The Open vs the British Open

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By Chuck Z

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  • 19 Replies
  1. Chuck Z

    Chuck Z
    Mt Pleasant, SC

    Military

    I am sure at some time in the past this has been brought up, but on the front page of our sports page this morning our local paper kept making reference to the British Open. Curious as I am I started digging and from the very beginning it has always been known at The Open Championships, but of late has been shortened to The Open by the R&A. No where has it ever been referred to as the British Open by the R&A. It is the first open (1860) and was the only one for a few years until the US Open in 1898. Here is where the reference came into play calling the Open Championship the British Open. It was then Americanized to avoid confusion by the folks here in the us. Not by the R&A, but by who else, the media. It is wrong to call The Open the British Open, probably not if you are on American soil, but it is officially incorrect outside the US. It is after all The Open is, the original, the first and will always be The Open Championship. To me is like using a word that is not a word, like irregardless. It makes my skin crawl, because it is wrong. But you know, I hear the media use that word also. Just sayin'. I definitely am enjoying The Open, and the old course is testing the best the players can throw at her. Whoever wins is a worthy champion.

  2. Dale V

    Dale V
    Surprise AZ

    I will add that the marketing strategy for "The Open" has made this an issue. Since the US Open, the Irish Open, the Scottish Open and the British Open all pretty much run consecutively and before Arnie and Jack made it more popular to go over there, the British Open suffered from strong fields of players. It is obvious that the marketing strategy is to elevate the stature of this tournament to try and guarantee strong fields, bigger sponsors, and larger revenue. Sadly, its all about the money. Sorry your skin is crawling... :)
  3. Chuck Z

    Chuck Z
    Mt Pleasant, SC

    Military
    Maybe my skin is crawling because of the media here in the US. They just cannot leave things along as well as the pros. Just saying. Guess news sells, whatever they say or write. =(
  4. Frank P

    Frank P
    Port St. Lucie, FL

    Military
    In the mid 1960's when I was first introduced to Golf, it was referred to as the British Open by none other than the venerable Jim McKay and Chris Schenkel covering the tournament for ABC Sports, who at the time had the broadcast rights. BTW, the first U.S. Open was played in 1895 in Newport, RI. I called it the British Open then and I call it the British Open now. Apologies to all who may have heartburn over it.
  5. Chuck Z

    Chuck Z
    Mt Pleasant, SC

    Military
    My apology on the date for the US Open. First one was 36 holes on a nine hole course in one day. Since 1898 the Open has been a 72 hole tournament played on 18 hole courses. No heartburn, just a love of the game and a lot of respect to the beginnings. Guess the media and some American's can call it what they want, but it just lacks the respect that the Euros and the R&A deserve.

    The four majors: The Open (Championship), The Masters, US Open, PGA Championships.

    Hopefully one day I can make The Open. The only one I have not been to.
  6. MattH

    MattH
    Peterborough, England

    You’re certainly not the Champion Golfer of the Year if you win the US Open
  7. Dale V

    Dale V
    Surprise AZ

    No but if we still measure greatness by those players who have achieved the "Grand Slam" of golf, all four will carry the same importance to tour players. I guarantee you that Phil would trade all his extra tournament wins for one of those second-place US Opens to have been a win.
  8. 19hole

    19hole
    Reading, MA

    Sorry all, It has ALWAYS been and will ALWAYS be The Open Championship, shortened to The Open. There is not and never has been a British Open. Just because two very prominent and highly respected American broadcasters called it the British Open does not mean that is the proper name for the competition.

    Just because one of your teachers in school called you by the wrong name, doesn't mean that is now your name....
  9. Abdon M

    Abdon M
    Northern California (because it's a big state)

    Funny thing that you mention this, During Morikawa's awards speech, he talked about good the British Open fans were during the week. I wonder how many in the grandstands wanted to yell, "It's called The Open, you Yankee!" ;-)
  10. Frank P

    Frank P
    Port St. Lucie, FL

    Military
    Sorry, but at various times, it has been referred to as the British Open even by the the UK press and, if you look it up, at Bobby Jones trophy presentation and several other trophy presentations.
  11. GKinsey

    GKinsey

    What do you think it should be called then, I have always called it the British open
  12. JAM

