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mr. synellinden
07-14-2011, 05:51 PM
With one round complete, we are due for an Open Championship Thread.

The story today is a 20 year old amateur tied for the lead and setting a record for lowest round ever in an Open Championship by an amateur. And oh by the way, he played with Tom Watson, who is more than three times his age and after whom he was named. Quite an epic day, I'd say.

Then you have Thomas Bjorn, who blew the Open Championship in 2003 on the same course, and who was a fifth alternate in the field, and whose father passed away several weeks ago, tied for the lead. That's just at the top.

Tomorrow will be a very interesting day because there are a lot of top names lingering in the -1, E, +1 range including McIlroy, Day, Cink, Scott, Bubba Watson, Stricker, Mickelson, Davis Love, Justin Leonard, Fowler, Dustin Johnson, Sergio, Westwood, Sabbatini, Schwartzel, Choi, Villegas and Donald. That's quite a bunched up group within two shots of each other.

It looks like the afternoon group from today, which got a break from the weather relatively speaking, will also get decent morning conditions tomorrow.

OZZIE4DUKE
07-14-2011, 06:28 PM
Raleigh's Webb Simpson. the last alternate to get in, shot a -4 and is one off the lead. :cool:

rthomas
07-14-2011, 09:53 PM
Raleigh's Webb Simpson. the last alternate to get in, shot a -4 and is one off the lead. :cool:

As is Clemson's Lucas Glover. Who I would like to see win.

Indoor66
07-15-2011, 07:32 AM
Kevin Streelman is at +6 - he has some work to do today as the cut is projected at +2.

brevity
07-15-2011, 11:10 AM
Gave the original poster points for calling this thread by the better name, "British Open."

Not a golf fan, but I have a big problem with the name "Open Championship." What the heck does that mean? They just stuck two event nouns together without a real descriptor. It's simultaneously pretentious and vague. To put it in college basketball terms, it would be like calling the Maui Invitational the "Tournament Classic."

I realize that "British Open" is less than ideal, given that it may take place in non-British places in the United Kingdom, but at least people who hear that phrase immediately know what it represents. Whether the move to call it the "Open Championship" arises out of political correctness or retroactive tradition, it's just stupid.

Mal
07-15-2011, 03:35 PM
Gave the original poster points for calling this thread by the better name, "British Open."

Not a golf fan, but I have a big problem with the name "Open Championship." What the heck does that mean? They just stuck two event nouns together without a real descriptor. It's simultaneously pretentious and vague. To put it in college basketball terms, it would be like calling the Maui Invitational the "Tournament Classic."

I realize that "British Open" is less than ideal, given that it may take place in non-British places in the United Kingdom, but at least people who hear that phrase immediately know what it represents. Whether the move to call it the "Open Championship" arises out of political correctness or retroactive tradition, it's just stupid.

"Open" is, in the case of golf and tennis tournaments, an adjective, meaning that anyone can play in qualifying tournaments, whether professional or amateur. That's not the case for the average PGA Tour event, where you need to be invited by tournament sponsors (mostly achieved by being a Tour member, with a few invitations going to top world players from other tours, fan favorites, locals or whatever).

And, my history may be off, but I'm fairly certain it's always and only been officially called the Open Championship. Which intuitively makes sense, given it was the first real golf tournament, organized at a time when the only places on the globe where the game was played were the United Kingdom and Ireland. There was no need at the time to add a geographical descriptor for us yanks.

I'm all for wariness of pretentious historical relevance poses and faked importance of archaic titles no one really used before, but I don't think this is one of those cases. In fact, given its history as far and away the oldest major golf tournament in the world, I think it's easier to make the case that it's just ugly cultural imperialism on our own part that we insist on adding the "British." It's somewhat forgiveable to the extent that it started so as to avoid confusion with the U.S. Open, but probably unnecessary. Every golf fan in the world other than Americans knows what is being referred to by "The Open" or "The Open Championship" and it's not something played in the United States.

I see the phenomenon of American broadcasters doing the grandfather of all golf tournaments the courtesy of calling it by the name used by its own organizers as a good thing, rather than slightly obnoxious. They can call it "The British" the rest of the year when using it in a list of the majors.

killerleft
07-15-2011, 04:30 PM
Gave the original poster points for calling this thread by the better name, "British Open."

Not a golf fan, but I have a big problem with the name "Open Championship." What the heck does that mean? They just stuck two event nouns together without a real descriptor. It's simultaneously pretentious and vague. To put it in college basketball terms, it would be like calling the Maui Invitational the "Tournament Classic."

I realize that "British Open" is less than ideal, given that it may take place in non-British places in the United Kingdom, but at least people who hear that phrase immediately know what it represents. Whether the move to call it the "Open Championship" arises out of political correctness or retroactive tradition, it's just stupid.

I have to agree with Mal. The Brits invented the game. Their championship is older than any golf course in the U.S. (maybe anywhere). It's called the Open because it was the ONLY Open for years and years.

I can't argue with them. I can see questioning the name only if one doesn't realize the history behind it. The center of the golfing universe, the hub from where golf's popularity spread, can call their biggest championship The Open if they want. I'll subscribe.

By the way, Phil Mickelson is only 3 back heading to the third round. Only putting woes have kept him from being within one or tied for the lead. Can he keep up the fine play?

brevity
07-15-2011, 06:03 PM
Good replies, Mal and killerleft. I don't know the history, but I think I know marketing. And so I maintain that the phrase "Open Championship" is meaningless in this day and age -- what is the sport, and where is it played? While the organizers may have no reason to change it, the TV networks promoting it outside of Europe probably should.

It's telling that ESPN changed the name of its TV on-screen guide listing in the past 24 hours from "The Open Championship" to "The British Open Championship," at least on my cable system (Cox).

