The hole got its name after Troon (it became Royal Troon in 1978) underwent several changes in 1909.
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With the long-awaited return of the year’s third major, it feels a bit like Christmas in the golfing world.
One of the oddities about Open venues is that they often seem to turn up a similar type of champion to the ones they produced previously.
Troon is another matter, of course, and, as is the case with the vast majority of the 156-man field, the course was completely unknown to him after a 12-year gap between Open Championships.
Could Johnson become the first back-to-back victor since Tiger Woods in 2005-06 and before that Tom Watson, who completed the first leg of his double, and fourth of his five, at Troon in 1982?
Johnson is No. 2 in the world rankings and coming off back-to-back wins in fields similar to a major championship. “Great, young talents carrying it and pushing it”.
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 hasnt hit me yet, Leonard said. “I’m happy where my game is”.
“I actually thought it was going to be more hard watching it”.
“I will try everything I can but I won’t be putting myself under pressure and saying “I need to make the Ryder Cup team” because I want to focus on the tournament I’m playing and if I take care of that, maybe I’m good enough and if not, then someone else will be there to help”.
After a one-year hiatus, Johnny Miller is back to calling the shots at a major that he won.
He called on golf’s major governing bodies to step up their anti-doping efforts, which he said are limited to a handful of urine tests each year. “I couldn’t even remember how to get to the driving range it’s been such a long time ago”.
Most were about his decision to bail out of the Rio Olympics, and how the exodus of big-name male golfers – nearly alone among athletes – reflects poorly on a sport that has just been re-admitted to the Olympics after 112 years away.
So far, it’s been the predominant story line in the buildup to the golf’s oldest major championship, with Spieth announcing Monday he would follow the lead of McIlroy, Day and Johnson by not playing in Rio next month when the sport rejoins the Summer Games for the first time since 1904. Like others before him, he had cited concerns over the Zika virus. “I think I’m the only guy that ever won The Open with a Surlyn cover”. “I’ll feel very proud, in the circumstances”. The nationally ranked Spring Creek Golf Club 18-hole course unfolds over wooded, rolling hills beneath the mountains of Charlottesville, offering an exceptional golf experience in a private, peaceful setting of bent grass fairways, attractive greens, and breathtaking views. How well they play it will determine how high they finish.
But McIlroy made it clear he’s not in that camp.
Rory McIlroy has taken aim at Olympic golf, saying he’s not even sure he’ll watch it on television.
Last week’s Castle Stuart victor Alex Noren is following Lee in the very next group away at 07:30 and I expect another strong showing and have made a case for the Swede in this week’s each-way column here. However, you better believe Monty’s secretly harbouring ambitions of lifting that Claret Jug on Sunday, and given some of the performances we’ve seen from Seniors on the main tours in recent years, it wouldn’t be a huge shock to see the decorated Scot in contention.
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So, what will he watch?
