From V Krishnaswamy at Hoylake

If you were playing a game of word association with specific players: for Scottie Scheffler it would be ‘Consistent; for Rory McIlroy the description would be ‘Persistent’; for Cameron Smith make it ‘Carefree’; it would be ‘Rediscovered’ for Brooks Koepka and it can only be ‘Resurgent’ for Rickie Fowler. And Jon Rahm? Nothing but ‘Passionate’.
Bring on the 151st Open at Royal Liverpool, Hoylake, which has had as its last two champions, legends Tiger Woods in 2006, the year he pulled out the driver just once; and McIlroy in 2014, the year he won two Majors, and nothing since

 

Scheffler scans the videos, searching for ways to win the Open

 

 

World No. 1 Scheffler has been watching the wins of McIlroy and Woods' on YouTube as part of his preparation. The course on which Woods won was so different, but McIlroy won on something similar minus the re-done 17th.
Scheffler said, “Anytime I'm coming to a new course, I try to learn something about it before I get there versus just coming in blind. It really is a valuable tool for me." And the thing he remembers about Woods at Hoylake was that he took out the driver just once and in 2014, when McIlroy won, Scheffler felt the course was something like it is now.
And why is that? Scheffler is ranked 133rd out of 191 on the PGA Tour for putting, but he is brilliant in all other areas. He has finished in Top-12 in his last 19 starts and only three of them were outside Top-10. He has taken consistency to a new level. But in those 19 top drawer performances he has just two wins – the PGA Tour's flagship Players Championship and Phoenix Open events earlier this year. So a few more putts and a lot of those near misses could have been WINS.

 

 

Rahm – can’t hold back passion in life or in golf

 

Rahm, successor to Scheffler at Augusta this year, is among the most popular players around the world. He wears his heart on his sleeve and  ‘Passion’ could be his middle name. He has two Majors – one US Open and a Green Jacket. Now that he feels he is getting a hang of Links golf, it is time to make a charge for Claret Jug. He was third at Royal St Georges in 2021. If a Claret Jug comes his way, he will be three-fourths of his way down the alley of Career Slam achievers. The current waiting list includes McIlroy (missing piece is a Green Jacket) and Jordan Spieth (the missing piece being the PGA Championships).
He doesn’t hold back anything – neither in life nor on a golf course.

 

Carefree but held back tears as he handed the Claret Jug back

 

 

Cam Smith, one of the most loved players with his win last year, for which he gunned down McIlroy and Cameron Young, seems carefree with his ‘mullet’ but he turned emotional when he handed back the Claret Jug, he won at the 150th Open, earlier this week, ahead of the 151st Open.
He said, “I just had to hand back the trophy there. I thought I was going to do all right but I was actually holding back from tears.”
Then he laughed when told that he could win it again. "Yeah, that's what I've been saying to all my mates. It'll only be a week and we'll be drinking out of it again. Hopefully it's another week like last year and I'm back with the trophy."

 

Fowler, from missing an Open to being among favourite – all in 12 months

 

Fowler was not even in the field when Spieth and Justin Thomas were gearing up for the 150th Open at St Andrews. But he came along with his buddies to Ireland to prepare for the Links at St Andrews.
That was a year back, and this year, the trio is back ahead of the Open at Hoylake.
Lo and behold, Fowler is the fifth favourite and ahead of Spieth and Thomas. The last 12 months saw Fowler rise from 185th to 22nd and he won his first PGA TOUR title since 2019.

 

 

McIlroy and Koepka – staying friends in a fractured golfing world

 

In a fractured golf world Koepka earlier this year became the first LIV player to win a Major – remember Cam Smith was yet to sign on with LIV when he won the Open last year.
McIlroy was and is the biggest ‘opponent’ of the LIV. He just told the world that ‘if LIV was the last place left to play pro golf, he would prefer to retire’.
Yet McIlroy and Koepka have stayed friends in these turbulent times.
Koepka was quoted as saying, "I've hung out with Rory, for like I said, the last six, eight months. We still practice together. We've had multiple conversations. We've talked about a bunch of different things, life just off the golf course, and he's told me some stuff that's gone on with him that I really appreciate he's opened up."
Koepka, who told the media at Augusta it (his decision to move to LIV) could have been different if he had been playing like he has this year, rediscovered his mojo – finishing second at Augusta and winning PGA for his fifth Major.
As Koepka moved from four to five Majors in four years, McIlroy has been ‘trying’ to do the same for nine years and still waiting.

 

 

Sharma, celebrating a birthday with the family in the Open week

 

 

That’s six players and there are 150 more, including India’s own Shubhankar Sharma, who for the third time will be celebrating his birthday in the Open week. Last two times  at Carnoustie and Portrush, he made the cut and finished T-51 each time. It’s the only Major he has made the cut at, while missing it once each at Augusta, PGA and US Open.
Sharma says the Open is his favourite for many reasons and among them is that it is usually his birthday this week. “I guess that is also one of the reasons why I like it. Even when I was a kid, it was around my birthday. So it used to be a double celebration for me. The last time I was here (at the Open), it was played at Portrush and I remember the final round was on my birthday. The first time I played the Open (in Carnoustie) I celebrated by making the cut and my birthday was the day after that. So it is very special and always has good vibes.”
This time he has not just his coach, Jesse Grewal, but also his Dad, Col ML Sharma, mother and sister. He said, “My whole family's here. So I'm really happy as my mother and sister are here. Some mother’s food and family company helps me take my mind off golf in the evenings and that is relaxing.”

 

A great Open now has one of the great Par-3s at Hoylak

 

Finally, the players apart, there will be a lot of focus on the 17th hole. Martin Slumbers, the CEO of the R&A, described it as one of the ‘great’ Par-3s of the g game alongside the likes of the 12th at Augusta, the eighth at the Troon and the 17th at TPC Sawgrass.