British Open: Royal Liverpool's final two holes claim their first victims

If you're a player preparing to challenge a golf course at a major, pretty much the last thing you want to hear is that the course has been adjusted to have a more "dramatic" finish. That's a sure sign that there's trickeration afoot and high numbers ahead.

The Open Championship teed off Thursday morning at Royal Liverpool, and within hours, the course's final two holes had claimed their first victims. The message was unmistakable: Nobody can get too comfortable on this course unless they have a 15-shot lead heading into the final two holes.

Start with the 138-yard par-3 17th. This is a new hole, and unlike most Open Championship features, where "new" means "built in the 1910s," it's legitimately new construction, based thematically on the Island Green at TPC Sawgrass. Miss short, and your shot funnels into a bunker. Miss left, another bunker. Miss right, a steep dropoff leading to ... yep, another bunker.

Matt Fitzpatrick's caddy, Billy Foster, termed it a "monstrosity." Others were more diplomatic.

"I would say it’s fair, because it’s unfair to everybody,’’ Jon Rahm said prior to the tournament. "Like it’s golf, and it’s life. Simple as that. We all have to play the same holes. If you hit a good shot, you’ll definitely most likely have a birdie chance. If not, you’ll deal with it. I get you’re going for that on a championship Sunday. You have a one-shot lead, that hole can be pivotal."

"I like it," Brooks Koepka said. "I’m a big believer in the short par-3s — make it difficult, exactly like that. I think all the best par 3s in the world that have ever been designed are 165 yards or shorter."

We'll see how they react after a couple shots at the hole. Lucas Herbert was the first to suffer at its hands. He stepped up to the 17th at 3-under and leading the tournament; he walked off the green at even par after suffering a triple bogey. Herbert flew the green, landed in a bunker, took two shots to get out and finally putted in for triple.

"It's pretty hard to feel the wind in there and the tee box," Herbert said after his round. "It's very enclosed and you don't get a lot of exposure to it. Guys are going to get that wrong all day. I don't think I'll be the only one to run up a big number."

Phil Mickelson struggled at the 17th, too. He landed in the deep bunker along the left side of the green and couldn't get out on his first try. That left him with a double bogey.

One hole up waits the finale, the 599-yard 18th. The treachery here comes from the internal out-of-bounds area, the result of hospitality tents and the expected mass of spectators. The first to fall prey to the wicked OB: Rickie Fowler, who hit two straight shots out of bounds en route to a triple bogey to close out his round. That plummeted him from in contention to six shots off the clubhouse lead.

It's a particularly galling fate for Fowler, who finished tied for second the last time the Open Championship was held at Royal Liverpool in 2014. After a deep trough, his career now appears on the upswing, and this could be his best chance at a major in nearly a decade. If there's any consolation, it's this: Fowler has plenty of time to make up the lost shots ... and he surely won't be alone in suffering on the 18th.

Mickelson stumbled here, too. He hit his drive out of bounds, and then landed his second shot off the tee in the rough right up against the out of bounds markers. He landed in a greenside bunker on his approach, and again failed to get out on the first try. He walked off the hole with a triple bogey. That 5-over stretch on the final two holes brought him to 6-over for the tournament, completely blowing what was otherwise a solid start to the week.

Then again, there's this approach:

"Just don’t hit it over there," Koepka said Tuesday, "and you won’t have a problem, right?”

We'll see if he's still singing the same tune Sunday night.