I was recently reading John Feinstein's The Majors, an excellent account of the 1998 season, and thought I'd share this piece about The Open at Troon.
Featuring Justin Leonard, that hero (or villain, depending on your disposition!) of the last epic Ryder Cup comeback, I feel it captures a lovely sense of what we're up against this week with our Scottish links challenge.
"The Open Championship in 1997 was played at Troon, a classic Scottish links. The front nine goes straight out from the clubhouse, the back nine comes right back to it. That meant that when the wind blew, the golf course changed radically from front nine to back. On Thursday, the front nine was straight downwind and players were routinely going out in four and five under par. Coming back was quite another story. With the wind right in their faces, many players had trouble reaching the par-four greens in regulation even playing a three-wood second shot.
The back nine that day could not have set up worse for Justin Leonard. He had shot a modest two-under-par 34 on the front nine, and when he turned in to the wind, he knew he was in trouble. A bogey at the 10th hole confirmed his fears. But he stuck his jaw out and put on one of the great grinding acts ever seen over the next eight holes. He hit exactly one green -- the par-five 16th -- in regulation. On two of the holes he couldn't even reach the fairway with his driver because the wind was so fierce. He was hitting five- and six-iron third shots into par-fours. But when he walked off the 18th green, he had played the last eight holes in one under par, shooting an even-par 35 on the back nine. Only two other players in the field shot even par on the back nine that day. His 69 left Leonard two shots off the lead."