Whatever happened to the British Open?

Anyone see the British Open? Not the tournament that has been going on at Royal St. George’s. That’s a facsimile. I mean the genuine Open Championship where the weather is bad and the scores worse, and the guy who ends up with the trophy--the Claret Jug--feels more like a survivor than a winner.

That’s the way it was in 1961 at Royal Birkdale when wooden soft drink boxes were blown around, the press tent was nearly torn from its moorings and Arnold Palmer was the champion.

Or 2015 at St. Andrews when play was suspended one round because of rain—a downpour--and another round because of wind and Louis Oosthuizen came in first.

The current one is a lark. The first day golfers didn’t even need pullovers or sweaters, much less a rain jacket. Friday there was a bit of a breeze but nothing that would obligate officials to post small golfer warnings.

Which is one reason virtually everybody and his putter made the cut of one-over par 141 including Mr. Discontent, Bryson DeChambeau, who contritely apologized to the Cobra firm for ripping their clubs then used them to shoot a one under 69.

Another reason is, well, like the PGA Tour slogan of several years ago, these guys are good. Truth tell, these guys are great.

They drive more than 300 yards. They get out of bunkers with ease. And the way they putt is almost unfair. ”He has 40 feet for the birdie,” the announcer says as if the putt is certain to drop. Which it has been doing.  The first day there were 47 players under par. Round two on Friday there were 52. That the 64-65—129 which put Oosthuizen into the lead was the lowest 36--hole score in British Open history is hardly a shock.

Each major offers a challenge that’s special if not unique. In the Masters it’s the greens. In the U.S. Open it’s the rough. In the British, the Open Championship, played only on links land courses, it’s the weather.

But this year at St. George’s, on the Channel near the White Cliffs of Dover, there hasn’t been any, at least what we consider British Open weather, umbrellas and overcoats.

“Today we got ... I would say lucky sort of the last nine holes,” Oosthuizen said. “It was as good a weather as you can get playing this golf course. All of us took advantage of it. I think in our three-ball, we had a 64 and two 65s, which you don’t really see around a links golf course.”

Unless the sun is out and there’s no wind.

Collin Morikawa, the young man from Cal and the 2020 PGA champion, winning at San Francisco’s Harding Park, is playing in his first Open. After hearing horror tales and watching the tournament on TV as he grew up, Morikawa has been blessed by nature.

One of the earliest starters Friday, Morikawa shot one of the 64s that Oosthuizen mentioned. The other was by Emiliano Grillo. If you didn’t know better—and you do—you’d think they were playing the Par-Three course at Augusta National.

“I wouldn’t be here through these two rounds if I hadn’t played last week at the Scottish Open,” said Morikaw of an event which   was at the Renaissance Club, not a full links course.

This style of golf is different.”

This week, so is the weather at the Open.