The Open Championship makes changes to Royal Troon after LIV golfer’s complaints
LIV Golf’s Tyrrell Hatton has voiced concern over the Royal Troon course setup after Thursday's Round 1 of The Open Championship. The Englishman, famous for voicing his opinion, criticized the R&A for the setup and said that the conditions don’t favor the players.
Hatton, who carded 2-over 73, wasn’t pleased with the setup. The 32-year-old came forward to state that the course planners should have catered to the southern wind which troubled the players all day. Notably, the organizers listened to the players’ complaints and decided to take action.
On Friday morning, the R&A announced that it had moved the tees by 20 yards overnight. This directly catered to Hatton’s wish who had stated that the planners “didn't put any tees forward.” Most significantly, the R&A shortened the 6th hole from 623 yards to 603 yards.
For the unversed, the 6th is the longest hole in The Open Championship history. The monstrous par-5 on Thursday wreaked havoc as it worked with the wind to yield only 12 birdies. It was dubbed the eighth most challenging hole of the day.
It was set to become even tougher on Friday as it plays into the southern breeze. However, the R&A has made it slightly easier for the players by cutting it short.
Tyrrell Hatton complains about The Open Championship course
Tyrrell Hatton carded 2-over 73 on Thursday. Following the round, the golfer noted that the “conditions are difficult.” He pointed out that the course planners “didn’t put any tees forward,” which made it tough for players including him to navigate on Thursday.
The LIV Golf star said after The Open Championship Round 1 at Royal Troon, as quoted by Golf.com:
“They didn't put any tees forward. You can't reach any of the par-5s on the front nine. Was it 15 or 16, the par-5, you're hitting a 4-iron off it. Tell me a good par-5 where you're hitting 4-iron off the tee. There isn't one… Even though they've moved the tee back on 17, which I think is a shame, it's still with the wind today, you're hitting 5-iron and hoping it can stay on the green.
"Rory (McIlroy) obviously hits it a lot higher and further, and he was hitting 7-iron there. It doesn't change the fact that it's a tough hole, and it's still hard to hit that green. I think it's a good thing that the wind was playing down because they probably would have left the tee at the back if it was into off the left.”
Hatton asked if the Open Championship organizers wanted to “watch guys hit 3-wood into a green that's hard enough to hit with 7-iron?” The golfer, who joined the Saudi-backed circuit last December, faced some backlash online for his comment. However, it seems to have had an effect.