Alright everyone - here is your quick-fire golf newsletter with the essential “must-knows” from the world of golf. Enjoy!!! ⛳💥

Also, don’t forget to download and listen to the Beyond The Tour podcast. You can find it on Apple, Spotify and YouTube.

🔍 The Open Championship Preview

The final men’s Major of the year will be played this week as The Open Championship heads to Royal Troon Golf Course on Scotland’s west coast. we are in for a cracker of a tournament, so here are your “must-knows” for the event:

• 1923 was the first year that the Old Course at Royal Troon hosted The Open. Since then, the Major has returned eight further times. From Bobby Locke’s defence in 1950 to Tom Watson’s dramatic triumph in 1982 through to Henrik Stenson’s masterclass in 2016, Royal Troon has certainly staged some of the greatest moments in the history of The Open.

• Although the course has many great holes, its most famous is The Postage Stamp - a short Par 3 that will test the world’s best golfers. From an elevated tee set atop an Ayrshire sand dune, players will hit over rugged duneland below to a pear-shaped green that seems to be tantalisingly just in front of them. But make no mistake, trouble lurks in all directions, particularly from the 5 bunkers that guard the green (one of which is called the “Coffin” bunker ⚰️).

• The course follows the traditional out-and-back layout, with a gentle opening through links land. However, the back nine is notoriously tough, providing a challenging finish for players, especially as they come down the stretch on Sunday.

• In 2016, Royal Troon was the stage for a stunning duel between Henrik Stenson and Phil Mickelson. Stenson ultimately prevailed, shooting 63 in the final round to secure his Claret Jug victory in a memorable battle.

• Players to Watch: given that almost all of the best players in the world will be at Troon this week, there will be plenty of guys to keep an eye out for. But based on the last few weeks of golf and the form heading into The Open, we’ll be watching Scheffler ($5), McIlroy ($7.50), DeChambeau ($13), Hatton ($23) and Louis Oosthuizen ($51).

If you’re keen to see more of the course at Royal Troon, check out the R&A’s video guide to the host course below.

🏆 Results Recap

PGAT/DPWT: Bobby Mac’s controversial win at home

Everything you need to know from the Scottish Open:

• Robert McIntyre secured his second win of the season by claiming his National Open in front of a raucous home crowd. The victory erases last year’s disappointment in losing the same tournament to McIlroy on the last hole. Bobby Mac drained a 22-foot birdie putt on the 18th to win by 1 shot over Adam Scott.

• Ludvig Aberg looked in control over first 3 rounds as he climbed to take the 54-hole lead by 2. But Aberg flopped again in the final round, shooting a 3-over par round of 73 to finish T4 for the event. Are question marks slowly starting to appear over his final round performances given what happened here at The Scottish and also the US Open at Pinehurst?

• Adam Scott made a surprising and welcomed return to form. He was the clubhouse leader at -17 and looked like he might get his first win in 4 years (since the 2020 Genesis Open at Riv). But he was pipped at the post by McIntyre, who went 4-under through his last 5 holes to snatch victory. Scott had to watch painfully from the clubhouse as McIntyre dripped in his birdie putt on 18.

• But the win was not without its controversy, as free relief was given to Bobby Mac on the par 5, 16th. After hitting his tee shot into thick and punishing rough, McIntyre looked in trouble and would have been lucky to advance his second shot more than 50 yards. However, when taking his practice swing, Bobby Mac noticed a sprinkler head under the rough and sought a ruling from an official who allowed a free drop. This significantly improved McIntyre’s lie, who then made the most of his luck by smoking his 2nd shot some 247 yards to 6-feet from the pin. Of course, he then made the eagle putt and that, in the end, was the difference.

LIV: Garcia and Fireballs thrill Spanish crowds

Everything you need to know from LIV Andalucia:

• Sergio Garcia and The Fireballs capped of an incredible sporting weekend for Spain as Garcia and his LIV Team captured both the individual and team titles at LIV Andalucia. These wins added to Spain’s victory at the Euro soccer championship along with Carlos Alcarez’s Wimbledon title.

• Indian, Anirban Lahiri, had a wonderful chance to put golf up in headlights in India as he took a 4-shot lead into the final round. After having 4 second place finishes already on LIV, he must have been thinking his time had come. However, a shocking 2-foot yipped putt on the last hole saw Lahiri fall into a playoff with Garcia, and also forced a playoff in the team format too between The Fireballs and The Crushers (LIV’s first ever dual playoff).

• It was always going to be tough for Lahiri and the Crushers to win given the home crowd support for Garcia and The Fireballs. As Sergio and Lahiri fought out the individual playoff, Puig/Ancer took on DeChambeau/Casey in the team playoff. Both Anirban and his Crushers teammates were always on the back foot in the playoffs. Although Lahiri forced a 2nd playoff hole, he bombed out with a double bogey allowing Sergio to claim the victory with a comfortable 2 putt-par. Wayward tee shots from DeChambeau and Casey allowed the Fireballs to cruise to a playoff victory as well.

• The Valdarama golf course proved a tough test for the players, with only 9 players finishing under par for the tournament. This was a great change up to the “birdie fest” setups we’ve become accustom too seeing regularly across the professional golf tours nowadays. We hope LIV leans more into this style of setup, and we look forward to seeing how things play at JCB and Maridoe GC in the coming weeks.

livgolf_league

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Evian Championship: Heartbreak for young Aussie, Kyriacou

Everything you need to know from the Evian Championship:

• Aussie Steph Kyriacou has been denied her maiden major win by an incredible finish by Japan’s Ayaka Furue (last 5 holes in 5-under).

• Steph held a 1 shot lead with 2 holes to play, and watched on as Furue sunk a bunch of improbably putts coming down the stretch and finished with eagle to snatch victory by a shot.

• The Evian saw the continuation of Asian players dominating on the Ladies circuit - the final leaderboard had 7 Asian players finishing in the Top 10.

• Nelly Korda, coming fresh off her dog bite, made an unremarkable return finishing T26 for the tournament.

• As for the Aussies, there wasn’t too much to get excited about outside of Steph’s great performance. Aussies in the field finished as follows: Hannah Green T44, Minjee Lee T49, Grace Kim T51, Gabby Ruffels T55, Sara Kemp and Hira Naveed both missed the cut.

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📅 Schedule for the Week

Your golfing schedule for the week, and how to watch is below:

• Major: The Open Championship - Royal Troon (Scotland), $17m purse, Thursday 18/7 to Sunday 21/7 - Coverage on Foxtel & Kayo, Main Coverage starts 3.30pm AEST Thursday.

• PGAT, DPWT and LIV: No event

• LPGA: Dana Open - Highland Meadows Golf Club (Ohio), $1.75m purse, Friday 19/7 to Monday 22/7 - Coverage on Foxtel & Kayo, Coverage starts 2am AEST Friday.