    JAM

    He first mentioned the tournament as the British Open and later in his speech he referred to it as The Open Championship. It wasn't an apology, he just happened to mentioned it both ways.
  13. Diego D

    Diego D
    Miami, FL

    In 2017, three-time Open Championship winner turned broadcaster Nick Faldo make this joke:

    “'The Open Championship' is incorrect. It’s now 'The Open,' you see? It’s gone from The British Open to The Open Championship. Now, it’s The Open. In another five years it will be just called ‘The.’”
  14. Rick V., Team Titleist Staff

    Rick V., Team Titleist Staff
    Duxbury, MA

    Team Titleist Staff
    Great points, Chuck! I feel your pain with "irregardless". Another one I hear a lot, particularly in golf circles, is "Heighth". Not a word.
  15. Dale V

    Dale V
    Surprise AZ

    Let's add this debate, along with the Ryder Cup changing from BG&I to all Europe and have it over beers at Pinehurst in September. We can also point out that Pinehurst is referred to as "the cradle of American golf" while it actually started somewhere else. Probably will be a late night but should be fun.
  16. Frank P

    Frank P
    Port St. Lucie, FL

    Military
    I don't know where the "cradle" was, but the first golf club in the United States was the St. Andrews golf club in 1888. 3 holes in an apple orchard on North Broadway in Yonkers, NY. One of the founding members of the USGA, the club moved to it's current location in the 1890's.
  17. Chuck Z

    Chuck Z
    Mt Pleasant, SC

    Military
    It is thought that the first organized golf played in America was on Harleston Green, undeveloped pastureland near the corner of Pitt and Bull streets. In 1743, Charleston merchant David Deas received a shipment of 432 golf balls and ninety-six clubs from Scotland.
    Golf historians suggest that the early game was played without a set number of holes, no greens, and no designated teeing areas. Players used clubs to move a ball across the field and into a crudely dug hole in the ground. Because the holes were not clearly marked, golfers sent "finders," forerunners of today's caddies, to stand by the hole and alert others of the approaching shot by yelling "fore." After completion of a hole, a player would tee off at a distance of two club-lengths away from that hole. Equipment included a ball, or "feathery," made of leather and stuffed with feathers while clubs consisted of a "play club," a series of "woods," and a utility iron for tight spots.
    Enthusiasts organized the South Carolina Golf Club on September 29, 1786, and five years later announced its anniversary in the City Gazette.
    Charleston golfers moved north to the Chicora Golf Club Links in 1899. When the City of Charleston sold Chicora Park to the United States Navy in 1901, the Charleston Country Club bought Belvidere Plantation, closer to the downtown homes of most of its members, and laid out the Belvidere Golf Links.
    In 1922, after the sale of Belvidere to the Standard Oil Company, which established a refinery on the Cooper River waterfront, the club bought 936 acres (700 acres of it marsh) of McLeod Plantation on James Island. Landscape architect Seth Raynor, renowned for his golf course designs, laid out an eighteen-hole course on the club’s 236 acres of high ground. The Wappoo Links, with its clubhouse set atop the Civil War-era Battery Means and overlooking Charleston Harbor, opened in 1925. The golf club was reorganized in 1935 as the Country Club of Charleston.

    Fraser, Walter J., Jr. Charleston! Charleston! The History of a Southern City. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1989.
    Price, Charles, and George C. Rogers, Jr. The Carolina Lowcountry, Birthplace of American Golf, 1786. Sea Pines Company, 1980.




    Haines Photo Co., circa 1910. View of Belvidere Golf Links.


    View of Country Club at Wappoo Links on James Island, circa 1925.


    Clubhouse at Wappoo Links, ca. 1940.



  18. Dale V

    Dale V
    Surprise AZ

    Okay, watching the Golf Channel tonight and they are showing The Senior Open. Wait, the Senior British Open was established in 1987 and now called The Senior Open but the US Senior Open was established in 1981 and still calls themselves the US Senior Open, even though it was the first, original Senior Open. Guess the US believe where it is played has value in the title….
  19. COBrien

    COBrien
    Wisconsin

    I call it the Open Championship. It doesn’t need British on it at all. It differentiates from the US Open and the other golf tournaments perfectly. Always a fun tournament to watch!
  20. scooterhd

    scooterhd
    Arizona

    British Open. It's a global game. There are lots of 'Opens' now. You need to define it.

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