OPEN DIARY

Ring of confidence

Rory Mcilroy may have broken £25million in career earnings but he still has some way to go to impress Henrik Stenson in the bling ring stakes.

The Northern Irishman got married in April and proudly wears his wedding ring on the course – not that it has overly dazzled the defending champion. “Obviously it doesn’t hinder him,” Stenson said. “He’s probably got a smaller ring, not in the same kind of bracket as I am. It stays in the bag. Yeah, it weighs about three kilos, this one, and it’s just not comfortable, so I don’t play with it.”

Driving a new route

Having previously employed a pair of drivers at the Masters, Phil Mickelson has adopted a policy of less is more at Royal Birkdale this week. Always willing to venture down paths less trodden with his club selection, Mickelson appears willing to abandon his driver altogether.

Instead he seems set to rely on a 64-degree wedge, a low-spin 3 iron and, for tee shots, the “Phrankenwood” – effectively a modified 2 wood, that he previously used to great effect in his 2013 Open win at Muirfield.

Pop has the quip hand

As a Southport lad, Tommy Fleetwood is primed to become the breakout star of the 146th Open, but his pursuit of stardom could be challenged by his father Peter’s penchant for deadpan quips. Yet even after his fourth-place finish at the US Open, Peter, who used to sneak Tommy on to Royal Birkdale as a child, is not about to give up the bragging rights. “I’m better than him,” Pete told ESPN. “My driving is garbage, my irons are garbage and my short game is garbage. Apart from that, I’m great. I can do the 19th hole pretty well.”

Helping Hahn needed

Spare a thought for James Hahn today as he faces an excruciating wait to discover if he will play at Royal Birkdale this week.

The world No68 is the first alternate to participate and flew from San Francisco two days ago. Now he is dependent on a withdrawal. If anyone deserves some good karma, it is Hahn. The American missed the cut for the 2015 Masters by one stroke after calling an unnoticed one-stroke penalty upon himself.