The PGA Tour cancelled the Greenbrier Classic next week because of the horrendous flooding in West Virginia.
But Brendan wasn’t going to play it anyway. He’ll be headed over to Troon, Scotland, where in two weeks he’ll play The Open Championship, sometimes referred to as the British Open. The native Idyllwilder qualified for The Open because of his standing in the Official World Golf Rankings. This will be his second appearance in The Open, the first being at Hoylake, England, two years ago.
Actually, because of the cancellation of the Greenbrier, the Barracuda will now serve to deliver one more spot in The Open. It’ll go to the highest-finishing player in the top 5 who is not otherwise already qualified. Right now, that looks like Australian Greg Chalmers, Scot Martin Laird — or American Colt Knost, whom Brendan beat in the playoff at Daniel Island in 2010. But the leaderboard will likely change over the last 36 holes.
By the way, you know that 374-yard drive that Brendan slammed at no. 18 yesterday? … 3-wood. Yep, a 374-yard 3-wood, off the tee, wind-aided, downhill, and at 5600 feet elevation. He followed it with a 210-yard 9-iron to 12 feet from the pin, then drained the eagle putt. Whew!
B tees off at 2:35 today, Saturday afternoon.
Special thanks to Kent Steele for inside info.
Jack Clark can be reached at jack@towncrier.com.