So apparently, historically respectful and correct = not enough viewers.

sagegrouse
07-15-2011, 11:12 PM
Good replies, Mal and killerleft. I don't know the history, but I think I know marketing. And so I maintain that the phrase "Open Championship" is meaningless in this day and age -- what is the sport, and where is it played? While the organizers may have no reason to change it, the TV networks promoting it outside of Europe probably should.

It's telling that ESPN changed the name of its TV on-screen guide listing in the past 24 hours from "The Open Championship" to "The British Open Championship," at least on my cable system (Cox).

So apparently, historically respectful and correct = not enough viewers.

I think the purpose of "communication" is to, uhhhh, communicate? If one says "Open Championship" and the reader, viewer or listener hasn't the foggiest idea of whether you are talking tennis or golf and whether it is the US, the British or some other event, then some further modifier is needed. Casual conversation in the US calls it the "British Open." On TV it is more complicated. The R&A, formerly the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, sponsors the event and gives out the TV contracts. I expect those suits or kilts want ESPN to call it "The Open," and ESPN does its bidding -- probably written in the contract.

Here's a bit of self promotion by the R&A:



The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews was founded on 14 May 1754 with the first Challenge for the Silver Club. Evolving over 250 colourful years of British history, it has grown from a small society of no fixed abode into a club whose membership of around 2,500 extends worldwide.

From the late 19th century, the Club increasingly came to be regarded as a governing authority, both in the United Kingdom and abroad. Between 1897 and 2003 it developed three distinct areas of responsibility, namely (a) the administration of the Rules of Golf in conjunction with the USGA, (b) the running of The Open Championship and other key golfing events, and (c) the development of the game in existing and emerging golfing nations.


sagegrouse

brevity
07-16-2011, 03:36 AM
The R&A, formerly the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, sponsors the event and gives out the TV contracts. I expect those suits or kilts want ESPN to call it "The Open," and ESPN does its bidding -- probably written in the contract.

"Kilts." I like that.

Based on how ESPN has promoted the event, I imagine you're right. Of course, it's easier to call something the "Open Championship" in a TV ad when you show a golf course, list a few star players, mention the location, and show ESPN golf-affiliated people like Tom Rinaldi and face-for-radio Scott Van Pelt.


It's telling that ESPN changed the name of its TV on-screen guide listing in the past 24 hours from "The Open Championship" to "The British Open Championship," at least on my cable system (Cox).

Either I was inexact the first time, or they changed it again. As of Friday evening, my on-screen listing says "2011 British Open Golf Championship." How's that for clarity?

sagegrouse
07-16-2011, 07:27 AM
Nope, not the movie. That is a description of the rain at Royal St. George's this AM.

I just got back from a trip to France, six days of which were spent in Brrittany and Normandy, just across the Channel from RSG. The weather was a challenge but not nearly this bad.

I note that all but one player out on the course is over par for the day.

sagegrouse

killerleft
07-17-2011, 09:17 AM
Dang, saw them too late. Several people in Duke hats (Iron "D") directly behind the tee box on the first hole. Did anybody recognize them? I only noticed as Darrin Clarke reached the tee. Or have those pesky Brits commandeered our "D"? Or did they invent it 250 years ago :) .

Mal
07-18-2011, 11:02 AM
Fair enough, brevity and sage. To each their own. While I kind of like calling the tournament "The Open" I admit that I think using the phraseology "11 tee" or "at 7 green" instead of "the 11th tee" or "on the 7th green" is a turn too far for me, and obnoxious on American television. We call a soccer pitch the "field" but don't feel compelled to call it a pitch during the World Cup. It's not disrespectful to allow for evolution of a term used in the game as it travels from one culture to another.

Indoor66
07-18-2011, 06:44 PM
I recognize and respect tradition and history. That said, I find "The Open" to be pretentious in the US. We typically use more complete descriptions of events to distinguish them from others. The US has the US Open, the US Tennis Open and many other "open" events. The Brits can call it what they want. To me it will always be The British Open just like it is The French Open, etc.

rthomas
07-18-2011, 09:50 PM
Who cares what you call it. That was an ugly course. While many British links courses are on my list, especially in Scotland, that is not one of them. There are 100's more in the US I'd rather play.

But I'm happy that Clarke won. when asked how he prepared for Sunday's round, he said something like: I ate too much, I drank too much, and I went to bed.

You gotta like that.

sagegrouse
07-19-2011, 12:30 AM
Who cares what you call it. That was an ugly course. While many British links courses are on my list, especially in Scotland, that is not one of them. There are 100's more in the US I'd rather play.

But I'm happy that Clarke won. when asked how he prepared for Sunday's round, he said something like: I ate too much, I drank too much, and I went to bed.

You gotta like that.

Yeah, one of the announcers said, when other golfers say they "are working on their six-packs, it means they are doing crunches in the gym. Not Darren...."

sagegrouse

NSDukeFan
07-19-2011, 06:56 PM
I recognize and respect tradition and history. That said, I find "The Open" to be pretentious in the US. We typically use more complete descriptions of events to distinguish them from others. The US has the US Open, the US Tennis Open and many other "open" events. The Brits can call it what they want. To me it will always be The British Open just like it is The French Open, etc.
Will you be watching The World Series in baseball this year?

brevity
07-19-2011, 08:10 PM
Will you be watching The World Series in baseball this year?

Excellent! Much as "The Open" has become vague as a result of newer events, so will the "World Series." There's poker, of course, but also cricket, darts, and a few other pastimes. At this point, the trademark-avoidant phrase "Fall Classic" seems like a more specific way to define MLB's championship games.

Maybe we can start using "November Nine" to describe the starting lineup.