The wind doesn’t just blow here. It decides everything.
At The Open Championship, birdies don’t matter. Scorecards don’t matter. Reputation doesn’t matter.
Only one thing matters: can you survive the course?
In this cinematic breakdown of golf’s most brutal major, we dive into:
Van de Velde’s legendary collapse
Rory’s heartbreak at Portrush
Tiger’s stingers at Hoylake
Phil’s transformation at Muirfield
The Road Hole. The Postage Stamp. The Barry Burn.
This isn’t a highlight reel. This is a reckoning.
We capture the the best Open courses of all time: Carnoustie, Troon, Muirfield, and St. Andrews.
⚠️ Watch until the end. The course always wins.
Chapters:
00:00 – The Collapse That Defined The Open
00:44 – What The Open Is Really About
02:44 – Built to Break You
05:26 – When Greatness Collapses
08:10 – This Isn’t America’s Game Anymore
10:52 – The Course Is the Main Character
13:36 – You Don’t Win The Open. You Earn It.
🔔 Subscribe for more cinematic sports stories that go way deeper than the score.
Here are the sources we used to create this video:
Official & Historical Archives
The Open Championship Official Site (R&A):
https://www.theopen.com
BBC Sport – Open Championship Archive:
https://www.bbc.com/sport/golf/the-open
Golf Digest – “The 25 Most Brutal Open Moments”:
https://www.golfdigest.com/story/25-worst-british-open-chokes
The Guardian – “Tom Watson’s Turnberry Collapse”:
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2009/jul/20/tom-watson-british-open-turnberry
The Independent – “Jean van de Velde: The Greatest Collapse”:
https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/golf/jean-van-de-velde-open-collapse-1999-barry-burn-carnoustie-a8451411.html
Sky Sports – “Rory McIlroy’s Portrush Disaster”:
https://www.skysports.com/golf/news/12176/11767167/rory-mcilroy-falls-short-after-brave-65-at-the-open
ESPN – “Tiger Woods’ Worst Round: Muirfield 2002”:
https://www.espn.com/golf/columns/story?id=1414913
The Open – “Course History: Carnoustie, Troon, Muirfield”:
https://www.theopen.com/venues
Golf Channel – “Postage Stamp: The Most Dangerous 123 Yards in Golf”:
https://www.golfchannel.com/news/postage-stamp-turns-123-yards-terror
Player Commentary / Quote Sources
Phil Mickelson on Muirfield Win:
https://www.golfdigest.com/story/phil-mickelson-british-open-muirfield-2013-interview
Tiger Woods on 2006 Hoylake Gameplan:
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2006/jul/24/golf.theopen2006
Padraig Harrington on Links Golf Mentality:
https://www.independent.ie/sport/golf/harrington-open-journey-was-about-learning-to-surrender-29433915.html
Jack Nicklaus on St. Andrews Legacy:
https://www.golfmonthly.com/features/the-game/jack-nicklaus-and-the-open-championship-253355
Arnold Palmer & The Open’s American Return:
https://www.golfdigest.com/story/arnold-palmer-the-open-championship-legacy
Darren Clarke – “You Play the Course, Not the Field”:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/golf/2023/07/13/open-championship-weather-darren-clarke/
he had a three shot lead and a single hole left Jean Van de Velde didn’t need brilliance he needed a double bogey what followed was chaos one ricochet one burn one bunker at a time shoes off pants rolled drenched in disbelief he tied then lost and became a legend for all the wrong reasons but this wasn’t just a collapse it was a warning because the open doesn’t reward dominance it exposes it every July golf’s best arrive chasing greatness they leave with something else entirely this isn’t just a major it’s a survival test built on windswept coastlines guarded by rough rain and regret here the course isn’t the stage it’s the villain what makes it so brutal start with the ground firm fescue covered unpredictable balls bounce offline fairways run like freeways you can hit a perfect shot and still end up in a bunker older than your swing coach then comes the weather rain that moves sideways gusts that cancel confidence conditions that flip tee times into coin tosses this is links golf and the open is its final exam American players arrive with power precision form and watch it all vanish when the wind changes on the seventh hole because this isn’t Augusta this isn’t comfort it’s exposure Tiger once won an open using one driver all week Phil called his open win the biggest transformation of his career you don’t beat this thing by force you do it by letting go what happens when you don’t you become a story like Watson at 59 needing one part like Rory at Portrush unraveling by the first