British Open 2007 --what a finish! (1 Viewer)

The pressure of The Open really got to these guys. All of the players in contention came unraveled near the end and Harrington was able to keep his composure the most by saving a double bogey on 18 in regulation to stay alive.

It appeared that Romero was in control until he decided to hit a 2-iron from the nasty rough on 17. After hitting out of bounds and dropping from the same position he had just hit from, he appeared to switch clubs back to the 6- or 7-iron he should have chosen in the first place. Instead, he grabbed his 3-wood, prompting Nick Faldo's hilarious sarcasm, "the 2-iron wasn't enough..." Romero was finished after that.

I feel bad for Garcia -- he was so close. Maybe he'll go back to using a real putter, not that belly putter that should be allowed only on the Senior Tour.

Great tournament!

Great finish, although it appears the 18th hole at Carnoustie is cursed. Maybe it's just way too difficult a par 4 at 499 yards, with OB no close, and the Burn meandering all over.

I have mixed feelings about belly and long putters. Part of me thinks they aren't really "golf" and should be banned. The other part of me, that somtimes uses a 42" belly putter because my 34" Yes! Tracy goes psychotic, thinks that the R&A and USGA have allowed superballs, Volkswagens-on-a-stick drivers, and grooves on wedges that are so sharp that you can shave with them, so why the heck not long putters?

I didn't get to watch much of it this weekend, but seeing as how I can't stand Garcia, I'm happy with the results.

I would have been more surprised to see Garcia win, since he always seems to fold under the pressure of a major on Sunday. In this case, he first blew a 4 stroke lead, then was given a 2nd chance after Harrington and Romero both screwed up. Sergio proceeded to blow it a 2nd time (although I do concede that a bogey on the difficult 18th should not be considered a complete choke).

What really bothered me about Sergio was his whining afterwards about "bad breaks". Included in these "bad breaks" was when he hit the flag stick with his 2nd shot (on 16, I think). He thought the shot should have went in the hole. As fast as the ball was flying past the hole, hitting the stick was a good break, IMO. Had it not hit the stick, the ball probably would have been twice as far away from the hole (maybe off the green). Sergio's luck was no better or worse than anyone else's yesterday. He just didn't make the putts under pressure, which has always been his problem.

As for the belly/long putter, I've always contended that they should be illegal for a couple of reasons -- (1) it is not a normal "golf stroke", similar to when the USGA banned Sam Snead's straddling putting stroke, and (2) the club is anchored against the body, which is debatable as whether that's allowed under the rules.

Personally, I've only played one round of golf in 33 years with someone who used a long putter (and I probably play 50-70 times per year). You never see them on the public courses.

Sergio vs. Padraig- I think that, except for the questionable decision by
Padraig to use the driver on the 18th hole that got him into trouble, Padraig
deserved to win because he played better than Sergio. I would rather see
someone shoot a good score to win than to see someone back into a
tournament win (Padraig shot a 67, while Sergio shot a 73). The
Argentinian player Romero really blew it yesterday- 3 over par on
the last 2 holes to finish 1 shot out of the playoff. He will be kicking
himself forever for getting over agressive with the 2 iron on the
17th hole.

The belly putter- I've played with a few guys that used a belly or a
senior putter. I don't really see anything wrong with them- there are
no golf club restrictions on length of shaft or grip. I use a belly putter,
but it doesn't matter what I use- my putting sucks anyway.

I agree that Harrington, overall, played much better than Sergio on Sunday -- that's rather obvious, based on their final round scores. As I watched Padraig play 18, though, I thought I was watching a replay of Van de Velde in 1999. The difference, obviously, was that Van de Velde had a 3 shot lead, while Harrington's lead was only one stroke, and Sergio still had a couple of holes to play. So, I can at least understand why Padraig hit the driver there. I still do not know what Van de Velde was thinking.

Harrington did learn his lesson in the playoff, though, and played the 18th much more conservatively (as Van de Velde should have 8 years ago). He forced Sergio to make birdie on a very tough hole, which was a wise strategy, IMO.

Yeah, Sergio's whining is very annoying. His complaint about having to wait for the bunkers to be raked was interesting...as I watched, I thought they were actually giving him an unfair break by smoothing them out in case he hit into them.

Many years ago I played a lot of scrambles (best shot) tournaments. During one such scramble my team happened to be paired with the ultimate winners. They were simply awesome on the green, 20 under for 18 holes; I've never seen anything like it. On the third hole, after the first two team members missed, the third player got his chance. He pulled out a putter I swear was about 1 1/2 drivers length long. His stance was even wilder; his legs were spreadeagle, as far apart as they could be. The net result was a tripod where the putter head was 6-7 (at least) feet out away from his body, as ridiculous a putter/stance combination as I've ever seen. This is against every precept of good putting technique there is, but he made everything! Of any distance! We played well, but they ended up seven strokes ahead of us and nearly everyone.

Normally, I like seeing an opponent take out one of those extra long putters as it generally means he has putting troubles and will probably fold near the end, but I never want to see the above fellow again, except as a spectator.

Not to threadjack but I wan't to make another comment about belly/long putters.

Bad putting with my 34" Yes! Tracy has been killing my scores. Saturday when I played in a tourney, I had 39 putts in 18 holes. :frowning:

Yesterday evening, in desperation, I used an old, cheap, Carbite belly putter that I had bought last year and didn't like. It was 43" long, and didn't seem to fit me well. I cut off 1" and the fit was much better. Even with almost no practive my putting was better. In 9 holes, I had 16 putts, including a 10 footer for birdie on the last hole. Three of those were lipouts.

So, I'm going to try the belly putter for at least a month. I never thought that I had the putter yips, but maybe I do. The belly putter keeps the putter head online so much better.

Now, if I can only get one of those cool 21" Winn putter grips.

Julian,

Have you ever tried a putter with a heavier head? I find that a heavy putter helps me keep the putter online. I've been using a 35" Odyssey 2 ball putter for a few years now, and really like the added weight (I had an Odyssey Rossie II putter for many years before that).

There is actually a putter brand called "The Heavy Putter", which is the heaviest club I've ever seen. I tried it at the golf shop, and was surprised how good it felt. I'm not looking for a new putter, though, since I'm happy with my 2 ball.

So, do these long putters fit in a travel case? They look longer than a driver. If they don't, they wouldn't be very practical for a traveling golfer.

Scott,

I have not tried "The Heavy Putter" although I have seen people using it and most of them seem to like it. It will be on my list to try, just as soon as my current belly putter starts acting up.

My belly putter is 42", or 3" shorter than my driver, so no problem fitting in the bag. Some "long" putters, the broomsticks or chin putters are 48 to 52" long. I tried one of these and did not like it.

I'm not a big golf fan, but with our HD TV, I have started watching more golf. I was also interested in Steve Stricker, an alum from the University of Illinois, here in Champaign-Urbana, IL.