{{ubiquityData.prevArticle.description}}
{{ubiquityData.nextArticle.description}}
When The Open returns to Royal St George’s in July, the vast majority of the 156-man field surely will hope the weather is better than it was on the weekend of the Championship’s previous visit to Sandwich.
Wet and windy conditions made scoring tough for large parts of the third and fourth rounds 10 years ago, particularly for those unfortunate enough to be out early on Saturday.
July 16 2011 was to prove one of the most testing days at an Open in recent memory, although two players born almost 40 years apart were nevertheless able to produce standout performances.
---
As torrential rain and gusting gales blew across Royal St George’s at the start of the third round, it was immediately apparent that the morning starters would face a herculean task in attempting to close the gap on overnight leaders Darren Clarke and Lucas Glover.
“Saturday morning was hell for the guys,” said Thomas Bjørn, who escaped the worst of the conditions due to his placing in the third-last group of the day.
“We knew that it was going to be just absolute mayhem, and they just got blown off the golf course.”
The scores of those who went out early painted a clear picture of just how tough things were. None of the first 15 players to take to the course bettered 74, while only one player in the initial 30 groups broke the par of 70.
The man swimming against the tide – in only his second appearance at The Open - was a 22-year-old Rickie Fowler.
To read about Rickie Fowler’s superb display and a similarly stellar showing by Tom Watson, visit https://www.theopen.com/Latest/Open-Toughest-Weather-Royal-St-Georges-2011.
Top: Sergio García at Royal St George’s in 2011
The R&A