By Chris
Good morning fellow golf psychopaths! Round two of the 2023 British Open is underway, so let’s talk about what’s happened so far.
As predicted, the Royal Liverpool course proved to be a major test. The morning golfers had a clear advantage, as both leaders went off early, but those that teed off in the afternoon were faced with much stiffer winds and harsher conditions. The good news for them is that will be reversed today. Those who can take advantage early will head into the weekend with momentum. By the way, those fairway bunkers are lethal. You don’t want to be in them, so the golfers must be accurate off the tee. Several competitors yesterday actually had to put out of the bunkers backward.
Tommy Fleetwood, the local lad, who grew up 20 miles away from Royal Liverpool was yesterday’s surprise, and he will now be a favorite for the rest of the week along with Rory McIlroy, who was everyone’s favorite before the tournament started. Fleetwood is playing great golf, has world-class golf hair, and will absolutely contend. McIlroy is also playing great golf since he decided to step out of the role as PGA bugle boy and start focusing on his golf again. There is no doubt that McIlroy was distracted by the LIV versus PGA Tour feud, but he recovered nicely several times yesterday when it looked like his round might go off the rails and is still in contention.
Even with Fleetwood and McIlroy, there are several other golfers that have a chance to win the Open, like Justin Thomas — he is completely out of whack, off the rails, and speeding towards a concrete barrier, but let’s hope he recovers after shooting another 80+ rounds in a major. Thomas is a great competitor and will be back.
In other news, Victor Hovland got pooped on by a seagull and it was caught on live camera. We’ve all been there, but never on international national TV. Hovland went on to bogey the hill so that the whole superstition that getting pooped on by a bird is “good luck” appears to be a load of crap, pun intended.
It’s been great golf so far at this year’s British Open and it’s only going to get better. Make sure to check out Only Players for updates and more.
Photo credit: The Open’s Instagram
