The First Look: BMW Championship

TORONTO, Ont. – Bobby Jones said that a great career was not complete without winning The Open at St. Andrews. Jones did it in 1927. Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods and so many of the game’s greats have followed in his footsteps. Another player will have an opportunity this year as The 150th Open returns to St. Andrews after a one-year delay because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Record crowds will be on-site to witness history, and players can earn the opportunity to compete in this important championship in several upcoming PGA TOUR events. The Open Qualifying Series, which offers Open berths to top finishers in various events around the world, includes several upcoming PGA TOUR events, starting with this week’s RBC Canadian Open. Two Open spots are available this week to the two highest finishers who are not yet exempt to St. Andrews, as long as they also finish in the top eight on the leaderboard. The John Deere Classic, Barbasol Championship and Genesis Scottish Open also are part of the Open Qualifying Series. Three spots apiece will be available at both the Deere and Scottish Open, while the Barbasol will offer the final spot in The Open. Several big names are still vying for their spot in The Open, including former world No. 1 Jason Day, who finished a shot out of a playoff in the 2015 Open at St. Andrews, 2017 Open runner-up Matt Kuchar, Matthew Wolff, Maverick McNealy and Davis Riley. Among the players in the field this week who are looking to lock up a spot at St. Andrews are Jason Dufner, Sebastian Munoz, Cameron Champ and Luke List, winner of this season’s Farmers Insurance Open. Seventeen players who are teeing it up this week have already booked their spot to St Andrews. That group includes defending champion Rory McIlroy, winner of the 2014 Open Championship, and Justin Thomas, winner of this year’s PGA Championship. The top two players in the FedExCup, Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns, also have Open spots locked up, as do Canadians Corey Conners and Mackenzie Hughes. Adam Hadwin, who earned a berth in the 2019 Open via his finish at that year’s RBC Canadian Open, is again looking to punch his ticket to The Open. Past Canadian Open champions still seeking their spot at St. Andrews include Jhonattan Vegas, Brandt Snedeker, Scott Piercy, and Sean O’Hair. Harry Higgs, Carlos Ortiz, J.J. Spaun, Sahith Theegala and Keith Mitchell are among the other names seeking Open spots this week. Graeme McDowell and Adam Hadwin earned berths via their position on the leaderboard at the Canadian Open in 2019. “It’s always nice to have a chance to get into The Open Championship field,” says Hadwin, who is one of 20 Canadians in the field at St. George’s Golf and Country Club. Hadwin, who finished T57 at The Open that year, says earning a spot in the major is something that became a surprising reward as he was coming down the stretch that Sunday in Hamilton three years ago. There were two other Canadians – Mackenzie Hughes and Ben Silverman – who were in the mix to earn a spot in The Open, but also win the golf tournament. Thirteen golfers have won both the Canadian Open and Open Championship, McIlroy being the most recent addition to that list after his 2019 victory in Hamilton. Lee Trevino and Tiger Woods are the only golfers to have won the Canadian Open, The Open, and the U.S. Open in the same season – golf’s coveted Triple Crown. That feat is another on the table for 2022 with the U.S. Open and, of course, The Open Championship, yet to be contested. There are six more events to come as part of the Open Qualifying Series. Chris Kirk and Talor Gooch earned their spot at St. Andrews earlier this year at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, which also was part of the Open Qualifying Series.

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Will Zalatoris withdrew from The 149th Open Championship on Friday, citing a back injury suffered while hitting out of heavy rough late in his opening-round 69. “I am beyond disappointed,” he said in a statement on social media. “… The second shot out of the heavy rough on #15 yesterday sent a tingling down my left leg and I have been advised to not risk any further damage to my back.” Zalatoris, 24, was making his first Open start after finishing runner-up at the Masters in April and T8 at the PGA Championship in May. He missed the cut at the U.S. Open and was coming off a 77th-place finish at the Rocket Mortgage Classic. Although he hit just half the fairways – the field averaged 56.78 percent – he had enjoyed a mostly solid first round at Royal St. George’s. He holed out for eagle at the short par-4 12th hole, and, after doubling over in pain after his second shot at 15, salvaged par. He birdied 16. He said he considered not finishing after the injury but decided to stick it out since it was his first ever competitive round in an Open Championship, “even if it meant embarrassing myself a little at the end ha!” (A missed a tap-in on 17 went viral.) On Friday, Zalatoris added, he tried hitting balls and working out in the gym, to no avail. “I am completely gutted to not be moving forward in the championship,” he added. “I look forward to coming back as soon as I can…thank you everyone for the support.”

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Tiger Woods will begin his 2018 season in the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines, starting Jan. 25.

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