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British Open – Cut Rule

Not everyone plays 72 holes. (Photo: Getty)
Not everyone plays 72 holes. (Photo: Getty)

The British Open cut rule is not difficult to understand: The top 70 finishers after 36 holes make the cut. Everyone else doesn’t make the weekend. This cut rule was first used at the 1898 British Open.

British Open: briefly with two cuts

But there wasn’t always this one-cut system. In 1968, the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews (R&A) installed two cuts: one cut after 36 holes, another cut after 54 holes. This cut rule lasted until 1985, during which time the top 80 players advanced after the first cut and the top 60 players advanced after the second.

In 1986, the cut rule at the British Open was changed back to the best 70 after 36 holes. It is still in place today.

The Open Tournament Page | News, Leaderboard & Tee Times

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Jon Rahm: “The greatest honour you can achieve in golf is becoming The Open Champion in St Andrews”

Jon Rahm talks his preparation ahead of the Open Championship 2022. (Image: Mercedes Benz)

Jon Rahm excited ahead of The Open Championship 2022

Jon Rahm is a Spanish golfer of the DP World Tour and the PGA Tour. In 2020 and 2021, the global Mercedes-Benz brand ambassador led the world golf rankings for over 30 weeks. His greatest success was winning the US Open in 2021. This year he plays his first Open in St Andrews, at the “Home of Golf”. After a very good result at the last Open in 2021 (T3), he wants to build on his good performance at the big 150th Open in 2022.

The 27-year-old Spaniard not only talks with us about his first Open in St Andrews, he also explains what it would mean to him to be the first Spaniard after Seve Ballesteros (Champion Golfer of the Year 1979, 1984 and 1988) to win the trophy and thus follow in the footsteps of a sports icon. In addition he gives an insight into his preparation and expectations.
Text and video by Mercedes Benz

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Open Championship 2022: Collin Morikawa returns the Claret Jug

Champion Golfer of the Year Collin Morikawa returns the Claret Jug. (Image: Mercedes Benz)

Champion Golfer of the Year Returns the Claret Jug

For its 150th Championship, The Open and Mercedes-Benz are returning to the Home of Golf at the Old Course in St Andrews, Scotland (UK). For a record 30th time, the Old Course, will host this year’s Championship and from July 10 to 17, nearly 300,000 spectators will experience the world’s best golfers at the tradition-steeped major golf Championship. And all this on what is the most historic golf course in the world.

The Championship week kicks off with its first highlight: the Return of the Claret Jug. At the ceremony, the reigning Champion Golfer of the Year, Collin Morikawa (USA), returned the iconic Claret Jug trophy to Martin Slumbers, Chief Executive of The R&A. For the occasion, the 25-year-old Morikawa drove up in an all-electric EQS SUV. With the EQS SUV, Mercedes-Benz is taking a big step towards a zero-emission mobility. The model is produced in a completely carbon-neutral manner.

Text and video by Mercedes Benz

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British Open 2022: R&A announces prize money increase

The winner of the Claret Jug will also collect the highest prize money in Open history at the 2022 British Open. (Photo: Getty)
The winner of the Claret Jug will also collect the highest prize money in Open history at the 2022 British Open. (Photo: Getty)

One week before the start of the British Open 2022 in St. Andrews, the prize money for the 150th edition of the tournament was announced. The winner of this year’s Open will be able to take home over two million pounds for the first time, in addition to the Claret Jug. The total prize money of the last major in the calendar year will be increased by 22 per cent.

In concrete terms, this means a jump from 12.5 to 14 million US dollars in prize money, with which the R&A, the organising association of the British Open 2022, wants to do justice to the increased prize money last year.

“There have been significant changes in prize money over the last year. We have therefore increased the prize fund by 22% which means that the prize money has increased by more than 60% since 2016,” Martin Slumbers, Chief Executive of The R&A said.

Competitive bidding by the organisers

By comparison, the US Masters and PGA Championship had both increased prize money to $15 million before this year’s editions. The US Open is the men’s major with the highest prize money at 17.5 million dollars, winner Matt Fitzpatrick received over three million dollars. The Players Championship, the flagship tournament of the PGA Tour, paid out 20 million dollars this year and 25 million dollars next year.

The drastic price increase is probably also linked to the controversial LIV Golf Invitational Series, which lures stars to its tour with high sign-up bonuses and awards an additional 25 million dollars per tournament.

