Opinion: Creativity and chance make the Open great

The weather, the pot bunkers, the enthusiastic British crowd, the links golf courses that we crave all season long.

The element of chance is ever present in this great sport. But head to the Scottish coastline, the wind howling off the Irish Sea at an Open Championship, and parts of the game can become a roll of the dice.

Let’s look at the last time the Open rota came to Royal Troon. The luck of the draw was paramount, extremely so. All the players in the top 14 on the scoreboard before the balls went up on Saturday morning played on the same side of the draw. The players who played late on Thursday and early on Friday got the rub of the green. In essence, no one on the other side of the draw played.

Unlucky? Yes, it is. But it’s a case of swings and roundabouts. The best players understand that this isn’t just golf, this is Open Championship golf. It happens, and it’s the player who can ride the rollercoaster, handle the bumps and maybe pick up a few greens along the way, who generally comes the closest to drinking a few cans from the Claret Jug on a Sunday afternoon.

McIlroy had the tough draw the last time The Open was in Troon, but that’s just golf, according to him and this writer. PHOTO: Getty Images

Rory McIlroy knows that. After his second-round 71 in 2016 at Troon, he said: “It’s the Open Championship. Some draws go your way, some draws don’t.

“The last Open I played I got the good end of the draw and good things happened that week. This year it’s not so much. But I just said I’m not going to let the fact that I’m on the wrong side of it ruin my mood or ruin my week,” McIlroy said.

Rickie Fowler echoed his colleague’s sentiments. “I think it’s pretty clear which side of the draw was better for scoring, but that’s The Open. I’m not going to complain about it. I’ve been on the good side; I’ve been on the bad side,” Fowler said.

Shane Lowry battled in tough conditions at Royal Portrush in 2019. PHOTO: Getty Images.

That’s The Open. These guys get it. Chance is a factor, fair or unfair.

That’s one of the reasons why the Open, in this writer’s opinion, is the best event on the calendar.

These guys are the best of the best, but it doesn’t matter how good you are when you blow one into a pot bunker and sit against the edge while your partner does the same and pulls a perfect lie. There will always be opportunities to score and, just as much, opportunities for your competitors to falter.

You don’t know what’s coming; Mother Nature – who is almost certainly Scottish – can throw anything at you, and let’s face it, with the equipment floating around in 2024, I certainly don’t feel sorry for the harsh conditions. Guys, you have the tools to combat whatever comes your way.

There aren’t many as creative as the late Seve Ballesteros. PHOTO: Getty Images.

Chance is one thing. Using imagination as your 15th club is another. There’s something poetic about delving into the archives to look at some of the most imaginative shots at The Open. Tiger’s 2-iron around Hoylake, Seve’s brilliance around the greens and who can forget Cam Smith’s up and down on the Road Hole in 2022?

The Open offers a different kind of exploration of skill, imagination and creativity. The latter is a quality we so rarely see at most US tour venues, where we see too much point A to point B golf. Players have to play the hand they’re dealt, rough breaks or big breaks, and think their way out of trouble. And when the course and the large element of chance bite their tongues. Those willing to take on the golf devil are likely to reap the rewards.

The theme of this column is chance, which has seen some surprise packages win the title of Champion Golfer of the Year. I mean, who had Brian Harman on their betting slips last year? Todd Hamilton anyone? Ben Bloody Curtis?

But by and large, the creative type, the virtuoso, has risen to the top. Smith, Shane Lowry and Jordan Spieth have all won the Claret Jug in the last seven years. And with Royal Troon as their canvas, who will be the lucky son of an… artist in 2024?