golf
Green whisper: The most important thing about the 151st British Open
Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy completes a practice round on the par 71 course. photo
© Kin Cheung/AP/dpa
The British Open is the fourth and last major tournament of the year for the best golf professionals. The injured superstar Tiger Woods is missing, but a German tiger is there.
The tournament:
The British Open is the oldest golf tournament in the world still in existence. In 1860 the first Open Championship was played at Prestwick Golf Club on the west coast of Scotland. The only major tournament not to be held in the United States, it is held at various locations in the United Kingdom each year.
The golf course:
The par 71 course on the coast is a typical so-called links course in the dunes: stormy winds, deep sand bunkers, dense gorse bushes and extremely hard and undulating fairways demand everything from the players.
The German players:
Tiger Christensen (Hamburg/19 years old): The son of the well-known music producer Alex Christensen and the former singer Nicci Christensen surprisingly qualified for the tournament at short notice. The teenager left well-known names like Ryder Cup star Sergio Garcia behind. The University of Arizona student is still an amateur and is therefore not allowed to collect any prize money. Christensen wants to win the “Silver Medal” for the best amateur.
Hurly Long (Heidelberg/27): The German Olympic participant in Tokyo is still missing a top result this year. For Long, who starts Thursday in the final group of the day and turns 28 on Friday, it’s the first major start of his career.
Yannik Paul (Mannheim/29): The currently best German golf pro won his first tournament on the DP World Tour in 2022. And this season, the 100th in the world rankings is convincing with strong performances. Paul has good chances to take part in the Ryder Cup at the end of September for the European selection.
Marcel Siem (Ratingen/43): Two years ago, the veteran celebrated a shared 15th place at the Open in Sandwich. The emotional Rhinelander, who lives in Mauritius, has fought his way back to the top of European golf in recent years and won another tournament in New Delhi in February. Siem plays the first two days together in a flight with Tiger Christensen.
The favourites:
Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland/34): The second in the world rankings has been waiting for his next major victory since 2014. His last and fourth triumph at one of the most important tournaments in the world was in Hoylake of all places. McIlroy is in top form, having won dress rehearsal, the Scottish Open in North Berwick last weekend, becoming the first player in history to win the Opens in Scotland, Ireland and England.
Scottie Scheffler (USA/27): The world number one always delivers consistently, especially in the big tournaments. The 2022 Masters winner was always in the top ten at this year’s majors. He finished tenth in Augusta, second at the PGA Championship and most recently third at the US Open.
Cameron Smith (Australia/29): The defending champion celebrated his premiere as a major winner at the Open in St. Andrews last year and emotionally accepted the Claret Jug, the famous wine carafe trophy. Shortly thereafter, he joined the controversial Saudi Arabia-funded LIV tour. Smith has finished in the top ten eight times in the majors.
The prize money:
The British Open is endowed with 16.5 million US dollars (around 15 million euros). The winner alone will receive a check for three million dollars (2.72 million euros) and the Claret Jug. The winner can also call himself “Champion Golfer of the Year”.