Weather threatens as British Open returns to Irish shores after 1951

By Rahul Banerji

Alongside the star cast assembled for the $10.75 million of The Open, it is the weather that is threatening to take centre stage as the 148^th edition of Britain’s sole major tees off on the Dunluce Links at Royal Portrush on Thursday.

Golf’s oldest international event is back in Northern Ireland for the first time in 68 years, marking an emotional moment for the island as a quality field does battle for the Claret Jug and some handsome prize money.

Indian interest centers around Shubhankar Sharma, who qualified as the reigning Asian Tour Order of Merit winner for 2018, and he will tee off alongside world no. 1 Brooks Koepka and South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen, the 2010 Open winner, in an afternoon start on Thursday.

The event’s Twitter handle was enthused. The Open: “There will be a lot of interest in this group. 4x Major winner @BKoepka tees off with former Champion Golfer of the Year @Louis57TM and @shubhankargolf after lunchtime on Thursday,” it said from Portrush.

Replay of 2013

It is a throwback to six years ago when the American, then making his way up the ladder, was paired alongside Sharma in a 2013 Challenge Tour event at the Kensville Golf and Country Club in Ahmedabad in the final round.

Sharma, now world no 196 to Koepka’s top ranking, finished four strokes behind on that round, with an 80 to Koepka’s 76.

“I was very surprised when I saw the grouping, but I am really looking forward to it. Brooks is obviously the world no. 1 and Louis is a former champion,” Sharma was quoted as saying in Portrush.

“I have played with Brooks before in India,” he said. “Obviously, there is going to be a lot of people following and a lot of people watching back home in India. I think it will very exciting and it is always nice to get a draw like that.”

Added Koepka, “It was a long time ago. I haven’t spoken to him since then. It will be fun to play with him again.”

Sharma hasn’t had the best of seasons and not nearly touched the highs of 2018, when he also emerged the European Tour’s Rookie of the Year.

Tough year

“It’s always tough to follow up with a good year. But I’ve made some good progress and I’m looking forward to a good spell starting with The Open this week,” he said.

“I made a few changes in my swing and I can now feel that it is getting in the groove. I was happy with the way I played in Scotland (at the Scottish Open) and I have worked hard over my game in the past few weeks.

“My coach is here and I am feeling quite confident going into the fifth major of my career,” Sharma added.

Sharma was T51 in his British Open debut at Carnoustie last year and will celebrate his 23^rd birthday on the final day of the Portrush event on Sunday. Obviously, he is hoping for a good run this year as well.

“Last year was very special as I made the cut and celebrated my birthday on the third day. This time, it’ll be on the fourth day so hopefully I can make it even more special.” 

Delicate balance

For Tiger Woods, it will be his first start since a below-par tied 21^st finish at the US Open behind eventual winner Gary Woodland and he was at pains to explain why.

“You have to understand, if I play a lot, I won’t be out here that long,” said the 15-time major qinner at Royal Portrush on Tuesday

“The tricky part is trying to determine how much tournament play I need to get the feel for the shots and also understanding where my body is.

“Last year, I played too much. I played 17 events and a lot of it was trying to qualify for certain events. This year I made a conscious effort to cut back on my schedule to make sure that I don’t play too much.”

Woods will play the first two days alongside fellow-Americas Patrick Reed and Matt Wallace of England.

Tee times (in BST)

First round, Thursday

6:35 am Charley Hoffman (US), Darren Clarke (NI), James Sugrue (a) (Ire)

6:46 am Emiliano Grillo (Arg), Sung Kang (Kor), Thomas Thurloway (a) (Eng)

6:57 am Andy Sullivan (Eng), Christiaan Bezuidenhout (SA), Alexander Levy (Fra)

7:08 am Zander Lombard (SA), Chan Kim (US), Brandon Wu (a) (US)

7:19 am Richard Sterne (SA), Romain Langasque (Fra), Matthias Schmid (a) (Ger)

7:30 am Matthew Fitzpatrick (Eng), Padraig Harrington (Irl), Andrew Putnam (US)

7:41 am Eddie Pepperell (Eng), Bubba Watson (US), Rafael Cabrera-Bello (Spa)

7:52 am Phil Mickelson (US), Shane Lowry (Ire), Branden Grace (SA)

8:03 am Mike Lorenzo-Vera (Fra), Alex Noren (Swe), Sam Locke (Sco)

8:14 am Webb Simpson (US), Sergio Garcia (Spa), Cheng-Tsung Pan (Tpe)

8:25 am Ryan Palmer (US), Andrea Pavan (Ita), Dylan Frittelli (SA)

8:36 am Kyle Stanley (US), Robert Macintyre (Sco), Andrew Johnston (Eng)

8:47 am Mikko Korhonen (Fin), Oliver Wilson (Eng), Curtis Knipes (a) (Eng)

9:03 am Sungjae Im (Kor), Ian Poulter (Eng), Kiradech Aphibarnrat (Tha)

