Saturday at The Open Championship has been one of the more enjoyable major championship rounds in recent memory. Birdies are dropping, scoring records are falling, and the biggest names in the game are all on or around the leaderboard.
British Open 2017: Rickie Fowler comes within inches of hole-in-one on par-4
Tap-in eagles are always good.
And one of the most fun spots on the course, and the broadcast, was the short par-4 fifth hole at Royal Birkdale. The R&A moved the tees way up, enticing the field to go for the green. The big hitters do not need drivers and almost everyone is going for it.
The setup paid off with an array of risk-reward plays, eagles, and birdies that mixed up the leaderboard on the front nine. And we almost got the rarest sight of all, the par-4 hole-in-one from Rickie Fowler.
In addition to the wind being down, Birkdale also took on some water overnight, softening up the course. So balls, even from low lofted clubs, are sticking in a way they usually would not on a links layout.
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