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Darren Clarke Wins 2011 British Open Title for Northern Ireland

July 17, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Darren Clarke has brought another major championship home for Northern Ireland. Clarke outlasted the rest of the field to win the 2011 British Open at Royal St. George’s golf club in Sandwich, England.

Dustin Johnson remained in contention throughout the final round, as did Phil Mickelson. However, Clarke’s three straight rounds in the 60s and a par 70 in the final round lifted him to a comfortable three-stroke victory over both Americans that were trying to chase him down.

Clarke won with a 5-under 275, following the path of younger countrymen Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell as a major champion. They won the last two U.S. Opens. Northern Ireland is well known for its golf, however nobody could have expected this. It had been a decade since Clarke was a serious contender in a Grand Slam event, and the one-time face of Northern Ireland golf was thought to be long past his prime.

Final British Open Standings

While this is amazing news for Clarke and all of Northern Ireland, Dustin Johnson’s struggles in the final rounds of tournaments continue to linger with him. The round one leader and contender throughout the weekend was within two strokes of the lead when he made a huge blunder, knocking an iron shot out of bounds from the 14th fairway. He wound taking a double-bogey that ended his chances at he British Open title.

Johnson settled for a 72, leaving him tied with Mickelson at 278. Last year, Johnson threw away a lead at the U.S. Open with a closing 82, and he will forever be remembered for taking a two-stroke penalty of the 72nd hole of the PGA Championship to miss out on a playoff.

Congratulations to Darren Clarke for winning the 2011 British Open.

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2011 British Open Day 3 Leaderboard Update

July 16, 2011 By Leave a Comment

The 2011 version of the British Open has been sloppy, windy and rainy. However, this has not stopped some pretty good drama from being played out at Royal St. George’s golf course in Sandwich, England. Day three featured some serious moving both up and down the leaderboard, as golfers battle to fight howling rain and wind, only to finish the day with sunshine.

Darren Clarke was among the group of golfers that did catch a break in the weather, and he didn’t waste any time taking advantage of it. By shooting a 1-under 69 on Saturday, Clarke secured (for now) a one-stroke lead heading to the final round, while at the same time putting little Northern Ireland in a great position to claim its third major championship in a little over a year.

While Clarke is playing well, he doesn’t have the championship in the bag yet. With one more round left, there are a number of golfers hanging around in the top ten, all of whom are ready to strike. Dustin Johnson and Rickie Fowler led an American charge up the board, looking to end the country’s longest drought without a major title in the modern Grand Slam era.

Check Out the Full Leaderborad

Johnson – who was the leader after round one, has played a beautiful tournament, and been one of the most consistent golfers over the first three rounds. While other golfers have had better overall rounds, none of them have played a consistent three rounds like Johnson has. This may benefit him, as his constant good play may carry him to the Open Championship title Sunday.

The British Open Championship winner and a recap of the weekend will be forthcoming.

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2011 British Open Day 2 Leaderboard Update

July 15, 2011 By Leave a Comment

The surprising hot play by round 1 leader Dustin Johnson continued but he still fell out of the lead, as two other golfers stormed to the top spot. Northern Ireland’s Darren Clarke and Lucas Glover of the U.S. share a one-stroke lead at 4-under par during the second round of golf’s 2011 British Open.

Clarke shot his second straight 2-under 68 at Royal St. George’s in Sandwich, England, and 2009 U.S. Open champion Glover finished with an even-par 70. Both of these scores would good enough to keep them high atop the leaderboard.

“It was a little bit more adventurous today than yesterday,” stated Darren Clark, who is now playing in his 20th Open. “There was some good and some not so good, but overall 68 is very pleasing.” It sounds pleasing, especially with the weather conditions that the golfers have been facing and will continue to face over the weekend.

Eighteen players are within three shots of the leaders with bad weather expected for the weekend. Heavy rain and gusting winds are forecast for tomorrow morning, with more rain called for on the final day, according to the U.K.’s Met Office. This should make for some very interesting rounds over the next two days.

Round 1 leader Dustin Johnson had yet another solid round. He shot a 2-under 68, which puts him currently tied for 7th at an overall -2. Phil Mickelson is there (currently sitting tied for 14th at -1) and will be one of the big names looking to make a weekend run.

Follow the 2011 British Open Leaderboard Live

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2011 British Open Day One Leaderboard Update

July 14, 2011 By Leave a Comment

The 2011 British Open got underway yesterday and already we have a golfer streaking ahead of the pack with a fast opening round. Dustin Johnson’s 70 on Thursday in his first round at the 2011 British Open Championship was good enough to put him atop the leaderboard after day 1 play ended.

Johnson started and ended his front nine with bogeys on both the first and ninth holes, then went on to dig himself an even deeper hole with two bogeys in his first three back nine holes to fall to 4-over through 12 holes.

Follow the British Open Leaderboard Live

From then on Johnson wiped all the bad play away and then some with a phenomenal stretch of 5-under play on four consecutive back nine holes, with three birdies bookending a hole-in-one on the par 3 16th.

Needless to say, this was some pretty stunning play, especially when you consider the wind factor. Lucky? Maybe, only the next three days will tell. There were some lucky shots (hole in one) but there was also some very outstanding play. Johnson will look to continue his late run when play resumes on Friday.

