After LIV golfers struggled at The Open, Cam Smith and Jon Rahm have an idea for 2025 and beyond….. details below..
Players feel that they must reacclimate themselves to links golf, a completely different style of play, which, as the R&A likes to say, is “forged by nature.” Links golf requires shot-making, creativity, and patience. You have to flight the ball low, keeping it below the sometimes gale-force winds that can turn a heavenly experience into a hellish one. Playing links golf also requires you to use the contours of the hard Scottish turf, leaving you at the expense of an unlucky bounce. You never know where your ball may end up.
So it’s no wonder Xander Schauffele, who won at Royal Troon last year, tied for 15th at the Scottish Open the week before. He had his game ready for golf’s oldest major and handled the conditions like a champion. Heck, NBC Sports’ Curt Byrum, who walked with Schauffele during day three at this past year’s Open, called his round the most impressive performance he had seen in 2024. A stiff rain, coupled with 30-mile-per-hour winds, wreaked havoc on the leaders that Saturday afternoon. Yet, Schauffele, without wearing any rain gear, felt unbothered by Mother Nature and shot the most impressive 2-under 69 that you will ever see.