Adam Scott discovered himself hitting completely different golf equipment round Royal Troon on Thursday morning than what he’d practiced with.
He wasn’t alone.
Rivals arrived for his or her opening rounds at this 152nd Open Championship and have been greeted with a distinct wind. After blowing primarily from the northwest and west throughout the follow days, the wind modified path on Thursday morning, coming from the south and even briefly from the southeast. Consequently, the normally simpler entrance 9 performed right into a constant 10-15 mph fan.
“That was wild,” stated Justin Thomas, who hadn’t performed the entrance 9 on this wind, although he nonetheless managed to take the early clubhouse lead with a 3-under 68. “I keep in mind attempting to drive 1 and three in 2016.”
On Thursday, Thomas hit 7-iron into the primary inexperienced and had a wedge into the third. He additionally was unable to succeed in both par 5, having at the least 90 yards left for his third photographs into the fourth and sixth greens.
“Yeah, utterly modified,” added Min Woo Lee. “The way in which the ball was bouncing on the again 9 was precisely the best way the entrance 9 was enjoying. It was very completely different to what I practiced. … Going from a really simpler 9, hitting 7-iron, 6-iron off the tees changed into 2-irons. Identical because the again 9. You usually hit driver, and now you’re hitting 4-iron.”
The flip in wind path, at the least up to now, has had a reasonably drastic impact on scoring. Again in 2016, the entrance 9 featured simply two of the eight hardest holes for the week – Nos. 5 (eighth hardest) and 9 (seven hardest). Simply earlier than 10 a.m. ET, the entrance accounted for 5 of the eight most troublesome holes, together with No. 5 (second hardest) and No. 9 (third hardest). No. 12, which additionally performed into the wind, was probably the most troublesome.
“It’s going to play as straightforward as it may possibly all week, I believe, as a result of the ball is getting up there on these holes, just like the eleventh,” Adam Scott stated. “Final time I performed it, it was 2-irons and 3-irons into each gap, and at this time it was a sand wedge into 15.”
Justin Rose didn’t file a bogey, including two birdies to shoot 69. Rose provided some completely different ideas on the wind, commenting not a lot on the path however the consistency.
“I believe at this time is nice,” Rose stated. “I believe, what’s it, 12 to fifteen miles an hour? That’s type of the sting the place you’re in charge of the golf ball and the weather aren’t in management, and I believe that’s a pleasant approach to play. I believe when it will get greater than that, the weather dictate a bit of bit greater than the participant dictates, and I believe that’s the place it simply turns into, OK, simply grasp in, grasp powerful, see what occurs.
“However I believe in case you can keep feeling such as you’re in management over the nice photographs, and in case you hit shot you’ll doubtless know what the result goes to be, that’s a pleasant approach to play to golf, and I believe that’s the way it was at this time.”
An analogous wind path is predicted for Friday’s second spherical, although with as much as 27 mph gusts (in comparison with 23 mph on Thursday), whereas the weekend may lighter winds shift extra in from the west, often known as crosswind territory.
