2015 Open Championship Final Round Notes & Comment Thread

An extra day should be worth the wait as any number of players stand a chance to win the 2015 Open Championship.

The weather forecast continues to look ominous during the key hours the leaders are on the course, though the gust numbers have come down, mercifully.

The traditional leaderboard.

The final round hole locations are here and maintain the streak of four straight days avoiding Peter Dawson's new second hole bunkers.

Update on Monday, July 20, 2015 at 06:02 AM by Geoff

**Just in from a walkabout of the entire course and the front nine is there for the taking, while the back is currently playing incredibly tough (as some of the early tough starters have shown). The hole locations at 11, 12 and 13 will make that stretch unusually difficult.

The crowds are large considering the Monday situation and weather, but the only food options are coffee and ice cream (no pints). The 18th hole grandstand is also developing into an embarrassing situation, as all public stands have been full since 10 am while the reserved section immediately above the green remains empty as of 2 pm.

Comments

[Bogey]

Can Spieth do it ? Did DJ play himself out of it on the last 3 holes yesterday?? The first Amateur since Bobby Jones tied for the lead? I wonder if Jason Day can win it.
In any case should be a good final round

[Smitty]

Earliest attempt that I can find of the Grand Slam: 1914; Francis Ouimet; 21 years old

The Amateur Championship--defeated in the first round;
The Open Championship--tied for 56th place;
U.S. Open--tied for 5th place;
U.S. Amateur--Champion.

Bobby Jones first attempt at the Grand Slam: 1921; 19 years old

The Amateur Championship--defeated in the fourth round;
The Open Championship--withdrew in the third round;
U.S. Open--tied for 8th place;
U.S. Amateur--defeated in the semi-finals.

Just an idea of what Jordan Speith is trying to do at 21 years old . . .

[Mark]

That is a different lay out of the hole location sheet. I like the first 6 In the first column but fun to see how they did the shared greens

[Patchy]

DJ 'making a move' by hitting 3 wood into a large bush on 2nd hole. Crikey.

[Jim S]

I'm pretty sure Phil just hit one onto a balcony at the Road Hole. Wow.

[Patchy]

Aw, I will miss Ivor Robson :(.

[3foot1]

OK, I'm officially peeved at ESPN -- they're outfoxing Fox. Why show interviews, features and Spieth-on-the-range when players like Phil, Duval, Luke Donald, Ogilvy, Fowler, Furyk and Reed are on the course?

[Media Driven]

Agree ESPN could do better covering more players/stories this morning. they did catch Phil's amazing shot to Old Crse. Hotel balcony, something I've never seen before....what's happened to DJ?? You could tell he was pretty much cooked yesterday during interview with Tom Rinaldi...looked like a deer in headlights.

[ringer]

Just watched the Rules official with Schniederjans give him two club lengths' worth of line-of-sight relief on 17. The caddie knew it should be one and said so once; Schniederjans kept saying "I get two club lengths, right?" and the official doesn't seem to have known better. "Two if for penalty, one if for free" shouldn't be too hard to remember.

[digsouth]

Thruout the event they have not shown but a few golfers, with many who have played well never getting as much as a mentio, much less some air time.

Whati if Patrick Reed goes nuts and wins? I think they showed him one time, as an example.

I am pulling for Spieth to finish the deal. I would have loved to see PM finish 3--3 and post 12 under, but those doggone hooks have a mind of their own. If he putted as well as he played today, he would be wel in the lead, but you know the story; if my aunt had bxxxs, shed be my uncle.

[Patchy]

I wondered about that myself, @ringer. The on-course reporter said that many of the walking officials had left and they were shorthanded. Wouldn't a rules official plan for a delay or even a Monday finish given the capricious weather?

[nancy]

DJ needs a sport's psychologist.

[Play It Forward]

Ringer - with a TIO (temporary immovable obstruction) you find the line of sight relief and then add one club length for your reference point. You then drop within one club length from there. It's different from a immovable obstruction. Rules officials refer to it as one plus one. Too bad the R&A rules guy wasn't there to explain it.

Chico - chime in if I messed it up.

[ringer]

@Play It Forward: Thank you for that clarification. I appreciate the information, and apologize to the Rules Official who will never know I disparaged him.

[Squeaky]

Terrific leaderboard, full of so many stories (Slam, amateur in the lead, even an old guy angle: Padraig spry at 43 while Tiger quickly fades at 39). ESPN has so many stars (Azinger, Dottie, the wildly underrated Sean McDonough) that it overcomes Tirico's nothingness. Speaking of: Has there ever been a two-round leader who's gotten less TV time in rounds 3 and 4 than DJ?

[Play It Forward]

Harrington birdies the first two hole now tied for the lead and we haven't seen one shot of it?????

Me thinks had it been Fox there would have been screaming.

[Johnnnycz]

There's wind, there's rain...we have golf!!!

