2025 Open Championship in Portrush

[aabcuue]

On 7/21/2025 at 4:09 AM, golfingonly4fun said:

I volunteered as a marshal at the Open. Our club was assigned the Practice Grounds; range, short game, putting. It was an experience of a lifetime, I'm very grateful to have been invited to join. It was a lot of work- five hour shifts, 100% standing the entire shift, I had Mon/Fri off, but worked 3 hours for a friend Monday, so one day off. Jacket and hat for uniform, Hugo Boss, and no cost to volunteers at all, R&A pays for everything.

 

TBH i'm still worn out, and now packing for my return over the pond. When I have some airport time I'll put together a proper post with photos, etc. Portrush and the Dunlunce course really shined this week, it was great to see so many from all over the world enjoying my second home...

Congrats on a lifetime experience and memories. Nearly made it there in 2019 after Presidents cup connection.

 

Having a connection to a club in the tournament organization and/.or operation is the ideal way to get the best and top positions. Otherwise, Joe Schmo off the street isn’t sniffing anything outside of non-golf and basic positions like the merchandise tent.

 

in the US tournaments, generally unless your a function chairperson or USGA/PGA staff your not getting your uniform and registration for free.

 

Hours are everyday for at least half day or all day and your usually amongst 1st to arrive BEFORE the shuttles star and leave after shuttles end. Typical was in at or before dawn and leave 10-10:45 range. Yes, you have your own parking lot, usually close on course and often close to volunteer tent.

 

We would also start we before the tournament for setup and/or training.

 

 

Edited July 22 by aabcuue

[bscinstnct]

27 minutes ago, discover-it said:

He's white. We all look alike. 😆

 

The vid cutoff before the interviewer was like,

 

Hey! Is that Grant Horvat?

 

🤣🍻

[Mr.Cleeks]

2 hours ago, black bnr32 said:

Xander has made 69 straight cuts.   He’s arguably more consistent than Scheffler in that sense, which sounds kinda crazy. Had in injury in there too.

Sure it’s impressive but about 20 of those were actually in no-cut events that count for the streak. That stat is so diluted because the top guys are playing about 8-9 no cut events a year. 

[Chanceman]

Seems to me that polite applause would suit Scheffler quite well. He’s a dour uninspiring character with a narrow view of the world. Pretty damn good obviously but not in the Arnie, Tiger, Seve, Phil or Rory mould.

[Titleist99]

Watching a repeat of Scottie Scheffler pick Royal Portrush apart.

 

I thought that he'd crumble after that episode in the bunker on #8, but that didn't happen. The guy birdies the next hole.

 

*Clinic

[Titleist99]

15 minutes ago, Chanceman said:

Seems to me that polite applause would suit Scheffler quite well. He’s a dour uninspiring character with a narrow view of the world. Pretty damn good obviously but not in the Arnie, Tiger, Seve, Phil or Rory mould.

Don't worry, one day you'll find someone who inspires you....😂

[Mr.Cleeks]

2 hours ago, Dutch1008 said:

 

Henley is just so short. It puts so much pressure on his other skills. That said, I could see him stealing something at a classic venue like Aronimink for the PGA next year, Pebble for the USO in '27 or Merion for the USO in '30 if he's still competitive. 

 

I don't think Xander is that much of a disappointment. He was hurt coming into the season and still had a T8 at Augusta, T12 at Oakmont, and T7 at Portrush. Basically had the exact same season as Jon Rahm but Rahm doesn't have an injury excuse. Bad year for sure but I'd say that Aberg, Hovland, JT, and Morikawa were perhaps bigger disappointments. 

He makes up for it in so many other ways though. Top 15 in SG approach, around the green and a top 40 putter on tour. I could 100% see Russell winning an Open Championship.

As for Xander, I don't think he'd say his season was great. No wins yet and both of those top 10s were uncompetitive. Finished 6 back at Augusta and 7 back at the Open.  Ludvig had a better season then Xander for sure. Won a signature event and had the lead at Augusta with 3 holes to go. Rahm had such a weird season. Hasn't really done anything on LIV and outside of the run at the PGA nothing much at the majors.

[Titleist99]

32 minutes ago, Mr.Cleeks said:

Sure it’s impressive but about 20 of those were actually in no-cut events that count for the streak. That stat is so diluted because the top guys are playing about 8-9 no cut events a year. 

