Not counting the past Open champions who never play anymore (IBF, Calc, etc.), Danny Lee (injury), and K.H. Lee (upcoming birth), nine other eligible players have elected not to travel to England and compete in this year's Open. Would the number be this high in a non-pandemic year/given the R&A restrictions? Me think not.

The only one who I have seen that openly stated they weren't playing due to any sort of restrictions is Kevin Na.

Kim and Im are not playing for obvious reasons.

Who make up the rest of the 9 along with these three, Wolff, and 2x Lee?

I'd doubt Wolff is giving up the chance to play due to Covid.

There is actually a link to another article in the above article with more details. Right off the bat, it states that some players are considering a boycott.

https://golfweek.usatoday.com/2021/0...ngry-pga-tour/

I think that there are some valid points about how fans don't have these restrictions while at the same time so many of them are attending not just The Open, but other sporting events in the country as well.

This article also includes an additional sentence from the unnamed quoted player: "If someone on your plane tests positive on way to the British and is sitting anywhere close to you, you’re out no questions asked, no matter if you’re vaccinated."

If true, that would be particularly harsh as at would be completely unavoidable.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Open_Championship

I'm not necessarily saying you're wrong - I'm just saying that if any player is giving up one of their chances at at an Open Championship because of the minor inconvenience of current covid restrictions then they don't deserve one.

What part of the covid-restrictions are so bad that it justifies someone choosing not to play?

my opinion is similar to this. it's the Open Championship and your shot to be the Champion Golfer of the Year.
all players who participate have to do the same thing. why not go through a week of annoyance to give yourself a shot at that?

i've watched a handful of the Taylormade youtube videos recently, and there are a lot of things Wolff says that give the impression of someone that's trying desperately to fit in with the rest of the group (Tiger, Rory, Colin, Dustin, etc).

i'm like you. nobody knows why he (and several others) aren't choosing to play this year.

i looked at the past 5 Opens and from what i can make from the wiki, here are the number of players that WD'd (not for the obv reasons i already mentioned ... previous Open winners who sometimes play/never play, injury, child birth, weddings, etc.):

2019: 3 (including Scott Piercy)
2018: 0
2017: 2 (including Scott Piercy)
2016: 2
2015: 1

so that's 1.6 WD per year and this year we have 9, which is a 5.625x increase.

so Scott Piercy seems to be a problem

There was a qualifier for the British Senior Open in Akron a couple of weeks ago with 10 spots available. This was the first time a qualifier had been held in the states for this. Worked perfect with my schedule, fly into Cleveland for the qualifier on a Monday and then drive 6 hours on Tuesday to central NY for the Dick’s qualifier on Thursday.

The Open course is only 15 minutes or so from Heathrow, no connecting flight to Scotland, super easy.

But then I do my research on entering the UK as well as the restrictions and rules by the R&A. There was a question on whether or not I would have to quarantine for 5 days upon arrival. Can only eat at the host hotel or the course. Covid testing before and after arrival. And the worst, any positive test is instant DQ even if it turns out to be a false positive. So you could jump through the qualifier hoops, then spend a ton of money getting across the pond, only to lose out on everything because of a false positive.

Frustrating as hell, I passed on the qualifier. I was checking all the regs every other day or so for a month after the qualifier was announced in hopes of relaxed regs. Never happened. I stand by my decision.

If a player is convinced that getting on the putting surface is close to zero, with extreme rough around the green, laying up could easily make sense.

If the layup position is easy to play to, along with severe conditions around the green, that could also make sense.

And I am not referring to all players, but likely a small subset. Using averages to determine a specific player's optimal play probably is not the best move.

I guess some like to call Bandon Dunes a links course, but by definition it's not. A course such as Kiawah Ocean more closely a links course, and that course is in impeccable condition. Chambers Bay was another, that course is much improved since the US Open was held there.

In the US players almost universally put a premium on conditions. That, and the extreme weather that Bandon Dunes experiences is not a plus. Comparing Bandon Dunes to the Old Course is not realistic.

Ian Baker Finch getting sucker punched in a restaurant and vision never recovers.

Masters champ Hideki Matsuyama withdraws from Open

https://www.espn.com/golf/story/_/id...withdraws-open

I watched that driver session they posted a couple a days ago and thought exactly the same thing. He's only 22 and very much acted his age.

PokerHero,
I'm not going to derail this thread past this post, but what you think is a linksland course seems to be just the opposite.

every hole on Kiawah Ocean was bulldozed by Dye to its current shape. there's almost nothing linksland (natural) about it.
same thing goes for Chamber's Bay. that course was built upon a former sand and gravel pit and 1.4 million cubic yards of sand and dirt were removed from the course, cleaned, and returned to shape the course.

Bandon Dunes, Pacific Dunes, and Old MacDonald are recognized as three of the five true links courses in North America, along with Highland Links in MA and Cabot Links in NS. https://migrantgolfer.com/the-true-l...-of-the-world/
this list uses the British Golf Museum's criteria for what a true links course is. please let me know if you think their interpretation is incorrect.

Ryan Moore declines the Open spot he earned today with his John Deere performance.

Moore is taking his spot after all.

Waiting anxiously for your next post accurately stating his status.

Moore has now decided to WD citing a back injury.

This is shaping up to be the weakest Open field in decades.

I'll still happily watch

Same here.

Rahm 8-1 favorite, next closest is Keopka and Schaufelle at 18-1. That is a big gap between first and second favorite.

Rahm obviously playing great but I have a hard time taking 8-1 odds on anyone to win a golf tournament. But then again I thought 10-1 at Torrey was overpriced, and he won, so...

All in on Marcus Armitage to Top 5 at +6600

He's been in pretty good form recently, and I'm not sure why his odds are close to the John Daly and David Duvals of the world than the rest of the random Euro Tour Grinders.