1 thing every golf fan needs to know ahead of the 2023 Open Championship
A look at the par-4 8th hole at Royal Liverpool, which will be one of the trickiest tee shots on the course.
R&A via Getty Images
Check in each day of this week’s Open Championship for the unfiltered opinions of our writers and editors as they break down the hottest topic in the tournament, and join the conversation by tweeting us @golf_com.
So far this week we’ve covered our picks to win, sleepers to watch, crucial holes to monitor and quirky course obstacles that could affect the tournament. But, as the first round of The Open gets ready to kick off, what’s one other thing golf fans need to know?
Josh Berhow, managing editor (@Josh_Berhow): In 2006, it was firm. In 2014, it was wet. This year, it might be something in-between, but after walking the course and talking to people and seeing what players are saying, getting off the tee and finding fairways is going to be crucial. The fairways are narrow and while the fescue is manageable in some spots, it’s also unpredictable and can get gnarly fast. Throw in the fact that there’s some internal out of bounds lurking in some key spots and you never know what the wind is going to do, and it could be a very entertaining week.
James Colgan, news and features editor (@jamescolgan26): That Rory McIlroy hasn’t said a peep! The biggest player of the tournament, the last Open winner at this golf course, the most important voice in the sport’s regular pro ranks, last week’s winner, and yet … nothing! It’s likely as much tactical as it is anything else — a conscious desire on his part not to overengage at the beginning of a very long week. We saw it at both the U.S. Open and PGA Championship. But this is the most striking absence from Rory yet. Time will tell how it all plays out.
Jack Hirsh, assistant editor (@JR_HIRSHey): I think it’s been a little while since we’ve had an Open dominated by poor weather for the majority of the week. With the exception of Friday, it looks like we’re going to get some persistent rain along the Irish Sea along with a constant wind. The top players will be the ones who best factor the elements into their shot-planning, but also the ones who work with their caddies to keep everything as dry as possible.
The most exclusive club at Open host Royal Liverpool? It’s not what you’d expect
Ryan Barath, senior equipment editor (@rdsbarath): There is nothing wrong with the course and brown is beautiful! I say this because it feels like no matter how many times the world’s best golfers head to the Open Championship, at some point someone asks, “Why is the course so brown and not green? Don’t they water it?!” That’s the beauty of links golf, and in many of the courses in the UK and in other locations around the world (like the Australian Sandbelt) nature mostly dictates the conditions — not overzealous memberships that demand lush turf. Although Augusta National, the Masters and color TV helped to create this desire for everything to be green all the time, links golf is the origin of the game, and letting Mother Nature introduce a little dry grass is OK.
Josh Sens, senior writer (@joshsens): Of all the majors, The Open is known as the most likely to produce a quirky winner. For office-pool purposes, though, I think it’s wise to throw that thinking out the window this week. This is a course that tends to generate big-name champs (Tiger and Rory most recently; Hagen and Jones and Peter Thomson back in the day). With a handful of the world’s best all in good form, a surprise winner would be more surprising than ever this time around.
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