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PGSF FedEx Cup Week 29 The Open

NoleinATL

Ultimate Seminole Insider
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Oct 29, 2006
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• COURSE: Royal Birkdale GC, 7,156 yards, par 70. Considered by many to be the fairest of Open Championship venues, Royal Birkdale dates back to 1889 but took its signature path between sand dunes in a 1922 overhaul by J.H. Taylor and Fred Hawtree. A 1940 Open debut was scuttled by World War II, finally getting its host opportunity in 1954. Peter Thomson won the first and last of his five Open crowns at Royal Birkdale, and Arnold Palmer's 1961 triumph is considered a turning point in the Open's fortunes. With subsequent wins by Lee Trevino (1971), Johnny Miller (1976) and Tom Watson (1983), five of Royal Birkdale’s eight Open champions are in the World Golf Hall of Fame.

• FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 600 points.

• CHARITY: The R&A contributes some $6.5 million annually to programs designed to enhance the game worldwide. Particular emphasis is given to junior golf programs, along with growth initiatives in emerging golfing nations.

• FIELD WATCH: Dustin Johnson, FedExCup No. 1, has been absent from a tournament weekend since May, heads a roster expected to feature 73 of the top 75 on this week’s Official World Golf Ranking. … Newly crowned U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka, now 11th in the rankings, tees it up for the first time since his record-tying march at Erin Hills. … … Openings remain for the John Deere Classic’s highest top-5 finisher yet to qualify, plus the Scottish Open’s three highest top-10 finishers still without berths. … Among the 12 survivors of local qualifying is Ian Poulter, Europe’s Ryder Cup stalwart who sat out last season’s second half with foot woes and saw his world ranking fall out of Open favor.

• 72-HOLE RECORD: 264, Henrik Stenson (2016 at Royal Troon).

• 18-HOLE RECORD: 63, Mark Hayes (2nd round, 1977 at Turnberry), Isao Aoki (3rd round, 1980 at Muirfield), Greg Norman (2nd round, 1986 at Turnberry), Paul Broadhurst (3rd round, 1990 at St. Andrews), Jodie Mudd (4th round, 1991 at Royal Birkdale), Nick Faldo (2nd round, 1993 at Royal St. Georges), Payne Stewart (4th round, 1993 at Royal St. Georges), Rory McIlroy (1st round, 2010 at St. Andrews), Phil Mickelson (1st round, 2016 at Royal Troon), Henrik Stenson (4th round, 2016 at Royal Troon).


• LAST YEAR: Henrik Stenson outlasted Phil Mickelson in an historic Sunday duel at Royal Troon, emerging three shots clear after posting just the second Sunday 63 to win a major championship. Stenson carded 10 birdies to join Johnny Miller (1973 U.S. Open) as the only major champions to shoot 63 on the final day, also setting a new 72-hole major standard at 20-under-par 264. Though Mickelson’s closing 65 was two shots better than anyone else on the course, he still lost two shots to the Swede. All told, the Stenson/Mickelson pairing notched 14 birdies and an eagle, and their best-ball score would have been 59. J.B. Holmes was a distant third – 11 shots behind Mickelson.

• STORYLINES: Despite Johnson’s six victories in the past 13 months, his past two outings have produced missed cuts at the U.S. Open and Memorial Tournament. He hasn’t played the weekend at a major, in fact, since last year’s Open at Royal Troon. … Spain’s Jon Rahm, ranked 297th in the world as a newly minted pro a year ago, now stands No. 8 after a stirring six-shot romp at last week’s Irish Open. He owns seven top-5 finishes worldwide since January, including victory at the Farmers Insurance Open. … Jordan Spieth, who just missed a playoff at St. Andrews two years ago, also brings some momentum after his dramatic bunker-holeout win at Hartford. … Rory McIlroy in urgent quest for form, coming to Royal Birkdale off missed cuts at both the Irish Open and Scottish Open. … Stenson has been hot-and-cold since spring, missing four cuts in his past 10 starts worldwide. Three others, though, have resulted in top-10s.

