By STEVE DOUGLAS AP Sports Writer
SANDWICH, England — Danny Willett shrugged his shoulders, grabbed his tee, and returned to his caddie beside the fourth tee at Royal St. George’s.
He’d just hit what he thought was the ideal drive during his final practice round at the British Open, only for one of the bumps on the course’s lunar-like landscape to throw it offline and into the rough.
“Kicked left,” Willett said, before smiling. “Never asked for it!”
Expect the unexpected will be the motto for the world’s best golfers this week as they get a crack at links golf for the first time in two years in this picturesque corner of southeast England.
In some respects, this British Open will feel as though golf has returned to normal. There will be some 30,000 fans roaming the Sandwich links daily from Thursday, the biggest golf crowd at a major since the pandemic. One man was wearing a dragon onesie next to the ropes on the sixth hole Wednesday, having been cruelly fooled by a group of friends into wearing a costume.
Those ooohs and aaahs and rumbling roars from a distance are all part of Open lore, and they’ll return. How golf missed them last year, when its oldest championship was canceled for the first time since 1945 because of the coronavirus outbreak.
“Big-time sporting events need big-time crowds,” R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers said.
Then again, this week couldn’t be more different. Players are being kept in a strict bubble to comply with COVID-19 restrictions devised by the R&A and are at risk of disqualification for breaching rules.
“It’s probably inevitable that we will have some problems,” said Slumbers, who has already seen Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama and Zach Johnson, the 2015 British Open champion, withdraw after testing positive for the virus and Bubba Watson forced to pull out for being a close contact of a positive case.
During a practice round on Monday, Phil Mickelson appeared concerned he was getting too close to spectators. “He was like, ‘Can you just give me some space, I don’t know who you are,’” said English qualifier Nick Poppleton, who played alongside Mickelson.
On Wednesday, a spectator threw a ball to Mickelson for him to sign. The PGA champion immediately threw it back, without signing it, and wiped his hands with a towel.
And then there’s the course at Royal St. George’s, disrespected by some and unloved by many more for being unfair. Balls can be propelled almost sideways by the undulations on the fairways, some of which can be unhittable especially in dry and fast conditions.
The fairways on the first and 17th holes promise to be particularly tough, not to mention the one on the fourth, as Willett can attest.
“It’s not my favorite of the (Open) rotation,” Brooks Koepka said of a course once described to American golfer Charles Howell III as “the world’s largest pinball machine.”
Helping the players this week is the rain that has lashed down on the course – the southernmost of the 10 on the rotation – which has made it green and soft. On the 17th hole Wednesday, a drive by Garrick Higgo plopped up upon landing on a side-slope, taking the pace out of the ball as it dribbled toward the semi-rough. Some fairways also have been widened.
Against that, the rough is knee high in places and is thick and lush rather than wispy.
“There’s certain lies out there it’s going to be a pitch back to the fairway,” big-hitting Bryson DeChambeau said of rough he described Tuesday as “diabolical.”
“And that’s including for everybody.”
Lee Westwood said he’d been informed by Slumbers that the fairways would be watered later in the week to stop them from drying up and maintain their softness, given the thickness of the rough.
Royal St. George’s, it seems, will give and take this week. But if the wind picks up the way it did on Wednesday, it will be a mighty challenge.
Connor Worsdall, a 23-year-old Englishman playing in his first Open, had the privilege of being joined for the final two holes of his practice round Wednesday by top-ranked Dustin Johnson and DeChambeau.
Clearly thrilled, he said at the back of the 18th green that it was the best surprise he could have received before his opening round and that Johnson and DeChambeau briefly spoke to him before leaving the course.
“They just gave me some advice,” Worsdall said, “to just treat it like a normal 18 holes as much as you can.”
At Royal St. George’s that might just be impossible.
JOHNSON’S SHORT MEMORY COMES IN HANDY
One of Dustin Johnson’s best traits is a short memory, and given some of the misfortune he’s had in the majors, he needs it.
So don’t expect him to return to Royal St. George’s this week and remember too much beyond being a runner-up to Darren Clarke in 2011.
“That was a long time ago, but obviously I have good memories here, and I did play well,” Johnson said Wednesday.
Johnson was two shots out of the lead, 3 under over his last seven holes, when he hit a 2-iron on the par-5 14th that sailed out-of-bounds to the right, leading to double bogey. He also bogeyed the last to finish three shots back.
That part is vaguely familiar.
“I had a good opportunity on the back nine there until, what, 14? Take that shot back, yeah, I’ve got a really good chance to win,” he said. “Sunday played really difficult. I played really well, just kind of hit one bad shot. And it pretty much ultimately cost me having a chance to win.
“It was a long time ago, so I don’t remember a whole lot, to be honest.”
