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The Open – Meet the Contenders

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The Open takes place at Royal Birkdale between the 16th and 23rd of July. 2017 sees the 146th edition of the tournament that was first played in 1860. It is the only major held outside of the USA. It is the oldest of all four majors in professional golf. Reigning champion Henrik Stenson, who set a record breaking score (-20) at Royal Troon will be looking to join the likes of Tiger Woods and Padraig Harrington, who have won consecutive Open’s.

 

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Meet the defending Champion

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Henrik Stenson became the first male Swedish major champion, having won the 2016 Championship with a major championship record score of 264. In what earned instant acclaim as one of the greatest final-round duels in major championship history, Stenson broke the aggregate scoring record for all majors. A titanic battle with Phil Mickelson in the final round, saw him shoot 63, two shots better than he 65 from Mickelson.

The Open Contenders

Phil Mickelson – An Open winner in 2013 and a runner-up on two occasions. Most notably in 2016 where he tied Greg Norman’s 1993 record for the lowest aggregate score at The Open. Phil Mickelson has a good record at The Open having won it & finished runner-up. In addition, he has 4 top 10 finishes.

Phil Mickelson lifts the Claret Jug in 2013, at Muirfiled.

Phil Mickelson lifts the Claret Jug in 2013

Rickie Fowler – The vibrant young American who tied second in 2014 at Hoylake. Rickie has yet to win a major and deliver on his undoubted talent. This saw him finish in the top 5 of all the majors in 2014. He’s currently in the World’s top 10 after his fourth PGA Tour win in February 2017 at The Honda Classic.

 

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A Blast from the Past

The Open always seems to throw new life into some of the elder golfers. Darren Clarke & Ernie Els won in 2011 & 2012 respectively. There was agony for Tom Watson in 2009 at Turnberry where he lost in a play-off to Stewart Cink. Watson defied his age to lead after the second and third rounds before a chance to win the tournament with par on the 72nd hole. He missed the putt and consequently went into the play-off with Cink. Which elder statesman will defy age to take on Birkdale and perhaps win The Open this year.

Tom Watson missed a Par Putt to win The Open in 2009 at the age of 59.

Tom Watson missed a Par Putt to win The Open in 2009 at the age of 59.

Competition Time

As always, we are running our Major Competition, where you can win a free lesson with one of our PGA Professionals. All you have to do; is pick which player you think will win The Open in 2017 and give us their score. To enter, please email your answers to info@duncanlmabertgolf.com. Entries will close after the first group has started their round on. Good Luck.