THE OPEN DIARY: Cameron Smith snubs professional autograph hunters, Hoylake member handed honour of first shot and marshalls kitted out in £400 Hugo Boss jackets
THE OPEN DIARY: Cameron Smith rejects professional autograph hunters, Hoylake member handed first shot honors and marshalls decked out in £400 Hugo Boss jackets
- Cameron Smith was stopped by fans with bundles of yellow Open flags
- The honor of the first shot fell by chance to a member of Hoylake
- The 1350 marshalls at the Open are not paid, but leave with one bonus
There has been no shortage of off-course drama lately, as men’s professional golf went through a seismic rift before an equally shocking possibility of peace emerged.
On the court, at least in this year’s majors, that wasn’t the case, as Jon Rahm, Brooks Koepka, and Wyndham Clark won the Masters, US PGA, and US Open, respectively, with relatively little fuss in the final round.
That could all change if the R&A get their way in the 151st Open Championship at Royal Liverpool, where changes since Rory McIlroy’s 2014 victory are meant to produce a dramatic climax for the year’s final major.
Most importantly, a new par-three – the 17th – has been made as part of a re-routing of the final stretch, which could play a big part in deciding who holds the Claret Jug on Sunday night.
Before the action, Mail Sport’s Ian Ladyman rounds up some of the key talking points.
Cameron Smith was stopped by fans with bundles of yellow Open flags under their arms
Smith rejects professional autograph hunters
Days after Manchester United officially asked professional signature hunters to stop harassing their players, the world’s best golfers have taken their own stand.
Stopped from the practice chipping green by a group carrying bundles of yellow Open flags under arms, defending champion Cameron Smith was unimpressed.
“We will draw for children,” said a member of Smith’s management team.
“But we don’t sign them all so you can put them on eBay.”
There’s always money to be made when the Open comes to town and in Hoylake the cash registers are already ringing.
Indeed, some pubs and bars have introduced an unofficial tourist tax, charging visitors more than locals for drinks, requiring residents to show ID cards proving they live in the area.
Unobstructed view of the action
This year’s Open sold out months ago, but the clamor to see the action continues.
Some fans sat on deckchairs on the other side of the lane boundary on Stanley Road with a chain mail fence that proved to be no barrier to watching the action on the 2nd fairway.
What that view will look like with the galleries flowing over the links remains to be seen.
First shot honor for Hoylake member
The first shot of an Open is always a special moment and this year the honor just happened to fall to a Hoylake member.
At 27, Matthew Jordan has been a member here for two decades and qualified for the West Lancashire Championship earlier this month.
The Hoylake resident starts Thursday at 6:35 a.m. with Richie Ramsay and Branden Grace.
“It’s a great honor,” Jordan said.
Open Marshalls are allowed to keep the Hugo Boss waterproof jackets retailing for north of £400
Marshalls decked out in Hugo Boss jackets
The 1350 marshalls working at this year’s Open are not paid and are doing it for the love of a tournament that could not take place without them.
They leave with one bonus though, as they get to keep the Hugo Boss waterproof jackets that retail for north of £400.
Some models from last year are for sale on the Internet. Obviously used!