Winners and losers from the British Open
This past weekend saw a lot of great storylines and we are here to give you the good and the bad of it. Here are our winners and losers from the past week in golf.
Winners
Rory McIlroy — What can you say about this kid? He’s incredible, he’s living up to the hype, and he played a golf tournament from start to finish just like You Know Who used to. Rory is the standard bearer in professional golf right now, and it isn’t even close. Three major wins at 25? That’s more than the No. 1, 3 and 4 ranked players in the world have in their careers ... combined.
Rickie Fowler — It has been an impressive major championship season for Rickie Fowler, who was once again in a final group on Sunday at a major. Fowler is the real deal, and as McIlroy said in his presentation speech at Royal Liverpool, he will be winning a major very, very soon. We can swoon all we want on the brilliance of Jordan Spieth, but Fowler’s swing changes have made him the best young American in the game right now.
Tom Watson — He shot 68 on Sunday at the age of 64. Will this guy be competing at the British Open at 70? I wouldn’t bet against him.
Sergio Garcia — We have all had a good chuckle at the expense of Sergio Garcia, but his resurgence in the golf world feels a little bit like what Steve Stricker has done. Garcia played a brilliant round of golf on Sunday, and even with the chunked bunker shot on 15, held it together and pushed Rory as much as anyone. Garcia might win a major after all, especially if that putter stays as steady as it did at Hoylake.
Tiger Woods — You can call him a loser all you want for his play this week, but Tiger had a must-make birdie putt on Friday to make the cut and nailed it. The guy didn’t play competitive golf for four months and made the cut in a major championship. That’s a step in the right direction and an improvement from what happened at Congressional. I’m calling it a win for Tiger, and his return is definitely a win for golf.
Losers
Dustin Johnson — Johnson gave us hope of another run like Royal St. George’s, but his weekend was weak considering the conditions. Johnson has the talent to be an equal to the Rory-Adam-Justin-Henrik group, but he continues to struggle in the majors when things get tight. Firing 71-72 on the weekend at a wind-less Hoylake isn’t going to get it done, and his struggles on the par-5 had most golf writers scratching their heads (or manicured beards, in this case).
Catching Jack talk — Rory wins his third major and everyone is now pointing to Jack’s 18? Can’t we just enjoy something for a second before completing ruining it with future predictions?
Tom Watson’s Ryder Cup decisions — Whatever happens with Watson's captain's picks, it will be a tough one. I’m not sure I’ve ever said this, but I don’t think I want to be Tom Watson when the time comes for him to submit those picks, and if he goes with Tiger people will be up in arms about the decision, but if you leave him off the the tournament takes a huge dip in interest. What to do, what to do ...
Martin Kaymer — The U.S. Open champion could do no wrong at Pinehurst. Since that performance he has missed the cut at the BMW International, shot 77 in the final round of the French Open and fired a Sunday 79 at Hoylake.
