St Andrews still a jewel in the crown

so if st andrews is obsolete, the open Championship having been won by Cameron smith 20 under par, golf’s landscape is soon going to look very different. Royal Troon is gone, too, because Henrik stenson won there with -20 in 2016. and augusta National, because the same score gave Dustin Johnson the title in 2020. and no Whistling straits, either, after Jason Day’s 20 under claimed the us PGa Championship in 2015.

Bryson DeChambeau was right. Nobody feels they have truly conquered the old Course. every day is different. and this, remember, was st andrews at its most defenceless under perfect, benign conditions. of course, it has its weaknesses. Johnson thinned one off the 18th tee on saturday and his ball skidded so far down an unguarded fairway it almost reached the green.

Yet the lowest round was 64, and no golfer, even the brilliant smith, shot four in the 60s. By being crafty with pin positions the R&a protected their crown jewel. equally, ask the many american visitors, who describe st andrews as the trip of a lifetime, whether they find the Home of Golf obsolete. Nobody is travelling from arizona to get a look at the Centurion Club in Hemel Hempstead.