Why is the (British) Open Championship better than the US Open?

One word: birdies

They actually have them as a part of normal play.

Sergio’s taking a lot of heat for his supposed choke on the last day of the Open Championship. I just don’t see it that way. He didn’t play bad golf—just passive golf. His gameplan was conservative and for the most part, he stuck to it, hitting long irons off the tee to keep the ball in play and avoid trouble.

It’s not a bad game plan. Certainly it’s Tiger’s basic strategy: when in front, play a conservative game; let others make mistakes trying to catch you.

But critics are wondering why he didn’t hit a few drivers, leaving himself with more short irons to the green.

Can you imagine the second guessing if Garcia had come up short using a more aggressive plan that involved hitting a lot of drivers? Golf pundits would hammer him for being too audacious. Look at the beating Van de Velde and Mickelson have taken for hitting driver on the final hole of their near wins.

The fact of the matter is that it just wasn’t his weekend. He had a couple of bad breaks that—if they had gone the other way—would have given him the Claret Jut.

Sergio will win Majors—several of them. He has too much talent not to. And don’t forget—although he seemingly has been around forever—Garcia is just twenty seven. Mickelson didn’t win his first Major until he was thirty four. Padraig Harrington—this year’s Open Championship winner—has won his first major at age thirty six.

Jim McCabe takes Sergio Garcia to task for his post Open Championship whining.

I missed all of the post-round interviews because of a family obligation. Was it really as bad as all that?

Just for fun, I’m live blogging the 2007 Open Championship. The most recent posts are at the bottom.

9:18 - Sergio Garcia and Steve Stricker are approaching the first tee. Sergio is wearing a relatively conservative (for him) lime green shirt and white pants.

9:20 - Stricker’s first shot is a fairway wood. He’s going to try to leave it short of the bunkers. He’s wild left next to a pile of gorse. Garcia has an iron. It’s right down the middle of the fairway.

9:25: Sergio with 179 to the pin. He regrips four times. He’s really cut down on that. His shot is on the left side of the green. No birdie chance there. Stricker is trying to figure out his line. His lie is ok, but he has to clear a bush and a television tower. He takes a drop because the tower is in his line. Now he has a straight shot in. The bush is not even in play. His shot is on the green, inside Sergio’s

Ernie after a two birdies on the first three holes is now five under—four back. Tiger is not playing well by his standards.

Right now, it’s looking like its going to be Sergio Garcia and Steve Stricker in the final round of the British Open Championship.

I like that pairing. Stricker has been a favorite of mine for a number of years. I actually own three Steve Stricker line golf shirts. His comeback has been inspirational, and the post-round emotion he showed was very touching. It seems that he’s a guy who appreciates what golf has given him.