#*%&# that! Pros to be fined at Open Championship

The Open Championship

Warning to Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, or any other pros who curse or spit at this year's Open Championship. Players may be publicly fined for these actions if they don't mind their golf etiquette.

I was under the impression that players were already fined for these actions and according to rumors, Woods has been fined the most of any player in PGA Tour history. This warnings just adds that the fines will be made public.

"These guys are role models and we are looking for them to behave as well as possible on the course," said R & A chief Peter Dawson.

The 2011 Open Championship will feature several course changes

The Open Championship

Royal St. Georges, the venue for the 2011 British Open, will see the course play slightly different than it did in 2003, the year Ben Curtis won.

During that tournament, Tiger Woods missed the first fairway, lost his ball, and ended up with a triple bogey. Jerry Kelly had a bigger problem with the hole, and finished with an 11. Overall, less than 30% of drives hit the first fairway that year. With that in mind, the first fairway will be given twelve additional yards in width for 2011.

The 17th and 18th fairways will be given extra width as well, making the finishing stretch a bit easier for the players. Overall, the course will be lengthened by 100 yards with the biggest change coming at the fourth hole, which will go from a 497 yard par-5 to a 495 yard par-4, making the course a par 70, not 71.

No word has been given on whether or not anything will be changed with the infamous fairway bunker at the fourth.

Cink Wins Open over Watson

The Open Championship

In what could have been one of the biggest stories in sports history, Stewart Cink put an end to Tom Watson's stunning run by winning the Open Championship in a playoff. Cink made a great birdie at eighteen in regulation to post two under par and become the leader in the clubhouse, and then went on to defeat Watson by playing the four hole playoff in two under par.

Cink is a deserving champion, but his victory will be overshadowed by the great play of 59 year old Tom Watson, who going into the eighteenth hole in regulation was one par away from making history. Watson hit a perfect drive, and his second shot was directly at the pin but went too far and ended up in a difficult location for getting up and down. His first putt went eight feet past the hole and he missed the par putt for the victory. He would have become the oldest major champion of all time and won the British Open for a record tying sixth championship.


I'm sure this was a difficult tournament to watch for many people rooting so hard for Watson to pull it out. I could barely watch the last few holes and it was completely deflating when he bogeyed the last. Regardless, Watson is an all time great champion and earned even more respect all around the world with his performance at the Open. He will be playing next week at the Senior Open at Sunningdale and it will be interesting to see whether he has anything left after such a strenuous week.

Time to Make History

The Open Championship

After three rounds at the Open Championship, Tom Watson leads by one stroke over Matthew Goggin and Ross Fisher. Tomorrow Watson could make history by becoming the oldest major champion ever at age 59. With a win, he would also tie Harry Vardon for most total British Open wins with six.

We saw a similiar situation last year with Greg Norman, age 53, who had a chance to win before fading with a final round 77 and finishing third. Hopefully Watson will get off to a good start tomorrow and handle all the pressure. He will have a lot of people rooting for him to make history. For the full leaderboard and Sunday tee times, click here.