“We have made this substantial investment while balancing our wider commitments to developing golf at all levels around the world and to continuing to elevate the AIG Women’s Open.” Last year, the Association, together with the main sponsor, provided record prize money for the Women’s Major, which has since been surpassed by the US Women’s Open.

2022 British Open prize money

  1.  $2,500,000
  2.  $1,455,000
  3.  $933,000
  4.  $725,000
  5.  $583,000
  6.  $505,000
  7.  $434,000
  8.  $366,000
  9.  $321,000
  10.  $290,000
  11.  $264,000
  12.  $234,000
  13.  $220,000
  14.  $206,000
  15.  $191,500
  16.  $176,000
  17.  $167,500
  18.  $159,750
  19.  $153,000
  20.  $145,750
  21.  $139,000
  22.  $132,000
  23.  $125,000
  24.  $118,000
  25.  $114,000
  26.  $109,000
  27.  $105,000
  28.  $101,500
  29.  $97,000
  30.  $92,000
  31.  $89,000
  32.  $84,500
  33.  $81,500
  34.  $79,250
  35.  $76,500
  36.  $73,500
  37.  $70,000
  38.  $66,500
  39.  $64,000
  40.  $62,000
  41.  $59,500
  42.  $56,500
  43.  $54,000
  44.  $51,000
  45.  $48,000
  46.  $45,500
  47.  $43,700
  48.  $42,000
  49.  $40,000
  50.  $39,100
  51.  $38,200
  52.  $37,600
  53.  $37,000
  54.  $36,500
  55.  $35,900
  56.  $35,400
  57.  $35,000
  58.  $34,750
  59.  $34,500
  60.  $34,250
  61.  $34,000
  62.  $33,900
  63.  $33,750
  64.  $33,600
  65.  $33,400
  66.  $33,100
  67.  $32,900
  68.  $32,600
  69.  $32,400
  70.  $32,200
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Open Championship 2022: LIV Golf players may play in St. Andrews

LIV Golf Players are allowed to play The Open. (Photo: Getty)
LIV Golf Players are allowed to play The Open. (Photo: Getty)

The R&A is allowing LIV golfers to compete in the 150th Open Championship at St. Andrews. These include former Open winners Phil Mickelson and Louis Oosthuizen, also qualifying are Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Patrick Reed and Abaham Ancer, plus Brooks Koepka, who may also join the LIV Golf Tour.

Open Championship: Openness has been Fundamental

Martin Slumbers, Chief Executive of The R&A, said:

“The Open is golf’s original Championship and since it was first played in 1860, openness has been fundamental to its ethos and unique appeal.

“Players who are exempt or have earned a place through qualifying for The 150th Open in accordance with the entry terms and conditions will be able to compete in the Championship at St Andrews.

“We are focused on staging a world class Championship in July and celebrating this truly historic occasion for golf. We will invest the proceeds of The Open, as we always do, for the benefit of golf which reflects our purpose to ensure that the sport is thriving 50 years from now.”

The USGA had allowed the players who participated in the first event of the LIV Golf Series, which is funded by the Saudi government’s PIF, to participate in the US Open. The issue had arisen after the PGA Tour suspended the players. However, the major tournaments are hosted by independent promoters who set their own qualifying criteria. However, neither the USGA nor the R&A guarantee that the qualification criteria will not change in the future. In the long run, the question of whether there will be world ranking points for LIV golf tournaments will also be relevant in this context, as these are often an important component of major qualification.

The DP World Tour has not commented yet and wants to make a decision about the sanctions for the LIV Golf participants in the coming days.

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US Open 2022: Matt Fitzpatrick and his caddie Billy Foster – An emotional win

US Open 2022: Matt Fitzpatrick and his caddie Billy Foster celebrate their first ever major win. (Photo: Getty)

It was probably the best Sunday in the life of the still young Matt Fitzpatrick. After an exciting final day, the Englishman beat his flight partner Will Zalatoris and Masters winner Scottie Scheffler to win the US Open 2022. For the 27-year-old, however, it is not the first title on this course, as he already won the US Amateur at the same venue in 2013. In addition, his caddie, Billy Foster, also had reason to celebrate after some forty years.

