Cutmakers From The 152nd Open
Some good, some not-so-hot performances from Royal Troon.
Some good, some bad and other stuff to clean up for The Quad’s traditional Cutmakers from The Open.
Cutmakers
Collin Morikawa. The best 2024 majors season without a win comes after a brief separation in November and reunion in May with longtime coach Rick Sessinghaus. As with his run in Augusta this year that put Morikawa in the final pairing, short game issues at Troon prevented a better finish. At least it’s clear what needs work heading into an offseason for a player who has proven that his two majors were no fluke by still regularly hanging around the leaderboard.
Jordan Spieth. A T25 seems remarkable considering he lost over two shots to the field on the greens and only hit 54% of greens to rank 60th in the field. Particularly for someone whose peak years relied on iron play and putting. Which makes his decision to turn so much spare time over to PGA Tour board nonsense and Ryder Cup Zoom calls only to be part of the group coming up with oddball ideas like springing a 2025 Ryder Cup captaincy on Keegan Bradley.
Brooks Koepka. A T43 at Troon while playing the par 5’s +2 and driving the ball poorly capped off a rough 2024 major campaign (T45-T26-T26-T43). Finishing the year without contending in a major and +14 overall could be an aberration or the start of a decline. But he made all four cuts, something no other LIV player can claim.
Robert MacIntyre. Two 7’s and an 8 on his cards over four days did not help, nor did finishing 124th in strokes gained putting even without a three-putt. The Genesis Scottish Open winner got the most out of winning his national Open and came in a bit underprepared, blaming his struggles on Troon’s 2024 winds hurting lefties. But plenty of righties found the downwind holes coming in to be annoying, too. “There's certain golf courses that suit left-handers and right-handers, and this one didn't suit the left-hander with a more southerly wind. If we got the usually westerly wind - I spoke to Phil [Mickelson] about that out there - it was probably perfect for a left-hander, where the front nine was playable for a lefty, whereas this week it was absolutely brutal for me.”
Fan Experience. The R&A did many things well given the increase in crowds this time around. A whopping 258,174 were announced for Sunday through Sunday attendance. Most I spoke to said the train option and bus ride from the course all worked well, as did the Spectator Village that seemed to be full at all times with people enjoying the food and big screens. Another food area closer to the Postage Stamp offered different options but seemed overwhelmed at times, with long lines making access to the far end of the course quite difficult. Once fans were on course there were not enough grandstands given the increase in tickets sold. It was a massive blunder that left some fans discouraged about future Open attendance. Troon does not have many natural dune amphitheaters for seating and desperately needed to have more seats. The 9,000-seat 18th only filled up late Sunday afternoon. Larger grandstands throughout the property and more standing stands were needed for viewing, assuming the R&A wants people to see golfers play before them instead of on scoreboard screens (which seemed limited in content or showing on-course highlights like in the past). Marshals also need to take a lesson from the Masters and learn how to get empty seats filled instead of letting people stand in line outside a stand that’s not full.
Openradio.com. The on-site and Sirius broadcast made for delightful listening once again. Without Ron Jones (minor health matter) & Robert Lee (Sky duties) this year the shows lost a little charm. Bringing the R&A’s paid influencers into the booth as several stars were on the course had some listeners wanting to leap from the top of a grandstand after having to listen to life stories and dreams of growing the game (as long they’re paid to show up). Mercifully, the youth desperation nonsense ended by the weekend and the dedicated team of reporters again delivered the best radio broadcast in championship golf.
The Driver. Bomb and gouge did not work last week and somehow the sport was not worse off for this condition. Unfortunately, b-and-g will return soon wherever golf is played without Troon’s wind and hazards. As players have detailed, the latest driver models are essentially self-correcting and should be better regulated to make the elite game less about swinging as hard as possible and getting away with misses. However, manufacturers whined and squealed about regulating them in any way they could discourage suckers from paying $700 every year or two just play the “same” club the pros play. We have to wait an additional two years until 2028 just to see if the new golf ball rules make a dent in distance even as Troon’s long walks back to tees slowed down rounds, made fan viewing tougher, but did keep holes relevant. At least Martin Slumbers admitted the problem: coming up with a solution in a world where resistant manufacturers will make finding a solution difficult. “We believe that there is work that needs to be done to make the driver less forgiving for the best players in the world. We just don't know how to do it yet. So we'll work with the industry.” Good luck.
Gorse On The Railway. Significant gorse at Royal Troon is found at the 9th through 12th holes. When the wind blows it becomes pretty cool and seems beneath a course filled with strategy and well-placed bunkers. The menacing stuff makes it hard to see the 11th fairway from the tee and confusion meant players hit a lot of unnecessary provisionals. The gorse surely scoops up member golf balls even more and does little to enhance the course. Nothing a good wildfire couldn’t fix. If gorse has to remain the centerpiece at 11, keep the stuff on the left and increase some visibility from the tee of the fairway.