“It’s more the fear factor” – Nick Faldo gives hot take on the Royal Liverpool's new 'Little Eye' 17th hole ahead of The Open 2023
With just hours for The Open Championship 2023 tee off, Sir Nick Faldo has given his hot take on the Royal Liverpool’s new 17th hole called 'Little Eye'. The legendary golfer addressed the course changes and said that he expects drama on the changed hole, which is a short par-3 but “nervy.”
The new short hole is set to be the penultimate hole of the 151st Open Championship. According to Faldo, the hole will be plenty for the golfers teeing up this weekend. The three-time Open Championship winner said that the hole is a good addition to Hoylake. However, he also dubbed it hard and said that the players will have to deal with the “fear factor” while playing it.
Speaking about the Royal Liverpool's new 'Little Eye' 17th hole ahead of The Open 2023, Nick Faldo was quoted as saying by Golf Monthly:
"That’s great having a hole that is nervy… everybody thinks you have to add on another 100 yards to par-3s but no, I think that’ll be great… You give the guys - especially in a cross wind - you imagine trying to chip an eight or 9-iron in blustery weather, anything can happen.
"That’s a very good choice - just because it's short definitely doesn’t mean it’s easy – because in tough weather you don’t want loft, you'd probably rather try to chip a 4-iron than chip an 8-iron because if you get it wrong it will go anywhere… So that’s going to be a good nervy hole – I think we’re going to see some drama on that one."
Rory McIlroy begins his preparations.
Sir Nick Faldo watches on.
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Faldo showed excitement for the new hole. The ace golfer stated that such tricky holes are designed to test players’ skills and mentality.
He added:
"It’s more the fear factor. You look at all the trouble around it and where it could go wrong. The short par-3s get you mentally more than technically."
Nick Faldo predicts crosswinds to play a role in The Open
Nick Faldo went on to address the conditions at Hoylake as well. Faldo pointed out that the crosswinds across the greens made Royal Liverpool a tough course to play on. He said that the play will be “pretty awkward” with “so many bunkers and crosswinds”.
It is pertinent to note that Hoylake is expected to have testing weather for The Open.
Regarding the conditions, Faldo said:
"Hoylake can be quite awkward with so many bunkers, with the cross winds. If the wind gets up it’s a pretty awkward golf course to play. Every hole is a crosswind I found. If you luck out and get the weather when it’s just about right – you want it difficult but not impossible."
Further discussing his picks for The Open 2023, Faldo had a rather interesting choice. Stating that he doesn’t know who’ll win, the 66-year-old backed Shane Lowry to be the “danger man" this weekend.