2022 British Open Championship Thread

[jficke13]

Headline on ESPN Golf right now is "Tiger Woods missed the cut at the Open, here's how it happened"...like it was some strange course of events, lol.

My gripe is more with people that like to claim they are "golf fans" but yet they are the ones who this coverage is catered to and who think that Tiger is going to contend.  If you're a Tiger fanboy, cool, at least own it.  Don't pretend to love the PGA/professional golf and still be deluded enough to think a broken 50 year old Tiger is still a threat and deserves equal billing.

My gripe is that's a garbage headline that would have been given a D in any journalism class (at least before the widespread adoption of clickbait headline writing, maybe it's different now <shakes fist at cloud>).

[Goose]

Phil looked like a lost soul when I saw him on Tuesday. Aside from the upfront money I cannot see anything in his golf life that could be making him happy. For a guy that loves the spotlight, it was awfully quiet fan support for him at the practice round. I have seen Phil plenty of times over the years and he cannot walk five feet without fans yelling out his name while on PGA tour and he was greeted by silence. He threw away a lifetime of accomplishments and it is a sad story, IMO.

[MU82]

Phil looked like a lost soul when I saw him on Tuesday. Aside from the upfront money I cannot see anything in his golf life that could be making him happy. For a guy that loves the spotlight, it was awfully quiet fan support for him at the practice round. I have seen Phil plenty of times over the years and he cannot walk five feet without fans yelling out his name while on PGA tour and he was greeted by silence. He threw away a lifetime of accomplishments and it is a sad story, IMO.

But at least he can count his millions between the tears.

[Lennys Tap]

I remember seeing a lot of Arnie's shots and a lot of Jack's shots during their final Open appearances.

Is this Tiger's final Open appearance?

[Goose]

82

Phil was making in excess of $40m a year in endorsements and would have kept getting big endorsement deals for another 10-15 years. If he received $200m it came at a financial cost down the road and probably will end up costing him future earnings. I 100% believe that Phil will regret this move to Liv for the rest of his life. He outsmarted himself and has already missed out on Masters Champions Dinner, defending PGA and being part of the 150th British above playing for two days. Those three events alone are not everyday events and he spent a lifetime getting to this level and he tossed away.

I do believe everyone gets second or third chances in life, especially sports figures, but you do not get back lost opportunities. Of all the Liv guys, he made the biggest bet going all in and time will tell what happens to him.

[cheebs09]

82

Phil was making in excess of $40m a year in endorsements and would have kept getting big endorsement deals for another 10-15 years. If he received $200m it came at a financial cost down the road and probably will end up costing him future earnings. I 100% believe that Phil will regret this move to Liv for the rest of his life. He outsmarted himself and has already missed out on Masters Champions Dinner, defending PGA and being part of the 150th British above playing for two days. Those three events alone are not everyday events and he spent a lifetime getting to this level and he tossed away.

I do believe everyone gets second or third chances in life, especially sports figures, but you do not get back lost opportunities. Of all the Liv guys, he made the biggest bet going all in and time will tell what happens to him.

That's true, but some of that is projecting our feelings onto Phil. To him, he may not care about all of that stuff. He could just care about how his bank account looks and not give a rip about the sentimental stuff.

It's kind of how people talk about Sam losing future opportunities with MU by transferring. That might not be something he cares about.

[tower912]

Is this Tiger's final Open appearance?

Maybe.   Maybe at St. Andrews. Maybe the leg miraculously heals.   

[MuggsyB]

82

Phil was making in excess of $40m a year in endorsements and would have kept getting big endorsement deals for another 10-15 years. If he received $200m it came at a financial cost down the road and probably will end up costing him future earnings. I 100% believe that Phil will regret this move to Liv for the rest of his life. He outsmarted himself and has already missed out on Masters Champions Dinner, defending PGA and being part of the 150th British above playing for two days. Those three events alone are not everyday events and he spent a lifetime getting to this level and he tossed away.

