Bad weather a huge factor
Rain is no stranger to the British Open. Wet and windy weather is common in Northern Ireland, too.
But the adverse conditions on the final day of this year’s tournament, the first time golf ’s oldest major has been across the Irish Sea since 1951, was evident in the scoring yesterday at Royal Portrush Golf Club.
Tony Finau was the only player who managed even par from the final 20 players who teed off.
J.B. Holmes, in the penultimate pairing, shot 87.
“We got the worst of it,” Finau said after his 71 gave him a third-place finish, 8 shots behind British Open champion Shane Lowry.
“It started raining and blowing sideways.”
The R&A decided to move tee times up an hour for the final round in an effort to avoid the worst of the expected heavy rain and wind. If they did miss it, they didn’t miss much.
The rain started to come down hard in the afternoon on the Dunluce Links, lashing players and fans, nearly all of them in their foulweather gear. The wind was blowing strong, too, breaking umbrellas and forcing many a player into some tricky shots out of the rough that lines the thin fairways.
“I felt like I played three different tournaments at this point,” said Jon Rahm, a contender early in the tournament who ended up at 3-under after a 75 yesterday. “I will say this is proper Open Championship weather to become a champion. You can say you truly became a champion on a perfect Open Championship day. Rain, wind, difficult. Whoever gets to do it, they will be called a champion.”
That champion was Lowry, an Irishman who has been through bad weather on a golf course many times in his 32 years.
“It was unbelievably difficult out there, especially when that really bad rain showed up,” Lowry said. “It was just so difficult. I kept saying to myself, ‘Bogeys are not going to hurt me, so let’s just keep the ball in play.’”
Fleetwood on hold
The rain was verging on torrential, the putts weren’t dropping, and Tommy Fleetwood was looking thoroughly miserable on the most remote part of the links.
“Oh, Tommy,” he said, his shoulders slumping as his third shot from the middle of the fairway at the par-4 seventh fell short and into the greenside bunker.
A Sunday charge never materialized at the British Open for Fleetwood, the Englishman with the long locks only once getting within 3 strokes of playing partner and eventual champion Lowry after starting 4 shots back. That first major title will have to wait at least another year.
“I’m trending in the right way,” said Fleetwood, who now has two runner-up finishes at the majors on his resume. “I just hope my time will come eventually.”
It ended up being a slog for Fleetwood on a wet and wild day at Royal Portrush, when there was barely a smile from one of the most easy-going guys in golf as he shot a 3-over 74 to finish 6 strokes behind Lowry.
Herman on top
Jim Herman rode President Donald Trump’s putting advice to victory at the PGA Tour’s Barbasol Championship in Nicholasville, Ky.
Taking advantage of playing partner Kelly Kraft’s two late bogeys, Herman finished with a 2-under 70 for a 1-stroke victory at Keene Trace. A shot ahead with three to play, Kraft bogeyed the par-3 16th and par-4 17th in a closing 70.
Trump’s regular golf partner while working as an assistant professional at Trump National Bedminster in New Jersey, Herman changed to a conventional putting grip and clubhead at the president’s suggestion following a recent round.