Yep, let's remove Tiger's no cut events while we're at it. His cut streak consists of those as well.😄

Edited July 22 by Titleist99

[Mr.Cleeks]

1 minute ago, Titleist99 said:

Yep, let's remove Tiger's no cut events while we're at it. His cut streak consists of those as well.

All for it. I just think if you're gonna quote a stat like that at least make adjustments. At most Tiger was playing 3 no cut events in a season during the early 2000s (the wgc's and the tour championship). Xander's played in 20 no cut events in the last 4 years (12 of those have been in the last 2 yrs). The streak should have an * or be adjusted.

[PedronNiall]

 

 

2 hours ago, black bnr32 said:

Xander has made 69 straight cuts.   He’s arguably more consistent than Scheffler in that sense, which sounds kinda crazy. Had in injury in there too.

 

Scottie's wins, average placement,  score to par, strokes gained, FedEx Cup points, and all that jazz say Scottie is the more consistent of the two in terms of actual performance, which I'd say matters more. 

[Gxgolfer]

 

Scottie Scheffler is the Champion Golfer of The Year after winning the 2025 Open Championship. He doesn't change clubs very often so this WITB is pretty similar to his previous wins!

 

https://www.golfwrx.com/763567/scottie-scheffler-winning-witb-open-championship-2025-july/

 

Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 (8 degrees @8.25, D4 swingweight) Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 7 X (45 inches)

3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (15 degrees @14.75, D3 swingweight) Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 8 X (42 5/16 inches, tipped 1.5 inch) Irons: Srixon ZU85 (3, 4), TaylorMade P7TW (5-PW) Shafts: Nippon N.S. Pro Modus

3 Hybrid Prototype 10 X (3), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (4-PW)

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM8 (50-12F, 56-14F), Titleist Vokey Design WedgeWorks (60-06K) Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400

Putter: TaylorMade Spider Tour X Grip: Golf Pride Pro Only Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet

Ball: Titleist Pro V1

 

[bobfoster]

11 hours ago, gvogel said:

23 hours ago, bobfoster said:

You may not see any value in it - but being insulting only makes you look foolish. 

 

I've not only paid to volunteer, I'm also a Patron level member of the USGA, a strong supporter of what they do for the game. Also? Over the years I've hosted guys playing on the KF Tour (though at the time it was called the Nationwide), LPGA pros, and even guys playing amateur college events. All of it cost me money - but I don't just play golf now and then, I love the sport, and support it.

 

And BTW? I got to meet a lot of other volunteers at the US Opens I worked. Almost to the person, they were pretty fanatic golfers (weekenders, casual golfers generally don't volunteer, in fact a lot of them probably wouldn't even know that you can volunteer). Serious golfers actually understand the value. It is about the experience. You can watch golf on TV. You can even get tickets to go see a tourney live as a spectator. Being a volunteer, however, is different. Yeah, you get some cool swag and perks, and open access to the tourney when you aren't working (in terms of just money, it is well worth it) but there is something much bigger than that. it is being part of a tournament. And that is an almost inexpressible feeling - most especially at a major.

 

BTW, you are unlikely to understand it, but the volunteer positions for next year's US Open are already filled - a year ahead of time. All that is left is a waitlist. If you do not grasp why so many serious golfers act that "stupid", you are saying a lot more about yourself than you are about the volunteers. 

Expand  

I volunteered for the 1972 Canadian Open.  It was a great experience.  Watching Lee Trevino and Sam Snead stand out, as was the round where I was assigned to marshal for Arnold.  Watched Lanny Wadkins and Ray Floyd in a practice round.  Priceless.

Drooling with envy. You got to marshal for Arnie? I mean, dang. 

 

And I also thank you for proving my point to that idiot. It has been over five decades since you did it, and it still stands out in your memory. That's why people volunteer. 

[straightshot7]

2 hours ago, Titleist99 said:

 

Well, we'll watch Scottie triumph for years to come. We'll enjoy the ride.

 

meanwhile, there's another tour full of bad boys I'm sure you'll find exciting. 👳‍♀️

im not against him. I like him. 
 

im saying the more he wins the more everyone will have to accept his “boring” style.

