I found a few Q&A's I found interesting
6. How brutal will the 288-yard par-3 eighth hole be?
It's the longest par-3 in major championship history and will draw the attention of media and fans, but don't expect No. 8 to play as tough as you might think. The hole features a large, relatively flat green, which means that players who don't reach it in regulation should still be able to get up-and-down for par pretty often. That said, it's still going to be fun to watch. "That's the most talked-about hole in the locker room at the moment," Ogilvy said recently. "We don't have driver or par-3s, so it's going to be interesting to see how that's going to shape up."
8. Can Mickelson's wrist handle the heavy stuff?
Phil Mickelson owns four career runner-up finishes at the Open, including last year's event, when that final-hole double-bogey cost him the title. But he injured his left wrist while hitting a ball out of the rough during preparations at Oakmont a few weeks ago and is reportedly still feeling the ill effects. Even when he won the Players last month, Lefty was hitting plenty of approach shots from the rough; expect him to be more than a bit gun-shy with any buried lies this week.
14. Will Scott bounce back after Memphis?
With a three-stroke lead entering the final round of the Stanford St. Jude Championship on Sunday, Adam Scott seemed to be a solid pick to win his second event of the season. The pessimist will look at the fact that he gave up a whopping 13 strokes to Woody Austin, finishing solo seventh, and figure Scott's game is off entering Open week. The optimist will look at his three strong rounds in Memphis and point to his win prior to Masters week and ensuing T-27 result at Augusta. Perhaps a tough loss will keep him hungry.
16. Will a European finally win a major this decade?
Quite honestly, we're getting a bit weary of writing the same paragraph before every major, but it remains an underlying subplot, as no European-born player has won a major since Paul Lawrie in 1999. There are more than a few worthy candidates to choose from, with Padraig Harrington, who was in contention through the final hole a year ago, topping the list. Just a hunch, perhaps, but we see the next win coming from a more overlooked Euro (Robert Karlsson) or one with a major already to his name (Jose Maria Olazabal).
17. Which top players will miss the cut?
Take a good look at the golf world's most recognizable faces, because you won't be seeing a few of them come Saturday. Ernie Els? Perhaps. Retief Goosen? Maybe. Vijay Singh? Could be. One good rule of thumb: The tougher the scoring conditions, the more unpredictable the leaderboard. Expect a few big-name trunk-slammers this week.
6. How brutal will the 288-yard par-3 eighth hole be?
It's the longest par-3 in major championship history and will draw the attention of media and fans, but don't expect No. 8 to play as tough as you might think. The hole features a large, relatively flat green, which means that players who don't reach it in regulation should still be able to get up-and-down for par pretty often. That said, it's still going to be fun to watch. "That's the most talked-about hole in the locker room at the moment," Ogilvy said recently. "We don't have driver or par-3s, so it's going to be interesting to see how that's going to shape up."
8. Can Mickelson's wrist handle the heavy stuff?
Phil Mickelson owns four career runner-up finishes at the Open, including last year's event, when that final-hole double-bogey cost him the title. But he injured his left wrist while hitting a ball out of the rough during preparations at Oakmont a few weeks ago and is reportedly still feeling the ill effects. Even when he won the Players last month, Lefty was hitting plenty of approach shots from the rough; expect him to be more than a bit gun-shy with any buried lies this week.
14. Will Scott bounce back after Memphis?
With a three-stroke lead entering the final round of the Stanford St. Jude Championship on Sunday, Adam Scott seemed to be a solid pick to win his second event of the season. The pessimist will look at the fact that he gave up a whopping 13 strokes to Woody Austin, finishing solo seventh, and figure Scott's game is off entering Open week. The optimist will look at his three strong rounds in Memphis and point to his win prior to Masters week and ensuing T-27 result at Augusta. Perhaps a tough loss will keep him hungry.
16. Will a European finally win a major this decade?
Quite honestly, we're getting a bit weary of writing the same paragraph before every major, but it remains an underlying subplot, as no European-born player has won a major since Paul Lawrie in 1999. There are more than a few worthy candidates to choose from, with Padraig Harrington, who was in contention through the final hole a year ago, topping the list. Just a hunch, perhaps, but we see the next win coming from a more overlooked Euro (Robert Karlsson) or one with a major already to his name (Jose Maria Olazabal).
17. Which top players will miss the cut?
Take a good look at the golf world's most recognizable faces, because you won't be seeing a few of them come Saturday. Ernie Els? Perhaps. Retief Goosen? Maybe. Vijay Singh? Could be. One good rule of thumb: The tougher the scoring conditions, the more unpredictable the leaderboard. Expect a few big-name trunk-slammers this week.
