So, what were your thoughts of The Open Championship?
I thought the tournament was fantastic and was further evidence of the excitement the remainder of this season is sure to bring.
Heading into the final round, you had to consider Jordan Spieth as the favorite. Spieth has not had a great season, thus far.
However, he was the defending champion and was showing signs of returning as the greatest putter in the game. Much to my surprise, Spieth played the worst round of any player on the leader board.
How about Tiger Woods?
Maybe this would finally prove to be his day. We’ve waited so long to see him return to his former glory.
Through 10 holes during the final round, Woods was the sole leader. It was an awesome sight to see. What struck me the most was how other players seemed to struggle as he climbed to the top of the leader board.
It was like the old days.
During the peak of his career, Woods was such an intimidating presence that players would collapse under his pressure. For a brief period during the final round, you could see this beginning to happen again. But a double bogey-bogey sequence early on the back 9 ended his run.
Even with players like Rory McIlroy and Justin Rose finishing up their tournament at -6, they never quite seemed like a true threat.
And, finally, we focus on the ultimate winner of the championship, Francesco Molinari.
This guy played with Woods during the final round and was practically an after thought throughout most of the round. In fact, I remember feeling bad for him early in the round as Woods was charging to the top of the leader board.
Molinari was just sort of hanging around.
Well, I guess if you hang around long enough, you can eventually find yourself winning a major championship. Molinari has been playing some great golf over the past couple of months.
Less than three weeks prior to the Open Championship, Molinari shot a final round 62 to win the Quicken Loans Invitational by 8 shots. Read that again, because that doesn’t happen randomly.
Molinari is that good.
Looking back, Molinari earned his first major by playing bogey-free golf on the weekend at Carnoustie.
He is the first Italian golfer to win a major championship, and he seems like a good guy. I’m sure he will be amongst the favorites in the PGA Championship.
However, our focus now should shift to the upcoming Ryder Cup. Molinari will be part of a strong European squad, and the competition is going to be epic.
Wouldn’t it be cool to see a Molinari vs. Woods match for the Ryder Cup that Sunday?
It could happen.