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Royal St. George Course May be Shortened Due to Strong Winds

July 13, 2011 By 1 Comment

The 2011 version of the British Open kicks off tomorrow at Royal St. George’s and already the organizers of the event may have to go into scramble mode because of the blustery winds that the course is experiencing.

If the wind does indeed blow at its current strength, then Open Championship organizers are going to be forced to drastically shorten the course. Right now Royal St. George’s course is set at a length of 7,211 yards.

Wind is always a part of every British Open, however this year’s wind seems to be raging almost out of control. The Royal & Ancient, which stages the event, said it has no interest in embarrassing players. In particular, the 564-yard par-5 seventh and the 243-yard par-3 11th may be played from forward tees if the wind keeps off the English Channel from the east.

I guess we will have to wait and see what happens with the 2011 British Open tees off tomorrow!

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The 2011 British Open Preview

July 11, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Players and fans are gearing up for the 140th British Open Championship. Returning this year to Royal St Georges Golf Club (first time since 2003), several players have already stated that this course is definitely not their favorite Open Championship course.

Known for its tough fairways in which balls tend to mysteriously bounce sideways towards the rough. It will be that rough which will, in part, determine how hard scoring will be this week. From the looks of it, scoring is going to be pretty difficult. We could see the eventual winner with a scoring card that ends in an over par score.

Ben Curtis was the last winner when the Open Championship was played here. For Curtis, it was not only his first major championship title; it was also his first PGA Tour victory. He has won two more times since, but has struggled this season with eight missed cuts in 15 starts. The other three winners at Royal St. George’s were Greg Norman (1993), Sandy Lyle (1985) and Bill Rogers (1981).

The field is ready to go. Most notable news lately is the news that Vijay Singh withdrew from the championship on Monday and was replaced by Bjorn.

It was supposed to be Tiger Woods’ year in 2010. The first three majors were at three of his favorite courses – Augusta National, Pebble Beach and St. Andrews. However, Woods was still battling his personal problems when he headed to the Open Championship and was never a factor after opening with a 67. He played the final three rounds in two-over par to end 13 shots back at minus-three.

Who will take the crown this year? It is anyone’s guess. With a wide-open field and a wildly tough course, this year’s British Open could be very interesting.

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Royal St Georges Golf Club Ready for the British Open

July 11, 2011 By Leave a Comment

From July 14th – 17th of 2011, the British Open will be returning to Kent, once again being hosted by Royal St Georges Golf Club in Sandwich Kent. The last time The British open was held in Kent was back in July 2003.

That version of the British Open in 2003 was won Ben Curtis, an American rookie playing his first ever major, he won by 1 stroke carding a 69 for the final day and was the only player to shoot under par for the week.

The [Royal and Ancient] has confirmed the 2011 British Open will return to Royal St George’s Sandwich who have previously hosted this event 13 times. Also announced was that [Royal Lytham & St Annes] will host the 2012 British Open a week before the Olympics in London.

Royal St Georges Golf Club

Initially designed by Dr Laidlaw in 1887, the Royal St Georges Golf Club original use was for London golfers who generally played in overcrowded and unmanaged courses to come and relax and enjoy their round of golf. The Royal status was given to St Georges by King Edward VII in May 1902.

Over the years the cruel links course conditions have tamed even the greatest of golfing legends including the former world number 1 [Tiger Woods] who in 2003 finished joint 4th with a 1 over for the tournament.

Just to give you an idea of the difficulties these players face, Bill Rogers, Greg Norman and Ben Curtis are the only three players who have ever won The Open at Royal St Georges under par for 72 holes.

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British Open Less Than a Month Away

June 17, 2011 By Leave a Comment

The 2011 version of The British Open is now less than a month away. There are Open Qualifiers going on all over the world right now. Since the British Open is an “open” championship, that means that anyone can qualify to play, provided they make it through the rigorous qualifying rounds.

Here are some of the major international qualifying results from around the world:

IFQ Europe: Held at Sunningdale, Berkshire, England

IFQ America: Held at Gleneagles Country Club, Plano, Texas, USA

You can also enjoy some of the video highlights from the qualifying rounds.

One of the main story lines going into the 2011 Open is the fact that it seems this year more than any other that the field is wide open. I count 15-20 different guys who could make a run at the Open title. With Tiger Woods not telling anyone if he is or isn’t playing, that also opens the door for many others.

More to come in the next few weeks, but lets get ready for one of the biggest golf events in the world.

 

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Tiger in the Lead at the British Open

July 22, 2006 By Leave a Comment

Tiger Woods is in the lead at the 2006 British Open with one day remaining.

Tiger Woods had a first round 67 and second round 65 to jump to an early lead of 11 under heading into todays round. He was followed closely by Ernie Els at 10 under. He played amazing the first two days and holed out with shots from the fairway, dazzling bunker saves and putting, yes Tiger’s putting is back.

Then today he faltered a little on the greens but was still able to stay in the lead and one stroke up on a huge contending field with 13 under par. Big on the day was Sergio Garcia’s round of 65 that has kept him one back of Tiger heading into the final round of the Open.

Could this be the major that Garcia finally wins or is Tiger just keeping it close for entertainment purposes? We’ll see as the final round of the British Open concluds tomorrow.

Filed Under: British Open, Tiger Woods