2014 Open Championship
Royal Liverpool Golf Club
Hoylake, England
Media Coverage
I was stuck in my office for the first two rounds of the Open Championship with only a pair of headphones and an internet connection to keep me in tune with the happenings. It was actually quite enjoyable to listen to the Open’s radio crew, a nice perspective from some fine chaps. I’d much rather have this commentary than american golf announcers.
Television coverage here in the USA of the Open was okay. Fortunately less of the golf-unknowing ESPN announcers were on the call this time around. One announcer, I think Scott Van Pelt, was so informative in letting me know that Rory McIlory was hitting an iron off the tee. Yeah, like I couldn’t see that myself. Thanks man.
One thing they did manage well was not covering Tiger, who was not a factor at any point. So for that I’m thankful. The one bit of Tiger coverage I did see was him digging in a gorse bush!
Rory McIlory
Why not start my player commentary with the winner? McIlory’s ball striking was “on” this week. When he is on, nobody on the planet can beat Rory in my opinion, not even Tiger at his best. Rory’s swing is a thing of beauty when his timing is great, like this week. After the first two 66’s I thought we were in for another lapping of the field like in Rory’s U.S. Open and PGA Championship wins. He did make it interesting by not going much lower on Sunday, combined with Sergio Garcia making a run.
I was a Tiger fan, call me a bandwagon jumper if you want, during his peak and I’m certainly a Rory fan now. I guess I’m a fan of good golf when it comes down to it.
I was very impressed and happy for Rory. Well played young lad.
Tiger Woods
I posted last week the question, “will Tiger Woods make the cut?” I asked it because I had doubts that he would, while others were asking whether he would win. In fact, Tiger did barely make it with a birdie on the 18th Friday to hit it on the number.
Tiger’s first round 69 was a good round, but one good round does not a tournament make. He followed up the 69 with rounds of 77-73-75 and finished 4th from last place.
Tiger is not “back,” at least not yet. His finish this week moved him down in the world rankings from #7 to #9. Realistically, he’s not playing even top 50 golf right now.
Missed Cut
Two-time Masters champ Bubba Watson missed the cut and was apparently not polite to the fans and not complementary to the course or event. See this article: http://www.golf.com/tour-and-news/bubba-watson-2014-british-open
Somehow I’ve become a semi-fan of Ian Poulter. I dig his candidness and honesty on his social networks. He wants to be a world class player. I’m sure he’d be the first to admit that his performance in the majors isn’t up to what he aspires to. Perhaps he needs to pretend it is the Ryder Cup?
Perhaps the most disappointing cut missed was Miguel Angel Jimenez. The color and fun he adds to an event is unmatched. Someday I hope to meet him and smoke a cigar with him!
Other notable cut-missers: Webb Simpson, Luke Donald K.J. Choi, Ernie Els, and Lee Westwood.
Perhaps the major train has left the building for Westwood?
Luke Donald was once ranked #1 in the world. His performance in majors is awful. It has to be all in his head. His golf swing is so good.
Rickie Fowler
Guess what player is the only one in the Open to have shot all four rounds in the 60’s? I’ve poked a lot of fun at Rickie Fowler and his traffic cone orange outfits he wears on Sunday, but he has gained total respect from me in the majors this year. He has been right there, quite close to breaking through. It may just be a matter of time before he gets his first major win.
Fowler finished tied for 2nd with Sergio Garcia.
Sergio Garcia
Speaking of Sergio Garcia, he put on quite a run Sunday. He put some pressure on Rory. I think he was far enough back that he didn’t feel any pressure.
The cynic in me says Sergio will never win a major, but maybe I’m still ticked at him for the spitting in the hole incident many years ago.
Phil Mickelson
Phil Mickelson made the cut and finished a solid tie for 23rd. Not much going on for Phil this week, except some fun videos of him hitting flops shots at the Scottish Open the week before.
The Venue
Royal Liverpool looked soft and green, not exactly the “links” golf conditions I’d hoped for. Players were actually backing up shots, which on a links course is not common. There was very little wind, and a tiny bit of rain on Saturday. The course had no teeth, producing 45 players with under-par scores.
