2013 GRAND SLAM CONTEST - THE Open Championship - Eckhouse wins!

[AnonymousDeac]

Of course I understand that. I guess I am resistant to the idea that Phil's win was more the product of his manipulation of the R&A than it was the result of hard work in learning to play links courses and exceptional self-control (for Phil) esp. in the final round. I don't think enough credit is being given to the changes that he made in his game and to the brilliance of his shot making.

No one is saying that.

Of course how well he played had more of an effect on the outcome than anything else but that doesn't mean that his comments were done as a successful method of manipulating the course. We also have no guarantee his comments were to manipulate the course rather than him just wining.

But it's an interesting topic of discussion.

 

[mebanedeac]

fair enough. A 43 year old winning a major is big news no matter what.

 

[DirkTheDeac]

Seriously, Phil was just one of many questioning a few of the pin positions on Thursday. He wasn't complaining about the speed of the greens that I can recall. Even the R&A Exec admitted the pins on 8, 17 and 18 were in questionable positions given the speed of the greens. When Phil made his comments he happened to be in front of a camera, not on Twitter or talking to other players on the range or at the grill. I don't think the R&A really cares what Phil or Ian or any other player thinks. They're going to set it up how they see fit. The Exec yesterday, when interviewed, said they put just enough water on the course to keep the grass alive.

 

[Les Grossman]

Sobel's point is dumb for a number of reasons. First, a lot of players complained about the conditions. Secondly, the conditions only improved (and slightly at that) for Sunday's round. Third, Phil didn't squeak out this win. He won by 3 shots. Lastly, Phil's record at the Open and links style golf has improved significantly. He finished second at the Open two years ago and he just came off a win at the Scottish Open.

Sobel is really stretching here to try and connect dots that really aren't there to make a lame point.

 

[deacz]

Agree with Les. And, of all golf journalists on twitter, Sobel most consistently makes dumb points and awful jokes.