 

not sure what your bad boys reference is. 
 

why do you have to go for personal attacks when I said nothing to you?

Edited July 22 by straightshot7

[Shilgy]

20 hours ago, black bnr32 said:

Xander has made 69 straight cuts.   He’s arguably more consistent than Scheffler in that sense, which sounds kinda crazy. Had in injury in there too.

That is the only sense you could say that…barely.  I’ll take the guy with 46 top 10’s in the last 58 events(3 seasons)over the guy with 29 of 58.  And Scottie has won way more with more majors to boot.

Edited July 22 by Shilgy

[JungleJimbo]

 

Folks might enjoy this podcast "The Chipping Forecast" (hosted by Andrew Cotter, Iain Carter and Eddie Pepperell)

i.e. recap of The Open and Scheffler from POV of a fellow pro.

 

• Andrew Cotter and Iain Carter's voices = probably familiar to folks who watched/listened to the World Feed!
•  Here's the "fart heard around the world" a.k.a. "Fan rips fart during Scottie Scheffler shot — cracking up British Open broadcasters" (Ken Brown described it as "just a little bit of wind from behind" on the World Feed ... timestamp ~30 mins)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 22 by JungleJimbo

[golfingonly4fun]

3 hours ago, Chanceman said:

Seems to me that polite applause would suit Scheffler quite well. He’s a dour uninspiring character with a narrow view of the world. Pretty damn good obviously but not in the Arnie, Tiger, Seve, Phil or Rory mould.

From my vantage marshalling the practice range, with a kid's autograph zone, he never signed a thing and didn't even wave or smile to the kids shouting his name. Whereas Tyrrell spent almost a half hour signing, as did Bryson and Phil and i'm sure others i wasn't there for.

[Gareth]

On 7/20/2025 at 10:07 PM, StoutKing said:

Where do you play in Surrey?  So many great courses there.

I forgot to mention that it was good to see on Sunday one of my fellow club members who is also the Chairman of the R&A Rules Committee with Scottie after the round.

[braincramp52]

4 hours ago, golfingonly4fun said:

From my vantage marshalling the practice range, with a kid's autograph zone, he never signed a thing and didn't even wave or smile to the kids shouting his name. Whereas Tyrrell spent almost a half hour signing, as did Bryson and Phil and i'm sure others i wasn't there for.

BLASHPHAMY!! 

[Chanceman]

9 hours ago, Titleist99 said:

Don't worry, one day you'll find someone who inspires you....😂

Done. Seve and Trevino are the most inspirational golfers I have seen. Scheffler is pretty dull by comparison but if he inspires you then great.

[AZBRONCFAN]

Most boring major in awhile. I didnt even watch that much over the weekend. Very boring and predictable ending.

[Ghostwedge]

Watched a lot of the Open, Royal Portrush is a great course, a few holes remind me of Chambers Bay. Blows away St Andrews for viewing on tv.

[Titleist99]

2 hours ago, Chanceman said:

Done. Seve and Trevino are the most inspirational golfers I have seen. Scheffler is pretty dull by comparison but if he inspires you then great.

Yes, Scheffler inspires me to hit the ball with the club face centered like no other golfer since Hogan.

 

Thankfully, I'm able to appreciate that.

[Pops99]

I'd be very interested in seeing a Venn diagram of the people calling Scheffler boring and those that love Grant Horvat and blame the big bad PGA for not letting him film at the 'Cuda. Might be a damn near perfect circle.

 

Edited July 22 by Pops99

[Titleist99]

10 hours ago, straightshot7 said:

im not against him. I like him. 
 

im saying the more he wins the more everyone will have to accept his “boring” style.

 

not sure what your bad boys reference is. 
 

why do you have to go for personal attacks when I said nothing to you?

 

Not a personal attack. Some seem to think that the other tour is more exciting because of the fiery players that they have.

 

I get it. Some find Scheffler boring and find great golf shots monotonous, but others watch golf for that particular reason.

 

Again, no personal attack, but I would be interested in knowing who you find exciting in today's golf players and why.

[Titleist99]

7 minutes ago, Pops99 said:

I'd be very interested in seeing a Venn diagram of the people calling Scheffler boring and those that love Grant Horvat and blame the big bad PGA for not letting him film at the 'Cuda. Might be a damn perfect circle.

