The Open Championship의 금요일. 이것은 특별한 절망감의 날이다. 절반 이상의 필드가 9개월의 기다림과 함께 Royal Birkdale을 떠난다. 다른 메이저는 시즌 내내 기회가 있지만, The Open은 다르다. 다음 기회는 보장되지 않는다.
01저스틴 로즈의 마지막 날
Justin Rose는 시간을 쫓고 있다. 두 번째 메이저 우승을 위해서다. 남은 기회는 많지 않다. 이미 몇 번을 놓쳤다. 지난해 Masters, 그 전해 Masters, 2024년 Royal Troon.
토요일 백나인을 따라가며 나는 그의 절박함을 봤다. 12번홀에서 공이 벙커로 들어가자 그는 클럽을 내팽개쳤다. 퍼트가 빗나가자 퍼터를 야구배트처럼 휘둘렀다. 내가 본 그의 가장 감정적인 순간이었다. 그는 마지막을 느끼고 있었다.
로즈는 Royal Birkdale에서 어린 아마추어 시절 4위를 기록하며 세상에 자신을 알렸던 곳이다. 그 이후 그는 우리의 삶에 있어왔다. 얼마나 더 그럴까?
18번홀에 도착한 로즈를 향한 관중의 박수는 진심이었다. 아마도 이곳에서의 마지막이 될 한 라운드였다. 로즈는 컷 라인에서 2타 뒤로 떨어져 탈락했다.
그의 기다림은 계속된다. 9개월 후 Masters에 도착할 때, 그는 1998년 Jack Nicklaus가 우승했을 때의 나이보다 더 많을 것이다. 미지의 영역이다.
나는 여전히 그를 포기하지 않는다필자
02거물급 선수들의 컷 탈락
로즈만이 실망스러운 탈락이 아니었다.
Viktor Hovland는 컷을 놨다. 올 시즌 메이저 3개 모두 컷 탈락. 남은 1개에서도 경쟁하지 못했다.
Jordan Spieth도 돌아갔다. 2017년 이곳에서의 마법을 다시 경험하려 했지만, 17번홀에서 4배그를 기록했다. 지난 4년간 실질적인 경쟁의 순간이 없었다.
Akshay Bhatia는 커리어 베스트 시즌을 보냈지만, 4개 메이저 중 3개를 컷 탈락했다.
금요일 The Open에서의 진짜 드라마는 이것이다. 누군가는 그들의 마지막 메이저를 치르고 있지만, 자신은 그걸 모른다.
03브라이슨 드샹보의 논란 페널티
Bryson DeChambeau에게 2타 페널티가 부과됐다. 2라운드에서 lie를 개선한 혐의다.
The R&A의 Grant Moir 통치 담당자는 설명했다. "선수는 자연 물체를 움직이거나, 구부리거나, 부러뜨릴 수 없습니다. 공에 접근하기 위해 합리적 조치를 취할 수는 있지만, 그 때도 가장 비침습적 방법을 사용해야 하며 정상 스탠스나 스윙을 할 수 없습니다."
5번홀 페어웨이 구간에서 경기가 끝난 후 The R&A와 DeChambeau가 다시 만났다. DeChambeau는 자신의 입장을 제시했지만 소용없었다.
The R&A는 드샹보가 민감한 구간에서 충분히 조심하지 못했다고 판단했다. 드샹보는 부당한 페널티라고 생각한다드샹보의 에이전트 Brett Falkoff
페널티의 타당성과 별개로, 결과는 토너먼트에 심각한 영향을 미쳤다. DeChambeau는 4언더 66타(5번홀 보기)로 기록했고, 공동 2위에 올라 최종 페어링까지 확보했다. 페널티 후 스코어는 2언더 68타(5번홀 트리플보기)로 변경됐다. 현재는 5언더로 5위 공동.
04Original (English) — PGA TOUR
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Well, today had everything. We will get to the ruling. First, a bit on the scene today …
SOUTHPORT, England – Friday at The Open Championship evokes a particular kind of desperation and despair. It grows with the evening shadows and fills the vacuum of silence that lingers in the solemn closing moments.
A little less than half the field left Royal Birkdale with a pit in their stomach, one they won't be able to clear for another nine months when the major championship calendar comes round again.
The Open is the end of the road in that respect. The majors come in quick succession each year, and as long as there's another one, there's hope.
At The Open, there's only harsh reality. The next one ain't coming soon, and there's no guarantee you'll be there when it arrives.
As the day's end neared, I found myself drawn to the man who knows the wait ahead all too well – one who sat precariously on the cutline, with more than just the cut on his mind.
Justin Rose is chasing time. He has been for a while. The urgency for major No. 2 is clear. There are only a few realistic chances left, and he's already missed a few.
The Masters last April. The Masters before that. Royal Troon in 2024.
That urgency was visible on a day like today as I walked with his group on the back nine. When his ball fell short and dropped into a greenside bunker at the 12th, he dropped his club and threw his hands to his head. A few minutes later, when the par putt slid by, he swung his putter like a baseball bat chasing a 100 mph fastball. It was the most demonstrative I had ever seen him. You get the sense he could feel the finality.
Royal Birkdale was where he had his breakthrough as a young amateur, finishing fourth at The Open in 1998. It was his announcement to the world. He's been in our lives ever since. How much longer will that be the case?
It's hard not to get contemplative when that type of symmetry presents itself. He walked up the 18th to a rousing applause, likely the last time he will do so at this venue. He missed the cut by two strokes.
Rose's week ended prematurely. His wait will continue for another nine months, chasing a major that may or may not come. When he gets to the Masters, he will be older than Jack Nicklaus was when he won in 1998. He's entering uncharted territory.
I still won't count him out.
Rose wasn't the only one who left disappointed. For others, this will go down as a lost year in the majors.
Viktor Hovland missed the cut without much drama. He failed to make the weekend in three majors this year and didn't contend in the other. More chances that have come and gone.
There remained hope for Jordan Spieth in his return to Royal Birkdale. The magic of 2017 was so vivid in our minds. Surely that golfer could return. He was well outside the cutline when he made a quadruple bogey at the 17th. He's headed home, going on four years since his last legitimate moment of contention. Akshay Bhatia, amid a career year, missed three of four cuts at majors.
Others will have played their last major this week. They just don't know it yet. That's what makes Friday at The Open so compelling.
Bryson DeChambeau was assessed a two-stroke penalty for inadvertently improving his lie during the second round at Royal Birkdale.
The R&A, the governing body overseeing the championship, deemed DeChambeau to have committed the offense while preparing to hit his second shot at the par-4 fifth.
"What the prohibited action here is that the player mustn't move, bend or break any growing or attached natural object," Grant Moir, the executive director of governance for The R&A, told reporters. "A player is allowed to fairly take their stance by taking reasonable actions to get to the ball and take a stance ... but when doing so, the player must take the least intrusive course of action to deal with the particular situation and is not entitled to a normal stance or swing."
DeChambeau and The R&A returned to the fifth after play concluded to discuss the penalty. DeChambeau was seen stating his case, ultimately to no avail.
"They felt he was not careful enough walking around in a sensitive area," DeChambeau's agent Brett Falkoff said. "(DeChambeau) feels he was unfairly penalized. That's just the reality."
Regardless of the penalty's validity, the result has serious consequences for the tournament. DeChambeau had signed for a score of 4-under 66 and a bogey at the fifth. That was changed to 2-under 68 and a triple bogey. It also dropped him out of solo second at 7-under par and a spot in the final pairing. He's now 5-under overall, tied for fifth.