I’m sure it is a great links course, but this week Royal Liverpool was a little too easy in my opinion. A little more solid wind would have made the event a little more riveting. Mother nature failed on this one.
¾
Now that the Open is over my heart is a little sunk. The golf season is ¾ of the way over, for the pros and for myself. Winter will be coming here and pretty soon I’ll be staring out the window at snow on the ground.
Guess I’d better get in as much golf as I can between now and then.
Today’s apparel script features the Oakley “Delta” Polo. I was quite comfortable in my regular business capacity today, and caught a selfie opening the fridge. You may recognize this shirt as the same one Bubba Watson was wearing during the final round when he won the 2014 Masters Tournament.
Bubba wears the shirt winning the Masters. I wear it opening the fridge. Both great accomplishments in our own worlds.
Stay tuned for my full review of the Oakley Delta Polo after I’ve had a chance to test it out on the golf course.
PGA TOUR / European Tour
WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship
Dates: February 19-23
Venue: The Golf Club at Dove Mountain – Marana, Ariz.
Tournament Airtimes On Golf Channel (Eastern):
Wednesday Noon-6 p.m. (Live) / 7:30 p.m.-1:30 a.m. (Replay)
Thursday 1-6 p.m. (Live) / 6:30-11:30 p.m. (Replay)
Friday 2-6 p.m. (Live) / 6:30-10:30 p.m. (Replay)
Saturday Noon-2 p.m. (Live) / 6:30-10:30 p.m. (Replay)
Sunday 9 a.m.-1 p.m. (Live) / 7-11 p.m. (Replay)
In the field: Rory McIlroy, Henrik Stenson, Justin Rose, Zach Johnson, Jason Day, Matt Kuchar, Sergio Garcia, Dustin Johnson, Bubba Watson, Steve Stricker and Jordan Spieth.
LPGA TOUR
Honda LPGA Thailand
Dates: February 20-23
Venue: Siam Country Club Pattaya (Old Course), Chonburi, Thailand
Tournament Airtimes On Golf Channel (Eastern):
Thursday 9 a.m.-Noon (Tape Delay)
Friday 9 a.m.-1 p.m. (Tape Delay)
Saturday 2-6 p.m. (Tape Delay)
Sunday 1:30-6 p.m. (Tape Delay)
In the field: Inbee Park, Suzann Pettersen, Stacy Lewis, Lydia Ko, So Yeon Ryu, Shanshan Feng, Karrie Webb, Na Yeon Choi, Lexi Thompson and Paula Creamer.
PGA TOUR
Farmers Insurance Open
Dates: January 23-26
Venue: Torrey Pines Golf Course (North & South courses), La Jolla, Calif.
Notables in the field: Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Keegan Bradley, Brandt Snedeker, Jason Day, Rickie Fowler, Hunter Mahan, Bubba Watson and Jimmy Walker.
Tournament Airtimes On Golf Channel (Eastern):
Thursday 3-7 p.m. (Live) / 7:30-11:30 p.m. (Replay)
Friday 3-7 p.m. (Live) / 7:30-11:30 p.m. (Replay)
Saturday 1-2:30 p.m. (Live) / 6:30-11 p.m. (Golf Channel and CBS Replay)
Sunday 1-2:30 p.m. (Live) / 7 p.m.-Midnight (Golf Channel and CBS Replay)
LPGA TOUR
Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic
Dates: January 23-26
Venue: Ocean Club Golf Course, Paradise Island, Bahamas
Notables in the field: Stacy Lewis, Suzann Pettersen, Michelle Wie, Lexi Thompson, Paula Creamer, Ai Miyazato, Lydia Ko, Morgan Pressel, Beatriz Recari and Natalie Gulbis.
