The weather at the coast of the Mourne Mountains has been typically variable this week. As a result, attending the event can be a chore at times. It involves a lot of struggling up tall sand dunes just to get to a good vantage point with your hand on your hat desperately hoping that the howling gale won’t blow your hat off again. Getting soaked is often a factor in this part of the world and despite the fact that we are heading into June, a chilly wind makes a warm jumper a necessity.
Yet when the sun comes out, the setting is absolutely breath-taking. I’ve mentioned the fourth and ninth holes on a previous post but views such as that at the eighth green above are just as stunning. The deep blue sea is in clear view on many holes on the front side. Slieve Donard, the tallest mountain in Northern Ireland, dominates the skyline. The land is natural and its gorse has a rugged beauty. All combine to create a course that has a complementation of colours more befitting of a work of art than a golf course.
Four-time major champion Ernie Els has won on all corners of the globe over the course of his glittering twenty-five year professional career. He spoke glowingly of Royal County Down before the tournament, saying that it was among his top three golf courses in the world. As he points out, the Old Tom Morris-designed set-up was constructed on a remarkable piece of land. With this time of majestic scenery frequent, it really does not take long to forget all the other stuff.
Like the weather in Newcastle this week, Royal County Down can appear alluring and then turn nasty in an instant. Danger lurks on many holes with tough bunkers and heavy rough. Blind shots, tight fairways and uncompromising mounds make the course a challenge even on a calm day. On top of that, the players have to deal with changeable gusts of wind as they hit approach shots into saucer-like greens. This makes this Irish Open venue into a brutal test. After two days of competition play, there were only nine players under par. The leaders were at three-under par, a score akin to the toughest major championship layouts. But then Royal County Down was created with such a challenge in mind.
Down-native Rory McIlroy states that Royal County Down is his favourite course in the world. According to Wayne Riley on Sky Sports, McIlroy practices alone on the course frequently in the early morning during the summer. Yet, this week’s tournament host shot a score of 80 on Thursday. An improved 71 for McIlroy on Friday was not enough to avoid a missed cut. To bring the number one player in the world on a local course with local knowledge to the dreaded 80-zone is a testament to the difficulty of this golf course. McIlroy was not the only casualty. Sergio Garcia is an excellent links player who stumbled to a 12-over par total. It demonstrated more than anything the two sides of Royal County Down. For all its attractive scenery, it is has an ugly side that makes it a struggle for even the most skilled golfer. In that way, it is the beauty and the beast. For the Open champion this week, it was very much the beast.
Despite the list of casualties, there was also some very good golf played on the links over the first two days. Padraig Harrington pulled off a typically grinding performance to score to lie one shot off the lead. At one point on Friday, he reached seven-under par but at two-under par, he is still in contention. There was an albatross by Andy Sullivan on the first hole on Friday. Berndt Wiesberger went birdie, birdie, eagle from 16-18 en route to taking a share of the lead at three-under par. Luke Donald may be a danger man at the weekend. His steady game suits the grind and his putter was in fine form over the first two days.
One of the stars of the first two days was the American Rickie Fowler. He played himself well into the tournament at even par unlike the other two members of the marquee grouping, who both missed the cut. Fowler demonstrated further why he is a future Open champion with a fine display of links golf with punch shots and bump and runs aplenty. Fowler’s natural talent is clear when he plays links golf. He is a feel player who plays off instinct. His approach to golf in some ways matches his personality off the course, he is happy-go-lucky, he is happy to play the game as it lies and that plays well in a links set-up where you must rely on a lot of off-the-cuff judgements given the different lies and weather positions that it presents.
It is this kind of player that is likely to win this week. The shotmaker should succeed. It will be fascinating to watch some of the world’s best plot their way around the course over the weekend. One thing is for sure, all players this week will have gained vital experience that will serve them well in future Open Championships. Conquering the old links will give the victor the confidence that he can take on any golf course and win. Then the champion can truly bask in the beauty of Royal County Down, because they will have tamed the beast.
The Power Drive 
His eye was wild and his face was taut with anger and hate and rage,
And the things he muttered were much too strong for the ink of the printed page.
I found him there when the dusk came down, in his golf clothes still was he,
And his clubs were strewn around his feet as he told his grief to me:
“I’d an easy five for a seventy-nine—in sight of the golden goal—
An easy five and I took an eight—an eight on the eighteenth hole!
“I’ve dreamed my dreams of the ‘seventy men,’ and I’ve worked year after year,
I have vowed I would stand with the chosen few ere the end of my golf career;
I’ve cherished the thought of a seventy score, and the days have come and gone
And I’ve never been close to the golden goal my heart was set upon.
But today I stood on the eighteenth tee and counted that score of mine,
And my pulses raced with the thrill of joy—I’d a five for seventy-nine!
“I can kick the ball from the eighteenth tee and get this hole in five,
Bit I took the wood and I tried to cross that ditch with a mighty drive—”
Let us end the quotes, it is best for all to imagine his language rich,
But he topped that ball, as we often do, and the pill stopped in the ditch.
His third was short and his fourth was bad and his fifth was off the line,
And he took an eight on the eighteenth hole with a five for a seventy-nine.
I gathered his clubs and I took his arm and alone in the locker room
I left him sitting upon the bench, a picture of grief and gloom;
And the last man came and took his shower and hurried upon his way,
But still he sat with his head bowed down like one with a mind astray,
And he counted his score card o’er and o’er and muttered this doleful whine:
“I took an eight on the eighteenth hole, with a five for a seventy-nine!”
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