 

People who find Scheffler boring, find YouTube golf exciting?

 

Common denominator?   (I kid)😂

[bekgolf]

2 hours ago, AZBRONCFAN said:

Most boring major in awhile. I didnt even watch that much over the weekend. Very boring and predictable ending.

 

Maybe they should make the #1 golfer start at+5 to make it a fair fight and more "exciting".  Lol.

[PedronNiall]

14 hours ago, straightshot7 said:

Tiger was boring too they say

 

 

 

As @Dutch1008 mentioned, this kind of thing has been on repeat for decades now, and Tiger has a hype machine both through intent and through happenstance that feeds into it. Almost every noteworthy shot of Tiger's got some kind of feature with other pros talking about how amazing it was. 

 

 

 

They don't do that with Scottie. Partially because most of his greatest stuff is right from the middle of the fairway, but also because he simply doesn't have to recover as often. Tiger was also the forerunner to golfers realizing they should be going for it in 2 on every par 5 they can. He was the only one who both got the memo and had the strength so for a while it made for him doing things no one else was doing. I'll give you that contrasted with the old guard on their reserved, "You'll learn" outlook makes it easier for Tiger to stand out, and that at times Tiger did get into it by marching after the ball or letting more smiles slip after a blistered iron, but most of Tiger's greatest shots as in some clips already posted came with the same lack of reaction as we see from Scheffler during most of his greatest efforts.

 

Can't forget the Earl effect either; if Scottie's dad were out there saying some of the out there things Tiger's dad did that alone would get more buzz going around Scheffler. 

 

Tiger came up in a perfect storm to turn him into a star; Scottie is simply what most golfers are, relatively reserved and boring out on the course, and plays a by-the-numbers game that makes for little flash if that's what someone's looking for. 

[bscinstnct]

The t

54 minutes ago, PedronNiall said:

 

As @Dutch1008 mentioned, this kind of thing has been on repeat for decades now, and Tiger has a hype machine both through intent and through happenstance that feeds into it. Almost every noteworthy shot of Tiger's got some kind of feature with other pros talking about how amazing it was. 

 

 

 

They don't do that with Scottie. Partially because most of his greatest stuff is right from the middle of the fairway, but also because he simply doesn't have to recover as often. Tiger was also the forerunner to golfers realizing they should be going for it in 2 on every par 5 they can. He was the only one who both got the memo and had the strength so for a while it made for him doing things no one else was doing. I'll give you that contrasted with the old guard on their reserved, "You'll learn" outlook makes it easier for Tiger to stand out, and that at times Tiger did get into it by marching after the ball or letting more smiles slip after a blistered iron, but most of Tiger's greatest shots as in some clips already posted came with the same lack of reaction as we see from Scheffler during most of his greatest efforts.

 

Can't forget the Earl effect either; if Scottie's dad were out there saying some of the out there things Tiger's dad did that alone would get more buzz going around Scheffler. 

 

Tiger came up in a perfect storm to turn him into a star; Scottie is simply what most golfers are, relatively reserved and boring out on the course, and plays a by-the-numbers game that makes for little flash if that's what someone's looking for. 

 

What TW did that made him a rock star with fans was

 

Hed do the impossible, the shot everybody ams or pros want to make, but never seem to 

 

And it seemed like TW would kill it every time.

 

He can’t do it again, he can’t do it again

 

” looks like he’s aiming 50 yards left!”

 

Oh $hit, he did it again!

 

 

Edited July 22 by bscinstnct

[NDSwim]

Viewership reported:

 

NBC draws a little more than 4 million viewers for Scottie Scheffler’s dominant win at Portrush on Sunday (streaming included).

 

That’s up big from 3.390M last year (Schauffele) and the best since 2022 at St Andrews

[Titleist99]

26 minutes ago, NDSwim said:

Viewership reported:

 

NBC draws a little more than 4 million viewers for Scottie Scheffler’s dominant win at Portrush on Sunday (streaming included).

 

That’s up big from 3.390M last year (Schauffele) and the best since 2022 at St Andrews

WOW!   And that's with BORING Scottie Scheffler picking apart Royal Portrush.

 

Guess he wasn't so boring to millions of golf fans. 😂

 

*As an aside. Scheffler received a standing ovation on Jimmy Falon, for whatever that means.😄