• SHORT CHIPS: In a nod to a weakened exchange rate after Britain’s vote to exit the European Union, this year’s prize money will be paid out in American dollars for the first time. The winner will receive $1.8 million from a total purse of $10.25 million. … Eight of the Open’s past 10 champions were age 35 or older. The exceptions: McIlroy in 2014 and Louis Oosthuizen in 2010.

• TELEVISION: Thursday-Friday, 1:30 a.m.-4 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday, 4:30-7 a.m. (GC); 7 a.m.-3 p.m. (NBC). Sunday, 4-7 a.m. (GC); 7 a.m.-2 p.m. (NBC).

• PGA TOUR LIVE: None.

• RADIO: Thursday-Friday, 2 a.m.-3 p.m. ET; Saturday-Sunday, 4 a.m.-3 p.m. (SiriusXM).


The PGSF crew hops in the PGSF Gulfstream 9 for the quick ride to Southport Royal Birkdale, a great course, for a great tournament.
We get 3am golf and all hope the 4th round is half as good as 2016.

Congratulations to last weeks winner NoleLizards

In the overall standings , Bobcat takes his season long lead into the years 3rd major

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Good Luck to everyone this week
 
I recorded the 1:30 start and am watching from the beginning. So I am several hours behind the live action.

One thing is sure ..... Mark O'Meara will not be playing on the weekend after making a quad on the first hole.

And oh yeah, great weather to play in.
 
Well at least my morning picks are under par so far. Better start after all my picks missed the cut at the US Open.

Also, good to see Koepka still in great form after not playing for a month after his win in the US Open.
 
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Spieth's bogey-free 65 was impressive given that he was 5/14 (36%) on Fairways Hit today. Although he was 15/18 (83%) on Greens in Regulation so that helps of course.

Based on the dicey forecast for tomorrow, if he only hits 5/14 fairways he might shoot 72-73.
 
Spieth's bogey-free 65 was impressive given that he was 5/14 (36%) on Fairways Hit today. Although he was 15/18 (83%) on Greens in Regulation so that helps of course.

Based on the dicey forecast for tomorrow, if he only hits 5/14 fairways he might shoot 72-73.

He definitely was not good off the tee. He got away with some breaks.

I looked at the radar over there and there is a huge blob of rain covering all of Ireland headed Southport's way. This should be fun. I will be setting the DVR to catch the start of round two whenever I get up tomorrow morning.
 
Players all over the course missing 2 and 3 footers for par. Unfortunately one of those is Rahm.
 
Much different scores this morning. Some big names below the cut line
 
What a par save by Spieth on #10! The play is about to be suspended because the greens are puddling.

Looking forward to seeing that. He just teed off on one as I watch my recording.

Don't they invoke the two putt rule like we did in the rain and the greens become ponds?
 
Some how he got enough FedEx pts to make it into the Top 30. His results are not all that much better that Jim's.
 
A little off topic but I've been really impressed by Jim "Bones" Mackay's commentary. He's been very relaxed and informative. I'd say he has found his new career.
 
A little off topic but I've been really impressed by Jim "Bones" Mackay's commentary. He's been very relaxed and informative. I'd say he has found his new career.

Very early on I was not impressed. He was telling us things we already knew .... like so and so is putting for par. He did get away from that however. And then they had to coax him to finish the story involving Bubba.
 
What a huge clutch putt on 18 by Spieth. When he's putting like that, he might be unbeatable.

That was an entertaining third round. Really would have been even more so if Matt made the putt on 18. It depends on how the two start their round tomorrow but I think players at -4 could have a chance.
 
Justin Leonard needs some more practice before he is back in the booth.

I am travelimg this weekend so results will be up this evening long after Last hole.
Looks like similar conditions from yesterday, hopefully Kuch can go low to make for an exciting final day.
 
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