No chance he’ll get kicked out of the group, certainly not without putting up quite a fight.
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“Blood-testing needs to happen in golf just to make sure it is a clean sport going forward”.
World No. 1 Jason Day of Australia is at +900 to win on British Open odds with Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy.
“I think it’s going to be a real popular decision this week with a lot of guys just because you want to get the ball on the ground here as fast as possible”, Snedeker said.
Spieth, whose first PGA Tour win was the 2013 John Deere Classic (he won it again a year ago the week prior to the Open at St. Andrews), said he won’t be back to defend his title this summer, because the tournament is on opposite the Olympics. “I feel that of all the courses on the Open rota, that’s my best chance to win”. “I’m determined not to miss any more, for the foreseeable future anyway”.
“I had a bit of a taste of it at St Andrews previous year, playing with Zach in the last round, walking the last few holes being in contention”.
The four-time major victor who was among the first of the luminaries to scratch from Rio, Rory McIlroy, was dismissive of the theory that all the dropouts are sullying golf’s image.
South African PGA Tour rookie Branden Grace (+2200) had a breakout by cracking the top five last month in the U.S. Open, and has consistently been in the Open’s top 20. Then there was the realization that his first major title could just be round the corner. “Great, young talents carrying it and pushing it”.
Even though McIlroy hasn’t been a serious contender at the majors since his victory at Valhalla, McIlroy sees no reason for concern.
“I crave to have that trophy in my possession at some point, and to reach a third leg of the Grand Slam this week would be a fantastic achievement and a life-long goal of mine”, said Spieth, who is not in the best of form but has history on his, or at least his country’s, side.
He rolled his eyes when someone mentioned a reference in the British media that he was on the verge of becoming the Ringo of the Fab Four.
“It gets emotional in many ways”, Montgomerie said, “when the Open comes to your hometown”.
“It will loom over me throughout the Olympic games, for sure”, he said. He’s not a player you should worry about, really.
DUSTIN JOHNSON: I don’t expect anymore from myself. “We’re not going to win every single one”.
Numerous others who have dropped out, such as McIlroy, Adam Scott and Charl Schwartzel, never have been to the JDC.
Golf hasn’t been an Olympic sport for over 100 years, but the International Olympic Committee chose to give it another chance seven years ago.
Of course, DJ is more than just a grip-it-and-rip-it merchant and even in his early career he talked of doing well at Opens due to being able to control his ball in the wind.
As a kid, Day said the two biggest tournaments were the Masters and the British Open.
“If you look at the winners the last few times, they’re all good players, all good putters”, he said.
“When he won here, he hit in two bunkers for the week – and they were greenside bunkers”, Chalmers said.
His future will not include defending his title in the John Deere Classic, which will be played opposite of the men’s Olympic tournament August 11-14.
“I feel like I’ve got to do a little more work throughout my swing to get it compact and ready for this style of (links) golf”.
The room is, as the name suggests, specially for those who have previously won the prestigious golf major.
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Spieth says he’s a huge supporter of Olympic golf and playing for the United States.