Johnson has been runner-up at all four majors, though that was his only chance to win the British Open.
Throw out that performance, and he has averaged finishing 12.75 shots behind the winner on the eight other occasions he made the cut.
Johnson has been in a slump by his standards since winning the Saudi International in early February, his lone victory this year. He has only two top-10 finishes in his last 11 tournaments.
He figures the key to the week will be hitting fairways, which typically is more difficult at this course than other links in the rotation because of so many humps and bumps in the fairway. The course is softer this year because of rain, but the rough is thicker than usual.
“It’s a typical links course. You’ve got to hit golf shots, and you’ve got to hit them where you’re looking or you’re going to have a tough time,” he said. “For me, I feel like most of it’s going to be driving. If I can drive it well, then I feel like I’m going to have a really good week.”
A MAJOR BY ANY OTHER NAME
Mickelson has never shied away from stirring the pot, and as the PGA champion and oldest major winner in history, the 51-year-old was willing to go where few others are during golf’s oldest championship.
He said in a tweet that it’s acceptable to call it the British Open or The Open Championship.
“Every year I come over here, there’s a debate on if it’s the Open or British Open. The Earl of Airlie referred to it as the British Open when awarding Bobby Jones the Claret Jug in 1930 at Hoylake. Both are acceptable,” the tweet said.
At least he capitalized claret jug.
The R&A has made a stronger push in recent years to make sure it is called by its given name as part of a branding campaign.
It’s a sensitive topic in the UK.
The Associated Press has used British Open for more than a century to distinguish between the U.S. Open and other national opens.
Jack Nicklaus, a three-time champion, once said he refers to it as “The Open” only when he’s in the UK. Otherwise, he goes with British Open.
Dustin Johnson kept it simple.
“Well, it was the British Open growing up, for sure, but now I call it The Open Championship,” he said.
Why the change?
“Because that’s the name of it,” he said.
BUBBLE BREAKERS
The R&A sent protocols to the players that require them to stay in small bubbles and not visit other players staying in a separate house.
“This would be seen as a breach of the COVID-19 protocols and could lead to withdrawal from the championship,” the R&A wrote in a memo to players.
Does any violation lead to disqualification? R&A chief Martin Slumbers didn’t answer that immediately when asked Wednesday during his annual press conference.
“We’ve made it very clear it is to protect them and their fellow competitors,” Slumbers said. “It’s to give them, all the players, the very best chance of all of them being here on Sunday afternoon and able to play. We have the background of the UK law to deal with, so it’s not us creating the rules, it’s the UK law, and I expect the players to react and deal with that in a professional, responsible way.”
So would a player be disqualified if he breaches the protocols?
“I think he would be at risk of being disqualified, yes,” Slumbers said.
Eventually, he said “at risk” meant it would be decided by Slumbers and the chair of the championship committee.
FAVORITE COURSE
It’s hard to find anyone who lists Royal St. George’s as a favorite on the British Open rotation, though Dustin Johnson said it was OK to put it No. 2 on his list behind St. Andrews.
As for Clarke, the last Open champion on these English links?
That’s a tricky one, which he answered delicately.
“This golf course offers me one of the best memories I’ve ever had in the game of golf,” Clarke said. “Now, would I prefer to play Royal Portrush every day or Royal St. George’s every day? I’d play Royal Portrush every day. Would I prefer to play St. Andrews or Royal St. George’s? I’d play St. Andrews every day.
“It may not be my favorite course but this course has been very, very good to me.”
KOEPKA-DECHAMBEAU FEUD WON’T GO AWAY
Koepka has made it abundantly clear he doesn’t like DeChambeau. That should have no bearing in golf because they don’t have to spend time together, which they don’t do, and they haven’t played together on the PGA Tour since the second round at Bay Hill two years ago.
Maybe it will be different when they are U.S. teammates in the Ryder Cup in September.
Or maybe not.
“You realize it’s only a week, right?” Koepka said Tuesday. “I mean, look, I can put it aside for business. If we’re going to be on the same team, I can deal with anybody in the world for a week. I’m not playing with him. I’m pretty sure we’re not going to be paired together, put it that way.”
That constituted the latest “development” in a feud that began nearly two years ago and took a bizarre, public turn with a leaked Golf Channel video in May that was never aired, and the pot shots just keep coming.
“He can say whatever he wants,” DeChambeau said, sounding weary of the questions.
The only revelation Tuesday was Koepka giving a little more detail on the origin of the beef.
Koepka’s caddie, Ricky Elliott, was on the putting green at Liberty National in August 2019 when DeChambeau walked by and saw him chatting with two reporters, one of whom had been asking him questions the previous day about being criticized for slow play.
(While Koepka is unreservedly vocal about pace of play, the topic of this particular conversation was often how Koepka actually heeds his caddie’s advice).
