R & A tests pilots with more than 2 dozen players at the Open



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CARNOUSTIE, Scotland (AP) Some players had to give up their drivers – at least temporarily – this week while British Open officials decided to test them to see if they were breaking the rules [19659002]. "We take our governance role very seriously, not just on the rules of golf and amateur status, but also on equipment standards," said Martin Slumbers. , general manager of R & A. "And we felt that it was an appropriate next step to look more actively at testing players' drivers straight out of the bag."

The R & A and the USGA measure what is known as the "characteristic time" or CT to determine if pilots are complying with the "spring effect" limits which determines to what extent distance the golf ball can be touched. But the tests did not involve a list of players asking to take clubs out of their bags.

"We have always had an equipment test capability on the lineup, certainly since I got involved in the Open.," Said Slumbers. "Players or builders were able to choose their equipment and have it tested. "

Slumbers stated that all players tested in clubs were cooperative and that the tests revealed no violation.

McIlroy stated that his driver had not been tested, but that he had seen the list of clubs tested and that most came from the manufacturer of his pilot, TaylorMade.

"I understand why they are testing equipment," said McIlroy. "There's has pilots who are a little over the limit, so of course, the guys should not play them. I think manufacturers are smart enough not to push too hard. I would be very surprised if they found anything this week. "

TIGER PARTNERS

The British Open is the most international of the four majors, and that is certainly what happened for Tiger Woods. [19659002] He plays this year in the first two rounds with the Japanese Hideki Matsuyama and the Scottish Russell Knox.The last time Woods played the Open was in 2015 in St. Andrews, where he played with Henrik Stenson of Sweden and Angel Cabrera of Argentina.

Phil Mickelson played with another American (Matt Kuchar) in 2015.

For Woods, going back to 2000 at St. Andrews to find the last time that he had Another American in his group for the first two rounds, he played this year with David Gossett, the amateur champion of the United States, and Nick Price, since then Woods has had at least one European in his group each time until At his last appearance in St. Andrews, when he was drawn with Louis Oosthuizen and Jason Day.

He has played with Justin Rose on four occasions since 2002, on

CATASTROPHE ON THE 18th

The Open is back on the tough links of Carnoustie, which means that the name of Jean Van de Velde is never far from anyone's lips.

This includes Gary Player, who won the British Open at Carnoustie in 1968 and – just like Van de Velde in his infamous collapse in 1999 – came to the tough 18th hole with his head.

Van de Velde did a triple boguey after a series of questionable

The player was more cautious

He was also more successful.

"I took an iron from the tee, an iron for my second one and said, if I get a 5, I play for a 5", said the player on Wednesday. "If (Jack) Nicklaus gets an eagle and binds me, so be it." But Van de Velde should have – again, it's still that factor "if." He should have hit with a 5-iron , a 6-iron, and a corner and won by two. "

Player eventually won by two shots on Nicklaus and Bob Charles for the second of what would be three British Open titles.

Padraig Harrington can appreciate what the player said. He had a two-shot lead over Sergio Garcia, who entered the fourth hole of their playoff series in 2007. The Irishman hit the tee's iron, played short of Barry Burn and then reached a bad slope at about 40 feet. He ran the putt through the 3-foot hole and did that for the win.

NO PRESIDENTIAL VISIT

US President Donald Trump was on the other side of Scotland before the British Open and played golf at Turnberry – which 39 he owns – before going to Helsinki for his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

There was no detour to Carnoustie and R & A Chef Martin Slumbers agreed with that.

"We have not received any communication from the Foreign Off or the White House regarding the President of the United States and his visit to the other coast last week," Slumbers said. "I think if I had asked, I would have strongly encouraged him to visit Carnoustie.We were in the middle of a construction site last Friday.There were trucks everywhere.This would have been very, very difficult to do. "

Slumbers and R & A, meanwhile, are not ready to say if the Open will return to Turnberry under Trump's ownership. The latter was played on the Ailsa course in 2009, before being sold to Trump.

The Open is scheduled until St. Andrews in 2021 for the 150th edition, and Slumbers said it would be "south of the border". "- England – in 2022.

APG golf writer Doug Ferguson contributed to this report.

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