9:14 am Henrik Stenson (Swe), Xander Schauffele (US), Graeme McDowell (NI)

9:25 am Haotong Li (Chn), Russell Knox (Sco), Bernd Wiesberger (Aut)

9:36 am Connor Syme (Sco), Jason Kokrak (US), Austin Connelly (Can)

9:47 am Zach Johnson (US), David Duval (US), Corey Conners (Can)

9:58 am Bryson DeChambeau (US), Francesco Molinari (Ita), Adam Scott (Aus)

10:09 am Gary Woodland (US), Rory McIlroy (NI), Paul Casey (Eng)

10:20 Rickie Fowler (US), Kevin Kisner (US), Hideki Matsuyama (Jpn)

10:31 am Si Woo Kim (Kor), Jim Furyk (US), Jimmy Walker (US)

10:42 am Luke List (US), Alexander Bjork (Swe), Paul Waring (Eng)

10:53 am Shugo Imahira (Jpn), Nate Lashley (US), Benjamin Hebert (Fra)

11:04 am Mikumu Horikawa (Jpn), Callum Shinkwin (Eng), Garrick Porteous (Eng)

11:15 am Matthew Baldwin (Eng), Prom Meesawat (Tha), Jack Senior (Eng)

11:36 am Joaquin Niemann (Chi), Tom Lehman (US), Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa)

11:47 am Byeong-Hun An (Kor), Jorge Campillo (Spa), Chris Wood (Eng)

11:58 am Joel Dahmen (US), Adri Arnaus (Spa), Dimitrios Papadatos (Aus)

12:09 pm Rory Sabbatini (Svk), Stewart Cink (US), Inn-choon Hwang (Kor)

12:20 pm Erik Van Rooyen (SA), Kurt Kitayama (US), Jake McLeod (Aus)

12:31 Shaun Norris (SA), Ryan Fox (NZ), Dong-kyu Jang (Kor)

12:42 Keith Mitchell (US), Tyrrell Hatton (Eng), Thomas Pieters (Bel)

12:53 pm Justin Thomas (US), Tommy Fleetwood (Eng), Thorbjorn Olesen (Den)

1:04 pm Louis Oosthuizen (SA), Brooks Koepka (US), Shubhankar Sharma (Ind)

1:15 pm Billy Horschel (US), Jazz Janewattananond (Tha), Aaron Wise (US)

1:26 pm Jordan Spieth (US), Marc Leishman (Aus), Danny Willett (Eng)

1:37 pm Cameron Smith (Aus), Adam Hadwin (Can), David Lipsky (US)

1:48 pm Chez Reavie (US), Paul Lawrie (Sco), Justin Harding (SA)

2:04 pm Tom Lewis (Eng), Takumi Kanaya (a) (Jpn), Brandon Stone (SA)

2:15 pm Lucas Glover (US), Joost Luiten (Ned), Nino Bertasio (Ita)

2:26 pm J.B. Holmes (US), Ernie Els (SA), Abraham Ancer (Mex)

2:37 pm Brandt Snedeker (US), Lee Westwood (Eng), Brian Harman (US)

2:48 pm Justin Rose (Eng), Tony Finau (US), Lucas Bjerregaard (Den)

2:59 pm Dustin Johnson (US), Jason Day (Aus), Keegan Bradley (US)

3:10 pm Tiger Woods (US), Matt Wallace (Eng), Patrick Reed (US)

3:21 pm Patrick Cantlay (US), Jon Rahm (Spa), Matt Kuchar (US)

3:32 pm Kevin Streelman (US), Doc Redman (US), Robert Rock (Eng)

3:43 pm Yuta Ikeda (Jpn), Adrian Otaegui (Spa), Isidro Benitez (Mex)

3:54 pm Patton Kizzire (US), Sang Hyun Park (Kor), Yuki Inamori (Jpn)

4:05 pm Yoshinori Fujimoto (Jpn), Doyeob Mun (Kor), Andrew Wilson (Eng)

4:16 pm Gunn Charoenkul (Tha), Yosuke Asaji (Jpn), Ashton Turner (Eng)

Second round, Friday

6:35 am Joaquin Niemann (Chi), Tom Lehman (US), Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa)

6:46 am Byeong-Hun An (Kor), Jorge Campillo (Spa), Chris Wood (Eng)

6:57 am Joel Dahmen (US), Adri Arnaus (Spa), Dimitrios Papadatos (Aus)

7:08 am Rory Sabbatini (Svk), Stewart Cink (US), Inn-choon Hwang (Kor)

7:19 am Erik Van Rooyen (SA), Kurt Kitayama (US), Jake McLeod (Aus)

7:30 am Shaun Norris (SA), Ryan Fox (NZ), Dong-kyu Jang (Kor)

7:41 am Keith Mitchell (US), Tyrrell Hatton (Eng), Thomas Pieters (Bel)

