Hello golfers,
What a fortnight of sport! Roger Federer produced some sublime tennis to beat Andy Murray in the semi-final at Wimbledon on Friday, but ultimately came up short in Sunday's final against Novak Djokovic; and two young Americans in Rickie Fowler and Jordan Spieth came out on top either side of the pond leading into this week's Open.
So with Rory McIlroy out of this year's event, Tiger Woods battling to regain form and no Brits in any real form going into the event - can we look past either of the Americans above? A few weeks ago I called Rickie Fowler so I'm pleased to see he has found some form at the perfect time, but I would also back Justin Rose who no doubt has the all round game to cope at St Andrews.
With the long 13th hole out of the way, we now come to the much shorter but no less challenging par four, 14th hole.
Tee Shot - The tee shot on the 14th is one that demands accuracy and a bit of length. The hole doglegs from left to right but there is not really a shot to cut the corner of the dogleg. If you can hit your tee shot up the left side of the fairway it opens up the green for your second shot. As for the length aspect of your tee shot, you have to hit the ball far enough to get past the corner of the trees otherwise you will struggle to find the green in two.
Approach Shot - The approach shot to the green at the 14th hole is, in my opinion, one of the trickiest shots on the entire golf course. A false front to the green makes it very difficult to judge where the flag is on the green. The best play is always to try and land your ball as close to the front of the green as possible as the ball will always release onto the putting surface.
Green - The green on number 14 has a subtle slope from left to right so try to putt from right to left to give yourself the best chance of making the birdie putt. The slope is more severe nearer the front of the green so take a bit of time to look at your putt from a couple of different angles.
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