GEOFF OGILVY
Iwon’t be at Royal St. George’s for the Open Championship this year, but the Kent links on the shore of the English Channel is a course that brings to mind a mixture of memories for me.
My first visit was in 1993, during a trip to England with my father (who was born there). We visited my grandmother, played a bit of golf and, for two memorable days, took in the final 36-holes of the Open at St. George’s.
Talk about lucky. My 16-year old self was there to see Greg Norman win his second Claret Jug. The climax was unbelievable. It seemed like everyone in contention played well, none more so than the Shark. Greg’s closing 64 wasn’t the best score on the final day – Payne Stewart got round in 63 – but it was good enough to lift the title by two shots from Nick Faldo. Faldo led after 54-holes (jointly with Corey Pavin), shot 67 and lost.
As you can imagine, I was focused on watching Greg. I saw him hit as many shots as I could. And when he was walking up the 18th, I had found myself a spot under the grandstand to the right of the fairway and not far short of the green. I could see through a gap in the hoardings as he putted out. I felt really lucky to have seen him win a second major at last. I still have all the newspaper cuttings I collected the following day. All of which meant I left Royal St. George’s thinking it was the coolest place in the world.
That changed though.
Three years later, I was back to play in the Brabazon Trophy, which is another name for the English Amateur Stroke-play Championship. I remember staying in a village called Ash, which is near Sandwich. Steve Allan and I were in a little bed-andbreakfast where you couldn’t open your suitcase on the floor, the room was so small.
Anyway, the weather was amazing. I had never been that cold in my life and the wind must have blown 60 mph over the final 36-holes. I remember calling my parents and telling them I just couldn’t play in those temperatures. I was wearing every article of clothing I had with me. By that time I had missed the cut, but Steve made it through and ended up finishing second on 17-over par. I can’t remember what I shot, maybe
because I don’t want to. What I do recall is that everyone was having to hit 5-irons off the par-5 14th tee to stay short of the burn that crosses the fairway. The day before we all needed to hit a good drive and an even better 3-wood to just get near the burn. It was basically a four-shot hole.
Needless to say, my opinion of Royal St. George’s changed more than a bit that week. It went from the coolest place ever to the least-coolest place on the planet. It was just so hard.
Still, just over a year later, I was back again, this time for the (British) Amateur Championship. And, again, I missed qualifying. By seven shots this time, after rounds of 83 and 80. I was in good company though. A young Sergio Garcia shot 85-77 and Henrik Stenson was only slightly better with 85-75.
I hung around though and caddied for David Gleeson, who ended up losing in the round of 16. We also hung out with Trevor Immelman, who lost in the final, which surprised me. Through the week, Trevor was clearly playing better than the man who eventually beat him, Craig Watson. But Craig was a wily old campaigner who knew how to play links golf. He wore Trevor down.
My only other visit to Royal St. George’s since then came at the 2011 Open Championship, won by Darren Clarke. And yes, you guessed it. I missed the cut by four shots when I shot 74-73.
As you can no doubt imagine, St. George’s is not my favourite place to play golf. Which is not to say I can’t appreciate its attributes. Links courses seem to either play on top of the dunes or between the dunes. Royal Birkdale is in the latter category. The fairways tend to run through valleys, the dunes on either side. So, it has a welcoming look to it, even though it remains very difficult.
St. George’s is the opposite. In no way is it warm and fuzzy. Every fairway seems to be domed. They are wide enough to look at, but if your ball doesn’t land in the middle 10 yards it is likely to kick off into the rough. They are effectively 10 yards wide. Again, many links feature relatively gentle slopes with some drama around the edges. But St. George’s is just all drama. There is no rhyme or reason to where the course wanders. It just makes its random way over all the humps and hollows. Especially when the turf is firm, it is really hard to hit the ball where you want to hit it.
Having said that, there are some unbelievably good holes. But it’s a really hard place to play well, which is why really good winners are identified there. Back in 2011, Darren had been off the boil for a while, but no one doubted that he was one of the best links players in the world. He had all the shots, which helped him on the course that is perhaps the most random – or furthest from sanity – on the Open rota.
Don’t get me wrong though. There are things about St. George’s that stick in the memory for all the right reasons. It’s not a classic “out and back” links. It meanders, so the wind is constantly “changing” direction. There are blind shots too. The second shot to the 10th hole, for example, is one of the most challenging and exciting I’ve ever seen. And that par-5 14th is so intimidating with the white out-of-bounds posts all the way up the right side. It will come as no surprise if that holes plays a significant role in who wins and loses this year. It did in 1993 when Bernhard Langer – playing with Norman – drove OB in the final round. And it did again in 2011; Dustin Johnson’s second shot left the premises when he was Darren’s nearest challenger.
After that, the closing run of four holes is really good, too. So, it’s a great course, even if it is one you learn to respect rather than love. It pisses you off in the same way that Pinehurst No. 2 in the States does. It spits your ball out a lot. And it’s easy to imagine you are getting nothing for your good shots. But the end result is a tough 18-hole test that gets your attention.
As for what we can expect this year, the weather will no doubt play a role in who wins and who loses. It can get so extreme there. And the luck of the draw will surely be part of the equation.
If the weather does get crazy, look for a Darren Clarke-type player to prosper – one with a complete game – especially if he has a lot of experience on links golf. Any weaknesses will soon be exposed. Then there is attitude. Handling bad breaks is always important when playing by the seaside, but never more important than at St. George’s. But if the weather is “normal,” I would expect those at or near the top of the world rankings to feature prominently on the leader board.
The names that come first to my mind are Justin Thomas, Dustin Johnson, Jon Rahm and Jordan Spieth. They will all embrace the random variables that have got the best of me over the years.