Booing at the first tee on the first morning of The Open? These are fractious times in golf, indeed.
But that’s what we heard to the handful of LIV Golf players who were early starters in The Open – some of them, at least.
Ian Poulter and Patrick Reed, two signatories to the Saudi-backed rebel tour, got an uncommon reaction.
Some very noticeable boos on the first tee as Ian Poulter is introduced followed by an ugly hook that just – just – stays in bounds.
High drama and it's not yet 7.15am.#TheOpen
— Michael McEwan (@MMcEwanGolf) July 14, 2022
Golf crowds at the Open are usually incredibly polite – well, for some only before the day-long drinking takes effect. You certainly don’t hear a discouraging word on the range or the stands at 7.30am on Thursday morning.
Warmth of welcome for Lawrie in contrast
The wait is finally over.@PaulLawriegolf gets a landmark Championship under way🏌️#The150thOpen pic.twitter.com/ZEjzpuUtnu
— The Open (@TheOpen) July 14, 2022
The warmth of the welcome for the 1999 Open champion Paul Lawrie at 6.35am as he got the 150th championship started is typical. Only at this sporting event do you get 4,000 people up to watch in person at that time of day.
And Paul is an exemplar of Scottish golf – our Open champion, benefactor and mentor. All the R&A bigwigs – chief executive Martin Slumbers, rules chief David Rickman, captains past, present and future – were there.
But Ian Poulter, in contrast, is always a lightning rod. He may be a Ryder Cup legend, but he’s definitely a Marmite golfer if ever there was one.
There was a coolness to him from the galleries last week at the Scottish Open, but no real antipathy. Which made the reception at the first hole at St Andrews on the first morning a real surprise.
A lot of it was pantomime booing – people hiding giggles as they did it. But he certainly seemed affected, almost duck-hooking his tee shot and flirting with the out of bounds left on golf’s widest fairway.
No boos for Mickelson
As the morning progressed, it seemed the first tee crowd were selective with their disdain. Phil Mickelson, the initial poster boy for LIV, showed up logo-free and entirely in black.
The announcement of his name by the start brought one manic cheer for one over-eager fan and polite applause, but no boos.
Coming directly after Phil, however, was the USA’s Patrick Reed, another lightning rod for the golf galleries.
Reed’s attitude has always been bold. This time he’s defiantly replaced the sponsors that have deserted him with LIV Golf logos, and got as many boos from the crowd as Poulter did.
But by the time Brook Koepka, the next LIV player, took to the tee, the crowd were back to politeness. And he was another Marmite character even before he signed up to the Saudi millions.
Perhaps the crowd had made their point on LIV, as Tiger Woods and the R&A did in the build up.
Now it’s all out of the way, let’s get on with what really matters.
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