Rain, Sun and a Boring Speech (The British Open 2002)

Member Name: Bridgend boy

Product:	The British Open 2002
Date:	22/07/02 (84 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Tense and Exciting

Disadvantages: The winners speech

So, the tournament that started on Thursday with partially sunny skies and gradually turned into some of the worse golfing conditions I have ever seen, ended yesterday in glorious sunshine.

Ernie Els, the “Big Easy”, kept his shaking in check for five extra, nail biting holes to claim his third major in eight years. It was the one he’s been after for quite some time, he informed us. After twice coming runner up in the Open I can well believe it.

OK, so his speech wasn’t quite as elegant as last years from the defending champion, David Duval. But then DD didn’t have to endure an extra five holes to claim the first prize. Maybe his speech was going to have been inspired, but after seeing his winners cheque for £700k he lost track of his thoughts for a few minuets. I know I would have!

All in all it was a great tournament this year. I’m a bit fed up with the recent trends of foregone conclusions in majors. Although I have to admit, I would have liked to have seen Tiger Woods win and go on to a first ever Grand Slam, it was nice to have a tense finish for a change instead of a 12 shot victory tied up by lunch time on Saturday.

As the saying goes, rain is a great leveller. It certainly proved to be so on Saturday. Even the world number one, Tiger Woods, was reduced to a Sunday hacker as he found the rough on almost every hole on the course. It was one of the most amazing sights in golfing history to see him go round in his highest ever score as a professional, 81. Not a patch on my 150 I might add! If only the highest score won in golf. I’d be a multi-millionaire by now.

It all calmed down on Sunday however, as the sun put his hat on and came out to play. The golf was of a consistently high standard, with a few early charges, not least Tiger going round in 6 under to get himself back to par for the tournament. However, it was too much to ask for him to make up so much ground and win
the tournament. That left the field wide open with Harrington and Gary Evans making late charges but ultimately fading.

So, it was left to Ernie Els to claim the spotlight and bring the curtain down on the 131st Open Championship with a nerve tingling sudden death play-off and a rather ordinary speech.

Summary: