An American Guide to the British Open
The Place: St Andrews, Scotland
St Andrews is also known as the “Auld Grey Toon.” Etiquette suggests you do not try to imitate Sean Connery in Goldfinger when asking a native where the largest whisky distillery is in the Auld Grey Toon.
The Date: July 15th, 2010
In most American cities, July means heat and humidity. In St Andrews, this means the pale freezing mist that occurs between spring (rain) and autumn (rain). Occasionally the British Open at St Andrews will have one day of blazing sunshine. Scots call this day summer.
The Course: The Old Course at St Andrews
A breathtaking swath of green on the east coast of Fife, the Old Course at St Andrews is a links course, the oldest kind of golf course known to man. Legend has it that golf was first played on links courses by shepherds knocking stones into rabbit holes. Until they established that shooting them was quicker.
The Par: 72
The record score for the Open Championship to date is Tiger Woods’s 19-under-par, with rounds of 67-66-67-69 and a win by eight shots in 2000. Woods is hoping to outdo this feat in 2010 by taking down Ernie Els, Padraig Harrington and 6 reporters on his way to a 15th Major.
The Yards: 7,305
Starting in the violet shadow of the clubhouse, following the route of a railway line on the back nine and finishing at the 18th, the Old Course at St Andrews is deceptive in its simplicity. Many golfers have lost their hopes in the Hell Bunker at the 14th; John Daly has yet to emerge.
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