Sports

Tiger-less British Open lacks appeal but increases bucks

The British Open starts today, but will anyone be watching?

With Tiger Woods sidelined by a knee injury, the 137th annual British Open will struggle to capture the imagination of most fans back in America.

This year’s Open, held for the ninth time at The Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England, is the third of golf’s four majors. It will feature the greatest players in the world, just not the greatest of them all. While Woods’ absence will certainly affect TV ratings, it will not hurt the wallets of the other players on the course. In the 10 years since this event was last held at Royal Birkdale, the prize money has more than tripled.

Mark O’ Meara’s 1998 victory (Woods finished 3rd) netted him just under $500,000. This year’s winner will pocket nearly $1.5 million.

The entire event will pay out $8.6 million compared to $2.8 million in 1998. Even without Woods and his huge galleries roaming the coast of the Irish Sea, his economic impact — even for the mediocre players who have failed to rise to his level — will still be felt from the top to the bottom of the leaderboard.

The numbers of fans, sponsorships and revenue he has brought to the tour is unrivaled and, in his wake, every other golfer has benefited greatly. Paul Goydos, the LBSU alum that captured America’s heart during his second-place finish at The Players Championship, qualified for The Open by winning a qualifier two weekends ago. In 16 years on the PGA tour, this will be his first appearance in the British Open.

No word yet on the hat he will be wearing. Analyzing the field Goydos included, let’s consider some guys that can really distinguish themselves this weekend. Since this is a European championship, Sergio Garcia is a good place to start. Always making headlines, the 28-year old Spaniard has come so close in year’s past only to wilt under the pressure.

Hoisting the Claret Jug on Sunday afternoon would go a long way to exorcising those demons. As an amateur at Royal Birkdale in 1998, Englishman Justin Rose burst onto the worldwide scene by finishing fourth. Since then, much like Garcia he has left plenty to be desired. Could this be the weekend everything comes full circle?

For the Americans, the door has swung wide open for the world’s No. 2 player Phil Mickelson. Can he capitalize? Playing on his home course at Torrey Pines he wilted under the U.S. Open pressure, but maybe he can step up and grab his fourth major on the road.

The last and most intriguing story is that of Anthony Kim. The 23-year- old phenom has burst onto the golf scene of late and the PGA Tour would love nothing more than to be able to showcase a new young star while Tiger is sidelined. The stage may be too big this time out, but anything is possible the way he’s been playing.

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