The 2024 Open Championship at Royal Troon was among the most interesting and enjoyable golf tournaments we’ve seen in recent years, and it would be tempting to say every tournament should seek to recreate it. It’s a nice thought certainly, totally unrealistic, of course, but nice.
What transpired on the Ayrshire coast was the result of many factors, some that can be attributed to the hand of man and which could, conceivably, be replicated, like the quality of Willie Fernie and James Braid’s design and the excellence of the R&A and Head Greenkeeper Billy McLachlan’s set-up which ensured great shots were rewarded and creativity wasn’t stifled; and some to divine good fortune such as the weather and quality of the leaderboard which we can hope for certainly but not really control.
The 2023 Open at Royal Liverpool (Hoylake) was tremendously enjoyable as all Opens are, but it will never rank among the most memorable editions. Hoylake is every bit as great a course as Troon and James Bledge’s presentation of it the equal of McLachlan’s work. But instead of Troon’s fluctuating breezes that demanded players hit a variety of shot-shapes and trajectories to keep the ball in play and which got strong at times but never so strong it created havoc, Hoylake’s persistent rain and drizzle put a rather dreary stamp on the whole thing. The conditions might have tested the players’ endurance but not their skill in adapting to the vagaries of changing winds.
And instead of Troon’s tightly-packed leaderboard, which featured plenty of star power - Xander Schauffele, Justin Rose, Shane Lowry, Scottie Scheffler and, to a lesser extent, Adam Scott and Jon Rahm who weren’t really in the picture at any point - quality second-tier players - Billy Horschel, Russel Henley - and some very capable young-bloods - Thriston Lawrence, Matthew Jordan (his second top-ten in a row) and Daniel Brown who stopped for a selfie with fans as he walked up the 18th in the third round while holding the lead and a cigarette he’d later have to explain to his parents, Hoylake’s was dominated by one man. Brian Harman shot a brilliant 65 in the second round last year to establish a five-stroke lead and was never troubled thereafter. A third-round 69 helped him maintain the five-shot cushion and a final day 70 saw him win the Claret Jug by six. It was extremely impressive, if a little uneventful.
Had either of the chance ingredients been different at Troon, it would have been an entirely different story. If the breezes were 15-20mph stronger throughout the week, and knocked over tents, flagpoles, tee-markers and children, it wouldn’t have been any fun at all and the result probably not credible, assuming play wasn’t suspended. And if Schauffele had broken away from Rose, Horschel, Lawrence, Brown, Henley and the rest on Saturday or even earlier, then Sunday wouldn’t have been as exciting as it was…until the final four or five holes anyway by which time the San Diegan had established a lead so watertight it couldn’t really be threatened.
All that is to say we should count ourselves very lucky to have witnessed the 2024 Open Championship. Humans were responsible for much of what happened and a long line of credit should be extended to those responsible, especially McLachlan and Schauffele whose contributions have been mentioned already and which were on full display, but also Rose, Horschel, Lawrence, and Brown who provided some captivating storylines, and Martin Slumbers the CEO of the R&A who oversaw his final Open Championship after nine years in charge.
A lot of it, though, was thanks to the golf gods whose fickleness can be aggravating at times but who, on this occasion, gave us a championship to remember.
Spot on, Tony. It was riveting throughout with all the ingredients to set up a rousing finish, without several big names on the weekend. Talented upstarts. Gritty stars. Quirky holes. Changing conditions. Table-turning bounces. The gamut for a dramatic ride and thrilling watch for golf fans.