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R&A Gets it Right For the Open |
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Written by Bryan Spitzer
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Thursday, 19 July 2007 |
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In contrast to the other three Majors, the Open Championship chooses to have every player play the course front nine first, back nine second. This year that is most notably necessary as the top ten in the clubhouse are collectively +1 on the back nine at Carnoustie and -19 on the front.
If half the field were required to tee off 10 first and suffer some of the calamity known to take place on the inward nine at Angus, then those players might be so far out of the tournament by the turn as they have been mentally drained by the finishing holes. No amount of birdies will make up for the first nine holes and most likely many of those players will have already had the wheels come off long before they reached the 1st hole. This arrangement would make for a very decidedly, unfair advantage.
In having each play the first hole to begin you certainly do level the playing field and allow the cream of the crop to rise come the weekend at Carnoustie, the toughest Open test.
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