It’s been great to be part of the BBC 5 Live team at The Open.
St Andrews really is the place to be this week and our flat is right in the heart of the town, which makes the whole experience even more special.
On the face of it, the R&A have done as much as they possibly could to make the 150th Open all about the history of the game but the whole LIV thing is the dark cloud hanging over the Old Course.
If you believed the rumours about who could be making the move over to the breakaway tour next, there are going to be some pretty big announcements next week!
Golf’s been getting more and more toxic over the last couple of months but I definitely get the impression that it’s going to hit another level of bitterness and recriminations after Open week.
Players will have been holding off to jump the fence until Sunday is out of the way.
I wasn’t on the first tee for any of the LIV golfers getting their rounds underway early in the morning but there were apparently a few boos for the likes of Ian Poulter.
Boos on the 1st tee at #TheOpen for Ian Poulter. @4golfonline – “ I wonder what he’s done wrong’? pic.twitter.com/1NYYiE0r59
— Matt Bellner (@MattBellner) July 14, 2022
It’s not the sort of thing you expect to hear at an Open – or any golf tournament, other than maybe a Ryder Cup – but it’s probably an accurate reflection of where the public mood is.
It’s certainly an accurate reflection of where the mood of the R&A is.
Chief executive Martin Slumbers didn’t hold back in his pre-championship interview and the absence of any LIV players from the media tent on the practice days spoke volumes as well.
You had to double check if some of them were here, there profiles have been so low!
You can keep Greg Norman away and you can politely ask Phil Mickelson to find somewhere else to eat on a Tuesday night rather than the Champions’ Dinner.
But there’s nothing anybody can do to interfere with the leaderboard.
You can be sure that if the likes of Rory McIlroy or Justin Thomas – the faces of the status quo group – ended up on top after the last putt drops on Sunday afternoon, the R&A would be mightily relieved.
Some of the ‘rebel’ players have got off to strong starts, though.
Jay Monahan is not liking all of the @LIVGolfInv guys near the top at @TheOpen.
T4. @WestwoodLee
T4. @Paul_Casey
T9. @b_dechambeau
T9. @IanJamesPoulter
T9. Scott Vincent pic.twitter.com/7ErFibaVyV— LIV OWGR Keeper (@livowgr) July 14, 2022
And don’t be kidded into thinking that they’re all past-their-peak golfers.
It really wouldn’t be a great shock if one ended up winning.
Even after Wimbledon took decisive action to keep Russians way from their tournament, someone with strong connections to the country, Elena Rybakina, won the women’s singles.
The prospect of handing over the Claret Jug to Patrick Reed, with his LIV-clad clothing, would be enough to give Slumbers sleepless nights!
We’ve added Beth Farmer to our team for next season.
Beth is another local curler – she’s from Kinross – and I’m sure she’ll fit in really well with the rest of the girls.
She’s got a lot of good junior experience behind her and I’m looking forward to the new team coming together at Stirling.
Not that I’m in any rush to leave St Andrews just now, mind you!
I had a great day at Perth Races last Sunday.
Myself and my old team-mate Vicki Chalmers spent a lovely Sunday afternoon in the Scone sun.
The Racecourse has developed so much since I was last there and it was a real honour to have my name on one of the races!
Better still, I even had three winners – must have been beginner’s luck!
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