green like Vandervelt barefoot in the burn the open is not about the trophy it’s about what it takes from you to get there and the truth it tells when you fall short because at the open the course always wins what makes the open so cruel it starts with the ground links turf is firm dry and ancient the ball bounces then bounces again then disappears you can hit it flush and find nothing but regret because here luck isn’t a variable it’s part of the blueprint the fairways roll like runways the rough grabs like a trap and the bunkers they’re not hazards they’re sentences some are deeper than a man standing get in one and you’re playing backward or sideways or praying this isn’t golf on grass it’s golf on history unforgiving unchanging undeniable but the real brutality comes from above the wind doesn’t whisper it screams one gust turns an 8 iron into a 4 rain shows up sideways temperatures drop like mood swings ask Tiger in 2,002 chasing a Grand Slam he shot 81 at Meyrfield in a storm that shredded umbrellas and legacies that same day Justin Leonard shot 68 because he teed off in sunshine that’s the draw bias your score can depend on when your name comes out of the hat fair never that’s the open at Truen players love the front nine calm scoreable then they turn into the wind and everything changes par threes that require drivers par fours that break your grip by 18 you’re not chasing a number you’re just hoping to finish upright that’s why even great rounds feel like escapes in 2,008 no one finished under par the cut was plus ten and that was considered normal this isn’t scorecard golf it’s survival it’s punch shots stingers bump and run from 80 yards out it’s putting from 30 yards off the green it’s aiming 40 feet left and praying the bounces kind you’re not executing a plan you’re reacting to a mood the course changes hour by hour and it never explains itself the wind doesn’t just blow here it speaks one moment it’s at your back it tests your swing then your patience then your soul Tiger adapted left the driver in the bag played chess not checkers Phil Learned the hard way took years before he finally won by letting go of aggression that’s the secret the course doesn’t respect power it respects humility why does it matter because the open forces you to become a different kind of golfer not perfect not dominant just present aware resilient this isn’t a test of execution it’s a test of acceptance the wind will mess with your head the ground will mess with your heart and the moment you fight it it breaks you because here survival is skill and bogey might be your best shot of the day at the open greatness doesn’t guarantee anything sometimes it just makes the fall more dramatic ask Jean Van de Velde 1999 Karnoustie he stood on 18 with a three shot lead one hole double bogey wins he walked off with a triple and lost the playoff a drive into the rough a 2 iron off the grandstand a ball in the burn shoes off pants soaked cameras rolling it wasn’t one bad decision it was all of them he didn’t choke he unraveled and Karnousti never flinched now ask Tom Watson Turnberry 2,009 he was 59 one hole from history needed par and 18 to become the oldest major winner ever he hit the Fairway then the wrong side of the green chip ran too far putt missed in the playoff he was empty Stewart sink one but the story was over Watson said it tears at my gut because some scars never fade then there’s Adam Scott Royal Lytham 2012 four shot lead four holes left bogey bogey bogey bogey the lead disappeared like breath on a window he had a putt to force a playoff it lipped out and just like that the jug belonged to someone else he stood there stunned not angry just hollow now zoom to Rory Portrush 2019 his country his crowd his collapse first tee shot out of bounce quadruple bogey by the end the pressure had crushed him before the leaderboard even mattered he rallied the next day shot 65 missed the cut by one the final image Rory eyes wet walking alone through the tunnel because sometimes the weight isn’t on your back it’s in your chest last one Thomas Byrne Royal Saint George’s 2,003 two shot lead three to play then the bunker at 16 ate him alive he needed one swing took three double bogey then a bogey on 17 lead gone so was the title he said later that bunker will stay with me forever and it has because at the open when you collapse the course remembers it holds your mistakes like trophies some don’t recover but some come back stronger Broderick Harington lost in heartbreak