The Claret Jug has often been returned with some scratches and dents from its different custodians through the years, almost as if to verify how much the Champion Golfer has celebrated and shared the love.
Except, Jack Nicklaus.
A three-time winner of the Open, Nicklaus – back in St Andrews for the first time since he played for the last time in 2005 – revealed: “I have never put anything in the Claret Jug. I know it’s the Claret Jug [for wine], but I always thought it was disrespectful to be drinking out of it.
“I’ve seen guys that have done it in the past. But I always respected it. They cleaned it out before I got it and I didn’t want to dirty it up … I never used the Claret Jug for anything other than what it symbolised, Champion Golfer of the Year, and I was delighted to have been able to retain that twice here (at St Andrews in 1970 and 1978), three times with Muirfield.”
Zalatoris looking to go one better with new driver
Will Zalatoris – 6th-2nd-2nd in the three Majors so far this year – has a new weapon of choice in his hands in his attempt to use driver to the maximum over the Old Course this week.
Although ranked 16th on the PGA Tour statistics in driving distance for his play this season, averaging 311.6 yards, which has been attributed to using a longer club shaft since the start of the year, Zalatoris has switched from one Titleist driver to another.
He used the TSi3 up the US Open but has now changed to the new TSR3, which has an 8-degree loft and is equipped with a Fujikura Speeder 661 TR X-flex shaft.
“With mis-hits being that much better, you might see my driving average pop up six yards because of the mis-hits going that much farther and that much straighter too,” said Zalatoris, runner-up to Justin Thomas at the US PGA and to Matt Fitzpatrick at the US Open.
Word of mouth
“The biggest thing I would love to take from him is his attitude towards the game. He could hit it 100 yards off-line and you’d never know it happened. I think that his biggest strength is he just moves straight on to the next shot, that’s what he is focused on. That’s why he is such a good player and a multiple Major winner” – US Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick on Pádraig Harrington.
Twitter Twaddle
By the Numbers: 8
This is the historic 150th staging of the Open … but the very first championship – won by Willie Park at Prestwick in 1860 – was played in stark contrast to the anticipated record breaking 290,000 spectators expected to attend this week. That first tournament featured just eight players, who fitted in their play among that of normal players at Prestwick.
In the Bag: Xander Schauffele (Scottish Open)
Driver: Callaway Rogue ST Triple Diamond (10.5 degrees)
3-wood: Callaway Epic Speed Triple Diamond (15 degrees)
5-wood: Callaway Apex UW (21 degrees)
Irons: Callaway Apex TCB (4-PW)
Gap wedge: Callaway Jaws Raw (52 degrees)
Sand wedge: Titleist Vokey Design SM9 (56 degrees)
Lob wedge: Titleist Vokey Design SM9 (60 degrees)
Putter: Odyssey O-Works #7
Ball: Callaway Chrome Soft X
On this Day: July 12th, 1975
Tom Watson’s love affair with the Open Championship – and with Scotland – started in Carnoustie, where the 25-year-old American lifted his first of five Claret Jug successes.
With top-10 finishes in the Masters and the US Open already that year, Watson positioned himself well through the opening three rounds to head into the final round in fourth place, three strokes adrift of 54-hole leader Bobby Cole.
As Cole faded in the final round, Watson sank a lengthy birdie putt on the 72nd hole for a 72 to a total of 279, which put him alongside Jack Newton, one shot clear of Jack Nicklaus, Johnny Miller and Cole.
Watson and Newton went into an 18 hole playoff and were still locked together standing on the 18th tee. However, Newton found a greenside bunker on his approach to the green and failed to get up and down to save par, while Watson successfully parred to win his first of five Opens, all of which were achieved in Scotland.
Know the Rules
Q
Why was Ian Woosnam penalised a two-stroke penalty in the final round of 2001 Open at Royal Lytham and St Annes?
A
The Welsh Wizard had been unsure what driver to use on the final day and had taken two to the driving range where he hit a number of shots. Unfortunately, both drivers remained in the bag when Woosnam started his round – hitting his tee-shot to the first for a tap-in birdie to join Niclas Fasth atop the leaderboard – only for his caddie Myles Byrne to discover there were 15 clubs in the bag (one more than the limit) when they reached the 15th tee. “I felt like I had been kicked in the teeth,” said Woosnam of the infraction. He never recovered, ultimately finishing in a six-way tie for third, four shots behind winner David Duval.
Simple lesson: always count the number of clubs in the bag before teeing off!
