The 153rd Open Championship

Member of the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame Terry Moore joins us to discuss this year's Open Championship. 

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Though it is just the beginning of summer. That's me
being optimistic. The major championship season for golf wraps up
this week in Northern Ireland. It's actually going on now.
This is West Michigan's Morning News. Steve Kelly Tony Brooks
is in for Brett Schmidti back soon and back with
us member of the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame Terry Moore,
as we talk about the British Open.

Speaker 2 (00:20):
Good morning Terry, Hey, Good morning Steve. Yeah. You know,
we used to always call it the British Open, and
sometimes so did the RNA, which organizes the Open Championship,
but now it's more referred to as the Open Championship,
and for good reason, because it's really the most international
of all the playing tournaments in the world. I mean,

(00:40):
the leaderboard today we have somebody from Denmark, China, England, Spain.
So you see something here that you don't see a
lot of other tournaments as at international fields. A little
bit of tidbits about where we're playing at. This is
in Northern Ireland, so it's not in Scotland or England
where most of the courses are. It's in about sixty

(01:02):
miles south northwest of Belfast, and it's one of Ireland's
most famous courses. It hosted the Open Championship six years ago.
Usually it's about ten years between tournaments, but with stage
so successfully Steve, they brought it back, so it's a

(01:23):
big deal. Yeah, it's amazing how many people will be
on the golf course. They estimate about a quarter of
a million people for the week. So it's something that
you don't see at a lot of other tournaments in
the United States, including the Masters, which of course doesn't
report attendants.

Speaker 1 (01:37):
Let me ask you this, if you're the average golfer
in West Michigan that maybe leagues at Scott Lake or Saskatoon,
it looks like it's in a completely different planet. What
are players faced with for this thing this week?

Speaker 2 (01:53):
Well, what they're faced with, Steve, is you play this
game along the ground in Links courses. It's not in
the air like you'd find in American courses. You can
keep the ball lower. Usually trajectory and ball flight is
very key because the wind plays a factor. I say
that the key asset for player playing Links courses is

(02:13):
how to adapt because the course can change several times.
The wind, contrections can change several times during a given round.
Now today the traditions are quite mild. It's about sixty
five maybe wind chill, so to speak, under sixty There
won't be any rain until noon our time, which can
change the course. But what you have to remember too,

(02:36):
these tea times started at one thirty our time, and
they'll go to eleven o'clock their time, which you know
it basically you're teeing off from six twenty five in
the morning till four sixteen in the afternoon. That's a
long time to be playing golf, and the wind conditions
over there can change dramatically, as well as the possibility

(02:58):
of rain, which you're going to get around noon our time.

Speaker 1 (03:01):
We we would love to see an American win. Scottish
Scotti Scheffler one of the favorites. Again. Did you hear
his weird comments though about golf and winning? And I guess, maybe,
knowing how strong he is with his faith, it didn't
make sense, but in essence he said, what's the point
sometimes to winning?

Speaker 2 (03:18):
I did see that interview, Stephen was it was revealing
in terms of another aspect of God is that a
lot of people know. But golf is probably third on
his list. I bet his family and his faith are
first and second tide. He really realizes that, you know,
being a champion golfer is not who It's only something

(03:41):
like an adjective about who you are. It's the kind
of person, as he says, I'd rather be called a
good father than a great golfer. So you know, he's
got his priorities in order. He's got a wonderful work balance,
work life balance, and I think that's why he's well
well liked. He's he's not full of himself, because you know,

(04:02):
he knows that golf is just something he does, it's
not who he is.

Speaker 1 (04:06):
So when you played this thing, what advice would you
give to any of those players today?

Speaker 2 (04:14):
Well, you know my game is much different than them,
But you know, I did realize you have to be
very patient. When I played, I had a match that
day and Steve. It was one of the few times
in golf eighteen holes and the only time myself and
my partner were head was on the last putt the
last hole. We were down the entire day. In a way,

(04:35):
that's kind of a microcosm of golf. Sometimes you can
seeming be behind the eight ball all day but if
you just keep hanging in there and I get too
far behind, some good things can happen. So patients is
a big key in links golf. You're going to get
some bad bounces, so to speak, but that's the name
of the game. But these are the best golfers in
the world, Steve, and that's why many of them played

(04:57):
last week in the Scottish Showpen. You need a week
or two to get ready for these type of course conditions.

Speaker 1 (05:03):
Member of the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame. Our go
to golf guy Terry Moore. Always great stuff, Thank you,
good talking.

Speaker 2 (05:10):
If you take care