Open Championship 2013 blog: an impressive debut
Jeremy Ellwood watches players adopting different strategies off the 18th tee before catching up with a talented Devon youngster he once got thrashed by...
After a morning spent at the laptop, I finally wandered out on to the course mid-afternoon with editor Mike Harris, initially stopping off at the 18th tee. As we settled in to watch the tee-shots on this 470-yard toughie, it became apparent that different players see things differently or have very different gameplans.
First up was Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano who opted for the 3-wood; next up was Nick Watney who went with some kind of long iron; and finally, it was Richard Sterne who went with the driver. Who fared best? Well, we didn't hang around to find out, but having got back to the media centre, I see that Gonzalo made par while the other two made bogey. One-up for the 3-wood strategy!
From here, we wandered out to find young amateur Jimmy Mullen, a member at one of Mike's clubs down at Royal North Devon. The wiry youngster was acquitting himself admirably having won the final qualifier at North Berwick, and stood at level par as we picked him up on the 13th green. By the time I left after the 15th he hadn't missed a shot and as I write he's one-under after a birdie on 17. Impressive stuff.
A couple of years ago, Mike and I played with him in the Silver Medal at Royal North Devon on a foul day. He quietly went about his business compiling a commendable - and indeed - winning round of level par 72, while my score, shamefully, started with the next prime number up the scale. Two years later he's teeing it up at The Open and I occasionally manage to break 80.
We wish him well for the rest of the week and the future, and I'm just relieved that what he saw of my golf that day didn't scar him for life!
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Jeremy Ellwood has worked in the golf industry since 1993 and for Golf Monthly since 2002 when he started out as equipment editor. He is now a freelance journalist writing mainly for Golf Monthly. He is an expert on the Rules of Golf having qualified through an R&A course to become a golf referee. He is a senior panelist for Golf Monthly's Top 100 UK & Ireland Course Rankings and has played all of the Top 100 plus 91 of the Next 100, making him well-qualified when it comes to assessing and comparing our premier golf courses. He has now played 1,000 golf courses worldwide in 35 countries, from the humblest of nine-holers in the Scottish Highlands to the very grandest of international golf resorts. He reached the 1,000 mark on his 60th birthday in October 2023 on Vale do Lobo's Ocean course. Put him on a links course anywhere and he will be blissfully content.
Jezz can be contacted via Twitter - @JezzEllwoodGolf
Jeremy is currently playing...
Driver: Ping G425 LST 10.5˚ (draw setting), Mitsubishi Tensei AV Orange 55 S shaft
3 wood: Ping G425 Max 15˚ (set to flat +1), Mitsubishi Tensei AV Orange 65 S shaft
Hybrid: Ping G425 17˚, Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro Orange 80 S shaft
Irons 3-PW: Ping i525, True Temper Dynamic Gold 105 R300 shafts
Wedges: Ping Glide 4.0 50˚ and 54˚, 12˚ bounce, True Temper Dynamic Gold 105 R300 shafts
Putter: Ping Fetch 2021 model, 33in shaft (set flat 2)
Ball: Varies but mostly now TaylorMade Tour Response
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