggravating. It involves injury.

The hairline rib fracture he suffered in January during the South African Open is no longer an issue, but it forced him to sit out nearly two months, and then he played only once in two months between the Masters and the U.S. Open in part because it was acting up

http://www.pressherald.com/2017/07/19/w ... the-rough/

by **Tom Nolette** » Thu Jul 20, 2017 7:59 am

Rested Spieth hungry for another major
Texan joins Dustin Johnson as top contenders at British Open this week.

...His partner Tuesday was Justin Thomas, who watched the flight of the ball and said, “I like having him on my team when he’s playing like this.”

Everyone is on their own when the British Open begins on Thursday, and Spieth is looking sharp enough to be listed as a co-favorite with Dustin Johnson, the No. 1 player in the world. Spieth is coming off his second victory of the year last month at the Travelers Championship. And when his putter is working – it really hasn’t been this year – he is regarded as a favorite at just about any tournament.

Still to be determined is how much he thrives on links courses like Royal Birkdale.

http://www.centralmaine.com/2017/07/18/ ... her-major/

by **Tom Nolette** » Fri Jul 21, 2017 4:33 am

British Open notebook: Rahm manages to avoid penalty again
Jon Rahm, who avoided a possible penalty two weeks ago, has it happen again in the first round

... “It would not have affected my swing unless I hit a 50-yard slice, which was not the case for any player in the world in that situation,” Rahm said.

Why move it if it wasn’t in the way of his swing? Rahm said it was a reflex because he thought it was a dead twig, similar to a player moving away leaves or other loose impediments as a visual distraction.

There was no video of the incident, and Westwood and Patrick Reed were not close enough to him to see for themselves. Rickman said he weighed the balance of facts and rescinded the penalty. The bogey became a birdie. Rahm’s 71 became a 69.

http://www.pressherald.com/2017/07/20/b ... lty-again/

by **Tom Nolette** » Sat Jul 22, 2017 3:52 am

Jordan Spieth heads to the weekend with 36-hole lead at British Open

SOUTHPORT, England — Even when Jordan Spieth was in trouble, he wasn't.

Rain poured down as he took an awkward stance off the 10th green Friday at Royal Birkdale. Caddie Michael Greller held an umbrella over Spieth as he took one quick but purposeful practice swing after another.

Greller backed away. Spieth took his club back, made contact, and drained it. That's when he really got going.

Spieth's magical chip on 10 kept him in a four-way tie for the lead at this 146th British Open, but it didn't take long for the 23-year-old Texan to take the reins at golf's oldest championship.

http://www.golf.com/tour-news/2017/07/2 ... itish-open

by **Tom Nolette** » Sat Jul 22, 2017 3:53 am

live coverage:

http://stream.golfchannel.com/british-o ... id=theopen

by **Tom Nolette** » Sun Jul 23, 2017 7:14 am

British Open 2017: Tee Times, Pairings and Predictions for Sunday Schedule

Jordan Spieth and Matt Kuchar will be the final pairing to start Sunday's 2017 Open Championship action, resuming their successful partnership.

Golf.com shared the final three pairings for Round 4:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2723 ... y-schedule

by **Tom Nolette** » Mon Jul 24, 2017 4:06 am

Jordan Spieth puts together incredible finish to win British Open

OUTHPORT, England — When things couldn’t have looked worse, Jordan Spieth never looked better.

The young Texan was in the midst of a monumental collapse Sunday in the 146th British Open that was reminiscent of the calamity he produced in the 2016 Masters, when he blew a five-shot lead with nine holes to play. This time, at Royal Birkdale, his three-stroke lead with 18 to play had vanished by the fourth hole, and Spieth looked lost, frustrated and defeated on the ancient land by the Irish Sea.

His struggles continued for eight holes and then his tee shot on the par-4 13th wound up 40 yards to the right of the fairway and disappeared into high, thick grass, forcing him to take a penalty drop. Make that an adventurous, bizarre penalty drop that took 20 minutes and found Spieth on the driving range by the equipment trucks despite a massive sand dune blocking his view of the green.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/g ... 502929001/