DeChambeau made a beeline for the group. He told Elliott to pass along to Koepka that if there were any issues, Koepka should talk to DeChambeau. Koepka arrived a short time later and did just that.
“We both agreed we’d leave each other out of it and wouldn’t mention each other, just kind of let it die off, wouldn’t mention each other’s names, just go about it,” Koepka said.
And then DeChambeau, playing a video game that was streaming live, poked fun at Koepka for not having any abs in a photo shoot for ESPN’s “Body Issue” magazine.
“So now it’s fair game,” Koepka said.
Fair or not, it’s definitely a game. The Ryder Cup is Sept. 24-26 at Whistling Straights. No, they probably won’t be partners, although DeChambeau said he would not be opposed.
“I think it would be kind of funny actually,” DeChambeau said. “I think we’d do well, to be honest. It would create a little interesting vibe for the team or for the guys we’re playing against.”
YEAR OF THE COMEBACK
It’s one thing for Lucas Glover to be the sixth player in this 40s to have won on the PGA Tour this season, with Stewart Cink doing it twice.
Perhaps even more unusual was winning at that age after going so long without.
Glover won the John Deere Classic on Sunday to end 10 years and two months without a victory. He became the fifth player this year to go at least seven years since his last victory.
The longest span belonged to Cink, whose victory in the Safeway Open last September was his first since capturing the British Open at Turnberry in 2009.
Brian Gay (Bermuda Championship), Martin Laird (Las Vegas) and Harris English (Sentry Tournament of Champions) had all gone more than seven years. English went on to win again at the Travelers Championship.
Glover never lost his belief or his perspective.
“Every week is a new week. Every swing is a new swing. Every stroke is a new stroke,” he said. “I show up next week in England, and we’re all tied on Thursday again. It doesn’t matter what you did the week before or the year before or 10 years before. That’s a new week.”
ASLEEP ON HISTORY
Koepka had just finished his junior year at Florida State in 2011, the last time the British Open was held at Royal St. George’s. This week is the second time he has seen it.
Koepka said his mother took him and his brother, Chase, on a UK golfing holiday in 2003 for a taste of links golf. They played Carnoustie and St. Andrews. And then they had tickets for the final round of the British Open at Royal St. George’s.
And what a day it was. Tiger Woods was in contention, two shots behind.
“Tiger was playing on 13 and my brother had said something and Tiger said something back to him, and we thought it was the coolest thing at the time,” Koepka said.
Not so cool was missing the finish. Koepka is famous for saying he is more focused in the majors than other tournaments. Apparently, that’s only if he’s playing them, not watching.
“I ended up falling asleep right in the little pavilion to the right of 18 and didn’t even see the finish,” he said. “I remember getting yelled at by my mom, ‘I didn’t bring you over here to fall asleep,’ kind of deal. But it was fun. We enjoyed the whole trip.”
OPEN TEE TIMES
Get ready for the longest day in golf. Richard Bland of England was selected to hit the opening tee shot in the British Open at 6:35 a.m. local time (10:35 p.m. Wednesday, PT). Nicholas Poppleton will be the last to tee off at roughly 4:20 p.m. (8:20 a.m. PT).
The R&A selected three players from England for the opening tee time on Thursday and Friday. Bland will be playing with Andy Sullivan and Marcus Armitage. For the second round, the opening time goes to the English trio of Aaron Rai, Paul Waring and Daniel Croft.
Being first off can go either way, based on recent history.
Hennie Otto of South Africa was in the first group at Royal St. George’s in 2003, and he led after the first round with a 68 (he finished the week in a tie for 10th). In 2011, all three players in the opening group – Jerry Kelly, Nathan Green and Danny Willett – missed the cut.
Defending champion Shane Lowry plays with U.S. Open champion Jon Rahm and Louis Oosthuizen, a runner-up in the last two majors.
Justin Thomas plays with Tommy Fleetwood, which comes with this odd piece of history: Thomas made his professional debut at the Dunhill Links Championship in 2013 and was paired with Fleetwood.
Rory McIlroy is in the same group as Patrick Reed. They had a wild Ryder Cup match at Hazeltine in 2016, which Reed won. This is their first time playing together in a major since the final group at the Masters in 2018. Reed won that, too.
STAT OF THE WEEK
Dustin Johnson is No. 1 in the world going into a major for the 15th time. Only two other players have been No. 1 at more majors – Tiger Woods (55) and Greg Norman (24).
FINAL WORD
“I ended up winning the FedEx Cup in 2019, so it gave me a few million reasons to feel better.” – McIlroy, on how much it bothered him to miss the cut in the British Open in 2019 in his native Northern Ireland. He won $15 million for the FedEx Cup a month later.
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