Tournament Airtimes On Golf Channel (Eastern):
Thursday 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. (Live)
Friday 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. (Live)
Saturday 3-5 p.m. (Live)
Sunday 3-5 p.m. (Live)
EUROPEAN TOUR
Commercialbank Qatar Masters
Dates: January 22-25
Venue: Doha Golf Club, Doha, Qatar
Notables in the field: Henrik Stenson, Sergio Garcia, Jason Dufner, Luke Donald, Ernie Els, Martin Kaymer, Thomas Bjorn, Migueal Angel Jimenez, Branden Grace, Alvaro Quiros.
Tournament Airtimes On Golf Channel (Eastern):
Wednesday 5-8 a.m. (Live) / Noon-2 p.m. (Replay)
Thursday 5-8 a.m. (Live)
Friday 4:30-8:30 a.m. (Live)
Saturday 4:30-8:30 a.m. (Live) / 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. (Replay)
2013 was quite a year for Hooked On Golf Blog and me, Tony Korologos. This article is part one of two (part two tomorrow), looking back at 2013 from at HOG viewpoint.
January
Ah the beginning of a new year and the hopes that my short game would improve. There’s always 2014…
Rory McIlory switched to Nike Golf. Personal issues, business issues, and perhaps the equipment switch would contribute to a less-than-satisfying year on the course for Rory.
Attended the PGA Show for the billionth time. Orlando hates me and my body. Had a great time seeing the new gear, meeting old golf friends and battling in the Battle of the Golf Blogs.
February
February I posted a bunch of golf videos from the PGA Merchandise Show.
Asher Golf’s James Roundy, a local friend, passed. Sad.
The Hooked On Golf Blog World Tour traveled to Bogota, Colombia. What a fantastic trip! I got to play golf with Web.com Tour star Kevin Foley in the Web.com Tour Colombia Championship Pro-Am. Kevin would later gain his PGA Tour card for 2014! He must have learned from my dual chicken wing granny over the top swing.
March
While in Colombia I played golf at La Cima Golf Course, 10,000 feet above sea level in the Andes Mountains. Wow. Ball go far.
Met Web.com Tour player Dusty Fielding. Nice kid.
A fun blog post was “Filtering Out the Noise: Golf Social Networking’s Top 10 Overused Status Updates.”
I reviewed the Cobra Amp Cell driver.
April
Bubba’s Hover was the video rage. Bubba Watson released a golf cart hovercraft!
Of course, April is Masters month. Not a month is busier for me or HOG. Lots of Masters related articles. Adam Scott won the Masters in dramatic fashion. Angel Cabrera hit what I consider the shot of the year with his approach on the final hole to about two feet. That shot resulted in a birdie to tie Adam Scott and force a playoff.
I reviewed the Cobra Amp Cell irons.
May
Ecco Golf came out with hybrid wingtip shoes. Some of the coolest crossover shoes ever.
Tiger Woods won THE PLAYERS (always write “The Players” in ALL CAPS, it is what they do). Sergio Garcia and Tiger Woods had a little tiff which the media went into a feeding frenzy over. Sergio eventually apologized for some not-so-nice comments.
HOG poll results told us that Delta Airlines is the worst airline for golf travel.
Good thing Adam Scott won the Masters when he did. The USGA and R&A announced the ban on anchored golf clubs, beginning January 1st, 2016. Bye bye belly.
Eric/Tom sent in some great fan mail, calling me an “asshole who sucks at golf and couldn’t break 100” all because of a golf bag I reviewed. Thanks Eric/Tom!
I fell down a volcano and suffered volcanic road rash. Thankfully my Nikon survived.
June
I played in the Salt Lake Amateur golf tournament. I was right in the mix through 27 holes until my back went out on the 10th tee. I finished, but the last nine was not pretty. Bugger. Kill me.
HOG readers voted Southwest Airlines as the best airline for golf travel by a landslide.
I reviewed a very cool book: An American Caddie in St. Andrews: Growing Up, Girls, and Looping on the Old Course.
Posted an article on golf CHEATERS. That’s what sandbaggers are.
Justin Rose won the U.S. Open in amazing fashion. That was one of the best ball striking displays I’ve ever seen.
On June 30, I boarded an airplane bound for St. Andrews, Scotland.
« Previous
1
2
3
4
5
6
Next »
HOGWire – Golf Industry News
