Rónán MacNamara in Royal Troon
The first two days of the Open Championship saw old fashioned golf rewarded at Royal Troon. On a soaking wet Saturday the only fashion on show were wet suits and backwards hats.
Billy Horschel, an avid West Ham supporter, showed his mettle on day three while dressed as Mr Links with the short sleeved shirt tucked into the wet pants and the cap turned backwards. You wouldn’t believe that he had yet to crack a top-20 in an Open Championship to date.
While his beloved Hammers struggle to break into the top table that is the UEFA Champions League, Horschel is on the cusp of the big time on Sunday.
The Postage Stamp at Royal Troon is the shortest hole in Open history and yet one of the most revered par-3s in the world.
A picture of beauty yet riddled with danger, though she be but little, she is fierce.
A coffin bunker right of the 8th green was one dagger to the heart of Rory McIlroy’s Open chances on day one. The left coffin claimed just two victims over the first two rounds but on Saturday afternoon it caught Shane Lowry and Daniel Brown together.
While Brown managed to recover, a double bogey five from the coffin bunker could prove fatal for Lowry’s Open hopes as on Saturday he failed to recover from the body blow.
It was the Offaly man’s second double bogey in fifteen holes and he only spiralled from there. Ranked 78th out of 80 players in putting for round three and 73rd around the greens, Lowry passed up multiple birdie opportunities to stretch his lead before his putting woes continued as he was unable to escape with the necessary pars to save himself from disaster.
Until the 17th… All of a sudden despair turned to hope. A slam of the club was all that it took to get Lowry going.
Friday brought gusts of over 35mph and while the flags drooped over their poles, dark clouds engulfed Troon and heavy persistent rain with no let up brought a completely different challenge.
It evoked memories of Baltray in 2009 and Portrush in 2019.
Three Kerry jerseys pestered Lowry for a golf ball walking off the 8th green in one of the most ‘read the room you clown’ moments I have ever seen.
Lowry gave two grandstand finishes on 18 on Thursday and Friday and a Galway flag almost helped him save par on Saturday but he left the 54th green three shots adrift of Horschel and punch drunk. Even Paul Kimmage was silenced.
Horschel blasted that he “felt like an idiot” but all the idiots were blown away on Friday.
It was tough, it was wet and it was brutal, but if the winner comes from the Justin Rose/Billy Horschel pairing then Troon will have unearthed a worthy champion.
A superb embrace between both players at the end of a round of golf that was played in tremendous spirit in conditions that were anything but gracious.
The last six major championships have been won by the 54-hole leader. Lowry can buck that trend.
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