US Open 2022: Fitzpatrick still can’t believe his success

With the words “Yes and no. Actually no, I’d say yes,” Matt Fitzpatrick answered the question after his triumph at the US Open 2022 whether he had expected this outcome before the tournament. However, his caddie, Billy Foster, was convinced of the victory of his “protégé” early on: “Billy had been saying for a while, the time will come. You’re playing so well. Just keep doing what you’re doing. It will come. It will happen. It will happen”.

And indeed, that was the case on this weekend in June. The Englishman showed solid golf over four rounds, played, compared to his competitor Scheffler, not a single round over par and was therefore deservedly happy about his first major title in professional golf. Even if he was not convinced before the tournament that it could be enough for the victory in the end, his opinion changed after the Moving Day. He entered the final day as the leader, along with Will Zalatoris, and then had a good feeling: “I put myself in position after two rounds and then played well yesterday. I just really believed this could be the time. Yeah, for whatever reason, because of my success here before, it just felt like this was the time.” And even though Fitzpatrick said it was cliché, the triumph was exactly what he had always dreamed of as a kid.

Fitzpatrick’s caddie celebrates first major title in 40 years

Not only was Matt Fitzpatrick’s win at the US Open a premiere victory, but his caddie Billy Foster was also able to celebrate his first title at a major. The Englishman, who has accompanied numerous stars around the world’s golf courses, was finally able to celebrate a “big” title after more than 40 years. No wonder, then, that he kissed the flag on the 18th hole and, of course, took it home afterwards. In the social media, many were also happy for Foster.

“It means the world to Billy. I can’t tell you how much it means to Billy. It’s unbelievable. I know it’s something he’s wanted for a long, long, long time. To do it today is incredible” Fitzpatrick said about his caddie after winning the title. It could have turned out very differently, because the two guys only started working together by chance about four years ago: “We ended up working together. I was kind of in between caddies. He just split up with Lee, and just happened to work out. It’s so funny. He kept telling me the first time on the job, I’ll just do 25 weeks and maybe get a fill-in for the others. I think he’s had about two weeks off in four years, so yeah.” It’s a wonderful story that turned out to be an emotional victory for both of them.

Fitzpatrick enters the history books alongside Jack Nicklaus

It was a very special victory for Matt Fitzpatrick. On the one hand, the Englishman has not yet been able to celebrate a victory as a professional golfer, and on the other hand, it was not his first major victory at the Country Club in Brookline. In 2013, the then 18-year-old celebrated winning the US Amateur at the same venue. If he had been told at the time that he would be able to enjoy another title there 9 years later, but with a lot more competition and, above all, significantly more prize money, he would probably have just smiled wearily. However, the 27-year-old delivered and deserved to be the winner in the end.

In addition to the Major victory, Fitzpatrick is therefore also celebrating another triumph. Alongside Jack Nicklaus, he is the only player to succeed in winning the US Amateur and the US Open on the same golf course. While the golf legend celebrated in Pebble Beach in 1961 and 1972, Fitzpatrick achieved the same feat in 2013 and 2022 at the Country Club in Brookline. The Englishman was visibly moved when he realized this: “Any time you’re sharing a record with Jack Nicklaus, it’s unbelievable. So for me to have that as well is incredible” Nicklaus, who of course also followed the 2022 US Open, was one of Fitzpatrick’s first well-wishers. He passed on his congratulations to the Englishman by phone: “He called me up down there just at the presentation to congratulate me. Coming from someone like that, it means the world”.

In the women’s world, by the way, only one player managed this double success: Juli Inkster won in 1980 and 2002 at Prairie Dunes Country Club. No wonder, then, that the fans were on their best behavior during Fitzpatrick’s triumph. Especially on the 18th hole, they were almost unstoppable to cheer Fitzpatrick on. However, he and his caddie remained cool: ” It felt like Billy and me were going to get stampeded, but we didn’t. We’re fine. I love that. I love when the crowd is excited and loud. It’s what makes it more exciting.” Also, because Fitzpatrick is an avid soccer fan, he would enjoy such a raucous atmosphere in golf from time to time, “I love football, and I love the atmosphere in that. I know golf’s different, and it’s got to be all nice and calm and everything, but sometimes it’s good to be a bit different”.

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US Open 2022 – Justin Thomas: “It pisses me off!”

Justin Thomas at the US Open 2022. (Photo: Getty)
Justin Thomas at the US Open 2022. (Photo: Getty)

Justin Thomas started the moving day of the 2022 US Open with high expectations and six shots off the lead, but the third round at Brookline Country Club went differently than expected. First, the superstar was not recognized and then Thomas landed in an awkward position with subsequent rules discussion.

