The question is often posed during US Open week as to whether we enjoy watching the pros struggle. That was well and truly answered this weekend at Royal Porthcawl.
Miguel Angel Jimenez opened with a 65 to take the day one lead before shooting 19-over-par for the final three rounds. He still managed a top 25.
Colin Montgomerie shot a 17-over-par 88 on Sunday and that wasn’t even the highest round of the day, where the scoring average was a whopping 78.5 (+7.5).
Players were faced with ‘brutal’ conditions where strong winds and constant rain caused havoc, and lots of bogeys, with two-time Major winner Justin Thomas tweeting how he was enjoying the “absolute carnage.”
Not gonna lie, I can’t stop watching the #SeniorOpen… A PROPER links golf weather day. It is absolute carnage for those guys and (I’m sorry) it is fun to watch hahaJuly 30, 2023
He’s right, it was fun to watch. It wasn’t a birdie-fest in picture-perfect weather, it was a true ‘last man standing’ kind of grind in a style of golf that the game’s foundations were built on.
At the thick end of the leaderboard, the brutal rain and winds meant for a fascinating tussle that came right down to the 72nd hole. Padraig Harrington managed a birdie on the par 5 18th at Porthcawl to match Alex Cejka at five-over-par and take it into extra holes.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
The German beat the Irishman on the second playoff hole to win his third senior Major.
“It’s brutal,” Cejka said of the conditions. “You can’t hold a balance, even when you’re putting, and you’re trying to punch drivers. You have wet hands, wet grips. You have a 40-mile-an-hour crosswind, so it wasn’t easy as you can see on the scores. They were brutal the last two days.
“I was born in Europe. I grew up here in Europe. I’m not familiar with those conditions like links course but I played on The European Tour for many, many, many years over here, and you know, but I forgot how difficult and how different the golf game is, being 20 years in the States and playing in sunshine and on easy courses when it’s perfect weather.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
“Then you come here, everybody’s struggling. I’m just glad — I think we all are…
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