Golf shows all its wild nature in a British Open. It is the purest game, the game of origins, the game of courses born from life itself along the coasts, courses designed by the sea breezes, and then retouched by man. If the Masters at Augusta is the museum of golf, a painting painted down to the smallest detail, the British Open is golf itself. It is there that all the unpredictable nature of this sport comes to the surface. At Royal Troon, the Scottish land that hosts this British on the eve of the Olympic Games, Justin Rose, for example, revives, who at 43 years old is second in the general classification after the second day, with -5, tied with the also English Daniel Brown, both two strokes behind the leader, the Irishman Shane Lowry (-7). Rose finished with two birdies in the last three holes and is bidding for a major after triumphing at the 2013 US Open and some good finishes at the Ryder Cup and with up to 16 others top ten at the Grand Slam stops.
The world number one, Scottie Scheffler (-2), is in the lead group, and Jon Rahm (+1 after -1 on the day) is still far behind. The Basque collected many suffered pars, was burdened with a bogey on the par four of the three and left for the newspaper archives a birdie magnificent on the 9th hole, holing from the fairway in a very awkward position, with his feet higher than the ball. And when he seemed to be on the rise with two strokes down on holes 14 and 15, another bogey on the 16th. There’s no way to squeeze out the par fives.
A resounding farewell with +11 for Rory McIlroy, the face of tragedy after losing the last US Open on the last hole. That wound has not healed either in his soul or in his game. A triple bogey On the par five of the 4th, with another stroke too many before and two more in the bag in the next two holes, it was a slap in the face from which he never recovered, his confidence shaken as he is.
At the age of 49, Tiger Woods is packing his bags again on the Friday of a major, as happened to him this year at the PGA Championship and the US Open, three missed cuts in four tournaments, and a 60th place finish at the Masters in Augusta. It is his worst historical record counting the seasons in which he has played the four Grand Slam events. And yet, despite a hefty +14, the wounded Tiger is not talking about giving up, but rather licking his wounds and returning to the jungle. “I have been suffering all the time. A major demands a lot from a physical, mental and emotional point of view and I have not been as calm as I should have been. But I love the majors and I will continue playing them. I will return next year. My game is better than the latest results say,” said the 15-time major champion.
Also out of the weekend were the Spaniards Ángel Hidalgo (+11), the amateur Jaime Montojo (+13) and David Puig (+14), Jon Rahm’s Olympic teammate in Paris.
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