US Open 2022: Justin Thompson or Thomas?

Justin Thomas has 15 PGA Tour titles, two of them at major tournaments, and yet not all golfers know him. Before the start of the third round, the announcer on the first tee of the 2022 US Open made an embarrassing mistake, and Justin Thomas became Justin Thompson.

No drop for Thomas on Moving Day of the US Open 2022

But if the start of the round was more funny than annoying, it continued for Thomas on lane 4 with a controversial situation. After a drive, his ball landed near a drain cover. Unsure what to do now, the American called in a referee. The first question in this situation: Is the swing or stance affected by the obstruction? Thomas answered in the negative. “It’s very clear that my stance and where my ball was was altered and sitting bad because of that drain, but didn’t get a drop from it. That’s just how it is. You have to be able to hit the drain to get a drop,” Thomas said after the round. “I called an official in to get a ruling on it, and in the spirit of the game, I told the official I wasn’t going to hit the drain. I felt like I could have very easily told her I was going to do it and gotten a free tee shot, but I didn’t.”

The USGA’s statement to ESPN later said, “During the discussion, Justin was asked if the drain was going to interfere with his swing, to which he replied it was not. Because there was no interference from the drain, Justin was not provided relief.”

Immovable obstructions – What is allowed, what is not?

The Justin Thomas case was about Rule 16.1a (1), it states “an impairment exists if the ball, stance or swing is impaired by unusual court conditions (obstructions), the ball may be dropped without penalty within one club length of the nearest point of relief.” It also explicitly mentions, “If the unusual court conditions are close enough to distract the player but do not meet any of these requirements, there is no impairment under this rule.” So Thomas answered the impairment question in the negative and didn’t get a drop. His shot ended in the greenside bunker in front, and he walked off Hole 4 with a bogey.
“That’s what pisses me off, because so many other people would lie that they can hit that, but I just say, ‘I’m not going to hit it.’ That’s f***ing bu****it, man,” Thomas said before tossing his iron onto his bag. That leaves him seven strokes behind heading into the final round after another round of 72 on Saturday.

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US Open 2022: Jon Rahm squanders the lead with “six good strokes

Jon Rahm in the fairway bunker on the 18th hole on Moving Day at the 2022 US Open. (Photo: Getty)
Jon Rahm in the fairway bunker on the 18th hole on Moving Day at the 2022 US Open. (Photo: Getty)

For Jon Rahm, it’s all about defending his title this week at the US Open 2022. The 2021 Open winner is well in the running, alone in third place. But still on the 17th hole of his third round it looked like the leading position in the final. Rahm got bogged down on hole 18, and in an interview after the round he gives an insight into his view of the final hole.

Jon Rahm: “It was six good shots”.

With a one-stroke lead, Rahm went onto the 18th hole. The little drama already started on the tee shot, his ball did not hit the expected right turn, but landed in the left fairway bunker. From there, Rahm needed two shots at once, with shot two ending up in the greenside bunker. Rahm chipped the dug-in ball to the flag at just under 20 feet and needed two more putts. So a total of a double bogey brings him to a 71 – one over par for the moving day of the US Open 2022. Before that he holed another putt for birdie and the sole lead:

So much for the facts, but for Rahm this chaos railroad had many positives: The truth is, 18, it was six good shots. Unfortunately, it added up to 6, but it was all good swings. If anything, it was maybe a choice or a decision on the fairway bunker, but swings were good, so execution was proper. So I’m happy about that in that sense.

Regarding the bunker hits, Rahm continues when asked,  “I haven’t thought really about it. Quite frankly, it was a little dark, and it was hard to see. After I hit the shot, I realized the ball was a little bit deeper in the sand than I could really truly see.” He admits he misjudged the situation, “But I think I got maybe — tried to be a little too perfect with the shot. I had a 9-iron in hand. That’s plenty to get over that lip. Maybe I was trying to get too cute, making sure — looking for another birdie, where I could have just hit a 9-iron and hope it gets over the bunker and see what happens.”

