What makes The Open so special? More creativity and fewer drunks, say Canadian pros

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PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland — There are four Canadians in this week’s Open Championship at Royal Portrush and each one had a different answer when asked what the greatest challenge of links golf is.

Between learning the wind, the hard turf, the blind shots and the tricky short game, Canada’s best golfers still managed to have a fun competition on Tuesday morning with Nick Taylor and Taylor Pendrith coming out on top over Corey Conners and Mackenzie Hughes.

“We ham-and-egged quite nicely,” Pendrith said. “We had three eagles and bunch of birdies combined so it was fun.”

The big-hitter from Richmond Hill, Ont., has the most to learn in the days leading up to the season’s final major, considering his first taste of links golf came just last week at the Scottish Open.

“It’s really cool and unique and like nothing that I’ve ever played,” Pendrith said. “It was nice to see two different winds because the course can play so different. It’s all wind dependent.”

On Monday, the par-4 11th hole at Portrush was a driver and a fairway wood. On Tuesday with the wind flipped, it was a driver and a wedge.

Pendrith said last week in the Scottish Open he hit a 2-iron from 320 yards to 30 feet, straight into the wind on the lively turf.

“Just hit it and ran it up there,” he said. “So you can play so many different shots. It brings out the creativity in your game.”

The firm fairways seem to be one of the biggest learning curves for Conners, of Listowel, Ont., who told the Sun both last year and on Tuesday that his world-class ball-striking is not fully comfortable getting through the uniquely hard links turf.

“A little bit of an adjustment getting over here,” Conners said. “With the firmness of the turf, I wouldn’t say I struck my irons particularly well. I’ve got to be a little bit more aggressive off the firm turf.”

Conners is coming off a wrist injury suffered at the U.S. Open, where he was forced to withdraw, but after testing it for four days at the Scottish Open, he’s confident it’s ready to go.

For five-time tour winner Nick Taylor from Abbotsford, B.C., getting used to all the blind shots and trusting the targets he and his caddie Dave Markle have set for themselves is a big deal this week.

“I’m not used to this many blind shots,” Taylor said. “The holes back home are shaped for you, whether it’s trees or bunkering. Here, it’s committing to your lines and obviously the ball can get away from you with how much it runs.”

For Hughes, the biggest difference the Dundas, Ont., native has found is the creativity needed around the greens, where there are always multiple ways to play every shot, including possibly a putter. Compare that to the PGA Tour, where most golfers have their 60-degree wedge in hand as soon as they miss a green.

“It makes you play a bit more on feel and instincts and have some imagination, which I think I tend to excel in situations like that,” Hughes said.

All four players agreed that creativity around the greens is a must in links golf.

“You can hit shots with whatever club you want,” Pendrith said. “There are a lot of putters here for me and bump shots where I turn down the face of my 60 or 56. It’s all about figuring out how it will roll through the grass and bounce through the grass.”

Another thing all the Canadians agree on is the warmth and knowledge of the golf fans, who are already pouring into Portrush for the practice rounds. There are expected to be more than 275,000 fans over the week.

One young fan was overheard asking his father about that number on Tuesday morning: “How can they fit that many people in Ireland?”

It’s not just the golf course that’s different in links land, it’s the game itself and the strong ties to community.

“I think it’s more a part of the culture here and people have grown up with it,” Taylor said. “The whole family has an understanding of the game that everyone seems to develop from a very young age. Back home they often get into the game a little bit later, so they are learning as it comes.”

Hughes agrees and feels that it has a lot to do with easier entry points to the game.

“I think they have a lot more accessible golf than it seems like we do in the States or in Canada,” Hughes said. “Little local golf courses seem very affordable to play and access which I think is cool. They also seem to blend as parks and golf courses as one.

“You play a round of golf and see people on walks and walking their dogs on the course. It seems to blend together and it’s refreshing and nice.”

The four Canadians have also noticed more knowledgeable and respectful fans both last week in Scotland and this week in Northern Ireland.

“The fans recognize a good shot even if it ends up 30 feet from the hole because of the challenging position you’re in,” Pendrith said. “They seem to be able to relate. Nobody is yelling after you hit your tee shot and they’ve been awesome. There are tons of people out here at Portrush already.”

There also is a distinct lack of the frat boy mentality that has developed at PGA Tour events. Refreshingly, the vast majority of fans at this week’s Open Championship aren’t interested in turning a day at the golf course into a drinking competition.

“No, they’re definitely not,” Conners said.