Once again, it’s time for the clock face on the R&A clubhouse to send them off and welcome them home, all 156 of them, on a route through the old dunes from holes one to 18. In this 150th edition of The Open Championship, there is an added edge to the quest to lift the Claret Jug, providing the victor – whoever it may be – with extra prestige, a place in history.
And, again, the Irish hand is an exceptionally strong one, seven players in total; a quartet with entirely genuine ambitions and expectations in Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry, Séamus Power and Pádraig Harrington; a couple of young guns, David Carey and Ronan Mullarney, each with life and career-changing opportunities; and completed by Darren Clarke, an old maestro of the links seeking to turn back the clock.
With the fairways rock hard, to the point that it would seem that the ball might have a mind of its own, creativity and patience may prove the most desired attributes while the windy conditions, the principal protection of the links, allied with carefully selected pin placements should ensure that players will work for each and every stroke on the scorecard.
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Aside from its historical context, this final major championship of the season offers every player the chance to discover what McIlroy has described as the “holy grail,” of winning an Open at the Home of Golf. On that score, the form player is Xander Schauffele, who has rediscovered the winning habit of late in a way that could serve as a ray of hope for Lowry to also get back to winning ways.
“It’s all about the six inches between the ears now, that’s where it’s at this week. If I can be good there, who knows what I can do this week,” said Lowry, who knows so well how to get the job done having claimed the honour of being Champion Golfer with his victory at Royal Portrush in 2019.
Since then, however, winning has been an elusive pursuit for Lowry. Could this be his time again? Lowry has been in excellent form this season – five top-10s on the PGA Tour, including a third place finish in the Masters – without winning but the evidence of the past few days in practice would suggest he is as prepared as anyone for the task ahead.
Others think so too. Lowry was hitting balls on the range, pure striking into the wind with the ball on a string. “You’re liking it here this week, aren’t you?” said Henrik Stenson to him. “Yeah, it’s not bad, I don’t mind this wind,” replied Lowry.
Lowry is very much ready for the challenge at hand, the only adjustment to his equipment being to change the grind on the sole of his wedge to allow for the firmness of the course.
Then, there are the bunkers, all 112 of them placed strategically around the links and with the potential to scupper ambitions. “You need to avoid them all, but there’s certain ones that are very penal and it’s like you take the punches on the chin and you move on, that’s what it is about … you go out there with a game plan and you give it your best, and see what you sing for afterwards and you hope that’s a good score,” said Lowry.
In truth, Lowry is one of those keen to just get going after all the prep work. “I was actually talking to Laura Davies about it the other night and she said she got nervous on the first tee for her whole career and I’m similar. It’s more of an anxiousness to get going really ... it’s not nerves as such. I’m pretty sure most of the field get it. You want to do well, there’s a serious want and a serious hunger to do well and I think that’s where all that comes from,” said Lowry.
The field is full of potential winners, of those with grand designs on the biggest prize: Schauffele, Scheffler, Spieth, McIlroy, JT, Rahm, Cantlay, Smith, Burns, Zalatoris and many others in a wide open field.
But Lowry has that look of a man at home in the environments, in the wind; of someone on a mission. His name is already one of those engraved onto the metal base of the Claret Jug, which stands in pride of place by the first tee on the Old Course as a reminder and an incentive.
On the feeling of winning the Open, Lowry reflected: “It’s the best thing …. I’m not going to say the best ever because I’ve got two kids. But it’s probably one of the most satisfying things that could ever happen. Honestly. I spoke to Matt Fitz since he won (the US Open) a few weeks ago and spoke to Billy Foster and Matt’s dad actually said, no matter how many people say to you, ‘What’s it like?’ you can’t explain what it’s like. You just sit there and think to yourself, ‘Wow, I can’t believe this happened’.
“When you grew up the way I grew up and had the childhood I had, I never thought I was going to win an Open. I never even dreamt of it because I wouldn’t allow myself to, because it’s almost too good to be true. But it isn’t.”
He’s ready for second servings.