Rahm goes into the final motivated

For the last day, the Spaniard wants to focus on himself and his game. “I can’t control what the guys ahead or behind me are doing,” the Spaniard said. ” I just have to focus on myself and my game and play my golf, shot by shot. Try to be as committed as possible to each shot, and that’s it.” Continuing, Rahm explained, “The second you get too caught up in what others are doing at a U.S. Open is when you start making bogeys and double-bogeys in a row. Yeah, exactly that. Just nothing special. Nothing that needs to change. Just, again, making decisions and executing.”

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Video: First Hole in One at the US Open 2022

On the second day of the US Open 2022, the fans at The Country Club in Massachusetts (USA) were able to cheer loudly. Cameron Young took a swing at the sixth hole and holed out from 165 yards directly from the tee box.

US Open 2022: Hole in one from Cameron Young

The American thus scored the 48th (known) ace in the 122-year history of the US Open. Young had been rather mediocre so far and still had a chance to make the cut thanks to the eagle. After a 72 at the start, the 25-year-old experienced a debacle at hole 3. On the par-4 Cameron Young recorded an 8 and thus a quadruple bogey. For the round, the PGA Tour professional was already seven shots over par after 13 holes, but then started a series in which he framed the hole-in-one of three birdies at hole 6 (he had started on the 10th tee).

However, these five stroke wins within four holes were not enough; Cameron Young would also have needed a birdie on the last hole to make the cut at +3. As a result, he narrowly missed the weekend of the US Open 2022 by one stroke.

The 48th known hole-in-one in #USOpen HISTORY!

Take a bow, Cameron Young!

? : @NBC and @PeacockTV pic.twitter.com/cXlJP5zMwh

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Windfall at US Open 2022: USGA announces record prize money

United States Golf Association (USGA) CEO Mike Whan at the 2022 US Open (Photo: Getty).
United States Golf Association (USGA) CEO Mike Whan at the 2022 US Open (Photo: Getty).

The US Open is traditionally the major with the highest prize money. And it is set to remain so this year. After the US Masters and the PGA Championship gave a total of 15 million dollars to the top-ranked players this year, the US Open 2022 will go one better.

The US Open 2022 remains the most lucrative of the four majors

Last year, there was a total of $12.5 million in prize money at the US Open. Spaniard Jon Rahm also won $2.25 million of the total prize money with first place, the trophy and the glory. This year’s winner of the third major of the year can look forward to $3.15 million. This is 18 percent of the total prize money, which accordingly amounts to 17.5 million dollars. There is only one tournament in which there is even more money to be won: the Players Championship. Here, this year’s winner Cameron Smith won the record sum of 3.6 million dollars with a total prize money of 20 million dollars.

With these figures, the US Open remains the major with the highest prize money. The US Masters, as well as the PGA Championship, paid out a total of $15 million. Scottie Scheffler, winner of the Masters, and Justin Thomas, first-place finisher at the PGA Championship, each took home $2.7 million.

It remains questionable whether the increase is a reaction to the recently launched LIV Golf Invitational Series. Here, $25 million is paid out per tournament. Charl Schwartzel got $4 million for winning last week.

The distribution of the prize money

Of course, not only the prize money of the winner increases with the increase, but also that of the other players. Those who finish in the top 20 at the US Open 2022 have every reason to be happy: there will be at least $200,000 for all finishers in the top 20.

1st: $3,150,000
2nd: $1,890,000
3rd: $1,206,040
4th: $845,464
5th: $704,190
6th: $624,396
7th: $562,916
8th: $504,158
9th: $456,282
10th: $419,104
11th: $382,472
12th: $353,636
13th: $329,517
14th: $304,128
15th: $282,365
16th: $264,229
17th: $249,721
18th: $235,213
19th: $220,704
20th: $206,196 21st: $193,683
22nd: $181,170
23rd: $169,019
24th: $157,776
25th: $147,983
26th: $139,640
27th: $133,293
28th: $127,672
29th: $122,231
30th: $116,791
31st: $111,349
32nd: $105,909
33rd: $100,468
34th: $95,572
35th: $91,582
36th: $87,592
37th: $83,784
38th: $80,157
39th: $76,530
40th: $72,904
41st: $69,276
42nd: $65,649
43rd: $62,021
44th: $58,395
45th: $54,768
46th: $51,503
47th: $48,238
48th: $45,156
49th: $43,343
50th: $41,530
51st: $40,440
52nd: $39,535
53rd: $38,808
54th: $38,445
55th: $38,083
56th: $37,720
57th: $37,358
58th: $36,995
59th: $36,632
60th: $36,270