Keegan Bradley walks at the Open Championship.
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TROON, Scotland — The golf world moves on quickly, even in Scotland.
This week, maybe especially in Scotland.
Just hours after native son Bob MacIntyre rolled in the putt of his life at the Scottish Open on Sunday, sending the country into a jubilant tizzy, the attention of the sport shifted west, where the game’s best descended upon Troon, Scotland, for the fourth and final major of the year.
The 152nd Open Championship returns to golf’s homeland at a fitting moment in the hours after MacIntyre’s thrilling victory, but the course and conditions that greeted golfers on Monday at Royal Troon bore only a passing resemblance to the conditions at the Renaissance Club, host of last week’s festivities. That much was evident to any observer on Monday afternoon, as golfers filled the course with Monday practice rounds, tracing up and down the Scottish west coast like seagulls in the mist.
But even if the shots were days away from mattering, there was a lot to be gleaned from the action at Royal Troon on Monday, which gave its first glimpse to the golfing public since the Open Championship last came here in 2016. After an afternoon along the coastline, GOLF senior writer Sean Zak and news and features editor James Colgan share their five biggest observations from on-site below.
1. A new golf celebrity arrived
Short of Bob MacIntyre, no golfer in the world has seen his life change more in the last seven days than Keegan Bradley. As you probably know, the PGA Tour lifer and former major champ became the captain of the U.S. Ryder Cup team last week, a surprise choice that brought golf’s most beloved New Englander instant celebrity status from now until the action begins at Bethpage Black.
As a a 38-year-old who has enjoyed a career renaissance in recent seasons, Bradley finds himself in unique territory as a Ryder Cup captain in that his on-course performance is plenty relevant to the discussion. As the last man out of the team last September in Rome and in 16th of the U.S. team standings, Bradley could very feasibly still compete in the Cup himself as one of six automatic selections on the team.
At most majors, Keegs is a pretty low-key figure on the golf course in the early-week, enjoying family time or a good chat with his caddie during the downbeat in between practice rounds — but not this week. Bradley was all-business as he walked off the 18th green on Monday afternoon at Troon, lifting a cell phone to his ear and walking tightly in a pack of three. It’s likely that phone hasn’t stopped ringing since the second he was offered the captainship last week, and likely it won’t stop ringing anytime soon. There’s a reason that most Ryder Cup captains don’t qualify to play in the Cup. — James Colgan
2. We found the real flower of Scotland
By all local reports, it has been a very rainy summer here in Scotland. And now the Tour pros have traveled from Scotland’s sunnier coast to its rainier one. What does that mean for Troon? It’s grabby around the edges. The rough is lush. And leaking through in a number of the rough areas are…dandelions. That’s right, the yellow pests we hate to see in our front yards at home are proliferating some spots at Royal Troon. And you know what? That’s just fine. It’ll add a nice touch of gold to those photos we love of the lads swinging through the hay. — Sean Zak
3. The Postage feels cramped
The eighth hole at Royal Troon is not just one of the most famous holes at the golf course, it’s one of the signature golf holes in all of Scotland. The 123-yard par-3 is theoretically the easiest hole on the course — a flip wedge to a green guarded by a steep grade and a few deep bunkers — but in practice things aren’t nearly as easy. With the wind down on Sunday and Monday, players had no problem sticking approaches close (rumor has it that Tiger Woods nearly aced his approach on Sunday), but once things pick up later in the week, the real fun will begin.
The hole’s name comes from William Park of Golf Illustrated, who posited the hole had a “pitching area skimmed down to the size of a postage stamp,” and after seeing it up close, I can confirm he was right. The beauty and the strategy of the hole comes from this central dichotomy: a simple shot that requires absolute execution. There are a lot of shots like this in the links country, and until you’ve seen them for yourself, it’s hard to appreciate just how brilliant they are. The Postage Stamp lives up to that billing. — JC
4. Troon has a surprise star
At the risk of sounding like a pretentious local, James just fell into a classic first-timer trap there. He fell for the Hollywood hole at Troon: the 8th. For my money, the best holes on the front nine precede the P-Stamp. No. 6 is an all-you-can-handle par 5. A true three-shotter for most mortals. Or anyone who doesn’t hit it straight as train smoke. The 7th is a slight risk-reward dandy. If the prevailing wind off the coast gets firm enough, hopefully the R&A push the boys up a tee and lets them chase an eagle look. — SZ
5. The champ returned the jug — in style
It’s understandable if some of golf’s major championship traditions elicit an eyeroll from you, dear reader. The sport is as old as it is self-reverential, and nobody enjoys overdoing a bit quite like golf tournament organizers. On Monday afternoon, I feared I was walking into a similar situation when I came upon a gaggle of press and photographers stationed outside the entrance to Royal Troon.
Reigning champ Brian Harman, the gaggle informed me, was about to show up to complete one of his final tasks as Open Championship winner: returning the Claret Jug to the R&A before play begins. Little did I know that Harman was coming to the course the old-fashioned way, driving an electric-blue G-Wagon along the coastline adjacent to the course before pulling up in front of the clubhouse with the Jug.
I laughed as I pictured this image, but as I thought about it more, this felt like a fitting blend of old and new. On one hand, Harman was participating in one of the oldest traditions in the history of tournament golf. On the other, he was doing it from the comfort of a tournament-sponsored electric vehicle. On a week where longtime Open Championship starter Ivor Robson will be honored for his contributions next to the first tee in front of a gaggle of fans clutching R&A-logoed reusable water bottles (a giveaway this year), I found the Jug return amusing, fitting even, for an ancient tournament that keeps its eyes trained straight ahead. — JC
