2017 Open Championship discussion thread (Spoil alert)

sdandrea1 · 2017-07-19T21:18:45+00:00

Let's chat it up! April 2017 Golf Digest has Phil on the cover touting his article "Phil's New Driver Secrets". July 2017 Phil announces he's not using a dr...

professor

PA-PLAYA All points well-stated - as per almost always usual. How can one not like and respect Kooch?! As well, that "different cloth" you speak of is what we used to call "a good sport". He's that and then some. However, and still - as it would be tied to your commentary about Rory and his caddie - I've not seen the clarification about the "collapse" (not choke - heaven forbid) comment; whether it was Jordan to his caddie or vice versa. Regardless what started as a collapse made the triumph all the sweeter.

Par4QC

PA-PLAYA Kuchar (reportedly) didn't know that his family had flown over from the states at the last minute to be there should he prevail

Can't help but think he would have dug deeper, had he known they were there expecting he could win. The extra confidence factor could have been huge; maybe do a couple things differently.

PA-PLAYA

Par4QC

Perhaps... but I can understand why the wife/kids felt compelled to stay home. On the brighter side, they were there for support and encouragement after the fact, at least.

And it's also worth noting that there's a hopeless feeling that comes when watching your opponent drain a 50-footer for eagle, then the very next hole draining an unlikely 25-footer for birdie. Matty played about as well as any of us could've possibly expected a player of his caliber to do... Jordan was simply clutch with the putter, which he's known for, and there's not much any competitor can do, be it DJ, Rory, Jason, etc. in that situation.

I just really felt badly for him given that he gave his best, yet Jordan's greatness in the clutch just wasn't to be denied.

In the end, not sure how much having the wife and kids there would've factored. We'll probably not see a 5-hole performance to win a major in that fashion for a long long while.

ode

Kuch lipped out a few too many putts, I don't look at it as he needed.to dig deeper, he just lipped out those.putts, he played well. Spieth slit his throat with.the up and down and draining those putts, and at the time he did, was Uber clutch!....and despite Kuch outplaying him of the tee, Jordan still led him and the field in GIR. Over 72 holes you think it would cost Jordan but it did not.....the kid is good and can win with a B game, he got out of a lot of trouble. To me he's a better golfer then all the guys with the great looking swings and 370 yard drives...yet no way can they chip and putt like Spieth and.have the same belief. Kuch not in the same league!

PA-PLAYA

ode

Ultimately, that's what it comes down to. Kuchar was playing his very best, top-gear. Jordan had another gear he could tap into and channeled it when the situation demanded.

I really wanted to see Matty win this one, even if it meant coasting through to the finish with simple 2-putt pars. Of course - we would've looked back on it as the major that Jordan lost, but nevertheless Matty would've at least had the one big feather in his hat that is absent on his competitive resume. Sorta kinda like Stu Cink, who earned this very major championship because of an elder statesmen in Tom Watson faltering in the end. No matter how we look at it, Stu Cink is a major champion.

Yet that's what separates the good from the best. Kuchar has made a comfortable living being consistently good, and occasionally great on certain non-major weeks. Top-20 in the world rankings.... I thought he performed about as well as could be expected. Very close to getting it done, but a more talented player had another level that he tapped into. Unfortunately for Matty this wasn't an aging veteran or inexperienced player, but a kid who's already shown his mettle in these situations on two occasions prior.

professor

Were those putts clutch? Absolutely! Seriously, beyond skill what proportion of luck is involved in draining bombs like those?! And, on top, when he did. The metaphor of him slitting Kooch's throat is a good one (and of all golfers). Kooch didn't deserve that - but Spieth earned it!

In this regard Spieth does remind me of Tiger - no doubt. Can be errant off the tee, can make miraculous saving second shots and then can take advantage of the flat stick! Putt for dough.

ode

professor yep.....the best comparison, as far as the golf is concerned, is Tiger....and it's a compliment!

darpar

My take on the going down the stretch in a major:
Spieth had more of that killer instinct look in his eyes than I saw in Kuchar.
Sure both guys wanted to win,but I think Jordan wanted it a LOT more.
Kuchar seems to come off as just a happy go lucky golfer and not much rattles him,as evidenced by
the loooong wait on 13....he seemed to take it in stride.
While other golfers might have gotten pretty upset (Spieth might have been one of those if the tables were turned).

Matt Kuchar played some great golf for 4 straight days,it just wasn't good enough to beat a guy who seemed like
he was on a mission from day one,and had something to prove....and that he did!
It's not very often in a major you get to see the same two names at or near the top of a leader board for four days in a row....that was pretty cool.
The Open almost became like match play.
They both shot 69 on the final day,but it sure didn't seem like it!

mikeintopeka

Overall, I liked the telecasts done by NBC Sports. The commentators sure liked to talk a lot and on top of each other and proved they were human with numerous mistakes they passed down to us. Bones only seemed to come out of his shell with the interview(s) he did with Kucher's caddy and didn't provide much insight that I was expecting. Did it seem like they covered a lot more golf and less post round and special interest interviews?

I shudder should we ever have to go back to the day where the Brits provided ALL cameras and shared it with us creating 'impromptu' telecasts.

PA-PLAYA

Sometimes this game just gets on your nerves to the point where you can't take it anymore! No, never mind what I said back in April @ Augusta National, as I told the world how important it was for me to control my emotions and frustrations to win my first major championship! That was then! I was playing well!

Sincerely,
Sergio Gorseia.

professor

Funny as hell, sad, and true. It's very hard for a fiery competitor to not be fiery anymore (even if he is getting married). LOL

PA-PLAYA

professor

Very true.

There have been numerous occasions over the past several months when I've swung horribly and wanted to hurl a club, but didn't, because I didn't want to become a negative distraction toward my playing partners.

It's worth noting that in those moments I didn't need a physiotherapist, but rather a sports psychologist. lol

Sergio has yet to graduate to that level I guess. lol

Then again I'm competing for $20 bucks max.... not several hundred thousands of dollars!

professor

PA-PLAYA "It's worth noting that in those moments I didn't need a physiotherapist, but rather a sports psychologist. lol

Sergio has yet to graduate to that level I guess. lol"

You don't need anything but to remember "Golf's Not a Game of Perfect".

Sergio's doin' alright. Besides as noted in the video, the gorse won. I don't mind a brief one now and again - not having one (ideally) being around 'em. (They're most fun to watch if they're at least two fairways away. LOL)

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