7:52 am Justin Thomas (US), Tommy Fleetwood (Eng), Thorbjorn Olesen (Den)

8:03 am Louis Oosthuizen (SA), Brooks Koepka (US), Shubhankar Sharma (Ind)

8:14 am Billy Horschel (US), Jazz Janewattananond (Tha), Aaron Wise (US)

8:25 am Jordan Spieth (US), Marc Leishman (Aus), Danny Willett (Eng)

8:36 am Cameron Smith (Aus), Adam Hadwin (Can), David Lipsky (US)

8:47 am Paul Lawrie (Sco), Chez Reavie (US), Justin Harding (SA)

9:03 am Tom Lewis (Eng), Takumi Kanaya (a) (Jpn), Brandon Stone (SA)

9:14 am Lucas Glover (US), Joost Luiten (Ned), Nino Bertasio (Ita)

9:25 am Ernie Els (SA), JB Holmes (US), Abraham Ancer (Mex)

9:36 am Lee Westwood (Eng), Brandt Snedeker (US), Brian Harman (US)

9:47 am Justin Rose (Eng), Tony Finau (US), Lucas Bjerregaard (Den)

9:58 am Jason Day (Aus), Dustin Johnson (US), Keegan Bradley (US)

10:09 am Matt Wallace (Eng), Tiger Woods (US), Patrick Reed (US)

10:20 am Jon Rahm (Spa), Patrick Cantlay (US), Matt Kuchar (US)

10:31 am Doc Redman (US), Kevin Streelman (US), Robert Rock (Eng)

10:42 am Adrian Otaegui (Spa), Yuta Ikeda (Jpn), Isidro Benitez (Mex)

10:53 am Patton Kizzire (US), Sang Hyun Park (Kor), Yuki Inamori (Jpn)

11:04 am Yoshinori Fujimoto (Jpn), Doyeob Mun (Kor), Andrew Wilson (Eng)

11:15 am Yosuke Asaji (Jpn), Gunn Charoenkul (Tha), Ashton Turner (Eng)

11:36 am James Sugrue (a) (Ire), Darren Clarke (NI), Charley Hoffman (US)

11:47 am Emiliano Grillo (Arg), Sung Kang (Kor), Thomas Thurloway (a) (Eng)

11:58 am Andy Sullivan (Eng), Christiaan Bezuidenhout (SA), Alexander Levy (Fra)

12:09 pm Zander Lombard (SA), Chan Kim (US), Brandon Wu (a) (US)

12:20 pm Richard Sterne (SA), Romain Langasque (Fra), Matthias Schmid (a) (Ger)

12:31 pm Matthew Fitzpatrick (Eng), Padraig Harrington (Ire), Andrew Putnam (US)

12:42 pm Eddie Pepperell (Eng), Bubba Watson (US), Rafael Cabrera-Bello (Spa)

12:53 pm Phil Mickelson (US), Shane Lowry (Ire), Branden Grace (SA)

1:04 pm Mike Lorenzo-Vera (Fra), Alex Noren (Swe), Sam Locke (Sco)

1:15 pm Webb Simpson (US), Sergio Garcia (Spa), Cheng-Tsung Pan (Tai)

1:26 pm Ryan Palmer (US), Andrea Pavan (Ita), Dylan Frittelli (SA)

1:37 pm Kyle Stanley (US), Robert Macintyre (Sco), Andrew Johnston (Eng)

1:48 pm Oliver Wilson (Eng), Mikko Korhonen (Fin), Curtis Knipes (a) (Eng)

2:04 pm Sungjae Im (Kor), Ian Poulter (Eng), Kiradech Aphibarnrat (Tha)

2:15 pm Henrik Stenson (Swe), Xander Schauffele (US), Graeme McDowell (NI)

2:26 pm Russell Knox (Sco), Haotong Li (Chn), Bernd Wiesberger (Aut)

2:37 pm Jason Kokrak (US), Connor Syme (Sco), Austin Connelly (Can)

2:48 pm Zach Johnson (US), David Duval (US), Corey Conners (Can)

2:59 pm Francesco Molinari (Ita), Bryson DeChambeau (US), Adam Scott (Aus)

3:10 pm Rory McIlroy (NI), Gary Woodland (US), Paul Casey (Eng)

3:21 pm Kevin Kisner (US), Rickie Fowler (US), Hideki Matsuyama (Jpn)

3:32 pm Jim Furyk (US), Si Woo Kim (Kor), Jimmy Walker (US)

3:43 pm Alexander Bjork (Swe), Luke List (US), Paul Waring (Eng)

3:54 pm Shugo Imahira (Jpn), Nate Lashley (US), Benjamin Hebert (Fra)

4:05 pm Mikumu Horikawa (Jpn), Callum Shinkwin (Eng), Garrick Porteous (Eng)

16:16 pm Prom Meesawat (Tha), Matthew Baldwin (Eng), Jack Senior (Eng)

(Courtesy bbc.com)

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