I do believe everyone gets second or third chances in life, especially sports figures, but you do not get back lost opportunities. Of all the Liv guys, he made the biggest bet going all in and time will tell what happens to him.

Goose,

The LIV is going to blow up in all of these players'  faces.  As for Phil I have a lot of trouble having sympathy for the guy.  This is a man who apparently gambled away 40 mill in 4 yrs.  I mean think of how astounding this really is regardless of one's income or net worth?   And whose to say it isn't a hell of a lot more and that's just the tip of the iceberg?  A person who pisses away that kind of coin is likely going to piss away the 150-200m he could make with LIV or on the PGA tour with endorsements.

[MuggsyB]

That's true, but some of that is projecting our feelings onto Phil. To him, he may not care about all of that stuff. He could just care about how his bank account looks and not give a rip about the sentimental stuff.

It's kind of how people talk about Sam losing future opportunities with MU by transferring. That might not be something he cares about.

Yes.  I would guess at this very moment his $ is all he cares about and we don't know 1/4 of what he owes people or other skeletons in his closet.  But Goose is right that in the long run he will look back and regret he made this choice.

[tower912]

If LIV golf tournaments don't count toward world ranking points, in the not too distant future a lot of their golfers will be ineligible for the majors.   The big wild card are the boys in green running that little tournament in Augusta.   If they ban former champions who went to LIV golf, the end will be sooner rather than later.

And I read that Tiger actually took a stand.  Great.

[MUBurrow]

Yes.  I would guess at this very moment his $ is all he cares about and we don't know 1/4 of what he owes people or other skeletons in his closet.  But Goose is right that in the long run he will look back and regret he made this choice.

I could be wrong, but I still think we might be underestimating the kind of creditors that are in the orbit of a guy with his sort of gambling problems plus his access to funds.  By the time you jump into bed with the Saudis and literally start showing up places looking like this - https://twitter.com/edsbs/status/1534279469070000132?s=20&t=oLYXSfz5bns19ktTyvYg-Q - there's a good chance we aren't talking about "strongly worded letter; I declare bankruptcy gif from the office" type creditors.  At some point, Occams Razor flips to the point where the conspiracy is the simpler explanation.  And for me we're reaching the point where "he's this much of a proud, money-craving maniac" is becoming a less simple explanation than "he needed the money - NOW."

[MU82]

82

Phil was making in excess of $40m a year in endorsements and would have kept getting big endorsement deals for another 10-15 years. If he received $200m it came at a financial cost down the road and probably will end up costing him future earnings. I 100% believe that Phil will regret this move to Liv for the rest of his life. He outsmarted himself and has already missed out on Masters Champions Dinner, defending PGA and being part of the 150th British above playing for two days. Those three events alone are not everyday events and he spent a lifetime getting to this level and he tossed away.

I do believe everyone gets second or third chances in life, especially sports figures, but you do not get back lost opportunities. Of all the Liv guys, he made the biggest bet going all in and time will tell what happens to him.

I hope Mickelson gets his addiction taken care of, pays off his debts, and goes on to have a healthy life - same as I wish for everybody. I don't "hate" Phil, and I've enjoyed watching him play. I've just always thought he was a phony.

As for him having regrets ... meh. He made his bed, and he now gets to sleep in it. It was his choice, and his alone, to go for the blood money.

[MuggsyB]

I could be wrong, but I still think we might be underestimating the kind of creditors that are in the orbit of a guy with his sort of gambling problems plus his access to funds.  By the time you jump into bed with the Saudis and literally start showing up places looking like this - https://twitter.com/edsbs/status/1534279469070000132?s=20&t=oLYXSfz5bns19ktTyvYg-Q - there's a good chance we aren't talking about "strongly worded letter; I declare bankruptcy gif from the office" type creditors.  At some point, Occams Razor flips to the point where the conspiracy is the simpler explanation.  And for me we're reaching the point where "he's this much of a proud, money-craving maniac" is becoming a less simple explanation than "he needed the money - NOW."