then won back to back opens Tiger missed the cut in 15 returned in 0 6 and played smarter sharper colder even Vander Velde came back played the 18th again years later for closure not revenge because the course doesn’t forget and years later when you come back it shows them to you again the leaderboard fades the heartbreak doesn’t Americans win majors all the time but not this one not often not easily why because the open doesn’t play by American rules there’s no reward for aggression no comfort in the rough no rhythm in the wind here the game is older stricter harsher in 1960 Arnold Palmer showed up and changed everything before that most Americans skipped the open too far too wet too weird Palmer nearly won in his debut then won the next two he made it matter and others followed Jack Trevino Watson they respected it Learned it adapted but over time that patience eroded the American game got faster flashier bigger swings bigger egos the open didn’t change so it started fighting back Bubba Watson once said he didn’t even know what links golf meant he wasn’t joking Ricky Brooks DJ all struggled not because they weren’t good because they weren’t ready ready for wind for bounce for bunkers that end your round Phil Mickelson Learned the hard way for years he couldn’t figure it out then came Murrayfield 2,013 he ditched the driver played chess one with restraint and called it the greatest round of his life Tiger did the same at Hoylake he hit one driver all week played Stingers avoided mistakes mastered the wind because he knew this course doesn’t care how famous you are it only cares if you respect it and the ones who don’t they go home early this is Europe’s turf and they know it they grew up in it learn to flight it low put from 40 feet off the green embrace the chaos it’s not about stats it’s about feel and when they see Americans stumble there’s no sympathy only pride because this major isn’t just old it’s sacred and sacred things don’t bend to newcomers when John Ram left for live some saw betrayal but the Old Course didn’t blink it doesn’t care what league you play in or who your sponsor is it only wants to know can you handle the wind Cameron Smith did in 2,022 he beat the best with touch and nerve he didn’t overpower Saint Andrews he survived it that’s why this title matters so much because it’s not just about beating the field it’s about beating the elements the ghosts yourself you don’t conquer the open some don’t recover but some come back stronger because the course doesn’t forget but sometimes it forgives you adapt or you vanish but none of them are kind because here the course isn’t the setting it’s the main character start with Carnoustie cold flat ruthless it doesn’t reward it punishes young Vander Velde Learned that the hard way but so did Sergio Harrington Molinari Carnoustie’s bunkers aren’t obstacles they’re waiting and the Bari burn isn’t water it’s memory you don’t survive Carnoustie because you played well you survive it because you didn’t flinch now look at Royal Truro two courses in one front nine short gentle forgiving back nine brutal windy uphill into despair the postage stamp is 123 yards that’s it but miss the green your round is over then comes the 11th the railway Obi right gorse left wind dead into your soul Phil and Henrik went to war here in 2,016 they played perfect golf and still walked off looking exhausted then there’s Mearfield the quiet killer elegant ordered deadly the layout switches wind directions constantly clockwise on the front counter on the back it messes with your yardages your rhythm your mind Tiger’s Grand Slam dream died here Phil finally Learned how to win here because Murfield isn’t about power it’s about precision discipline endurance and then there’s the Old Course Saint Andrews the birthplace the benchmark the mirror it looks simple it’s not the fairways are wide but every miss has a memory the greens are shared but every slope tells a secret the Road Hole is the hardest par 4 in golf one wrong bounce and you’re staring at the wall not the flag and the Swilcan Bridge it’s not just a landmark it’s a checkpoint for champions for ghosts Jack crossed it for the last time in 2,005 Tiger in 2022 wiping away tears because here the course speaks and you listen it doesn’t need rough to beat you it just waits every bounce means something every hole has a voice these aren’t venues they’re trials and when you walk off 18 they’re not done with you because if you lost something out there they keep it
