Matt Cooper and Dave Tindall provide their final diary entry from Royal Birkdale, where thoughts are already turning to 2027… and 2028.<\/p>\n
Sunday roast \u2013 Open style<\/p>\n
Matt Cooper<\/p>\n
I tend to think that almost all human beings are exceptionally bad at reading body language and mood. True, we\u2019re very good at remembering example of us getting it right, but we\u2019re also very good at ignoring the many more times we get it wrong (often very badly).<\/p>\n
But I also tend to think that attending a golf tournament in person is mostly an exercise in observing body language rather than actually watching sport.<\/p>\n
Finding a good spot behind a par-three green might permit you to see every tee shot, as well as every chip and putt.<\/p>\n
But most of the time watching golf is about scurrying across the course, peering into the distance, mistiming your arrival at a hole, and maybe earning a decent view that gets blocked at the last minute by someone else.<\/p>\n
And even if you do see the golfer swing, you might easily never see the actual ball.<\/p>\n
So we fill in the gaps by watching the golfer closely, guessing at the state of his mind.<\/p>\n
And never is that more true than on the range and the putting green on Sunday lunchtime ahead of the final round\u2019s late tee times.<\/p>\n
I watched Ryan Fox chatter in apparently carefree mode, earning pats on the back from just about everyone he encountered. I saw Tommy Fleetwood acknowledge every shout of encouragement as he walked from putting green to the first tee, appearing relaxed. I watched Scottie Scheffler seemingly stuck in his zone and I saw Bryson DeChambeau look steely rather than shaky.<\/p>\n
At the 2022 Open I bumped into the Olympic gold medal-winning curler Eve Muirhead on the Sunday morning and it occurred to me that she knew exactly what sort of things were flying through the players\u2019 heads that morning.<\/p>\n
I told her that I\u2019d never daydreamed about holing a winning putt, or lifting a trophy, or accepting the acclaim of the galleries.<\/p>\n
But I have often wanted to experience that last hour before a significant sporting task \u2013 asking myself if I was physically, mentally and emotionally up to it.<\/p>\n
She held my gaze for one very long second. \u201cTrust me,\u201d she said. \u201cYou don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
Perhaps 10 golfers experienced those feelings this Sunday morning \u2013 it\u2019s going to be fun (for us) seeing which one prevails.<\/p>\n
Rolling back the years with the Duvals<\/p>\n
Dave Tindall<\/p>\n
St Andrews takes centre stage for next year\u2019s Open and while everyone loves the Home of Golf it\u2019s logistically a tricky one in terms of trying to find accommodation. I\u2019ve twice camped there and one time the four-man tent I was sharing with Matt Cooper blew away. Seriously. Never again.<\/p>\n
The good news for this region is that in 2028 the Open will return to Royal Lytham for the first time since Ernie Els won there in 2013 as a 43-year-old. Lytham is 35 miles up the road and holds a special place in my heart.<\/p>\n
That was due to David Duval\u2019s win there in 2001. A lot of golf betting friends were on him that year at 25\/1 and I\u2019d actually tipped him at those odds for these Sporting Life pages. Open winners seemed easier to find then! But not only did I get to cheer him home, I managed to sneak into the clubhouse bang next to the 18th green and watched out of the window as he holed the winning putt. My peak Open moment.<\/p>\n
Duval was definitely my favourite golfer at the time. I\u2019d latched onto him early and backed the first two of his PGA Tour wins at odds of 40\/1 (Michelob Championship) and 20\/1 (Walt Disney). They came in back-to-back weeks in October 1997. I was also on him at nice odds, 16s maybe, when he shot that incredible final-round 59 to win the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic in 1999. <\/p>\n
So imagine the delight and serendipity when on a Friday stroll around Birkdale I struck up a random conversation with David Duval\u2019s wife while watching him play the 10th hole. I giddily informed her about him being my favourite golfer and we shared some nice stories about our respective offspring. David has just become a grandfather for the first time which made me gulp a bit (where does the time go?) and is now playing the Champions Tour.<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t make the cut here but Mrs Duval assured me that hubby will definitely be back on the Lancashire coast for Royal Lytham 2028, the scene of his finest hour. Time for me to brush up on his Champions Tour results. He had an eighth in April at Sugarloaf, the scene of one of his PGA Tour wins in 1999. Hmmm, so he still thrives at courses where he\u2019s won. Perhaps a sneaky bet for Top Senior at Lytham in two years\u2019 time? <\/p>\n
The Hojgaard secret unlocked<\/p>\n
Dave Tindall<\/p>\n
In another random on-course moment, I got chatting to one of the Hojgaard entourage. They were from Aarhus, in the middle of our street, and were hoping for One Better Day after poor opening rounds from the Danish twins, who it has to be said were wearing trousers that were quite baggy. For younger readers, I\u2019m naming Madness songs, a popular band from the 80s.<\/p>\n
Apparently, it\u2019s a source of amusement that both still dress in the same clothes although that has a certain charm. But there was definite unwanted symmetry in their performances this week as both Nicolai and Rasmus missed the cut. Nicolai shot 72-70 while Rasmus fired 71-75. Both have played in Ryder Cups and yet, in 29 majors between them, the Hojgaards haven\u2019t chalked up a single top 10. \u201cSomething is rotten in the state of Denmark,\u201d as former Leicester boss Craig Shakespeare once said. Think it was him.<\/p>\n
Anyway, this was no wasted conversation as I got an insider\u2019s view on the answer to that much-asked question: how do you tell them apart? Ready for the info that could earn big brownie points if you ever bump into the pair and successfully call them by the right names? For starters, it\u2019s the teeth. \u201cNicolai has more, sort of fangs, like Count Dracula. A different jawline too.\u201d And, also, it\u2019s the voices. \u201cNicolai\u2019s speech is more guttural, like a Dutch person.\u201d So there we have it. Get each twin to both speak and smile and then compare fangs and levels of gutturalness. <\/p>\n
Easy.<\/p>\n
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Rasmus is currently 30th in the Race to Dubai Rankings with two runner up finishes this season in 10 starts. <\/p>\n
Nicolai is currently 39th in the Race to Dubai Rankings with one runner up finish this season in 10\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/PK5VATqXpl<\/a><\/p>\n