It's agree It's possible he needed the coin immediately.   The point is we have no idea  what debts he could presently have. 

[Herman Cain]

It's agree It's possible he needed the coin immediately.   The point is we have no idea  what debts he could presently have.

Muggsy:
We had a small business partnership  with Mickelson. Things went well and he seemed like a good guy at the time. That was about 20 years ago , before he started winning majors . Seemed like when the big money came in , his lifestyle and focus changed . So as you point out who knows what kind of a pickle he is in.

[Uncle Rico]

Phil is sweating the Billy Walters book.  Wait

[Herman Cain]

Phil is sweating the Billy Walters book.  Wait

https://golf.com/news/tournaments/phil-mickelsons-open-championship-ended-in-a-whimper/

[MuggsyB]

Muggsy:
We had a small business partnership  with Mickelson. Things went well and he seemed like a good guy at the time. That was about 20 years ago , before he started winning majors . Seemed like when the big money came in , his lifestyle and focus changed . So as you point out who knows what kind of a pickle he is in.

Interesting Herman.  While I'm not unsympathetic to those that have a gambling addiction, it's very difficult for me to feel bad about someone who has those resources, lives extravagantly, and throws away an insane amount of money.   Especially when you earn and accumulate generational wealth.  Maybe this new book will bring more details to light, but I've read some anecdotal things that are extremely troubling about Mickelson's propensity to bet disgusting amounts of cash. 

[Jockey]

Headline on ESPN Golf right now is "Tiger Woods missed the cut at the Open, here's how it happened"...like it was some strange course of events, lol.

My gripe is more with people that like to claim they are "golf fans" but yet they are the ones who this coverage is catered to and who think that Tiger is going to contend.  If you're a Tiger fanboy, cool, at least own it.  Don't pretend to love the PGA/professional golf and still be deluded enough to think a broken 50 year old Tiger is still a threat and deserves equal billing.

I understand your greater point here and I pretty much agree. But I think the case with Tiger is different than it would be for almost anyone else in any sport. He changed the game. He made the tour what it is today. He made hundreds of million of dollars for other players on the tour.

No rational person thought he could win (even his fanboys & the writers at ESPN knew that). The best anyone could have hoped for was that he made the cut. But he deserved the honor of ESPN centering their coverage around him.  Tiger was featured because of his career.

Pujols is in the HR derby because of his career. Miggy is in the AS game because of his career. These honors and attention are all well deserved.

[Goose]

The Billy Walters book definitely has Lefty's attention. Billy knows Phil well and has a grudge with him, I think his book will share some insights into the dark side of Phil. Billy thinks Phil could have helped keep him out of prison and he has had plenty of time to write this book.

[MuggsyB]

The Billy Walters book definitely has Lefty's attention. Billy knows Phil well and has a grudge with him, I think his book will share some insights into the dark side of Phil. Billy thinks Phil could have helped keep him out of prison and he has had plenty of time to write this book.

Uh-Oh.

[MuggsyB]

Two 66's have been posted already.  This course has no defense with little wind and some rain.  This thing is wide open. 

[Herman Cain]

Two 66's have been posted already.  This course has no defense with little wind and some rain.  This thing is wide open.

The advantage is with guys who can really judge their putting distance

[MuggsyB]

The advantage is with guys who can really judge their putting distance

Yep.  It's for the most part going to be a putting contest and the big hitters have an advantage on many par 4's.  Shaky start for the leaders.

[MuggsyB]

It's right there for Rory.  He's missed two very makeable birdie putts and has another opportunity on 4.  It's time for him to start draining them.  Hovland with two bombs. 

[JWags85]

I don't think he's out of it, but I have a hunch Cam Smith is finishing at like -13/-14 today.  So there is tons of opportunity.  DJ missing that par putt hurt cause he looked like he wanted to run out a 31/32 on the front