Justin Thomas and caddie Matt Minister hang under an umbrella on day one of The 152nd Open. | Photo by Harry How/Getty Images
Players will not face strong winds like they did over the first two days at The Open, but a steady rain could disturb them at times.
The blustery conditions will subside somewhat on Saturday at The Open Championship, but a Scottish summer rain will come in off the coast.
Saturday’s forecast calls for cloudy, benign conditions in the morning, paving the way for opportunity for plenty of players who sit well down the leaderboard. Perhaps someone like Davis Thompson at 5-over or Cameron Young at 4-over can make a move early on Saturday, as the winds in the morning will not gust beyond 15 miles per hour—a stark difference from the first two days at Royal Troon.
But when the contenders tee off later in the day, precipitation will greet them. Rain will become heavier and more persistent as the afternoon wears on, meaning Shane Lowry, who leads at 7-under par, Justin Rose, and Daniel Brown, who are two strokes back, will have to try to stay dry. So will Scottie Scheffler, who is 2-under-par and will play in the third to last pairing.
Yet, the wind will be all over the place, leading to confusion and frustration among the players. The breeze will come from the south, the same direction the players have faced during the first two rounds of The Open Championship. But then the wind will shift to a west-northwest wind once the rain arrives. That means the back nine will play into a steady 13-mile-per-hour wind, something the field has not yet experienced this week. Royal Troon’s second nine is one of the most challenging set of holes found anywhere in the world. A shift towards the prevailing wind will make them that much more demanding.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.
