Pitarresi: British Open a great test

If the British Open, or The Open Championship, to say it properly, isn’t my favorite golf tournament, it is very close.

 

I do love the Masters, but the U.S. Open and the British, I think, are the great tests of golf. If I had to pick a favorite, it probably would be the British because of its long history and great character.

 

Because the courses are so difficult, and conditions so unlike most other tournaments, extraordinary demands are made upon the players. That’s a good thing. I think it is very interesting to see how these people respond when they are forced out of their comfort zones, and that is especially true in the British. Wind, rain, treeless landscapes, rough a rabbit couldn’t run through, bunkers a kangaroo couldn’t jump out of – all of that tests a man’s mind and spirit as much as it examines his skills. It’s a battle, and, again, that’s a good thing.

 

You wouldn’t want to see it every week, just like you wouldn’t want to see football in the rain or snow every week, but you do want to witness every now and then how very talented people handle adversity.  I’m looking forward to it.