Speith starts strong. Dunne hit a safety chunk short on 1.

Paddy looks like he's going to show the kids how it's done today. Great birdie from the rough on#2.

[Johnnnycz]

@PlayItForward: that's why I just started watching the Czech Novasport TV coverage...they're showing ALOT MORE different players than ESPN.

Dunne made a classic bogey golfer score on #1.

[Greg B.]

Dunne looks done already.

[Bogey]

The final day pressure should eliminate Dunne pretty fast I think

[DTF]

"DJ needs a sport's psychologist."

Top caddies like Stevie and Chickenman and Fluff and Bambi perform that role as well ;0)

Good rules info there Play It Forward. Sounds like Schneiderjans's caddie could benefit from a good 3-day rules seminar. This is another thing all the top caddies do to be their best.

I guess it's all well that Ror's didn't make the start anyway...these conditions wouldn't suit him.

Hopefully that 1st hole bogey took the edge off the nerves for Young Mr. Dunne and he starts striping it from here. If I remember correctly he's the only guy in the 60's each of the first 3 rounds...hoping he goes 4-for-4.

[lev_k]

It will be a long day for Dunne, too bad, but its tough to sleep on a lead for the best pros as well.

[Bogey]

Poor kid, wanted to see him play well, the pressure of the last group on the last day is unlike anything he's ever experienced

[3foot1]

Holly Saunders' 5-shirt? question now seems prescient.

[RickABQ]

Q: Is it an ESPN requirement to refer to Jordan Niebrugge as a "rising senior" at OkState every time he is mentioned?

A: Apparently so.

[KLG]

Listening to @THEOPEN RADIO. Quite good.

Anyway, to repeat what I said the other day: Who cares about the score relative to par? Check out the cream at the top of that Leaderboard! Davis, we're looking at you. But might as well be staring into the abyss. Alas.

[Jim S]

I want to pay the ESPN Radio crew a huge complement--I've listened to them for the last couple of majors, and they really give the sense of the simultaneous play all across the course. While TV tries to go for a calm and quiet tone, the radio call sounds like a large scale athletic competition. I think it's great.

[watson82]

Tough to see that Dunne took the pipe so early but it's kind of time that the real show begin. It was a great story.

Looking at this leaderboard it makes me so damn sad that this had to finish on a Monday and I am stuck following the leaderboard on the R&A's website.

[Carl Peterson]

Schneiderjans's caddie is a local caddie -- a friend of mine employed him during a round at The Old. TIOs aren't part of his usual loop.

[lev_k]

I have no problem with Zach Johnson but it would be very anticlimactic if he wins...

[V60]

12 man playoff??? Great drama love all the Eagles birdies, craziest leaderboard seen in a long time when will mike Davis get it

[PaddyC]

Meanwhile on ESPN: three shots, commercial. Two shots and maybe a putt, commercial. This is awful.

[nancy]

@DTF - I think I had said that Stevie would be good for DJ but DJ is SO stubborn and just does what he wants and that's why he has his brother on the bag. We can see that now. I had also posted on DJ's FB page at the beginning of the Open to "watch out for the other Johnson (Zach)...maybe I had some insight.

[DTF]

Carl...I figured Ollie's caddie wasn't a regular on tour, just having some fun.

Wow this is great theater! And I love the Monday finish...heck, let's finish 'em all on Monday!!

I hear the R&A charged people to attend today? Why not honor tickets from previous rounds? USGA did at 2009 US Open.

Look at that Adam Scott go! He certainly wasn't in my set of possible winners but having a classy gentleman like Adam as The Champion Golfer is always a good thing, would love to see him win.

Looks like the BBC made an unpopular decision on the amount of golf they are going to broadcast today: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/more-sports/brits-freak-bbc-doesn-air-full-british-open-final-article-1.2297527

[dbh]

This is freakin' insane! What a leaderboard; non stop rock 'em, sock 'em action...
Glad to Dunne get his sea legs back and probably fortunate for Louis as well.

[Carl Peterson]

@DTF, my comment was meant more along the lines of, "hey caddie, you're outside your element (TIOs) so you might want to pipe down."

[DTF]

nancy re: DJs caddie it's a bit more complicated than that... Interestingly, at this moment, the top-2 players on the leaderboard have the 2 best caddies in the field, coincidence?

Ahh, I see Carl...gotcha.

Heck, Dunne looks like he's gonna get it back to even-par through 5 let's not count him out yet!

[Aditya]

Drama! It's going to be a shootout in the second half. Bring it on Road Hole!

[Carl Peterson]

I hope Dunne, Niebrugge, and Schneiderjans tie for low amateur -- they are all accomplishing such a feat that I hate to see any of them get less recognition for it.

@DTF, re: Scott -- don't jinx him I picked him to win in my pool.

[dbh]

BBC guy just said 13 thru 17 are playing the 5 toughest holes today. Caution: Rough Road Ahead!